Opinion on importing from Hong-Kong?

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Soldato
Joined
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I've found a company (they may be competitors so I won't mention the name), whom deliver their lenses etc from Hong Kong, and guarantee to reimburse any import taxes etc. I have done a lot of searching about the company and it all returns praise for the company? They sell both through their website and through ebay.

What is everyones opinion on this? They are selling the Tamron 17-50mm for £219.99 with free delivery!

Thanks, Andrew.
 
Be aware that you will have to pay an import tax and handling charge when it's comes into the UK.
Some items on e-bay reimburse these fees but only those that indicate it in the header and description.

I bought all of my lenses from Digital Rev on e-bay and saved over £1k in process :)
 
Id prefer to deal with someone in person quickly when it comes to lenses. I bought a tamron 17-50 a while back that front focussed. If you import and find a problem with the lense, factor in the time and cost of shipping to HK.
 
Tamron have a worldwide guarantee and will honour oversears warranties. I dealt with them here ref my 28-75, which was out of calibration at F2.8 and F3.2. They were fine about it, and the lens was spot on post. No need to ship back to HK.

One thought, have a chat with Kerso on the Bay, he's supplied kit to a number of people on the forums (including me) and has a good track record with competitive prices.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone, I may drop Kerso a mail see what he can do.

In reference to having to pay import tax and charges, the company guarantees to reinburse the cost in full if this should happen (and this does appear to be the case based on a search of google). The place is a company in its own right, and it would not be through ebay.
 
SDK^ said:
I bought all of my lenses from Digital Rev on e-bay and saved over £1k in process :)
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You can get the 1Ds Mark II for £3,599.99 + £99 shipping from Honk Kong and they will reimburse the Import tax so £3,599.99 + £99 is all your gonna pay.

Good price that but I feel this is due to the imiment release of the Mark III or whatever it will be called due to other products offering no reimbursement
 
Mattw said:
is there really that much of a saving from buying abroad? is it worth the hassle?
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It will save me around £70 compared to the cheapest retailer based in the UK.

I think I am going to take the plunge and order it :). Thanks for the advice everyone.
 
Here's my 2 penny's worth, I have bought 2 x lenses a flash unit a remote control unit and a couple of canon batteries all separate purchases from the same supplier and never had to pay any taxes or had any problems with the seller maybe I've just been lucky but I would totally recommend it

Saved a fortune.........
 
SDK^ said:
Or the difference between affording the lens or having to go without :)
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Totally - I read somewhere that the reason that the prices are so much higher in the EU and in the UK is because it is perceived to be a smaller market than the States and Asia so the prices are inflated to support the volume of sales. Pretty harsh really, especially when you look at some of the packages you can get overseas.

Not to mention the extortionate duty that gets slapped on hardware bought in from overseas... Makes me wonder how these sellers in HK can often still make a profit by stating that they will pay any duty on purchases. Surely it must dent their margins a bit.
 
SteveOBHave said:
I read somewhere that the reason that the prices are so much higher in the EU and in the UK is because it is perceived to be a smaller market than the States and Asia so the prices are inflated to support the volume of sales.
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pffft. The European market is now bigger than US

cipa_region.gif


January - September 2006: Units shipped by region
Source: Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA)



boycee said:
what about the warranty? They mention UK outlets, has anyone had to deal with them?
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I got my Canon 100-400L lens from e-bay (Digital Rev) and it broke just outside of warranty. I e-mailed them and they said they would cover the repair costs from Canon UK. I sent it to Canon CPS who repaired the IS unit (£180) and Digital Rev covered the bill
 
SDK^ said:
I got my Canon 100-400L lens from e-bay (Digital Rev) and it broke just outside of warranty. I e-mailed them and they said they would cover the repair costs from Canon UK. I sent it to Canon CPS who repaired the IS unit (£180) and Digital Rev covered the bill
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That's pretty good going then! I am mighty tempted ;)
 
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