Topic: Buying an Ecowitt WS80 in USA

[rrajarajan]

Anyone here who has bought a WS80 and is in the US.
The ecowitt website says that they don't ship to the US.
I guess it is due to some agreement perhaps with the other US sellers who rebrand it sell it here.

Is there any other workaround to getting the WS80?

Thanks

[giveme5]

They do ship to US, including ws80.
See https://www.ecowitt.com/shop/customerService/2
Just be aware, you're responsible for all import duties.
Current tariffs for China made consumer electronics is 32%, and if they ship with DHL, DHL will charge you 'Customs Clearance Fees' which is extra $20-$30. DHL may also want 50% of what they charge upfront .

For some items, if you order from their Amazon store and is shipped from Ecowitt directly, like WN32, Ecowitt will ship it with YunExpress (GoFoExpress last mile delivery) and take care of import duties.

[R.Sidetrack]

Not cheap, but here is an option:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/196195336487?_skw=ecowitt+ws80&itmmeta=01JX3G5DF1DPVENGZMACSXM5H2&hash=item2dae274127:g:sxsAAOSw~VJoQxqy&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1ffUbUuc0mgAf8ohfsNpDMtIs3ssX1tVPBBRXBBwPwY26OgUdkEm3aoCgXYnmMbwnyDfP5RlWWS6Ck2i3eMmK2D2BZbQtTcDsJa9XFFsAZBXSNLLR9MnLw5cTIHUQ3lZPauVvn2m4dQ7VrEnzWPPn5WOsdBjtYHVy4Rd9TD2WBBYtknr4cnqUqLAeF%2FOL16LFBMCbmg1CaWVnu5Xewx9KxuQh9UqxdNHLJKKHW5dUOPik9JGI6WHcfGTIXfQ5Fy%2BlubBDfm90ulNLXMcVM9WNMmCGJ57GncXlSN0V2LJf8XVg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_zXlfDoZQ

WeatherSpares is a known UK vendor of weather equipment, you can find them referenced in numerous forum threads.

[Gyvate]

They do ship to US, including ws80.
See https://www.ecowitt.com/shop/customerService/2
Just be aware, you're responsible for all import duties.
Current tariffs for China made consumer electronics is 32%, and if they ship with DHL, DHL will charge you 'Customs Clearance Fees' which is extra $20-$30. DHL may also want 50% of what they charge upfront .

For some items, if you order from their Amazon store and is shipped from Ecowitt directly, like WN32, Ecowitt will ship it with YunExpress (GoFoExpress last mile delivery) and take care of import duties.

Wrong ! First part of the sentence, correct - second part wrong !
There is a contract between Fine Offset (manufacturer) and Ambient in place which gives Ambient the sole right to sell the WS80 (Ambient WS-5000-ARRAY) in the USA. It includes that Fine Offset does not sell an Ecowitt branded WS80 array into the USA. That contract is still valid. It doesn't apply for Canada, South America, Australia and New Zealand where Ambient also sells their weather stations. Therefore, unless by mistake, they will not sell the Ecowitt WS80 product to a customer with an address in side the USA.

If you manage to get the WS80 delivered to Canada or Mexico and then forwarded into the USA (via friends, acquaintances) or via someone working in Germany K-Town (Kaiserslautern Ramstein Airbase), you can circumvent this regulation.

[Rocketman]

you can get re-branded Pantech

https://www.ebay.com/itm/261575152589?_skw=pantech&itmmeta=01JX3JMBDD8E6F0SFY05QTXR7G&hash=item3ce71813cd:g:KW8AAOSwt6tm2kUP&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA4FkggFvd1GGDu0w3yXCmi1dexcaaglxXRV9ntKCF%2FvXPuLwiAjeeop4r%2B9%2BdRcJeGkr0E%2FGBxcoQA16J1Vwqo8WyhDFX2PIvURB29kBhR0ygybXIcL8J1BLwqzDqeKPFkpja%2FtYVS7x9xfR7ngc1iar%2BjH1QlGpae8YRB8MpI4KnU8Gq7k1iLiC7IVatITuEL6tisLsBM1fTxnV1ccOYkIXeB9DtC7JOaKGCcjoy9PeafE2Cf3yJf4gGGRUFyy7ajF6racR1iF8yBCrfz%2B%2BOXffUF5N46TSVEK%2F4JaYdChbZ%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_q20fLoZQ

[giveme5]

Therefore, unless by mistake, they will not sell the Ecowitt WS80 product to a customer with an address in side the USA.

You're correct. Went through shopping cart and got:
Shipping not available

Code: [Select]

Your order cannot be shipped to the selected address. Review your address to ensure it's correct and try again, or select a different address.

As for other part, tariffs are for country of origin (where it is made) and not where it is shipped from. So, having relative or friend  shipping from Canada wouldn't work if properly declared. And if not, it could be seized.

[Billyram]

You can get the ambient ws-5000 replacement array. Same thing as ws-80 but more expensive.

[rrajarajan]

You can get the ambient ws-5000 replacement array. Same thing as ws-80 but more expensive.

It's twice the cost!!

[R.Sidetrack]

Worse than that, Ambient provides poor support. Particularly when Fine Offset publishes firmware updates, and Ambient just ignores the updates. Ambient is now owned by an 'investment bank' and they  try to make users pay ongoing fees to access the data from the systems owned by the customer.

The Ambient way is "Pay more, and Get Less".  Just say No . . .

[slybarman]

Unfortunate, they used to let the purchase go through anyway (I bought one). I guess Ambient complained.

[giveme5]

Here are transit times for Ecowitt product purchased on Amazon but shipped directly by Ecowitt via YunExpress. Paid only what was charged by Amazon. Free shipping and they took care of import duties.
Ordered May 28

Code: [Select]

YunExpress Tracking NO.:YT25149007xxxxxxx
Last Mile Tracking NO.:GF6040153xxxxxxx
Customer Order NO.:1118788683xxxxxxx
Delivery Status:Delivered（Calendar Day: 7.9d / Working Day: 5.9d）
Events: 2025-06-06 22:18:32 Delivered, At the door/Yard----xxxxxxx
Origin:CN
Destination:US
Additional notes: Last Mile Website:https://www.gofoexpress.com/Contact Information: cs@mail.gofoexpress.comContact Information: 949-688-6032Work Hour: Mon-Friday Except Holiday 9:00 - 12:00 ; 13:00 - 18:00.
18   2025-06-06 22:18:32   Delivered, At the door/Yard----xxxxxxx
17   2025-06-06 22:10:29   Out for delivery----xxxxxxx
16   2025-06-06 22:05:29   Departed local facility----Los Angeles
15   2025-06-06 07:52:58   Arrived at local facility----Los Angeles
14   2025-06-06 07:52:53   Departed Gofo Distribution Facility----Los Angeles
13   2025-06-05 21:02:33   Arrived at Gofo Distribution Facility----Los Angeles
12   2025-06-05 20:29:03   Delivered to local carrier----LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, US
11   2025-06-05 20:28:03   Departed from facility----LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, US
10   2025-06-04 10:14:23   In transit to destination
9    2025-06-01 12:01:00   Clearance processing completed - Import----NEW YORK, NEW YORK, US
8    2025-06-01 10:53:34   In clearance processing - Import
7    2025-06-01 07:41:00   International flight has arrived----US
6    2025-05-31 21:10:00   International flight has departed----CN
5    2025-05-31 06:23:05   Arrived at the origin international airport----CN
4    2025-05-30 19:53:08   Shipment is in transit to next facility----Mainland China, CN
3    2025-05-30 01:47:20   Departed from sort facility----Mainland China, CN
2    2025-05-30 00:48:18   Arrived at origin facility----Mainland China, CN
1    2025-05-29 10:24:14   Shipment information received


[rrajarajan]

So I am looking at this possibility: get a Canadian address using a re-shipper in Canada and have them forward the package to me. I googled it and this company reship.com provides this service.

At the most I'll have to end up paying custom duties, which will still make it cheaper than buying the ws500 replacement unit from ambient which is $200, whereas the WS80 is for $109

[karss]

I am not sure why you are so specific about getting Ecowitt, when resellers self the same item under a different brand name.
Check the attached picture for resellers and the their brands

link: https://meshka.eu/Ecowitt/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start

[Gyvate]

there are many resellers, but few with an extended or even full portfolio.
The largest extended portfolio you get in Germany or in the UK.
You find more in Europe and Australia - but as for the USA, Ambient is the only one as far as I know, plus Ambient has their hardware related firmware restrictions and their consoles often do not offer the same "bandwidth" as the Ecowitt consoles do.
see also WiKi.

[rrajarajan]

..., when resellers self the same item under a different brand name.
Check the attached picture for resellers and the their brands

link: https://meshka.eu/Ecowitt/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start

Thanks for the suggestion. Shall look at the links and see what my options are

[Billyram]

You can buy the ws68, wn32 and rain shield for $86.97 from ecowitt shop. Or you can get what you want from ambient. Pay the price and be happy. I was in the same place but decided to I wouldn't be happy untill I had the ultra-sonic array. I don't like supporting ambient either.

[rrajarajan]

I am not sure why you are so specific about getting Ecowitt, when resellers self the same item under a different brand name.
Check the attached picture for resellers and the their brands

link: https://meshka.eu/Ecowitt/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start

I went through the list of resellers in that wiki document.
Either they did not have the WS80 or the one they had was not for the US RF frequency.

[rrajarajan]

I was finally able to buy the WS80 shipped to me here in the US.
For those watching / interested, please DM me (in case Ambient is watching these threads!)