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Sell or ship - HK (nice) appliances & moving to the US

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Mid-Levels, Hong Kong
    Posts
    8

    Angry Sell or ship - HK (nice) appliances & moving to the US

    hi all,

    I have 2 large Dyson fans & 2 Renaud air filters, all around the 6k HKD mark.

    Given they're not compatible in the US (unless using converts; and I have a few), does anyone have advice on:

    1) is the shipping cost (sea shipment, good company) "worth it", considering weight + dimensions? I simply can't tell if price is going to fluctuate much on the shipment size/weight if adding a few nice items, on a SEA shipment. (And I'm shipping zero furniture; overall size isn't that huge.)

    2) power conversion - I have quite a few here in HK (for years) - have never had any issues, although I hear the constant power drain racks up the electricity bills...

    3) on Selling:
    -ebay HK - never had good experience... just wasted listing fees.
    -Carousell - have had people waste 20-30 minutes a piece bargaining and asking loads or questions (e.g., Does the Dyson app work for that fan? SMH...)
    ***Are there ANY companies that will sell your goods (with transparency, e.g. links to the listings) and give you some reasonable % on the dollar?***


    Basically I need to decide if I'm going to bring these with me and sell/power-convert, or just MASSIVE deep discount sell here... like 60%-80% off on models that are retailing for the same price they did 3 years ago.

    thanks in advance


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    11,884

    For what it's worth, I have found that if I'm selling stuff very cheaply it generally works if the ad has something in it along the lines of 'this is very cheap already, don't waste my time asking a million questions because I won't sell it to you. Just arrange a time to meet and be on time.'

    Then just block anyone who doesn't get it.

    Yes, carousel can be a pain in the ass. I've tried giving away stuff there for free and people will ask me to bring heavy, high quality items to the MTR when it's clearly stated that it's pickup only. I now just say 'tough luck for not being able to read' then block. There are enough people who get it that it's still a useful way to unload stuff.

    Last edited by jgl; 05-02-2019 at 02:31 PM.
    white ghost guy likes this.

  3. #3

    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Tri-State
    Posts
    11,644

    I had a bunch of electronics and had to make the same decision as you. I sold/gave away everything that would have required a converter and started fresh in the U.S. That included two IQAir air filters that cost a small fortune new. Just chalked it up to part of the expat experience. I also didn't sell here or ebay. Not worth the hassle. I just passed word around my group of friends/apartment block and went from there.

    white ghost guy likes this.

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Posts
    11,884

    Other comments:

    Renaud air filters won't be much use if you can't get replament filters overseas. I've not been impressed with their filters either think they range from ineffective junk to okay but wildly overpriced. Personally would not bother to ship them, if you want filters overseas just buy sharp, Honeywell, Austin or any one of half a dozen other brands and don't worry about voltage.

    IQair is high quality, Renauld is... good marketing.

    The Dysons should be fine, they will spin a bit faster as they'll be operating on 60hz instead of 50hz regardless of voltage conversion.

    Last edited by jgl; 05-02-2019 at 02:53 PM.
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  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Posts
    1,492

    I have come and gone from HK and many other countries with one bag. Hate the idea of dragging stuff around, having to deal with the hassle of shipping and picking up, having to wait weeks, worrying whether it'll work or be broken in transit. Pretty well anything can be bought in the US and there are deals around every corner. Try to make a few friends happy by giving them good deals and treat yourself to new stuff when you get there.


  6. #6

    Join Date
    Jan 2018
    Location
    Taiwan and HK
    Posts
    6,158

    I, too, have done the suitcase thing (two suitcases, but, recently, two suitcases, two cats). When I left HK in 2012, I left my flat fully furnished and fully applianced- saw a year-old ad for it and looks like it's all still there...made my landlord happy, she was a good landlord. In Japan I gave to coworkers what was wanted- mostly people don't like used things there so had to get rid of some stuff- but managed to give some things to the people I sold my flat to...

    Very expensive to ship anything, for the price you can get new stuff- think of the fun of picking out new stuff!

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  7. #7

    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    猴山
    Posts
    23,652

    Have you asked your electrician if he can run in some 240V sockets by linking the two 120v Hot lines?



    Rather than use the North American 240V plugs and sockets that are terrible ship over some UK or Aussie which are better





    Check your main distribution board it may even have a 240v line in for the higher power appliances such as heat pumps and cooktops.

    white ghost guy likes this.