Thread: 20 North - Buy anything from US in INR

I have found this web site called 20 North. On this website, you can buy anything sold in US at US prices.

Advantages:

• Buy any product from US - pay in INR
• Buy anything - from "Books, Music & Movies" to "Jewelry & Watches" to "
  Electronics", etc.
• Customs duty included in final price
• Shipping charges clearly specified
• and above all, I checked - this web site has many positive feedbacks

When we buy something and pay the cash in INR don't we need to pay taxes for importing items. I have heard that for some equipments it is 100% or above. Is it right?

The tax you are talking about is import customs duty. The customs duty is included in the final price. Login to the site and see for yourself.

Customs duty is 100% only in certain cases - e.g., cars. In most cases, for standard items peak import duty is 20%.

Great find. did you try buying anything yourself?

Originally Posted by just4kix

The tax you are talking about is import customs duty. The customs duty is included in the final price. Login to the site and see for yourself.

Customs duty is 100% only in certain cases - e.g., cars. In most cases, for standard items peak import duty is 20%.

Thanks. Rep +...........................

Originally Posted by panchabhut

Great find. did you try buying anything yourself?

Not yet. But I am going to give this a try definitely - maybe for BD movies.

Originally Posted by meetdilip

Thanks. Rep +...........................

And thanks to you too.

For some reason WOT shows the site as untrustworthy

I have friends who have got stuff from here, but it took 3 weeks for a graphics card heatsink fan. But apart from the delay there were no issues.

Originally Posted by panchabhut

For some reason WOT shows the site as untrustworthy

I have heard of good reviews on other sites and forums.

@ J4K - have you brought anything from the site yet?

As Im quite hesitant in purchasing things online. Especially when you hear been cheating by sites and products not being delivered and so on!

I had got a Blu-ray disc of Pirate Radio from there for Rs.2413. It was delivered within 10 days. So I am quite satisfied.

Originally Posted by panchabhut

For some reason WOT shows the site as untrustworthy

Here, WOT is showing the website as good.

Originally Posted by Preeti_20

@ J4K - have you brought anything from the site yet?

As Im quite hesitant in purchasing things online. Especially when you hear been cheating by sites and products not being delivered and so on!

Buying online has its own advantage. There are several blogs/websites giving some tips on how to stay safe online. Especially after the emergence of VeriSign, there is a dramatic decrease in internet fraud.

Yeh i know, but how can one be assured that the product is delivered and it what you actually pay for?

Originally Posted by Preeti_20

Yeh i know, but how can one be assured that the product is delivered and it what you actually pay for?

1. Before buying from any online site, check that if it is a trusted site and check about it's reviews. Ask your friends if any of them has bought from that particular website. For the transit, I do say ask for private courier companies for domestic transport(within India)(usually they are faster than speed post), for international shopping, go for government agencies. If possible go for the costliest mode of transport. If present, buy from the product's online shop. For eg- buy Windows from Microsoft store.

2. Generally online shops sell about 2% more of the market price. Google for the price of that product before buying.

You see sometimes it can be a problem, because for example many people use the shop home 18 site to purchase products, some get their products, some get the wrong products and dont get refunds and some dont get the products at all!

@ J4K - why does this site in particular target Indian consumers? Any special reason?

Originally Posted by Preeti_20

You see sometimes it can be a problem, because for example many people use the shop home 18 site to purchase products, some get their products, some get the wrong products and dont get refunds and some dont get the products at all!

@ J4K - why does this site in particular target Indian consumers? Any special reason?

Many of us tech heads dont get a lot of stuff in india (many CPU/GPU coolers for example) hence, there is a huge market in india for "importers" of products. There are others too, the general charges are Rs70/$ for motherboards and Rs60/$ for coolers. This site turns out to be cheaper at times.

Originally Posted by Preeti_20

You see sometimes it can be a problem, because for example many people use the shop home 18 site to purchase products, some get their products, some get the wrong products and dont get refunds and some dont get the products at all!

@ J4K - why does this site in particular target Indian consumers? Any special reason?

Rajan has said it all.

The website is mainly targeting the huge Indian market. By taking care of customs duties and import procedures it is getting rid of a lot of hassles for the Indian customer.

I am a member of another forum and that on that forum everyone is raving about this website.

@vignesh, Blu Ray disc for Rs. 2,413 is pretty steep in my opinion. I also checked BD prices and was not very keen on those. But if you wish to import other goods, I found that prices were much lower.

@ J4K - I think you missed one of my posts!!! Have you purchased anything from the site yourself yet?

Originally Posted by Preeti_20

@ J4K - I think you missed one of my posts!!! Have you purchased anything from the site yourself yet?

Not yet. But many people on another forum have. And they swear by it.

I have not found anything that I desparetely need. In the near future, I may order computer parts. But I get to go abroad at least once a year and hence it is not such a big issue for me.

I was very hesitant about eBay also at first. But I have had no problems so far. I think that this site is safe also.

I have never actually used ebay and am quite hesitant to do so! I feel that people may sell things claiming them to be brand new and they wont be!

eBay is safe. There is complete price protection. And you should buy only new stuff from power (gold) sellers. This is how it works:

• User selects items and puts them in shopping cart
• User places order on eBay and pays via Credit Card or Internet Banking
• Ebay confirms order and tells seller that payment is received and seller must ship the items
• Seller ships items
• User receives items. User must login back to ebay and confirm goods receipt. Failure to do so for 14 days from date of order, eBay assumes that shipment was received.
• User must report to ebay if shipment is not received
• If user confirms shipment (or ebay assumes shipment was received by default), then ebay releases payment to seller
• Any disputes, bad/incorrect delivery, damaged goods, etc. must be reported immediately.
• Returns and replacements are guaranteed by ebay.
• If seller does not deliver as per ebay's service level expectations, your money is refunded and seller is banned on ebay
• Each successful delivery adds to seller's reputation and seller becomes power seller soon.