Cpt.DipStick
Epic Member
Howdy all -
I commented on another post regarding importing a Steam Deck with Aramex and had a lot of queries on how that would work, I thought I'd summarise it for everyone here.
T's & C's
Take this with a pinch of salt, the reality of it is importing into SA is risky regardless of who you're doing it with, so make sure you're covered for such events. I've heard stories from a retro gaming community I interacted with of someone losing a massive shipment with a trusted shipping company, so make sure you're covered from opportunistic individuals.
I haven't imported a Deck myself, but this is how I'm planning to do so.
I'm not affiliated with Valve or MyUS/Aramex, so following this guide, is at your own risk.
Steam Deck box weight/dimensions
Using this post as an estimate to work from, which roughly equates to:
1.81437 kg, 45.72 x 15.24 x 12.7 cm
What is MyUS.com?
Similar to Aramex Global Shopper, they are a company that offers forwarding addresses in the US and UK. They ship through other shipping companies - like FedEX, DHL, etc.
Standard MyUS account is free.
Sidenote:
Duties are where you might get a surcharge, and is dependent on how the courier sets the product category. Gaming, for example, is 0% according to EasyShip. I'll be using 9% in my calculations according to the SARS import duties document I came across, on the last page.
I'm open to some insight into this for someone more familiar
Shipping cost roughly equates to:
USD 58.65 - FedEx Economy (2 - 5 days)
USD 73.49 - DHL Express (1 - 4 days)
MyUS charges an additional $6 to handle placing a fire hazard sticker as it has a LiPo battery.
Shipping insurance with MyUS is slightly more expensive @ $2.99 per $100 of the items value, so let's assume it costs $11.96
I'll be using the DHL option in my example, as I know that they do handle shipping dangerous goods.
Assuming you have your MyUS account setup:
Estimated cost breakdown:
MyUS account: R0
Steam Deck (64Gb): $399 (R6929,39)
MyUS Insurance: $11.96 (R207,71)
MyUS shipping via DHL: $73.49 (1276,29)
VAT: $59.85 (R1037,13)
Duties: R609,54 (9% of $399 according to above, $35.19)
Total: R10060.06
If I forgor💀 anything, let me know and I'll update.
Edit 1:
I commented on another post regarding importing a Steam Deck with Aramex and had a lot of queries on how that would work, I thought I'd summarise it for everyone here.
T's & C's
Take this with a pinch of salt, the reality of it is importing into SA is risky regardless of who you're doing it with, so make sure you're covered for such events. I've heard stories from a retro gaming community I interacted with of someone losing a massive shipment with a trusted shipping company, so make sure you're covered from opportunistic individuals.
I haven't imported a Deck myself, but this is how I'm planning to do so.
I'm not affiliated with Valve or MyUS/Aramex, so following this guide, is at your own risk.
Steam Deck box weight/dimensions
Using this post as an estimate to work from, which roughly equates to:
1.81437 kg, 45.72 x 15.24 x 12.7 cm
What is MyUS.com?
Similar to Aramex Global Shopper, they are a company that offers forwarding addresses in the US and UK. They ship through other shipping companies - like FedEX, DHL, etc.
Standard MyUS account is free.
Sidenote:
Duties are where you might get a surcharge, and is dependent on how the courier sets the product category. Gaming, for example, is 0% according to EasyShip. I'll be using 9% in my calculations according to the SARS import duties document I came across, on the last page.
I'm open to some insight into this for someone more familiar
Shipping cost roughly equates to:
USD 58.65 - FedEx Economy (2 - 5 days)
USD 73.49 - DHL Express (1 - 4 days)
MyUS charges an additional $6 to handle placing a fire hazard sticker as it has a LiPo battery.
Shipping insurance with MyUS is slightly more expensive @ $2.99 per $100 of the items value, so let's assume it costs $11.96
I'll be using the DHL option in my example, as I know that they do handle shipping dangerous goods.
Assuming you have your MyUS account setup:
- Get your favourite VPN
- Set it to use a North American server
- Create a new Steam account
- Set your address to the MyUS Forwarding Address in America ( you could set it elsewhere, but... Defeats the whole purpose)
- Order your Deck
- Await delivery to the MyUS address
- Upon delivery, give MyUS a day or so to process & link it to your account.
- Shipping will be calculated here, which you can choose to pay or at a later stage
- Your deck will be shipped to SA, you'll see some photos of the parcel etc uploaded on the MyUS tracking page
- When it comes into the country, you'll need to provide the invoice of what you paid for it (screenshot the email you received when making the purchase)
- Make the customs payment, you can choose to make the shipping payment together at this point too
- After customs has cleared it, it'll be delivered to your house
- ???
- Play with your Deck
Estimated cost breakdown:
MyUS account: R0
Steam Deck (64Gb): $399 (R6929,39)
MyUS Insurance: $11.96 (R207,71)
MyUS shipping via DHL: $73.49 (1276,29)
VAT: $59.85 (R1037,13)
Duties: R609,54 (9% of $399 according to above, $35.19)
Total: R10060.06
What is Aramex/Aramex Global Shopper?
Aramex is a shipping company. Aramex Global Shopper is a service they offer, allowing parcels delivered to one of their designated offices (hereby referred to as forwarding addresses) worldwide, where they will ship a package to you locally, handling the transport from your originating country to SA (in this context), assisting with Customs/tax payment and local delivery.
AGS offers a standard once-off account and a Flex (per month/per year) (Premium account) which reduces some shipping costs depending on weight and has some additional features.
For high-value items, AGS offers AGS Protect, which insures your item for $1 per $100 of value over an initial $100 value.
Standard AGS account: R75 once-off
Steam Deck box weight/dimensions
Using this post as an estimate to work from, which roughly equates to:
1.81437 kg, 45.72 x 15.24 x 12.7 cm
Shipping cost roughly equates to:
840.40 ZAR without Flex
687.50 ZAR with Flex
Ordering your Deck
The following is what I did to create an account to get a Steam Link when they were being sold at a ridiculously low price when Valve cleared their stock.
Sidenote:
Duties are where you might get a surcharge, and is dependent on how the courier sets the product category. Gaming, for example, is 0% according to EasyShip. I'll be using 9% in my calculations according to the SARS import duties document I came across, on the last page.
I'm open to some insight into this for someone more familiar
Assuming you have your AGS account setup:
Estimated cost breakdown:
AGS account: R75
Steam Deck (64Gb): $399 (R6914,18)
AGS Protect: $3 (R51,99)
AGS Shipping: R840.40
VAT: $59.85 (R1037,13)
Duties: R609,54 (9% of $399 according to above, $35.19)
Total: R9528.24
Aramex is a shipping company. Aramex Global Shopper is a service they offer, allowing parcels delivered to one of their designated offices (hereby referred to as forwarding addresses) worldwide, where they will ship a package to you locally, handling the transport from your originating country to SA (in this context), assisting with Customs/tax payment and local delivery.
AGS offers a standard once-off account and a Flex (per month/per year) (Premium account) which reduces some shipping costs depending on weight and has some additional features.
For high-value items, AGS offers AGS Protect, which insures your item for $1 per $100 of value over an initial $100 value.
Standard AGS account: R75 once-off
Steam Deck box weight/dimensions
Using this post as an estimate to work from, which roughly equates to:
1.81437 kg, 45.72 x 15.24 x 12.7 cm
Shipping cost roughly equates to:
840.40 ZAR without Flex
687.50 ZAR with Flex
Ordering your Deck
The following is what I did to create an account to get a Steam Link when they were being sold at a ridiculously low price when Valve cleared their stock.
Sidenote:
Duties are where you might get a surcharge, and is dependent on how the courier sets the product category. Gaming, for example, is 0% according to EasyShip. I'll be using 9% in my calculations according to the SARS import duties document I came across, on the last page.
I'm open to some insight into this for someone more familiar
Assuming you have your AGS account setup:
- Get your favourite VPN
- Set it to use a North American server
- Create a new Steam account
- Set your address to the Aramex Forwarding Address in America ( you could set it elsewhere, but... Defeats the whole purpose)
- Order your Deck
- Await delivery to the Aramex address
- Upon delivery, give Aramex a day or so to process & link it to your account.
- Shipping will be calculated here, which you can choose to pay or at a later stage
- Your deck will be shipped to SA, you'll see some photos of the parcel etc uploaded on the AGS tracking page
- When it comes into the country, you'll need to provide the invoice of what you paid for it (screenshot the email you received when making the purchase)
- Make the customs payment, you can choose to make the shipping payment together at this point too
- After customs has cleared it, it'll be delivered to your house
- ???
- Play with your Deck
Estimated cost breakdown:
AGS account: R75
Steam Deck (64Gb): $399 (R6914,18)
AGS Protect: $3 (R51,99)
AGS Shipping: R840.40
VAT: $59.85 (R1037,13)
Duties: R609,54 (9% of $399 according to above, $35.19)
Total: R9528.24
If I forgor💀 anything, let me know and I'll update.
Edit 1:
- There may be a shipping charge when purchasing your Steam Deck and getting it delivered to Aramex in the US. Not sure what this is offhand.
- Keep in mind the regular import rules from our beloved SARS - in a calendar year, no more than 3 items, or exceeding the value of R50 000 - otherwise you'll need to get an importers code.
- Updated to use MyUS instead of Aramex - as noted, Aramex doesn't ship hazardous items (and since this has a LiPo battery...)
- I'm not planning on doing a group buy at this point, it's a lot to navigate regarding risk & finances, and I'd like to stay away from SARS' radar as much as I can
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