Importusa.com.au is an Australian website that shows you only items that Amazon has included as part of the Amazon Global Programme and should be able to be shipped to Australia.

But there are millions of other products that cant be shipped to Australia so what do you do if you want to ship to Australia one of these products or something from another store?

The way around this is to have your own USA Shipping Address  complete with Package and Parcel Forwarding from USA to Australia.

Getting a USA Address is actually quite easy using services like Shipito which charge casual rates of $8.50 per parcel and even cheaper for bulk users.

How Does USA Parcel Forwarding Actually Work?

INDIVIDUAL PACKAGE – $8.50 FEE PER PACKAGE – NO MONTHLY FEE

Shop online and have the package(s) sent to our address. We will forward individual packages to you. Each package is sent to you exactly as they come. 

• You pay for each individual package they receive and forward to you. The cost is $8.50 per package plus postage.
• You can select the shipping method for each package. Actual postage will be recalculated instantly.
• Your account will show you the actual amount of your deposit. This is where you can also fill out the customs declaration for each package (value, description of goods, etc.).
• Whenever they get a new package, you will get an email notification.
• Whenever they send you a package you will get an email with notification and tracking number.
• Extra surcharge for heavy packages over 30 pounds is $10, over 70 pounds – $20, over 100 pounds (freight manipulation fee) – $30 and over 150 pounds – $50. Overweight fee is charged even if the package is trashed.
• You need have enough deposit on your account so they can forward a package within 7 days after we receive it in our warehouse. Otherwise we charge storage fee $1-$5 (depending on the package weight) every day.

Parcel Forwarding Consolidation

If you are going to be shipping multiple parcels to Australia then Shipito have other plans providing more features such as consolidation of packages to save on shipping charges.   This allows you to combine multiple packages from the same or different stores

Here is some live examples of just how consolidation savings works.

So what USA Stores Can Your Purchase From?

Here is the top 5 shops Australians use through Shipito

Are there other Parcel Forwarders?

Another service E would recommend is MyUS.com

Online Shopping is all over the news these days as Australians try and take advantage of huge savings to be made by Shopping Online. There are plenty of Australian online stores but the real problem is the markup on goods when they are brought into Australia. It adds another cost level which means that even Australian Online stores are still far more expensive than their overseas counterparts.

Of course recently the rise of the Australian Dollar against the US Dollar means there is no better time to shop online at an overseas store.

Whether you are importing Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs or anything else from an overseas store then you need to be careful. The easiest way to do that is to be very selective on which stores you use and Amazon.com is the worlds biggest and most safest. Sure you might be able to save a couple of dollars more by using some dodgy looking website hosted in somebody’s garage but Amazon is about as safe as it gets when you are buying online.

The problem with shopping directly at Amazon.com is that many of the items are not able to be shipped to Australia. Often you don’t realise until you try and checkout that you cant get some or all items shipped to Australia.   If you want to find out what items can be shipped to Australia check out this affiliate Amazon Australia Store I setup.

Below are two examples of what you can save when you are buying online with Amazon in comparison to Australian traditional and online stores.

Tommy Hilfiger Women’s 1780954 Stainless Steel White Dial Sport Watch

An Australian Online Store called PrimeWatchStore.com.au shows the Australian List Price as $AUD229(16/5/11) and they have it for sale at $AUD129.  Shipping is $11.95 so the total price is $AUD140.95

At ImportUSA our Amazon Australia Store has the very same watch at a list price of $USD95.00 and a sale price of $USD58.65.  Shipping is $USD13.98  which gives us a total of $USD72.63

Not only is the watch just a fraction of the price of the Australian Online Store but with the Australian Dollar so strong the saving are even greater.  At the Exchange rate on the 16th of April, 2011 the total Amazon charge of  $USD72.63 equates to just $AUD68.63 (click to see the price as at today) which is a massive saving of  $72.73 (save 51%) off the Australian Online Store sale price.

Don’t forget that this price is $AUD160.67 less (save 70%)  than the Australian list price of $AUD229 which is what you would probably see in typical bricks and mortar watch stores in Australia.

In short this example shows you can buy three watches at Amazon and still have change over what you could pay at a normal watch store in Australia.

Contech Electronics CRO101 Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler

An Australian Online Store called VenNPetDirect shows this for Sale at $AUD115 plus Shipping of $AUD8.95 (16/5/11) for a total price of $AUD123.95

We even found this on a large discount Australian Online Store called DealsDirect and they had it for sale at $AUD99.00  plus shipping of $7.95(16/5/11)  for a total  price of $AUD106.95

At ImportUSA our Amazon Australia Store has the very same watch at a list price of $USD59.99 and a sale price of $USD47.95.  Shipping is $USD12.97  which gives us a total of $USD60.92

At the Exchange rate on the 16th of April, 2011 the total Amazon charge of  $USD60.92 equates to just $AUD57.57 (click to see the price as at today) which is a massive saving of  $49.38 (save 46%) off the best price availabe at an Australian Online Store sale price.

Subaru Australia has finally released a bulletin to it’s dealers acknowledging the problem and providing a solution. In fact the solution is only temporary and has to be reloaded everytime the battery is disconnected.

Another problem that I have not suffered from is also identified in the document which relates to certain phones not even holding a bluetooth connection at all.  Many dealers have been confusing the two issues believing they are one and the same when they are completely different and each with their own fix or workaround.

In this case this is identified as not being a warranty problem even though the phones that cannot connect are from the most popular manufacturers in the world, Nokia and Samsung.

Below are some extracts from the update (with the interesting bits highlighted) but you can also download it here :  SM0060 – MY10 Liberty & Outback Sat. Nav. Bluetooth Phone Issues – 23 March 2010

DATE: 23RD MARCH 2010

REFERENCE: SM0060

SUBJECT: MY10 LIBERTY & OUTBACK SAT. NAV. BLUETOOTH PHONE ISSUES

The following summary is an update of the current situation with Bluetooth phone connection
and voice recognition issues with MY2010 Liberty and Outback: -

1. Inability to maintain Bluetooth connection with Nokia, Samsung and LG models equipped with Symbian S60 3rd edition FP 1 & 2 operating system, see attached listing for effected models. All other model and brand of phones are not affected by this issue

Due to an incompatibility with the connection protocol between these model phones and the Kenwood Satellite navigation system, the system will initially pair with the phone but when the ignition is turned off then on again the system will no longer connect.

Both Subaru Japan and Kenwood have advised us that this is not a Kenwood system fault but one of incompatibility due to an incorrect communication coming from the effected phones software program. However Kenwood have developed a work around software solution to make it possible for these model phones to maintain the Bluetooth connection after cycling of the ignition.

This solution has been implemented on new satellite navigation systems from a certain serial numbers onwards and it is possible to upgrade earlier units. Unfortunately this upgrade requires removal of the satellite navigation unit and return to Kenwood for reprogramming.

This will require a request for an exchange unit to be supplied but please be aware that exchange unit availability is limited and heavily relies on speedy return of replaced units! Any delays in returning replaced units’ means that that unit is not available for future requests.

PLEASE ensure all new units are fitted to the owner’s vehicle ASAP and that the replaced units are returned immediately!

Kenwood have also advised that because this is not a system fault a charge will be made for the upgrade ($209) and as such it is not considered to be a warrantable repair. Subaru Australia however will consider each case individually and if you receive a customer request please communicate with your Regional Service Manager for instructions.

For your information this issue only occurred on the first few months of vehicle production.

Implementation date of the software update is as per the following table.

NOTE: VIN is approximate, the serial # is the most accurate method for determining if a system has the upgrade.

2. Voice recognition ‘Dial by Name’ failure all model phones The symptom of this issue is that following the adding of a name tag to a phone number in the Satellite navigation system phone book, initially the system will correctly ‘dial by name’ until the ignition is turned off and then back on again. When turning the ignition on again and operating
the dial by name function the system will reply with the phase “System is checking the disk please wait” but then nothing further happens.

This issue has been reported to FHI for rectification and we currently have a trial software patch
that we have been asked to test and report back to FHI.

This testing was successful with several trial installations being completed with no issues. We are currently awaiting confirmation of the final software solution from FHI/Kenwood. Once this confirmation occurs FHI will dispatch sufficient quantities of the patch for distribution.

Fortunately this software solution does not require return of the satellite navigation unit to Kenwood for reprogramming. The solution requires the software to be directly loaded to the unit via a CD disk into the map disk drive and can be easily completed at your workshop.

Unfortunately this software solution is not retained in the unit’s hard memory and every time the battery is disconnected the software needs to be reloaded. Therefore every Retailer will be issued with a program disc for loading into your customer’s vehicles as required. Ultimately this software will be incorporated into new vehicle production and will be hard coded into the satellite navigation unit’s memory.

We anticipate the software disk will become available after Easter and will be issued with full installation instructions as soon as possible.

With the advantage of the governments investment allowance I decided to upgrade my Turbo Subaru Liberty with a new Generation 5 Liberty (called the Subaru Legacy in other parts of the world) that Subaru has just released. The Generation 4 changed very little over the Generation 3 models but the Generation 5 introduces a significant changes both internally and externally. Of course whenever a manufacturer makes significant changes there are those who like the new styling and those that dont. Thankfully I am those that like the changes.

I first had my eye on the new Subaru Liberty 2.5 GT Premium  but they were in very short supply so I was forced to test drive the Subaru Liberty 3.6R Premium Sedan which has a 3.6 litre boxer 6 cylinder engine. What surprised me was the performance of the 3.6 which is a 191kw compared against the 195kw of the turbo.  If you consider that the 3.6 uses standard unleaded but the 2.5 GT has to be fed 98 RON fuel then the 4kw difference could easily be made up by using the higher performance fuel in the 6 cylinder.

Leaving Kilowatts aside the performance of the two cars is very different.  Like all turbos the  Liberty 2.5 GT Premium lives on engine revs and it also features Bilstein sports suspension. The whole car is built around a sport performance and provides an excellent bang for your buck.

The Liberty 3.6R Premium Sedan certainly has power but its delivered in a much more controlled and smoother fashion and the ride is more comfortable.

The short supply of the Liberty 2.5 GT Premium  meant that actually obtaining one for my time frame was difficult let alone negotiating on one which proved to be near on impossible. The Liberty 3.6R Premium Sedan was much easier to obtain in the specification I wanted and negotiating on the price was far simpler.

From an RRP perspective the difference between the Liberty 2.5 GT Premium Manual and the Liberty 3.6R Premium Sedan which only comes in Automatic is only about $1,000 but in reality the different negotiated positions meant the real difference was closer to $5,000 and the difference between automatic models was closer to $6,500.

Because of the  price difference and the fact I was so impressed with the test drive of the Liberty 3.6R Premium Sedan it was a very easy choice to go for the more family friendly option and move away from the Subaru turbo’s.  If the price was on par the decision would have been harder but I still think I would have chosen the same model. I must admit that whilst I will miss the rawness of a turbo boxer engine I am very happy with my choice as is the rest of the family.  Maybe I am just  slowing down with age.

Other than the engine and suspension differences there is very little differences between the two cars. The GT has the sports front spoiler and black carbon fibre inserts on the dash and doors whilst the 3.6R has the normal spoiler and timber look inserts.

The Subaru All Wheel drive system is again just beautiful to drive.  It feels sure footed  no matter the road or weather conditions. I have been driving a Subaru AWD for that long I find I have to watch myself whenever I am driving a non-Subaru car as its a lot easier to come unstuck. The latest Gen 5 cars have a stack of new safety features and technologies but you for the most part you only get to test those out when things go wrong.

Subaru also delivers in the bells and whistles department with a range of new features including keyless entry, voice control, 8 inch lcd screen for navigation, reversing camera, audio and dvd playback and the amazing 10 speaker McIntosh stereo system.  The cars also feature rain sensing wipers, dusk sensing headlights and push button electric park brake.  The two features I have found the hardest to get use to is the keyless entry and electric park brake.

The keyless entry works by the key transmitting its location inside or immediately outside of the car.  It enables you to walk up to the car  and it will automatically unlock itself and you get in and push the button to start the car all with the key still in your pocket. In fact the key is more of a remote control than a traditional key. It’s unnerving walking up to the car and opening it up without unlocking it. You start wondering if you ever locked the car in the first place.

The push button electric park brake is another weird thing that takes some getting use to. Ever since I first started to drive the park brake was a mechanical handle you had to pull on. To now just push a button to apply the park brake feels very weird and is taking some getting use to. You can take the park brake off manually but with the smarts in the car you don’t have to. If you have your seatbelt on you can just drive away and the park brake will be released automatically.

Just a few days before I took delivery the Subaru Liberty 3.6R Premium Sedan won the Best Prestige Car in the Australia’s Best Car’s Awards which is the car awards for the Australian Automobile Association on behalf of all Australian Motoring Clubs including RACQ, RACV, NRMA, RAA, RAC, RACT and AANT.

The new Subaru Liberty improves on what they already did well and throws in a range of new technologies. It handles like a dream and is as sure footed as ever.

If your looking for a new mid sized car I would strongly suggest you test drive the new Generation 5 Subaru Liberty range. Some of the lower models don’t have all the features as the premium models but they all feature boxer engines, all wheel drive and 5 star ANCAP safety ratings.

Subaru will have to really stuff up future models or one of their competition will have to create something special for me to move away from their range.