Namaste everyone!
I hope you all haven't forgotten about me, I know it's been a while since I Iast dropped in and you won't see me active anymore for the most part because I feel like not getting too much into forums has made my mental health significantly better. And I think this practice of me being little to not active at all, and only dropping once in a blue moon is better for me in the long run. That said I hope everyone here is doing fine.
So I came here with a doubt regarding any protocol, procedure, or any issues that I may run into with buying an item in the US and bringing it back to India via flight. I came to the forum to ask this query because I am well aware that there are many NRIs on this site and do fly to India and back to their foreign residence so I think you guys can help me.
Now let me get to the main part: So you see I have been planning on getting a pair of Binoculars, and I have been eyeing specifically Nikon's line-up of Binoculars. I have looked up several sellers on Amazon, Flipkart and the Indian retail prices of these binoculars are ridiculously expensive. I looked up the same models on eBay and the same binoculars when converted from $ to/=> INR is significantly cheaper, that is without the costs of shipping it from the US to India though.
I have been eyeing the following models.
1. Nikon PROSTAFF 3s 10X42
2. Nikon Action ATB Extreme 10x50.
3. Nikon Monarch M-5 10x42.
Through my research comparing the prices of these bin-models in the US and India:
- I have found a seller on Ebay selling the PROSTAFF 3s 10x42 for around 95-100 dollars which would amount to INR 8,000 to 8,400 which is much much more cheaper than buying from Indian sellers pricing it upwards of 20,000 Rupees.
- Nikon's Action ATB Extreme Binoculars are around the same price on eBay even with dollars to rupees conversion with the Indian price being around 20,000 while the Ebay (US $ to INR) being 15,000 Rupees approximately.
- Now coming to the Monarch M-5 10x42, it sells for about 30,000 to 35,000 Rupees or more on average in India but on eBay I have found a few sellers sell it for around 230 dollars which would roughly amount to 19,000 to 20,000 which is really a steal if compared to its price in India itself. So I am eyeing one of the three and I promised my parents that I will take really good care of them, if possible make them last several decades or even a lifetime.
So now my plan is this: I asked my mother to try and get into contact with someone whom she knows, like a friend who lives in the US and will be coming back to India in a few months, and he/she will order the binoculars directly within the US and bring it to India. The shipping costs will be much much cheaper than shipping them directly from the US to India and will take much more time too.
Assuming that the person is heading to India with the brand new binoculars (Un-opened box), while travelling to India via the US.
- Will he/she face any issues with Airport customs?
- I mean is there any fees or fine that one has to pay at US Airports for carrying a brand new pair of expensive binoculars?
- Will the Airport customs seize it or something?
- Will they ask the person to open the box or something?
- Any other issue?
It would be really appreciated if you guys could help me out with this one.
