Where do you buy your Cameras/Lenses from?

ianh

ianh

ianh

Soldato
Joined
12 Jul 2007
Posts
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Location
Stoke/Norfolk
Hi all, I was looking at several different lenses on eBay as I'd expected them to be much cheaper as they were 2nd hand yet I noticed that people were bidding upto 95% of the original RRP on virtually everything I was interested in.

Needless to say if seems like I'm destined to spend virtually full price of 2nd hand then I'd rather just buy it new instead but other than Jessops or The RainForest I don't really know any other reputable shops (got my 2 new lenses from the Rainforest).

I'd seen a few that sold from HK like DigitalRevs but the risk of a hefty customs bill puts me off TBH although any feedback from anyone who has bought from them would be appreciated.

Cheers......................IanH
 
Seriously, pop into T4 in Swindon. They are nice guys. Speak to Mark and tell him Ben Hodson (I did some photographs for him this afternoon !) sent you, see what kind of reaction you get :-) http://www.t4cameras.co.uk/

Its a proper small chain of shops that know what they are talking about. Good prices as well for legitimate UK stock.
 
apeksdiver - A Canon 600D but I'm thinking about a 7D when the 7D Mk2 comes out next year (which should drop 7D prices hopefully) as I shoot for a rally team.
 
If you buy from the DigitalRev website you have no risk of customs fees. If you buy from their ebay store you do. I bought my Speedlite 600EX-RT from them.

*******'s way of shipping their products out also does not involve a risk of you paying duty fees - and they are cheaper. Much cheaper if you are paying by bank transfer. I bought my 5D mkIII from them.
 
Have used ******* and Digital Rev so far as they were the cheapest for the items I wanted at the time. Just recently used Amazon for my tripod/head which worked out cheaper than those two places :)
 
It's worth pointing out, as nobody has yet, that lenses especially tend to hold their value extremely well, even more so if its Canon/Nikon.

I could sell all my kit and likely not lose much. So while you can get slightly better prices on eBay and other second hand avenues, don't expect large drops in prices.
 
You should be looking at around a third off with used lenses if you are buying privately - possibly up to half if the lens has been around a while. Have a look in the classifieds here and on forums like talk photography (which has similar requirements to the classifieds as here).

As for new kit flashcamera is a great place for cheap kit, the guy imports them from the US legitimately so you get similar prices to HK but get a proper UK receipt which Canon accept for warranty. Otherwise camerapricebuster is where I look to see the best price for new kit.
 
Cheers for the info folks!

Amp34 said:
You should be looking at around a third off with used lenses if you are buying privately - possibly up to half if the lens has been around a while.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I though but of the 2 dozen plus auctions I'd watched (to gauge prices) virtually every item went for 95% of the new price for both cameras and Lenses, which in the case of the camera's I can't understand, I mean some had 25000+ shots and looked well worn yet were sold for £30 less than the New price! I didn't know if it was the Xmas rush (& daft ebayers) that'd bumped up prices or whether that was about right in the photography world.
 
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Daft Ebayers... I paid £350 for my 70-200 f/4 a year ago when they were £450 minimum and £550 for my Nikon 17-55. If I were still buying Canon I would pay no more than £700 for the 300 f/4 IS (almost bought one for £600 3 years ago). On TP the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II went for £1450 a few months ago, several hundred less than the best price in the UK of £1750.
 
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Google kerso on the bay. Bought two lenses and an extender from him, well his sister anyway. Cheaper than any shop price.
 
I got a lot of my gear from a good local second hand store.
Otherwise reputable online stores that are based in my country of residence.


Buying from HK just doesn't make sense, and if you do circumvent paying import duty and taxes then you are breaking the law.
 
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