yasirnisar Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 HelloI am using Canon 20D and am visiting Uk by the end of this month, I am planning to buy two lenses for my camera, one 100-400 canon and 300 mm f4.0 lens. Well, i will be more than thankful if any body tell me the price difference in both the lenses in UK and USA. Should I buy it from UK or try my hands at USA market as I have heard that is quite cheap. your suggestions will help me a lot. RegardsYasir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham_binns Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Make sure the store you are visiting is holding the items in stock before making the trip. These lens's are not common stock items in all but the most specialist shops in the UK / US so you could be disapointed. THe canon lens selection in your average chain store in the UK i.e. Jessops is rubbish as they focus on a hand full of consumer lens's and point and shoot digital compacts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry_smith2 Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 There is absolutely NO price difference on Canon lenses in New York compared to London. A lens that costs 1500 USD in New York costs 1500 GBP in London! ;-D BTW, you'll pay almost two USD to get one GBP... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davebell Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Having not checked too recently, lenses in the US are cheaper than in the UK. Joe, not sure how you do your sums, but $1500 versus 1500GBP is a lot of difference, in fact today its $1.84 will buy you 1 GBP, certainly not NO difference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjc photographic images Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Nice one Joe, that certainly brought a smile to my face. How true it is though. Yasir, the best thing to do is google B&H in America then google Jessops in the UK. Google for a currency converter then look at B&H prices, convert to Pounds then look at the equivilent lens price at jessops. Believe me you will be buying for America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark u Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Jessops is the last place I'd look for competitive offerings on EOS lenses. Besides, they've effectively stopped carrying prime lenses entirely. Instead, look at prices from Warehouseexpress. In general, US lens prices are cheaper than UK ones (in many cases a LOT cheaper), but there are a few exceptions for some recently released lenses. Bear in mind that when shopping in the UK, you may be able to reclaim the 17.5% VAT (included in quoted prices) at the airport when you leave the country, provided you are buying from a store that handles the VAT export scheme. If you shop in person in the US, you will be paying local state and city sales taxes over and above the headline price - and in most cases, it is impossible to reclaim these taxes. If buying mail order, be sure to figure in shipping, which can be surprisingly expensive. You should also check on customs regulations and duties for the country you are living in currently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bennyboy Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 Presumably if one is being compliant with the law, if a lens is purchased whilst in the UK, some form of tax levy may be applied upon return to the US... assuming you declare the purchase? ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjmeade Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 It's been pointed out above, the prices are 1:1 USD:GBP. They don't call it rip-off Britain for nothing. Jessops has a reputation in this forum for not having the very best staff and certainly doesn't have the most competitive prices, the Jessops price for a 300/f4 IS is 55GBP more than Warehouse Express. Even if you claimed back VAT, the 300/f4 would cost you about 1420USD, against 1150USD on the B&H web site. Buying stuff in the UK? Bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken munn Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 Why do you think Brits fly to NY for Christmas shopping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awindsor Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 The above is true is for Canon lenses. Some of the third party lenses are almost the same in the two markets. Generally the US has a slight edge. Canon's European prices are outrageous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihir_shah Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 yasir...prices for most lenses will def be cheaper at B&H in NY. As said above if you purchase at B&H in person you would be paying the local taxes. I would recommend buying online at B&H website and shipping it to anywhere other then NY state. you will save on sales tax and will be charged nominal shipping rates. click on the b&H website link from the Shop section here at photo.net to help the website. have a nice trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terry_smith2 Posted June 10, 2006 Share Posted June 10, 2006 Local taxes in New York City are either 8.5 % or 8.75%, about half of VAT in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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