Buying lenses

carlazai

carlazai

carlazai

Soldato
Joined
16 Feb 2007
Posts
2,617
I'm after the Nikon 18-200 for my D80 and found the lense on a a popular site for what i think is a great price of £390.

Now i'm a little puzzled about why this site is so cheap. Its done through shop.com so i'm hoping it isnt going to be sent from HK. Has anyone shopped through there? Does this mean i will avoid import duty as this price is about £150-200 cheaper than anywhere else and its left me puzzled.
 
One stop digital are awesome.

The reason it's cheap is because you avoid UK tax and/or VAT so proceed if your morals agree. Some companies will include a pretend repair invoice with the lens to avoid the tax. If the company doesn't you may get a letter a few days later asking for tax to be paid.

Myself and several of my friends have all had great (no tax/VAT) experiences with the above company and I highly recommend them. It's worth researching the warranty territory though...
 
Robert, so are you saying you have no morals?

Inland revenue have full access to all eBay accounts, plus the import duty and VAT can be back dated, plus doing everything you can to avoid paying it is a prisonable offence.

posting online bragging about tax avoidance when your signature has your location is not the brightest of ideas, please tell me your not studying something important at uni!!

as a side, you do not get a nikon warranty with them, you will have to return to to HK, as an example Sigma UK will not repair an import item unless you provide the original receipt for proof of paying import duty and VAT.
 
Last edited:
It isn't an eBay shop.

Also, I bought something from a shop because their prices were lower than any other; they sent it and thus hold responsibility for listing the correct value on the item.

It is only tax evasion when you take steps to actually avoid paying VAT/Import duty, you are not liable if customs do not pick up on something. (By that I mean they could, theoretically back date it however they couldn't charge you with any criminal offence).
 
i think you'll find the onus is on you to declare it, by not declaring it you are avoiding paying the import duty and VAT which is a criminal offence.
 
gadgets said:
Robert, so are you saying you have no morals?

Inland revenue have full access to all eBay accounts, plus the import duty and VAT can be back dated, plus doing everything you can to avoid paying it is a prisonable offence.

posting online bragging about tax avoidance when your signature has your location is not the brightest of ideas, please tell me your not studying something important at uni!!

as a side, you do not get a nikon warranty with them, you will have to return to to HK, as an example Sigma UK will not repair an import item unless you provide the original receipt for proof of paying import duty and VAT.
Click to expand...


Ahh, buts that is not what is done. YOu legally buy a lens from onestopdigital and you don't try to stop paying tax. YOu let onestop do what they want but that is not your issue.

If you do get a tax claim then you give it to Onestop to pay.
 
As much as I hate "grey areas" when it comes to this kind of thing, the savings to be had are enormous.. I've always been a bit skeptical about buying from HK, so instead bought from someone who does the importing to the UK then sells it when it arrives, still a huge saving, and I collected it myself and paid cash. Basically what Kerso does.

Judging by the amount of people who buy from HK, and don't have issues i'd say its as good as anywhere. Besides - the government deserve it :D
 
The lens has been ordered, now need some advice on filters for the camera please. I'm off to Madagascar in November so i will be taking landscape and wildlife shots. What filters can you guys recommend for this new lens and holiday location?
 
Last edited:
Another vote for Kerso as a place to get lenses from in the UK. I had great service from Ian and delivery was 2-3 days, once payment was received.
Canon also have no problem with claiming any cashback promotions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom