HTC Vive pre-orders are finally live! And if you want to know exactly how much it costs and when you’ll get it, here’s your answer.
The final answer: US$817.27 to Australia, with an estimated shipping cost of US$110. That’s US$899 once 10% GST is added, bringing the total package as of this morning (before the markets opened) to $1413.46.
For those wanting confirmation on the currency — because some might remember the lack of clarity around the Rift when pre-orders for that opened — here’s shots from the checkout pages on the Vive store and Paypal.
Note that the PayPal shot was from really early on when you could still get your Vive shipped in April. That’s not the case anymore. If you try and order a headset to Australia or New Zealand now, you’ll be told that “pre-orders will start shipping May 2016”. Those buying in the United States at the time of writing will get their headsets in April, though.
If you were considering picking up a Vive as well, here’s the recommended specs from the site. The need for only one USB 2.0 or greater port is interesting.
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce® GTX 970 / AMD Radeon™ R9 290 equivalent or greater
CPU: Intel® i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 equivalent or greater
RAM: 4GB+
Video Output: HDMI 1.4 or DisplayPort 1.2 or newer
USB Port: 1x USB 2.0 or greater port
Operating System: Windows 7 SP1 or newer
For our New Zealand friends: the cost at checkout is US$825.22 ex-GST, with an estimated shipping cost of US$120. Factor in the tax (US$949 for Kiwis) and you get a rather unpleasant figure of NZ$1620.31 at the time of writing. Ouch.
And just to make sure we’re all on the same page, the terms and conditions linked say that prices quoted on the HTC store are “exclusive of VAT and any other tax or duty which (where applicable) must be added to the price payable”. Section 4.4, 4.4.1 and 4.4.2, if you want to read in full.
So for those playing along from yesterday, that would mean two things. One: I was misinformed yesterday in stating that the cost of shipping was included. As promised, I’m sorry and I’ll be taking floggings all day in the comments section for those interested.
Secondly, credit/debit cards will be charged “on dispatch of the Product or commencement of Services” according to the T&C’s. The store page also says that credit card users “will be validated on submission and authorised shortly before shipments start”. The payment will be fully settled once shipping confirmation has been sent out. PayPal customers will get charged as soon as they receive their order confirmation.
So for the last time in a while: now that we know the cost down to the dollar, who’s still interested in the Vive? It’ll be interesting to see what the change in results are between this poll and the previous one, now that prices are confirmed.
Comments
23 responses to “HTC Vive Pre-Orders Won’t Ship To Australia Until May”
Wait it doesn’t include tax? I tried selecting Europe countries and it shows 899 euros straight off and I was sure it includes tax. That’s almost 400 more than the rift 🙁
I was up at 1am to order. I have one coming in April, and one in May for my brother. Interestingly, the invoice makes no mention of the $899 figure. Just $817 + $110 shipping = $927 total. So I don’t know when that extra 10% will be charged…
I’m also getting a Rift (to be fair, I’m getting it for free, as I was an original kickstarter backer).
$927USD > $1000AUD, which is over the customs threshold for GST.
That was my understanding as well.
If that’s the case then how are the additional taxes charged? Is there precedent for this kind of thing? I’ve authorised a transaction exclusive of taxes making my Vive purchase less than $1400.
No more taxes or import duties to be paid actually. Thats the total amount.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/48c6wu/everyone_ordering_today_will_get_their_vive/
you just droped $3k on 2 of these, ive got a bridge to sell you if you are interested.
Just because you cant afford it, doesnt mean others cant.
Why you would even think to judge other people purchases when you have no idea of anything about them is beyond me.
Totally.. I can’t justify the cost of one of these.. but then I have other priorities in my life right now. Had this been released at a time when my priorities and situation was the same as it was 5 or 6 years ago, I’d have bought one at this price.. I’d also own a PS4, which I don’t currently.. priorities change..
Yep. I ordered in the first 10min and I’m getting mine in April.
I’m sticking with the Rift, I might get a Vive if it ever comes to amazon or something.
Why is that out of interest? The Vive seems to end up at about the same price, but comes with controllers.
I’m more into cockpit type games and none of my previous experiences with motion controls and standing VR have left me feeling that Roomscale is currently a crucial feature for good VR. It does make for a great demo but for day to day gaming? My opinion might very well change in the future esp if we get wireless headsets.
Also the tracking system in the Vive is sensitive to sunlight, a problem I have had in the past with other tracking systems in my computer room (which is quite sunny). Neither the DK1 or 2 had this issue so CV1Rift is a safer bet for me.
EDITED to Add: Also the Rift can run Steam VR software but the Vive can’t use the Oculus Storefront.
Probably not so much price to drop in one go? I mean I’m considering keeping my Rift instead of Vive as well. The extra $400 is not a small amount.
GOod points.
However the difference is only $200, I reckon you could easily hock the controllers for that if you didn’t like them. When I tried the Vive, the image looked better than the CV1, but there wasn’t much in it. I am surprised the Vive is more sensitive to sunlight than the DK2, the DK2 uses infrared tracking, so I thought they would be about the same as far as that goes.
its actually $1100 VS $1400 at the moment. We don’t know how we will get taxed yet. Ideally it would be 10% of the 817 which brings it to 899 + 110 (shipping) but if it is handled by australia customs, you will be looking at 10% of pre tax Vive including shipping.
Other than that. It is at least $300 difference which I don’t mind to add to the Rift later on since my rift shipment is around May.
As a comparison, Panasonic are releasing a 4K bluRay player in mid April
The Price: 600 Pounds
That is approximately $1200 Australian FOR A BLU RAY PLAYER
VR for $1200 to $1400 or a blu ray player for $1200
It is all relative as to where one’s interests and priorities lie.
Of course you then need to factor in how much the media will cost for the 4K Blu-ray
Actually for australians the final price was 1347.21aud. I should know i purchased it.
Also i am in the april shipment so no, not all australians are waiting till May.
Yeah definitely not more than $1,400. Although I was 40 minutes late to the party so mine will ship in May.
I should be in April too! Managed to get it in at the 13 minute mark of opening, and it would have been 7 minutes sooner if I knew how to use a basic address form >.
The rift was 1160ish AUD, this is 1347AUD all tax and shipping inclusive. So its 200 difference, not 400 and you actually get controllers with this unlike oculus so its in the same ballpark if not cheaper.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/48c6wu/everyone_ordering_today_will_get_their_vive/
Rift is a total of 781 USD shipped which is approx 1100 AUD. Vive is $1010 shipped which is approx 1400 AUD. At least $300 difference with unknown if we will be paying tax to HTC / Courier / Australia Customs because our current price reflected in checkout price does not include tax.
So a minimum of $300 and up to $400 difference.
Vive website:
I got an email from HTC saying my vive is on it’s way, it’ll be here in a few days, Perth, Western Australia. I paid $927.27 USD which is $1254.64 at todays exchange rate. I got a call within an hour of getting that email from a lady who claimed she was from HTC asking for brokerage fees upfront to get my package through Australian Customs. Told her to email me and hung up. Might be a scam, might not, but the total value of the shipment is definitely subject to import duties and GST. Let’s see if it get’s snatched by the authorities on the way in, doubt it but there’s always a first time. It’ll be an extra $200-300 if stopped.
Hi ggman,
Do you need to pay any custom fees? The website says total price is AUD$1010.
Also, how long did it take for them from email confirmation to your door? I’m flying out in about 8 days time, so I’d like to get my hands on it otherwise I won’t buy it now.
Thanks,
Robert