Hi TomR

A couple of years ago i was in the same situation as you. (Do a search on my username & you will see some of the frustrations i experienced as well as the tandem i ended up acquiring). I eventually found a tandem on the U.S ebay and bought it on ebay unseen. I emailed the seller a number of times who was very helpful & genuine. At the time i had a friend who worked in the States (in fact she is still there) & got the tandem sent to her & when she came back to Australia (which she does at least once a month) she brought it back in as hand luggage. No customs duties .. no taxes ... it was great .. needless to say i bought her a very nice bottle of champagne for her efforts. I met her at Brisbane Airport and hired a Maxi-Taxi which brought me & the tandem back home. All in all it cost me $AU2400.00 for a mid-90's Cannondale Tandem with the Reynolds Carbon Tandem Forks, Topline Titanium crankset, Mix of Dura-Ace & Campag running gear, White Industry Hubs (if you do a search on my username you will find the link in this forum that has some accompanying pictures). Needless to say I am very happy with the purchase and also very grateful with all the assistance i recieved from members of this forum. My wife & i have had many good rides together. Not so many nowadays as she is 6mths pregnant .. but we will certainly do some more riding together after the baby is born as well as get something attached to the tandem to carry the baby as soon as he is old enough to be placed in a trailer.

All the best
Jeff