Importing 1kg Roaster from China

[Vinitasse]

[QUOTE=Dragunov21;504565]

Hmmm, I'd have thought there'd be be a market for a fair number of cafes; is 1kg-capacity really commercial/dedicated-roaster-only territory?

Engineering-porn in the metal. Thanks for sharing. That said, they appear to be very much the bleeding edge rather than the budget-minded but capable high-capacity offering I'm thinking of. Taking a curious stab, I'm gonna guess $12k-15k apiece?

I would think that all equipment in a cafe should be commercial. You wouldn't consider equipping a cafe with a home or even a prosumer coffee machine so why would you expect to use anything anything other than a commercial coffee roaster?

As for the price, that's still a bit up in the air. Although Neil has now sold a few machines in South Africa and Europe, he has yet to send one downunder. He is also looking at building a 15kg machine in the near future and if he starts shifting a few of those and the 6kg machines as well he will have a better idea about what pricing will be ultimately set to stone. At this stage I guess it's still all about recouping development costs and hitting the breakeven point.

[Dragunov21]

Commercial quality doesn't mean commercial-only; it depends very much on the kind of product you're talking about. Trade-quality drills, for instance, are perfectly accessible/affordable and suitable for non-commercial uses.

Fingers crossed for your friend; looks like an awesome operation he's got going there.

[fruity]

I'm kinda with Draganov - plenty of snobs here put commercial coffee machines in at home (albeit small ones), but there would be almost none putting in commercial roasters due to the price difference.

Obviously low manufacturing volumes is keeping the price high. And that's why we have people building their own near-1Kg KKTOs for a tiny fraction of the cost of a comparable commercial machine.

[saoye]

Hi Guys,

Looking to get a 1kg roaster. Having shopped around Australia its difficult to find anything under $7000. Does this seem about right? Can anyone suggest something for under this price?

Has anyone here imported from China before or know someone who has?

I've been able to find a number of 1kg roasters through alibaba.com for under $3500 (including shipping). Would have to confirm if they're ready for use in Australia (just seen the info about this on coffee snobs).

Would anyone be able to shed some light as to going this route?

thanks in advance...

There are many available on the web but knowing which one is of a reasonable quality and with reasonable after sales support is important and can be hit and miss. I have bought one from China and so far it has been a positive experience in terms of dealing with the seller in China. Bear in mind the seller's "including shipping" price is to a nominated Australian port then you need to deal with Port charges and all the local Australian charges before it gets to your door (which has nothing to do with the seller). You can add up to 30% on top of the final seller's price to get it all the way to your door and in your hot little hands depending on your circumstance including if you get held up by customs. I have yet to post on the whole experience and will do so once I have done a few roasts. I am not sure if I will be making that post on this forum as I am quite aware that this is a sponsored site and don't want to be stepping on anybody's toes let alone break site policy.

[Javaphile]

I have yet to post on the whole experience and will do so once I have done a few roasts. I am not sure if I will be making that post on this forum as I am quite aware that this is a sponsored site and don't want to be stepping on anybody's toes let alone break site policy.

Why do people have such a hard time understanding the sites posting policy? The rules are simple and straight forward. No where in them is there a rule against posting a discussion or review on any device or item. Just because an item isn't sold by a sponsor does not mean it can't be discussed/reviewed as thousands of posts here attest to. The exception to that is if you are plugging an item, service, or company that you or someone you know has a commercial interest in. That is, you/they stand to profit from the post. The other no-no are links to commercial pages/sites, especially to non-sponsor sites who compete with them. Such links will immediately be removed.


Java "Simple and straight forward." phile

[Dragunov21]

The other no-no are links to commercial pages/sites, especially to non-sponsor sites who compete with them. Such links will immediately be removed.

I think people get confused because it's somewhat arbitrary; I can tell someone to search for a very specific term or item number on ebay and that seems to be ok but providing the URL is forbidden (despite the end result being exactly the same), so the spirit/intent is not immediately clear and people tend to be very cautious as a result.

There's also a very strong message of "support the sponsors", so I think people are wary of advertising cheaper alternatives to local retail.

[saoye]

I think people get confused because it's somewhat arbitrary; I can tell someone to search for a very specific term or item number on ebay and that seems to be ok but providing the URL is forbidden (despite the end result being exactly the same), so the spirit/intent is not immediately clear and people tend to be very cautious as a result.

There's also a very strong message of "support the sponsors", so I think people are wary of advertising cheaper alternatives to local retail.

Exactly. In my case I am not linked in anyway to the seller, however my review will be specific for a roaster represented by a specific seller in China. It will deal with the whole experience from A to Z and not wanting to do any harm to the site sponsors was/is my intent. If by doing this review it inadvertantly gains the attention of potential home buyers that might otherwise purchase a site sponsor's home roaster then I guess I have not kept to my intent.
Not that I think everybody who was going to buy a behmor would turn around and import a 1kg commercial roaster from China by any means, but I went from popcorn popper to Corretto Roaster to 1kg commercial sampling roaster in a matter of 2 years. Was I ever going to buy a behmor or similar? Not likely since with the corretto I could get up to 600g roasts. Anyways, life goes on and I will be "unboxing" the roaster today!

[neofelis]

Which seller in China? Can you post a link from alibaba or something similar so we can share the experience with you? I'm after a roaster too. I tried to source Hottops but the only way I could get them here is to ship them to another country where they didn't have a contract then get them sent to here. It was a pain and would cost alot of money

Would be a lot cheaper than buying one locally though. They're asking around $1300-$1600 for one locally. I could source them for around $750.

I even tried getting them to bend the contract or make myself an accredited supplier of Australia by saying that the seller is breaking the law by not obtaining a C-Tick compliance which is compulsory for selling Electrical items in Australia. I would then ensure all items met the C-Tick compliance with every batch I import. You could then use that against the existing seller to obtain more sales.

A person I know actually owns a battery company which specialises in high capacity Lithium Ion batteries - 3000mah batteries etc. With the chargers or anything electrical items in china You'd be amazed at some of the shonky things they do which don't meet Australian ACMA requirements. They then state they obtain RohS certificates and various other ones. These are all fake certificates.

Half the products are just house fires waiting to happen.

[Dragunov21]

Which seller in China? Can you post a link from alibaba or something similar so we can share the experience with you?

No, because it's explicitly forbidden in the ToS :P

A PM, on the other hand...

As for the Hottop, just use a freight-forwarder like PriceUSA or ShipItTo

[TC]

Why do people have such a hard time understanding the sites posting policy? The rules are simple and straight forward. No where in them is there a rule against posting a discussion or review on any device or item. Just because an item isn't sold by a sponsor does not mean it can't be discussed/reviewed as thousands of posts here attest to. The exception to that is if you are plugging an item, service, or company that you or someone you know has a commercial interest in. That is, you/they stand to profit from the post. The other no-no are links to commercial pages/sites, especially to non-sponsor sites who compete with them. Such links will immediately be removed.

Java "Simple and straight forward." phile

Which seller in China? Can you post a link from alibaba or something similar so we can share the experience with you?

*looks for head beating against wall emote*

[saoye]

Which seller in China? Can you post a link from alibaba or something similar so we can share the experience with you? .

Is this a serious post or are you baiting? This one's an obvious rule breaker.

I even tried getting them to bend the contract or make myself an accredited supplier of Australia by saying that the seller is breaking the law by not obtaining a C-Tick compliance which is compulsory for selling Electrical items in Australia. I would then ensure all items met the C-Tick compliance with every batch I import. You could then use that against the existing seller to obtain more sales..

Again is this a serious post or are you baiting? For one this is straight out black mailing the seller.

[Dragunov21]

Again is this a serious post or are you baiting? For one this is straight out black mailing the seller.

No it isn't; exposing an unlawful business practice is not menacing.

It's a rotten move, but then so is selling noncompliant equipment as compliant.

If you weren't correct you'd be opening yourself up to one pineapple of a defamation suit...

[saoye]

No it isn't; exposing an unlawful business practice is not menacing.

It's a rotten move, but then so is selling noncompliant equipment as compliant.

If you weren't correct you'd be opening yourself up to one pineapple of a defamation suit...

If you are exposing a business for the benefit and safety of the consumer, no worries. If on the other hand the purpose of the threat to exposure was in exchange for personal financial gain then it is black mail. All in the wording and intent and from my understanding of the context it was the latter scenario.

On a positive note I have just finished unboxing and am happy to report the roaster has travelled well with no mishap. Now I just need to get the thing on the bench I have prepared...but it weighs 100kg! Need to wait for an extra hand.

[Dragunov21]

If you are exposing a business for the benefit and safety of the consumer, no worries. If on the other hand the purpose of the threat to exposure was in exchange for personal financial gain then it is black mail. All in the wording and intent and from my understanding of the context it was the latter scenario.

Have you read the legislation defining blackmail-like offences in the various states?

[saoye]

Have you read the legislation defining blackmail-like offences in the various states?

Hehe, do what you wish, I am not the police or a lawyer but I do deal with suppliers globally. That's as much as I want to dwell on this subject, besides this topic is on the 1kg Chinese roaster.