Import PSPs with free shipping
Right up until September, oddly!
Popular Hong Kong-based online retailer Lik-Sang has decided to let people around the world import Sony PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS handheld consoles with free UPS shipping, the company said this week, as long as users buy a game at the same time.
The promotion includes all different colour variations, and will see all PSP and DS parcels shipped between now and August 31st - coincidentally the day before the PSP's European release date - dispatched for via UPS' Express Courier Service. They generally take between 24 and 72 hours to get where they're going.
Obviously Customs charges are still likely, but it's nevertheless a good way to get hold of a Japanese or American PlayStation Portable as and when you want one - or a Nintendo DS for that matter, if you can't be arsed to go down the shops.
Current PSP pricing on the Lik-Sang site has a Standard Pack at $249.90 (€208 / £143), with the Value Pack costing slightly more at $279.90 (€233 / £160). The European PSP Value Pack, set to launch on September 1st, is expected to cost £179 or equivalent.
Differences between American/Japanese and European PSPs will be minor, but there are some off-putting factors to consider if you fancy importing one. For a start, while Japanese PSPs will play UMD films of the same region as European PSPs, American models will not. There's also the issue of a returns policy, with Sony's European arm unlikely to offer support to importers.
Sony has recently made headlines by issuing Cease & Desist orders to a number of UK importers selling PSPs and has taken two, Nuplayer and Electricbirdland, to court in order to press the issue of trademark infringement.