I decided to get the Prusa Mini recently for my home lab. Here's the breakout of how much I had to pay -
| Cost | 36686 INR | 488 USD |
|
| Customs | 16173 INR | This comes to 44% of the cost. The split is 28% GST, 7.5% customs, and the rest was DHL's handling charges | |
| Total | 52859 INR |
44% feels okay for importing a really good FDM printer like the Prusa Mini, but if I was getting a SLA printer like Prusa SL1 which starts at 1400$ - it would mean I end up paying over 2000$ for it.
Well, getting shafted between 35% to 45% is par for the course when you import if it reaches you with no questions asked.
When I imported my UM3, only postal shipping was available, so I had to go to the Postal Customs and answer questions like "You people get these 3D printers and will start printing guns"
Haha! Do customs officials not watch popular Bollywood movies? Gangs of Wasseypur had detailed instructions on how to make a katta -
I said I can make a better one using my lathe, mill and drill - don't need no 3DP to do that.