If you, like me stayed up until after midnight on the 28th (Sydney time) to hear the first solid news about the Kindle Fire, and then spent the following day soaking up the media responses and reviews, you may understand my disappointment when I read the dreaded words: “not currently available to ship to the selected non-US address”. Maybe you even threw your head back and screamed about the injustice of life (I admit I didn’t).
So how do you get your hands on the Kindle Fire when it comes out in November if you don’t live in the US? If you say, live in Australia.
Four Ways to Get a Kindle Fire to Australia
So what is a person to do in the mean time:
- wait: if you are a typical tech nut waiting is going to be a challenge.
- ask a friend in the US to get it for you: good for you
- go to the US and pick one up yourself: go for it
- use a mail forwarding service: which one?
Not being a patient person and not having many friends in the US or plans to go there in November (when the Fire comes out) I decided to look at some mail forwarders. Check out my findings below:
How do mail forwarders work?
When you signup with a forwarder, they assign you a US address. You use this US address when ordering products. The goods are received by the mail forwarder and they send them to you.
Getting a Kindle Fire into Sydney, Australia using a Mail Forwarder – The Results.
If you are not in a hurry, than you can get it shipped for very close to what I think it will cost to buying direct from Amazon. If and when that happens.
Best Slow Rate: $US 21.38 via USPS First Class. Total cost: $US 221
The trade off is time – it could take three times as long. You will also miss out on insurance and tracking: the mail forwarders below use the United States Postal Service (USPS).
I expect Amazon shipping includes a courier service (as they already do with the Kindle Keyboard).
| Company | Postal Service Used | Shipping Time (in business days) |
Shipping Cost | Insurance | Setup Fees | Sub-Total | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward It | USPS First Class | varies | $US 11.39 | n/a | $US 9.99 | $US 21.38 | $US 220.38 |
| Shipito | USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate | 6-10 | $US 13.95 | n/a | $US 8.50 | $US 22.45 | $US 221.45 |
If you want to get your Kindle Fire a little faster your costs will go up, however not by as much as you might expect.
Best Fast Rate: $US 38.84 shipping via DHL. Total cost:$US 238
In addition some of these services offer insurance and tracking – in particular if a courier like DHL or Fedex is used. USPS Express Mail and USPS Priority Mail also offering tracking and insurance – although Forward It describes USPS Priority Mail tracking as unreliable.
| Company | Postal Service Used | Shipping Time (in business days) |
Shipping Cost | Insurance | Setup Fees | Sub-Total | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shipito | DHL | 1-3 | $US 30.34 | - | $US 8.50 | $US 38.84 | $US 237.84 |
| Forward It | USPS Priority Mail International |
6-10 | $US 28.75 | $US 4.50 | $US 9.99 | $US 42.24 | $US 242.24 |
| Shipito | USPS Express Mail International |
5-6 | $US 35.50 | $US 0.80 | $US 8.50 | $US 44.80 | $US 243.80 |
NOTE: These rates were calculated on 2 October. Total cost includes cost of Kindle Fire and assumes you have chosen the Amazon free shipment option for sending the product on to your mail forwarder.
The shipping specs for a Kindle Fire.
These are the specifications I used to estimate the shipping cost for the Kindle Fire.
- H x W x L (7.5′ x 4.7′ x 0.45′)
- weight 14.6 oz (0.413 kg or 0.91 lb)
- Cost of product: $US 199
- Cost of shipping to forwarder in US: depends on how quickly you need it.
The Others – Other mail forwarders I looked at
These are some of the other mail forwarders I checked out:
Several off these companies offered competitive shipping rates however were knocked off because of the high(er) setup or membership fees. For example, Bongous would ship for $37.56 via DHL or Fedex but you were only eligible for this rate if you were a subscriber – $15 per month, minimum 3 month membership (ie $45).
Too expensive for a one-off purchase.
As this was a one off purchase this put them out for the running. Similarly myUS.com would ship by DHL or Fedex for $37.77 however this rate was only available if you were a Premium member ($US 25 per month or $195 for 12 months).
Regular US shoppers and shippers might consider getting onto a membership program to grab these better offers. As a one off purchaser however, they memberships were not viable.
VIAddress did not have membership charges and was therefore very cheap but I had difficulties signing up with (still no email). It has mixed reviews on Whirlpool Forums and Trustpoint especially in terms of responsiveness, judging by the comments. Therefore I did not mention it above.
How much will it cost to ship a Kindle Fire to Australia via Amazon (estimate): $US 220
How does this compare to shipping direct from Amazon? Since Amazon are not shipping Kindle Fire’s overseas, this is an estimate (read speculation) based on the cost of shipping a Kindle Keyboard. Note the Kindle Fire is $US 10 more expensive than the Kindle Keyboard Wifi+3G.
As of yesterday,the cost of shipping a Kindle Keyboard to Sydney, Australia is $US 20.98. Amazon use a courier for Kindle 3 and since the Fire is not substantially heavier than the Kindle Fire I am going to assume the cost of shipping ex Amazon is the same for the Fire as it is for the Keyboard).
This makes the estimated cost of shipping a Kindle Fire to Australia direct from Amazon, assuming this was possible about $220 (or more precisely $US 219.98)
So if you want the Kindle Fire now it could cost you between $20-$30 more using a mail forwarder as opposed to waiting to it direct from Amazon, when and if that happens.
Burning Question: Eligible for Amazon Prime? Does shipping to a US address mean your Amazon is US based and therefore eligible for the Prime program (and hence the full benefits of owning a Kindle Fire)? I don’t know. I know I am not allowed to buy from the MP3 store. If you know, let me know.
If you have any questions or comments regarding getting a Kindle Fire in Australia or anywhere else, please feel free to leave them below.
Until then. Woof.
Useful links regarding the Kindle Fire
- Gizmodo Kindle Fire Review – includes comparison to other tablets
- Kindle Fire, Full Color 7″ Multi-touch Display, Wi-Fi on Amazon-includes comparison with other Kindles
- Introduction to Amazon Silk – Amazon’s new browser
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