Which import company to use?

[Locky]

What are the best companies to use when importing US or Japanese games?

For those who have imported, share your experiences! It would be good to have a list of each company (plus URL), whether you have to pay import tax and postage, and whether they are best for US or Japanese games.

[Ashley]

I recently imported Lost from MovieTyme. Cheap, shipped when they got it in (so I got it early) and no import tax because they ship everything to the UK then it is posted from within the UK.

They have a gaming section which can bee seen here: http://www.movietyme.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=138&currency=GBP

[Freddofox]

I am looking to order a white ds from somewhere like play-asia or lik-sang but would like to know if anyone has ordered a ds console from jap/us and could tell me if they had to pay customs or any other extra costs when the parcel was delivered. Also if you have any other recomendations for sites to order from id appreciate it.

thanks

Oh and i am from the United kingdom if that helps,

[R-w!|\|8r]

I have very good experiences with Play-Asia. I never used Lik-Sang. On Play-Asia I scored some very good deals, on games that weren't available on Lik-Sang. Delivering is also quite fast.

Good luck
Play-Asia (http://www.play-asia.com/SOap-23-83-20bz.html)

[ThePigMarcher]

Personally I dont import Japanese games as I always feel I am going to miss some part of the game due to translation issues.

For my US releases I always use VideoGames Plus (http://www.videogamesplus.ca/) and have never been disappointed with their prices, level of service and the delivery time is very quick from Canada. They also mark down your parcels so as to avoid import tax , although I am not sure how they handle consoles as I have to buy one from them (games only).

[mbnmac]

i use lik-sang or playasia

customs seems random, sometimes you get hit, sometimes you don't

i've only paid once tho

[KingOfHyrule]

DVDBoxOffice.com, hands down, is my preferred spot for US games; very cheap games/DVDs etc, and free worldwide shipping, and for everything else I use Lik-Sang.com or eBay.co.uk!

I have separate orders with DVDBoxOffice and Lik-Sang for the US version of Twilight Princess, not sure which one to cancel though...Lik-Sang provides DHL courier shipping ;)

[DaOne]

I've found play-asia to be pretty nice (link is in an above post somewhere).

[Happenstance]

I only ever really get US imports and for that I use Videogamesplus.ca

[Bren]

stay away from www.importmadness.co.uk

theyre crap

[Johelian]

My favourites:
Japanese Games: Yes-Asia (www.yesasia.com). Fast shipping and no customs (though I may have got lucky - I didnt actually check the envelope to see if it was marked down come to think of it). I also got a free Japanese gaming mag.
US Games: VideoGamesPlus (www.videogamesplus.ca). Extremely fast shipping and no customs. Ive used them for all my imports for several months now and see noe reason to use anyone else.

People I have used in the past:
ImportMadness - I had no problems with them, but I have heard loads of storys about delays, lost money etc.
Lik-Sang - Ive ordered 2 products and received import charges on both
TheRage.com - Rather slow shipping but item eventually arrived with no charges
CDUniverse.com - Reasonable shipping time, but customs charges. Also item was pretty expensive as I recall (back in my pre-VGP days)
________
NEW JERSEY MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES (http://newjersey.dispensaries.org/)

[Bassman]

Yes-Asia pay VAT and Duty for items addressed in the UK. The items are shipped into the UK before being posted. You have to specify their standard delivery though (normally takes about 6 days). I bought the Japanese Donkey Konga and an Asian PS2 slimline and had no worries about being caught for VAT and Duty. Needless to say because of this they are my preferred importer of Japanese games. They have now started stocking American PSP games. Their prices in a lot of cases are lower than other importers and if your order is over $40 (about £22) then standard delivery is free.

[Locky]

I found a $5 off a $20 purchase coupon for yesasia.com. I've just ordered Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan and it seemed to go through ok - my order is being verified at the moment.

Are we allowed to post coupons on these forums? PM me if you want to know the code!

[Aimless]

My favourites:
Japanese Games: Yes-Asia (www.yesasia.com). Fast shipping and no customs (though I may have got lucky - I didnt actually check the envelope to see if it was marked down come to think of it). I also got a free Japanese gaming mag.
US Games: VideoGamesPlus (www.videogamesplus.ca). Extremely fast shipping and no customs. Ive used them for all my imports for several months now and see noe reason to use anyone else.
Quoted for truth.

What Bassman says is also true. It was a major pull for me when importing Ouendan because I got stung for customs when I ordered Electroplankton from Play-Asia.

[Minlack]

How much does customs add? I'm thinking of importing a DS, which costs around £78. Is it done by % or something??

[Bassman]

I think it is 6% (from memory) plus another 17.5% for VAT. You may also get an Administration charged from the carrier.

[Minlack]

So it can reach about 25%! Why you have to pay VAT on top of the tax allready payed for the toher country. For a DS that would be about £20 extra, plus anything else they decide to charge you for. Damn those parasitic government people!!!

[Schpickles]

Again, I'd say videogamesplus.ca

I recently got Rebelstar from them, and Everyone loves Katamari is winging it's way to me as we speak :)

[Minlack]

But they just sold out of Blue DSs. Meh...I'll just wait untill October 24th and get the 'Teal' DS nintendogs packs :D

[Domstercool]

For US games all you need to do is use Videogamesplus.ca. There is no need to use anything else. The site is great, great fast service and shipping is always cheap and never gets caught by the money grabbing government.

[stev2604]

Do Video Games Plus deliver to the republic of ireland?

[Locky]

I'm not sure where they deliver to. Have a look at their FAQ page:

http://www.videogamesplus.ca/faqs.php

You could also try emailing them:

customerservice@videogamesplus.ca

[Mizuti]

Well, if you need european pages, go for www.play.com (England). The are really good (ordered there MANY times), but shipping can take some time though. i once waited two weeks! But usually i (norway) recieve my order 4 days after it is shipped.

If you would like an even cheaper page, go for this www.dvdboxoffice.com .
They are also to trust, they have a storrage in germay or france (cant remember), but their page and office are located in Canada. They are REALLY cheap! Everytime i have used them, i get my item 7 days after it is shipped, right in my mailbox!

You all know www.lik-sang.com, do i have to say anything else?
www.play-asia.com is also a nice page.
www.emm, uhh, cant come up with anymore.
Well those pages should satisfy you! I would go for DVDbox or Lik-Sang, my favourites.

[Helmsly]

I have a question: How come Amazon don’t allow you to import games from the states?

[Mikey]

www.Lik-sang.com. I import all my games from there. :)

[Sanchez]

For my US releases I always use VideoGames Plus (http://www.videogamesplus.ca/) and have never been disappointed with their prices, level of service and the delivery time is very quick from Canada. They also mark down your parcels so as to avoid import tax , although I am not sure how they handle consoles as I have to buy one from them (games only).
i second this, I got 2 games and a wavebird delivered to me in 2 days. Which I found quiet impressive.

[Charlie]

How are Video Games Plus for preorders? If I ordered Mario Kart from them would I get it before it's out here?

[Rico]

I'm not sure about MK but i ordered Pokemon LG from Gamestop and it arrived the next working day (ordered friday of american release, arrived monday). Weren't charged customs and came out at £26!

[Britprog]

I have a $5 off coupon from Play-asia which expires on the 18 of December up for grabs.

You need to spend $50 or more to make use of the discount.

PM me if would like the code, first come first serve.