mrmonkeyman
11-13-2004, 05:50 AM
I know we have a good lot of british, australian, french, etc people who are kinda annoyed about games being delayed for one reason or another - usually needless localisation problems that don't add anything to the game. I've personaly imported from every corner of the globe, and so I'm gonna list the best sites including how fast they are, what they do, how good their prices are etc.
Important things to remember are this -
- These shops are actual shops. They are better to shop from than ebay because ebay has nasty people who can and will ship in the cheapest, shittiest way, and charge you for the painfully expensive ones anyway.
- Check release dates for your country and these sites. There's nothing more annoying than importing a game, and then it getting there a few days after it's come out in your country, because there was actually a world-wide release date.
- The big games that are going to be release that will be delayed heavily are Metal Gear Solid 3 and World of Warcraft - both are looking at an early spring release in europe, and are released in the next TWO WEEKS in america.
- This site will not directly link mod chipping solutions. It's best if you really want to to just buy the consoles and a step down/up converter and suck up the cost. NOTE: The PS2 modchip scene is officially illegal in the United Kingdom, and possibly in the rest of europe. To use import games on an xbox, you will need it chipped, to use import games on a gamecube, you can use a freeloader. PM me for more details.
- Certain old tvs will not like NTSC/60hz stuff. So watch out. Don't waste your money on stuff you can't use.
Okay, let's get it started.
Liksang (http://www.liksang.com) are a Hong Kong based importers. They are essentially the only place you are going to find that will sell Japanese games for a reasonable rate - ebay may or may not help you, but Liksang are reliable and package really well. Price-wise, they're good-ish - �32/$59 (their currency converter is very americanised, if you get my drift). Their shipping methods are very...erratic. Their shipping methods range from cheap (Priority mail. Can take anywhere from 5-35 days, and I'm being perfectly serious), Airmail (slightly faster, slightly more reliable, and slightly more expensive), and UPS - 1-3 days. Guarantee. Trackable. Very expensive. I've had things delivered, the delivery itself costing �10, and then a further �18 customs charge. They do NOT stock western PC games.
Payment wise, they accept paypal or credit card.
They're more reliable than ebay though, and every so often really do get some special things in, such as the Tiny Bee gun controllers and the naruto series/figurines. They're also very, very nice customer-service-wise - they're not so great at english though. If your package gets lost - it's never happened to me, happened once out of eighteen things a friend bought - they're really happy to replace it.
Import Madness (http://www.importmadness.co.uk) are closer to home - they're Canadians. They get in most american things, their site is flashy and their games are numerous. They get most things in, collector's editions and all. This is a source mostly for the british/europeans. They charge from �32.99 to �35 on new games, but their DS game prices are rock bottom, and every so often they are ludicrously cheap on something for no given reason. They stock PC games.
They give you airmail (4-7 days international) or Fedex (trackable, 1-3) - both are reasonably expensive (�6/13 on a single game), so order in bulk if you're going to.
Customer service wise, I have never had so many problems. Their staff are slow to respond, only use email, and are at times very terse and brief. Sometimes they straight up do not respond at all, and you have to keep haerranging them about the order. When motivated they do move mountains though, and a scratched copy of MK: Deception was moved twice across the ocean for me when things went wrong. These problems were my fault.
Payment wise, they take credit card and solo. That's right, UK'ers, solo. They use worldpay, and it all goes through very smoothly 99% of the time. I just happen to be that 1% :(
Videogames Plus (http://www.videogamesplus.ca) are the best of the bunch, I've found, for importing to the UK. Their prices are great - about �29 for the average game (Paper Mario 2, for example), and they ship by airmail. Incredibly enough, their prices for shipping are �2, sometimes free, and they always fill in the customs form as if the package is a book, thus you never find yourself with a charge. Shipping takes 4-7 days at most, and I have never had to deal with their customer support teams. They stock PC games.
I recommend them heartily. I've got three preorders sat waiting to ship from them, that is how confident I am in their service and integrity of pricing.
They take credit card and paypal, and utilise a system that allows you to enter in your credit card details, and they'll charge it once the order is in stock and dispatched.
So, for those of you with low attention spans, I will summarise.
Liksang (http://www.liksang.com) for Japanese Imports and crazy controllers. They sell multi-region consoles every so often. Do not use LikSang europe, they are horrible to deal with and overcharge.
Import Madness (http://www.importmadness.co.uk) are good for priority packages - their fedex never incurs customs charges, and it's quick and trackable. Cheap postal insurance too. Good for buying your american consoles from.
Videogames Plus (http://www.videogamesplus.ca) for quick, cheap import gaming. Easy to use, gets most stuff in, and will probably get it in if it doesn't. For the big things (EG: DS) it will utilise faster, trackable shipping. Just remember to change to whatever currency you use, it's most likely cheaper to do so. Probably the best bet for any europeans. Keep an eye on the hot deals.
Hope that helps you all out, and keeps our european members up to the date with the latest games for probably cheaper than they're paying anyway, and in most cases much earlier. If there's anything MK or someone wants to add, I'll edit it in.
Important things to remember are this -
- These shops are actual shops. They are better to shop from than ebay because ebay has nasty people who can and will ship in the cheapest, shittiest way, and charge you for the painfully expensive ones anyway.
- Check release dates for your country and these sites. There's nothing more annoying than importing a game, and then it getting there a few days after it's come out in your country, because there was actually a world-wide release date.
- The big games that are going to be release that will be delayed heavily are Metal Gear Solid 3 and World of Warcraft - both are looking at an early spring release in europe, and are released in the next TWO WEEKS in america.
- This site will not directly link mod chipping solutions. It's best if you really want to to just buy the consoles and a step down/up converter and suck up the cost. NOTE: The PS2 modchip scene is officially illegal in the United Kingdom, and possibly in the rest of europe. To use import games on an xbox, you will need it chipped, to use import games on a gamecube, you can use a freeloader. PM me for more details.
- Certain old tvs will not like NTSC/60hz stuff. So watch out. Don't waste your money on stuff you can't use.
Okay, let's get it started.
Liksang (http://www.liksang.com) are a Hong Kong based importers. They are essentially the only place you are going to find that will sell Japanese games for a reasonable rate - ebay may or may not help you, but Liksang are reliable and package really well. Price-wise, they're good-ish - �32/$59 (their currency converter is very americanised, if you get my drift). Their shipping methods are very...erratic. Their shipping methods range from cheap (Priority mail. Can take anywhere from 5-35 days, and I'm being perfectly serious), Airmail (slightly faster, slightly more reliable, and slightly more expensive), and UPS - 1-3 days. Guarantee. Trackable. Very expensive. I've had things delivered, the delivery itself costing �10, and then a further �18 customs charge. They do NOT stock western PC games.
Payment wise, they accept paypal or credit card.
They're more reliable than ebay though, and every so often really do get some special things in, such as the Tiny Bee gun controllers and the naruto series/figurines. They're also very, very nice customer-service-wise - they're not so great at english though. If your package gets lost - it's never happened to me, happened once out of eighteen things a friend bought - they're really happy to replace it.
Import Madness (http://www.importmadness.co.uk) are closer to home - they're Canadians. They get in most american things, their site is flashy and their games are numerous. They get most things in, collector's editions and all. This is a source mostly for the british/europeans. They charge from �32.99 to �35 on new games, but their DS game prices are rock bottom, and every so often they are ludicrously cheap on something for no given reason. They stock PC games.
They give you airmail (4-7 days international) or Fedex (trackable, 1-3) - both are reasonably expensive (�6/13 on a single game), so order in bulk if you're going to.
Customer service wise, I have never had so many problems. Their staff are slow to respond, only use email, and are at times very terse and brief. Sometimes they straight up do not respond at all, and you have to keep haerranging them about the order. When motivated they do move mountains though, and a scratched copy of MK: Deception was moved twice across the ocean for me when things went wrong. These problems were my fault.
Payment wise, they take credit card and solo. That's right, UK'ers, solo. They use worldpay, and it all goes through very smoothly 99% of the time. I just happen to be that 1% :(
Videogames Plus (http://www.videogamesplus.ca) are the best of the bunch, I've found, for importing to the UK. Their prices are great - about �29 for the average game (Paper Mario 2, for example), and they ship by airmail. Incredibly enough, their prices for shipping are �2, sometimes free, and they always fill in the customs form as if the package is a book, thus you never find yourself with a charge. Shipping takes 4-7 days at most, and I have never had to deal with their customer support teams. They stock PC games.
I recommend them heartily. I've got three preorders sat waiting to ship from them, that is how confident I am in their service and integrity of pricing.
They take credit card and paypal, and utilise a system that allows you to enter in your credit card details, and they'll charge it once the order is in stock and dispatched.
So, for those of you with low attention spans, I will summarise.
Liksang (http://www.liksang.com) for Japanese Imports and crazy controllers. They sell multi-region consoles every so often. Do not use LikSang europe, they are horrible to deal with and overcharge.
Import Madness (http://www.importmadness.co.uk) are good for priority packages - their fedex never incurs customs charges, and it's quick and trackable. Cheap postal insurance too. Good for buying your american consoles from.
Videogames Plus (http://www.videogamesplus.ca) for quick, cheap import gaming. Easy to use, gets most stuff in, and will probably get it in if it doesn't. For the big things (EG: DS) it will utilise faster, trackable shipping. Just remember to change to whatever currency you use, it's most likely cheaper to do so. Probably the best bet for any europeans. Keep an eye on the hot deals.
Hope that helps you all out, and keeps our european members up to the date with the latest games for probably cheaper than they're paying anyway, and in most cases much earlier. If there's anything MK or someone wants to add, I'll edit it in.