Has anyone bought Resmed products online from the States?

[retsyo]

Has anybody tried to buy Resmed equipment from American websites?

I ordered a Resmed Mirage Swift II Nasal pillow and the battery converter for my Resmed Autospirit II APAP and was told that Resmed do not allow equipment to be sold to countries where they have outlets.

Currently I am in New Zealand where the prices are a great deal higher than the US and it would seem more economic if I could buy them more competitively, particularly masks.

I did ring the Resmed office in Auckland which went directly to their office in Australia who then gave me the names of the suppliers in NZ. They did however tell that the recommended retail price of the converter was $99NZD but the dealers here want somewhere in the region of $150NZD. At $99NZD it compared favourably with the US.

It seems to me that someone is making a hell of a lot of money out of us. No wonder there is such a choice of machines and masks out there.

[karrunan]

Price Difference

I checked the S8 Auto Vantage Machine with humidifier online, it cost some U.S. $1080.00, and the same product in malaysia cost me RM7,000.00, I don't understand too

Regards,
Karrunan

[puffin]

The prices quoted locally are what the branch thinks it can get away with.

It's been a problem for a good number of years, if I remember right. Tesco's wanted to sell designer jeans at Tesco prices (cheapish), They tried to bulk purchase from a USA, but the designer company despite selling the product for less then half the UK price in the states, told the wholesaler he could not sell to the UK. The designer company then told Tesco's that they would supply the jeans at a vastly increased price to the UK. Tesco's told um to stuff it!

Now that the INTERNET is opening up world markets to the ordinary bod on the street. People have clicked that they have been ripped off by the branches/big companies. So when someone tries to purchase something from another country, even with postage costs, it still costs a lot cheaper then purchasing locally. The companies are preventing these sales and even try to sell at a UK price. They say they are protecting the local branches sales figures, well hello! If the branches sold at a realistic price then people would not need to go to the source.

Until a truly global "OPEN" market place happens then this problem will carry on. This will only end when folk vote with their pockets!

[Tigers Fan]

Buying in the States

I don't yet own a CPAP but, after looking on-line for what I'm going to need, wondered how UK retail companies can still be in existence. Withouit knowing anything about it, I've put together a rig that would cost me £1500 in UK and USD 1400 in the States - less than half price!

I figure two ways around a Company refusing to sell over-seas :-

1. Fly to the States - take a holiday funded by the difference in purchase prices. This could include renting space in the bags of a friend/relative/colleague who is going anyway.

2. Acquire an address in the US. I did this for smaller sums of money by e-mailing a person selling on e-Bay. I chose a woman selling chintzy crockery for a display cabinet - I don't know how little or old she was/is, but she was certainly honest. We even gave up the 5% fee to cover costs once we realized we were in a two-way trade.

What is the average weight and volume of a complete rig? Typically?

I see a UK battery charger is £60 for a CPAP and they are for free with any other appliance.

Rip-off Britain? You bet!!

[James @ Intus]

Whilst indeed price differences still exist, I do wonder how you got to a £1,500 setup Tigers Fan (welcome to the forums by the way). A full CPAP setup with us tends to be around £500 and a similar high-spec APAP setup £750. In Ireland that would set you back a few thousand Euro just like it would in Germany. So in fact, for CPAP users, Britain isn't that bad at all.

If £750 (skip one holiday, stop smoking etc.) can sort our your life, career, relationship and health, it's not such a bad price at all.

[Brian2]

Oh I don't know about that James. I wanted to buy the Resmed Resscan 3.4 software and resscan card deader which would i would have to buy from the US as The UK wouldn't sell it to me. I bought it, together with the card reader from Belgium for £85.00. It would have cost double that from the US and i would have had to pay import duty on it. This just proves that it is better to shop around.
Brian

[Tigers Fan]

Hi Brian2

Did you buy from Belgium on-line? If so, will you share the web address?

I'm just home from the local Respiratory Centre and have a CPA, respirator and full face mask. Ten minutes on my bed felt good - and leakless! I can see immediately how the design of these things doesn't take the user into consideration too much (without me being able to see how to improve matters!) Have to put a thick book underneath the CPAP so the hose to the humidifier can reach.

With all this kit and hoses and paraphanalia, has anyone tried putting it all on one of those trollies they use in hospital - base wheels under the bed and the tray sits over the bed?

[leswaller]

James
Can you tell me why USA dollar prices usually translate into the same in £ sterling, i.e. $500 dollars for something in the USA usually equals £500 in the UK. I accept that there are shipping charges and import duty for UK Sellers to contend with, but it is almost always cheaper to buy direct from the USA and personally pay the VAT and import duty

[James @ Intus]

I'm no economics expert but fact is, the manufacturers set the whilesale prices differently per market. It's the same for iPods, TVs etc. as well as PAP equipment. Shipping and import isn't the only thing either, there are certain safety guidelines products have to comply with. So you can buy the same mask form here and form the US but find no CE mark on the US product. Getting that mark on is an extra cost for the manufacturer (not just the printing of the mark, but getting it certified).

Selling products here that aren't approved to be used here is in fact illegal and sometimes unsafe, as far as I understand. Probably not so much with simple masks but perhaps different with machines, given different electrical systems etc. So, it seems European countries are more strict so manufacturers need to invest more in testing, stamps of approval etc. To recoup that, they have to sell it for more.

In the world of PAP equipment, many products are made to US specifications, because that's the largest and most lucrative market. To adapt those products to the UK (manuals, cables, power adaptors, certification etc.) comes at a cost.

For pricing at EU-PAP we do try to keep an eye on US retial pricing but often we have to accept defeat as we're not buying it in at the same prices as large retailers like over there do. And because we need to add 3-pin cables etc. But time and time again we hear people who got a big HMCE/Fedex bill for importing something from the US. Add the time and hassle and it often wasn't worth it. They then have a product not approved for this market so should perhaps the CPAP cause fire and the lot burns down, you have some tough talks ahead with the insurance company too.

Also bear in mind returns. We swapped someone's BreatheX well in time for their holiday when the battery wasn't up to spec. With cross-atlantic transit times, he wouldn't have gotten it in time so he was glad he got it form us.

But of course, the weak dollar makes buying there all the more tempting.

Anyway, certainly as Brian said, shopping around is the best thing to do but I'm just saying, don't judge it on price alone. Bring on global commerce!

Tigers Fan: what equipment did they give you?

[Tigers Fan]

CPAP rules OK!!!!!

Hi James

They gave me a Breas PV 10 and a separate Breas heated humidifier - very solid and very basic. BUT - what a wonderful machine!!!!! I think this is my current opinion of CPAP's generically rather than Breas specifically.

No previous experience (is there another sort?) required but fire-fighting and scuba-diving skills are definately an advantage!

They set me up at 10 cmH2O - easy with a Nurse encouraging you - but fall asleep with this half-octopus clamped to my face???? But I did - and this morning? Whoppeee!!! How good can you feel after a night's sleep for the first time since forever?? Could losing your cherry AND diving to 40m for the first time on the same day feel better? Well - OK - but I feel GOOD!!!

Ali the Nurse said to buy a simple machine but I fancy an all-singing, all-dancing, coffee-making-if-possible machine on the usual grounds of buying the best you can afford. When it comes to CPAP's and APAP's, does more expensive necessarily mean better sleep?

On a cloud

Tigers Fan

[jonpspencer2]

Buying from USA

Last year I purchased a CPAP machine from the USA and was charged about £60 in import duties, this I did not expect. However, with one or two letters and I got my £60 back from the HM Customs!
I wrote to them and explained that I was disabled and that the equipment was essential for my health/life. Also, that the equipment was for my personal use only.
Some 4 weeks later a cheque arrived with the refunding of the customs fee.
Please bear this in mind when buying from the States. It might work for you?
Good Luck, Jon....

[leswaller]

thanks Jon that is very useful to know

[Tigers Fan]

Customs and Excise

I called the Customs and Excise help-line to get an idea of what it would cost me to import a CPAP and rig from the States. I had to get a code for the goods from one department before another department could tell me what the import duty and VAT might be. The coding lady took a lot of talking around from a CPAP being "breathing apparatus" (which code listed Fire-fighting CABA's and SCUBA'a) but eventually agreed that it was medical equipment, even though she coundn't find it in her list. This difference in coding changed charges from 4.5% duty plus 17.5% VAT to 0% and 0% - no charge for importing.

I'm about to buy in the States and will come back with the effectiveness of having the vendor fill out the Customs Declaration to read, "Medical Equipment for Personal Use only." (Why do capitals make it seem more authoritive?) With any luck, this will avoid Jon's experience - but clearly it depends on the Customs Officer to get the category of goods right on the day.

Tigers Fan

[jonpspencer2]

USA Purchase.

Hope it all goes smoothly for you, Customs is a big wheel, when it is working it works well. However, when its not working and you could not get that 'code' goodness knows what will happen!

Did you see my article for sale? Im selling a couple of CPAP machines that were purchased prior to me getting my NHS Clinic machine. They are Resmed S8 units.
Regards, Jon...

[Tigers Fan]

Arrived from the US this morning

Now that's impressive! I ordered Wednesday evening from a retail company in Virginia, USA and it was delivered this morning as I was sitting down to breakfast! Mind, for the USD150 shipping cost, I hope it flew 1st Class.

However - USD1500 worth of APAP with A-Flex, full face mask and a whole bunch of spare parts sailed through UK Customs and Excise with nothing more than a 'CLEARED' stamp to show for it.

$764.25 for the APAP. $179.00 for the full face mask. $55.00 for mask cushions. You won't be far away by dividing by two to get to £Sterling.

All I have to do is cut the US two-flat-pin plug off the power cord and a fit a British plug, and it's ready for set-up and use. Oh! yes! - and put a Kite Mark sticker on it to make it exactly the same as you'd buy in UK.

So even with $150 priority shipping ($136 non-priority) my conviction is that buying in the States is way less expensive than buying in UK.

Tigers Fan