Depending upon the sort of things you may buy it can seem that in Australian that we are slugged with higher prices over and beyond what we’d consider reasonable. Particularly in the case of downloadable software and content where the same product can but multiple times the cost found in the USA or UK it doesn’t do much to convince us that we’re getting a good deal.
Hardware is no different and if you look around you can purchase from overseas and still come out ahead even with shipping and insurance thrown in. Of course, you won’t want to go over the AU$1000 threshold for the product value plus shipping otherwise you’ll be up for duties and GST which may end up negating any savings (however, you could still end up ahead but not as much as you may like to be). Until such time that 3D printing allows us to print our own hardware using licensed schematics then we will have to procure it the old fashioned way.
Anyway, I am looking at options to purchase an EVGA GTX 780 Ti Superclocked ACX video card with a couple of those being overseas. However, the overall price should not be the only thing to consider when purchasing as you also need to understand the warranty implications.
Many manufacturers will over country-specific warranties meaning that in the event of hardware malfunction you may need to post it back at your own cost. This can be expensive once you factor in volumetric weight and insurance as well as the extended time that you’ll be without the hardware whilst it is in transit. Furthermore, if the hardware is pushing the AU$1000 mark and the manufacturer fails to mark the item as a warranty replacement you could end up having to pay duties and GST again if your evidence is not found to be sufficient at the border.
Therefore, it can pay to shop around for hardware that is backed by a regional or global warranty which would allow you to make use of local or nearby product support channels to minimise or eliminate these risks and costs. In this instance, EVGA offers a serial number-based global warranty which means you can buy a card from elsewhere in the world and contact EVGA support in your country should anything happen. They may not be the cheapest but paying a little extra doesn’t hurt to cover all bases.
Follow Us!