Recently in Savings Category

Every now and then you'll find a product that either isn't for sale in your country, or seems to cost a fortune unless you import it. Unfortunately, export restrictions prevent you from purchasing the product online in one of the other countries.

That doesn't mean you can't obtain it, though.

You may of course be lucky to know a colleague or a family member that is on vacation in one of the selling countries, and if you give them the amount, they'll probably be happy to purchase the product for you. If you're in the IT business and it's a cool tech gadget, not only will your colleague buy one for you, he'll probably also buy one for himself and you'll have some great conversation pieces at work.

If you're less lucky than that, go to eBay. You know what eBay is, of course, but you may not know that there are sellers that will be more than happy to sell you an item that is slightly overpriced for their own country but with a significantly lower price tag than the same item in your own country. I've seen a brand new Lego Mindstorm set for sale on eBay from a US seller at about 30% below the price of exactly the same set in Europe, only the set couldn't be shipped from the US to Europe from conventional stores because of export restrictions. Buying the set from the seller at eBay would save you quite a sum, and the seller would still profit, so you both win. In short, if a product is difficult or expensive to obtain because of export restrictions, eBay may be your friend.

I'm entirely sure whether this is legal, or if you need special permission from your local tax authorities. If it isn't legal, please don't tell anyone I said it.