If you can’t wait for a September retail launch of the new Nexus 7 in Australia, or for Google to settle on a launch date for Google Play, then you’ll want to consider sourcing your new Nexus 7 from the US.
Aussies have been combing the Internet for places to purchase, and seem to have settled on B&H PhotoVideo – a New York based retailer – as a preferred vendor. Besides charging RRP for the tablet, they also offer direct shipping to Australia and are familiar with the requirements of handling international orders.
I’ve just received my new Nexus tablet, ordered last week from B&H PhotoVideo. The order process was pain-free, and I thought I’d share the basics so you can check it out for yourself. Bear in mind that the US$ to AU$ conversion is always fluctuating, so pricing may vary when you purchase.
Price
B&H currently has listings for both the 16 GB and 32 GB version of the 2013 Nexus 7.
The 16 GB model is listed as in-stock, priced at US $229 while the 32 GB model is listed as ‘New Item, Available for pre-order’ and is priced at US $269. Despite the “pre-order” listing on the 32 GB model, B&H shipped me a 32 GB Nexus 7.
It’s worth noting that B&H doesn’t allow you to order more than 2 of each type of item per-order. This seems to be a common limitation and was also observed on other US online retailers. If you’re going for a group buy, consider the split of 16 GB and 32 GB orders.
Payment
Submission of payment details through the site was straightforward and the order was processed quickly.
Jason also has some advice:
I submitted an order at the same time, but had to answer a couple of questions from B&H’s Verification Staff in order to get them to process the order. This was pretty straightforward, and just required me to answer an email. I happened to be looking at my inbox when their email arrived.
Be sure to keep an eye on your Inbox for anything requiring your attention if you’re ordering from B&H.
Notably, this was a much more straightforward process than I encountered through Best Buy, who cancelled 3 orders despite me speaking to phone operators whose job was supposedly to help international customers place orders. Best Buy was never able to provide an explanation of why my orders were cancelled, essentially settling on “the computer did it”. This was pretty disappointing – they missed out on about $1000 of sales, and cost me a good half hour phone call for nothing.
Moral of the story: B&H is familiar with international commerce and deserves your custom.
Delivery
B&H offers delivery via USPS Expedited Shipping – delivery occurs within 4-6 Business Days Delivery and costs around US $38.86 per item – you can save a little if you order multiple items. My Nexus 7 shipped on Friday afternoon, and arrived here this morning – it took just 4 days to get here, even faster than advertised.
You can also opt for free shipping to US addresses if you choose to use a shipping forwarder like ShipItTo or ComGateway, and you can pay a bit more if you want to speed this up.
If the shipping price seems expensive, remember you’ll probably pay $20 shipping if you order the device from Google Play, and the device itself will likely be more expensive than the converted US price.
Accessories
B&H have listings for the new Nexus 7 covers from Asus – priced at $23.99 – however, the covers are not yet available, and carry the status of ‘New item, not available yet’. However, this was and still is the status of my 32 GB Nexus 7, and it was shipped soon after I placed my order.
Warranty
In their live chat, B&H customer service advised me that Asus supplies no international warranty for the Nexus 7. This means that if issues were to occur, the tablet would need to be shipped back to the US for warranty claim.
However, Ausdroid Reader Alex Hutton found that on the Asus Support Website, there is actually an international warranty on the Nexus 7 (2013).
As an alternative, B&H recommend their ‘SquareTrade warranty’, which apparently provides international coverage with the added bonus of giving two years of warranty coverage on the tablet – but it’s at an additional cost of USD $57.99.
Alternatives
There are other options, shipping forwarders such as ShipItTo or ComGateway will gladly help you out if you decide to order from another online retailer such as Amazon, who has the tablets listed as well as some official accessories, like the travel covers and screen protectors.
With the Nexus 7 retailing at under $1000 in the US, there’s no extra GST charges to worry about when you import it (unless you’ve bundled a few together making the package value over $1000). Check the Australian Customs website for further information.
This is purely based on my experience importing the tablet. You can also order from local importers like Mobicity or Kogan
Have you found a good or better deal on the 2013 Nexus 7? Let us know in the comments!
Hi team, why does everyone always state that Mobicity is a local importer? They are a Hong Kong based exporter with a 1 man rep in Brisbane. Kogan also uses their HK entity to ship most of their gear including the Nexus 7 units. As such, none of them can offer a Tax Invoice. That’s how you can tell if a company is local or an OS player. Please get your facts right 😉 In contrast, our clients do get a Tax Invoice and we have always been a local retailer. In addition, our incGST prices for the Nexus 7… Read more »
So, $398.20 on your supposed local site, so you’re still price GOUGING the local consumer then. I assume you’ve contacted the guys at Ausdroid to talk about this civilly about what I can only guess is sour grapes at not being included in their post before jumping on their comments to attack them.
I for one won’t be buying from you.
Seems like you struggled with math at school and you still struggle with it to this day…
Let us help you:
$U269 + $U$38.86 = U$307.86
after converting to OZ$ at .85 it is AU$362.19
add to it 10% GST on entry and the price becomes AU$398.41
Considering we offer FREE delivery, our price is pretty spot on, ain’t it?
Cheers,
dMavo
Seems you’re just here to prove how rude you can be to potential customers.
I’m not a potential customer anyway as I got my Nexus 7 days ago and after that dig abput my math skills I wouldn’t ever recommend anyone purchase from you – and trust me they ask.
At what point do I pay GST on a sub $1000 import?
I imported mine from BHPhotovideo for AUD $331.50 it comes with an International warranty and was here in 5 days.
You as an individual who imports a single unit will not pay GST on entry. We, as a business that imports many units at a time (making the shipment over and above $1000), will pay GST + customs and carrier clearance charges on entry. All of a sudden your aim at us about price gauging is not that accurate as you had conveniently omitted some substantial costs. You, as an individual who had imported the unit directly, will not be able to salary sacrifice the Nexus 7 nor will you be able to claim the GST back as you’re not… Read more »
Gizmodo team? Have a look at the URL you’re on.
Pretty sure the Ausdroid guys have only mentioned you a couple of times that I recall. Why not send the AUSDROID guys a polite email and remind them who you are.
BTW I have no wish or need to claim my Nexus 7 on Tax, next time be a bit less aggressive on your posts and you get a much better response.
Who is this guy representing so i know to stay away from them? there is no better way to stop me shopping with a business than complaining online in a public forum and attacking a potential customer.
Just shows you the kind of people you’re dealing with on the other end.
The website is dMavo. There are a few stories about them floating around. I would avoid them at all costs.
The reason making me to wait is just warranty issue. I think I can deal with Google play easily.
So from your info it looks like it’s about $30 cheaper if you preorder from PLE and pick it up locally, or $15 cheaper if you ship it interstate. It looks cheaper at first, but the aussie dollar sucks atm 🙂
You are so lucky, can’t wait to get mine when it’s released. Doing a “first impressions” review soon? 🙂
ok, you’ve convinced me. new nexus 7 being purchased… old nexus 7 going on gumtree…