Importing Fish and Misc Stuff from Overseas?

Hi, long time no post, i know some of you guys are itchy for oversea stuff which are a lot cheaper than those sold in LFS... well cheaper on paper yes, but take note on the below issues before you buy or bring anything from overseas

GST:-
LFS already priced in the GST, if you import stuff, you will "kena" 7% GST

Warranty:-
Some if not all the electronic/electrical stuff has warranty.. if you buy from overseas, you may kiss your warranty good bye

Delivery Issues and Risk:- 

Buying some stuff from overseas online shops/ forums/web portal like taobao has its own risk. especially

DOA (death on arrival):-  I have several friends having this problem and has a big headache to claim back the cost. Some sellers requires you to send the defective item back to them before they refund, some will accept refund with photos of the defective item, some don't even care what you get and just ignore your sms/whatsapp/calls/emails. check the fine prints and pay by paypal if possible

Delivery cost and Timing:- Delivery cost & timing varies, some may take 4 weeks depend on location, some may not arrive at all....hahaha. the more you pay, the faster it arrive of course. Some delivery agents will charge by weight, others by volume... the cost can be very high.. sometime its not worth it to ship it due to high shipping cost.

GST:- AGAIN you Need to pay GST for everything you import.by hook or by crook. my friend and i just ' kena'  a big issue where the delivery agent under-declared the GSt and cause the shipment to be HOLD by 2 weeks. Luckily the incident is cleared after we shown proof to the officer in charge that we paid all the tax before hand and the agent actually lost one of the receipts which cause the commotion.

Insurance:- if you are shipping expensive and fragile item, i suggest you buy locally. lol well if you really want to buy the stuff from overseas, buying insurance is your only way to ensure the stuff will be replaced if they broke it during delviery or whatsoever reasons

Local Authority ;- there are a list of animals and items which cannot be imported or exported, check the local authority.

for Singapore AVA, below is the picture of a brochure which i gotten during my weekend bus trip back to sg...

Fake websites and cheaters:- there are a fair amount of cheat cases being reported, check the reputation/review of the seller in forums or the website before you make the decision to buy anything.

Wrong item delivered:- this is the classic case,mis-communication, misunderstanding... you know the routine lah... everybody got a bad hair day...haha you might get the wrong stuff and the seller might compensate you or ask you to resend the thing back...

Exchange rate:- Take note on the exchange rate before you buy, some shops offers different exchange rate compared to international rates....


Summary

Well, after so many considerations, do you still insist to buy from overseas? if yes, buy with the power of knowledge i shared and you will be ok... but take note, not all stuff are cheaper overseas and after the risk and misc cost and warranty issues added up, going to LFS to buy off-shelf might be a better choice

However, do support the LFS as without them, we can't even get the most basic stuff off-shelf. imagine ordering a pack of 3 dollar worth of filter wool which takes 4 weeks to deliver and additional 1 dollar delivery charges...lol