[Trailfirst]

Having to get stuff from the states isn't as difficult as you'd imagine. Freight is an extra cost but sadly still generally cheaper than the ridiculous final retail price we can end up paying. There are a number of auto parts places that have fantastic range of stuff and ship no fuss to Australia.

I paid about $180 in freight for full set of Bilstein shocks from Summit Racing - they arrived in 4 days and the cost of the shocks themselves were about half what you'd pay the supplier here for them... (then wait 2 - 3 weeks for shipping). The other thing about sourcing stuff here is ignorance / stupidity / boofheadedness of Aussie suppliers. When I enquired about KL Bilsteins at the Aussie distributors for Bilstein they came back saying they didn't hold any stock that identified as suitable - that came as no surprise but when I asked about whether they could get them in they seemed totally baffled at the concept and didn't seem to be able to comprehend that there WERE suitable Bilsteins manufactured BY Bilstein and available in the US.

The Dobinsons springs I ordered from Brisbane cost about 3 times as much per kg in freight and took 2 weeks to get to me in Cairns... - I probably should have just ordered those from the US as well.

Other experience I've had with Aussie supply of stuff was years ago when I was chasing a particular type of Loctite Glue. The local well known commercial supplies store who identify as Loctite dealers didn't have the particular part number of glue in stock and never had - so acted like it didn't exist. Again they were baffled when I explained it's listed on the Loctite site. $40 and a week later and I had 2 bottles from the UK cheaper than any of the similar loctite products on that local supplier's shelf...

Sadly I've just about given up even trying to buy anything here that I can find overseas - usually cheaper than local supply and also usually quicker to get. Model aeroplane stuff from Czech republic ten days to my door - same items from Sydney 50% dearer and two weeks at best to arrive - WTF??