International Orders

General information

Our wide selection of Amateur Radio, communications equipment and accessories on offer is available for you to purchase at HRO's great prices.

HRO tries to find to the safest, most prompt and effective way to get these goods to you. We use Parcel Post, Priority Mail, Express Mail and commercial services such as UPS and a selection of other delivery companies, as appropriate to the requirements for your order. We do recommend that you consider consolidating your order to minimize delivery charges, as incremental costs of heavier orders is much less expensive than ordering items one at a time.

You can get an international freight quote from us without obligation:

Simply fill out the HRO International Order Form, and we will quote in reply by e-mail what we think is the best, safest, most cost effective way to get your order to you by adding items to your shopping cart.

You will then be provided with a secure link to our web site to complete your order.

HRO cannot collect duties, Customs fees or other associated Fees your government may require for your order. Please be aware that some countries have paperwork, customs requirements and technical requirements concerning imported items. If you are not sure about what fees, restrictions or requirements your country may have, please place inquiries with your Customs, licensing or tax officials before requesting a quote.

Rarely, some products HRO sells have US security restrictions, or where we are unable to ship to certain specific countries without obtaining special export licensing. Additional charges and delays may apply in these cases.

Due to increased security concerns, the processing of export paperwork and special export shipping preparations can result in delays in your shipment.

Orders with more than one item usually are consolidated at one location prior to shipment to minimize shipping costs; this can take additional time before we can send your order to you.

For items not normally listed in our database [special orders], additional delays will result due to the time it takes to procure the product from the manufacturer; contact us for details concerning this additional time as it varies among our many supported manufacturers.

HRO reserves the right to not ship to certain countries that have a record of rejecting shipments of electronic goods. It is important to include your Amateur Radio callsign if you have one when you order, as some countries have restrictions on allowing certain goods to pass through Customs to non-Amateur Radio operators.

International Product Information

All items sold by HRO are factory new, any exceptions will be noted to you before invoicing. Items powered off of AC mains are typically configured for 110 VAC/60 Hz operation, and radios, antennas and accessories are normally configured for the USA amateur band plans. Tone burst [NBFM equipment] may or may not be available for items you have ordered.

If you have other power or frequency requirements, please be sure to check your requirements prior to ordering. All A/C powered equipment is set up for 110VAC at 60hz. In many cases, we cannot get 220VAC chargers for handheld radios as a majority of our international customer base uses a step down transformer to allow 220VAC to be converted to 110VAC and then used with the USA charger we supply with handheld radios. Please check radio specifications for tone burst capability, as many radios sold in the USA do not support tone burst. In most cases, we cannot perform modifications for other configurations. In the case wqe can accomodate modification, extra charges will apply to perform and work on the equipment.

While manufacturer coupons are normally available for all orders, any rebates are  for the USA market only. These manufacturer rebates can be redeemed only for orders being sent to addresses in the USA.

If your country has requirements for Certification or Agency Approval such as CE approval please note that most ot the items sold by HRO are intended for the sale and use within the USA and will not have CE approval.

Items rejected at the destination country Customs facility for lack of agency approval or certification is not the fault of HRO. Items confiscated or rejected and costs incurred due these approval or certification issues are not recoverable.

Certain items can be considered special order or special handling. These items may have long lead times or involve additional special freight charges. We will notify you as to any particulars when this occurs.

How to Order On-Line

The HRO online system accepts international orders or you can call your order into any HRO store location.

International Documentation Information

Important: If Legalization Documentation or a Certificate of Origin is required to import items into your country we must have this information when you place your order. Please check with your government for more information. Government approval delays may delay the shipment of your order.

Items sold by HRO are intended for and configured to US markets: We are currently unable to procure units that are marked as CE/SEMKO/VDE/BTI or with any other non-US agency approval. Failure to have proper approvals in hand at your countries Customs facility could result in the shipment being rejected or confiscated. . HRO will not be held to account for shipments rejected, confiscated or any fees associated with Customs issues. Check with your local Customs officials before placing an order with HRO.

Items are shipped for the full declared value of goods, and are fully insured. We will not declare a lower value for customs purposes. If you have a tax exemption number or certificate be sure to tell us before we process your order so these details may be included with the shipment. All items sent internationally must be accurately charged and indicated on the invoice, per US Commerce regulations.  Items will not be marked as a gift or as a used item in order to reduce customs charges.

Orders over a certain value [typically over $2500] require a Shipper's Export Declaration [SED], which will delay delivery and an additional processing fee must be added to your order. Legalization or SED processing charges run from $50 to $100 additional per order.

International Delivery Information

Inexpensive large or heavy items may cost more to ship than the price of the item. In some cases, heavy items or items which have a large volume that are not expensive will cost more to ship than the item costs itself. A small additional charge is added to the freight charges to cover paperwork and handling.

Regardless of order size, a minimum of $25 for freight is required for all International Orders {except Canada}.  It is recommended that you consolidate your order to minimize shipment costs. If you would like to get an estimate of freight charges, please see the following WEB page: UPS Quick Cost Calculator

A service fee will  be added for delivery into certain countries which require Legalization or other special services. These charges will be reflected in our document sent to you confiming your order and requesting payment for that order as our International On-Line Ordering process now allows for us to receive your order and re-quote that order to you with all shipping and handling charges included in the final request for payment document sent to you via email.

International Air shipment charges are based on weight and/or dimensions and value of the box(s). For this reason, we may remove items from the original manufacturer's boxes and repack in smaller containers to minimize the costs to you. This re-boxing is done in a manner which will not compromise the safety of the shipped product in any way.

Special delivery by sea freight / air courier for large [hundred kilos or more] shipments can be arranged. Please note that these arrangements take additional time and many countries now require legalization paperwork for large shipments. These shipments which must be pre-approved by your government before we can deliver. This method, while less expensive for larger shipments, does take longer and you must be prepared to pick up the items at your local International airport. If you have a carrier you prefer prepare a shipment to be held for pickup in any of our store locations.

Regardless of international shipment method, additional fees or charges may be billed to you at the point of delivery. These can include taxes, customs clearance fees, paperwork and handling fees as well as inland freight fees. It is not possible to determine all of these charges in the USA.

Certain countries have tax rates approaching or exceeding 100% of the face value for electronic goods. Check with your government officials for tax rates prior to ordering.

Canadian customers are encouraged to use our 800#s, as they work in most parts of Canada to order.

International Warranty information

Warranty coverage for the majority of items we sell is valid only in the USA. Freight charges to return items for warranty service, as well as the return shipping back to your international location is the responsibility of the purchaser.

Items returned for service must state "returned goods for repair" on the return air waybill or US import customs duties will apply and will be added to your retun shipping bill. See our Help Page for more info about returning items.

International Credit Card Payment Information

This information applies to purchases made with a credit card issued outside the USA, or if you are requesting delivery of the items outside the USA.

Effective immediately, customers must provide payment by Credit Card, Paypal or Wire Transfer or US funds drawn on a US bank. HRO reserves the right, based on information provided by the buyer, to mandate Wire Transfer as the only accepable form of payment on certain specific International Orders.

If you have done business with HRO previously, we will be able to accept payment by credit card: please indicate by quoting an invoice number or an account you have with HRO. For previous HRO customers, payment by VISA, Master Card, Discover or American Express {AMEX} as well as Paypal will be accepted.

The processing of your order is contingent upon approval of the transaction by your credit card company. As some international credit cards have daily limits, this may delay processing of your order until the transaction can be charged in full.

We may require that you send by fax, post or e-mail attachment a Photostat of your credit card [front and back of card] along with a Photostat of your credit card billing statement. The billing statement must clearly show the issuing bank's address, your billing address and the credit card number. Please hand write or type your credit card number and expiration date, and your signature authorizing this transaction if you are faxing or sending JPG/GIF. We reserve the right to hold credit card orders until a readable copy of this information is received.

Please note that HRO reserves the right to not process orders if the delivery point is not the billing address of your credit card, and delivery to an alternate address will need to be approved by your credit card company in cases where the delivery address differ from your credit card billing address. For delivery to some countries payment is available only by way of wire transfer. Orders are typically processed when you send your information, so your credit card will be charged at that time: however, shipment will not occur until the verification process is complete and all international paperwork approvals are done.

The verification process is required normally only for your initial order, after which you are entered into our customer database. HRO reserves the right to request verification of your credit information on subsequent orders in certain conditions. Use of credit card is contingent upon bank and security approvals. Security approvals for some international transactions by credit card may require a written authorization from the issuing bank - extra fees will apply for this service.

Payment can be mailed to the store, using US Postal Money Orders or drafts. Funds will be subject to verification; orders will be released once funds have cleared into our account. Funds MUST be payable to HRO in $USD [US dollars], drawn on a US bank.

We do not accept payment by Western Union or other like services.

It is recommended that you certify/insure all transfers of funds in full. HRO is not responsible for lost money in transit by post. Do not send currency by Post.

We recommend payment by wire transfer.

Payment by $USD [US dollars] can be accomplished by way of wire transfer. Transfers typically take 5 business days or longer to clear, so please be sure to include this in your planning. It is mandatory that you notify us when sending a wire transfer. HRO cannot be held responsible for transfer of funds unless you notify us in advance of the transfer.

Remember that a daytime contact name and phone number MUST be included with all international orders so that the shipping agent can contact you. Please be sure to include correct delivery information, with postal code if available.