"It's difficult to believe that with all of the potential problems, i.e. customs, shipping, voltage conversions, warranty, etc. there is a significant amount of savings involved to make this exercise worthwhile."
I agree with you, yet ironically, audio dealers manage to navigate all of these pesky hurdles and still turn a tidy profit.... I'm just saying.
Nothing wrong with cutting out the middleman IMO, but at the same time 'you pay your money, and you take your chances'
have fun!