Hi all,
        I am looking forward to buy a monster truck. I have the E-maxx brushless, HPI savage flux 2350 and the Traxxas stampede brushless under consideration. I come across these enticing offers on ebay.com for all of them. But before taking the leap I want to seek your advice on a one- time import of RC truck (with the radio transmitter) for personal use. The store is based in the US and will ship via 'USPS Priority Mail International'.
       I am located in hyderabad. If at all there is any issue with the customs, how much would the duty applicable be per say 100$? Also what is the procedure for making such a payment if a need arises?
       The seller is 'top-rated'. Is there anything else I need to take care of?
       Kindly help me. Thanking you.

Well, importing it will be a pain. Prices here are kinda close to international prices. How about you ask the Indian dealers about the pricing and see if you're comfortable with it? I would suggest asking someone coming in from the US to bring it in if they're ready to carry one pretty big box....

Importing these days unless you know what you are doing is like hell. So advise you to avoid and check local price and availability. If not available, try import. Can help you if required.

Hi mail4ajo & iamahuman,

thank you for responding...let me enquire with our local distributors ...thanks.

Hi pcsjith,

you can check following store, based in delhi, have good models of RC Cars/Planes/Heli

http://www.rcskyhobby.com/

Hi jbisht,
               thanks a lot for that link...but they sell only thunder tiger products. Nevertheless, i am pretty impressed with the MT4 GT3.

                Hey guys, can any of you please run me through the basics of shipping these things from overseas, as mentioned in my previous post. I read lot of posts on shipping articles but they concern articles priced considerably lower. Will a higher priced big box reach me safe? Has any one got experience with this??  PLease help. Thank you.

i would suggest u buy from local store....
...
iamahuman-can we do that..??
i mean tell some relative to bring a big box from US..??
won't the custom thing bother it..??

Local stores are a good option.

I'm not too sure whether customs will ask about a box being carried on. I do know of people bringing such cars in. Ajo will be the best man to answer that. If your relative is carrying it on, let him/her be ready with a bill and with an answer to any possible questions the customs authorities might ask.

I got all my Mugens, RC8, spares, tires etc hand carried. I try to dispose the box. As long as its into your luggage, should not cause any issues. When its a separate box, could attract attention. I got a hauler bag this time as a box. Looked like a LCD TV case, no questions asked. A Baja box may get stopped though.

Its best to strip and carry as parts.

ya that is a good option...striping it off parts...
but is it a smart option..??
i mean carrying such parts or a car in a luggage bag..??

and what is more easy bringing a rc in bag from US or buying it from a local store..??
i think bringing a rc from US would decrease the shipping cost... is it so..??

I really hope that everyone stops ordering from online stores based out of India and starts buying from local hobby shops or within India. Prices are a little higher than hand carrying it from abroad but at the end of the day you do get support adn warranty.

If you do order from the us and ship to India it will definately be more expensive than buying  from a LHS.

December 2011 is going to be a major turing point for the Indian surface industry. But that cannot happen without all your support.

Coming back to your specific question. The Savage Flux 2350 is about 500USD. Add shipping UPS (170usd) for 5 days delivery, or USPS (100usd) about 2 -3 weeks. Ina ddtion thru ups you will have to pay 42% duty for personal imports. thru USPS im assuming it should be 20-30% depending on the officers mood.

Do the math.

Sidd, things will change soon. People will realise that importing is no longer sensible. Distributors will also have to work to ensure availability and competitive pricing. Look forward to that. 

hello i am new to this forum and i was going through this topic and i think i can help people who are trying to import rc related stuff from US or UK, i have a different way of importing stuff, it goes like this, i have my friends place in New york and if i want to buy something from the states i will give his address as the shipping address in the website im buying from(say ebay.com) and i pay through paypal( almost all websites accept paypal) and so the commodity is shipped to my cousin's place and he then forwards it to my place( india ) and the customs is 27% and it actually goes less ( say 20-24% ) and the item reaches me within 8 days after i make the purchase in US which is fast and it is cost effective too, you save a lot if you buy USED cars from ebay which they sell for very cheap! i got 2 cars till now one was a hpi nitro monster king which was just 160$ (approx 6500 INR) plus 6500 INR for shipping plus customs  but even then a hpi truck for 13k is a good deal! so i can help out ppl who wants to buy used stuff from ebay.com , trust me it will save a lot!!

buying from a local store is the best and convenient option for a newcomer because we dont have any experience in the product or with the process of shipping and all..
a plus point is that we get more support(parts,etc.) when we buy from local store...
when we have shops in India then why go and buy from somewhere outside..

@siddharth- sir whats with the turning point..??
what is it going to be.... ??
and u have all the support....