latham_portous Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Hi all. I am interested in buying EF100mm macro and realised that the prices in US are about $250(AU) less, AFTER delivery to Australia! What is the story here? Are there any cons to buying from B&H or Adorama in terms of the warranty, damage insurance etc? What happens if it is defective? Can I take it to Canon Australia and have it repaired? I think the price difference is quite significant. TIA. (PS. I am a little apprehensive as I don't like the idea of some courier kicking my Canon gear around in a truck. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basscheffers Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 From all the accounts I heard, Canon is very reasonable with warranty around the world. They realise photographers travel a lot and pick up equipment along the way or take their home bought equipment elsewhere. In any case B&H say on their invoice, that they will pick up the receipt for "grey imports" repairs if the manufacturer doesn't. The only "problem" might be DOA, in which case you would normaly go back to the store and they replace it on the spot. You would have to spend some money to send it back. Don't wory about it being kicked around a little by a courier, the shipping people that got the lens from Japan to New York surely did enough of that already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isaac sibson Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Recently I brought a lens into the UK from adorama. The price difference was quite ludicrous, and even AFTER shipping ($55), duties and VAT, the lens STILL worked out 25% less than UK price. This was not an expensive lens (relative to many) either! The things to look out for are customs. When you bring the lens into the country (or rather, the courier), you will have to pay GST, and possibly other charges on top of that (in the UK we pay 17.5% VAT on goods AND shipping value, then a much smaller % duty, and THEN £10 for the privilege of paying VAT and duty). This can make the difference small enough that it is not worth buying from abroad, but in other cases it can be. Check the australian government's customs and excise website to find out what charges you'll be liable for. What will happen is that the courier company will pay the charges to customs and excise, then you will have to pay the courier when they deliver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgpinc Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 Everything in Australia is upside down and backwards from what it is in the US. Besides that you guys talk with funny accents so you may have trouble communicating with our NY Camera dealers who also talk with funny accents. I watch the Australian PGA on the Golf Channel and it's amazing how they manage to learn to play golf in such an upside down backward place. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_daggar4 Posted January 4, 2003 Share Posted January 4, 2003 You will definitely be slugged with GST. Anything over $100 US value seems to attract the attention of Customs. I have bought $90 of film from Adorama and had it delivered to my door 3 days later GST and Duty free. Bought $150 of Velvia from B&H about 3 or 4 years ago (pre GST) and got slugged with Duty and delivery was held up for 6 weeks at Customs. Have you tried DirtCheapCameras http://svc003.bne012i.server-web.com/catalogue/dirtcheap/welcome.ehtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg_h Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 Latham, I too have imported goods from the US - one thing to remember though is that you will pay GST but the lens is not subject to duty. The big shock is when you import goods of over AUD $1000. If it is not declared as a gift then not only do you have to pay GST but you have to go through a Customs Agent who handles all the paperwork - it added another AUD $180.00 on a AUD $1400 purchase as well as another two weeks in delivery. And that was one of the cheaper agents !! Check with Customs for the fine print. I was told that an enormous number of people are getting trapped by these extras when they buy cheap computer gear etc from overseas. It certainly affects some of the bargains you can sometimes get on Ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latham_portous Posted January 5, 2003 Author Share Posted January 5, 2003 Thanks everybody! It appears that local is the way to go. So far Dirtcheap Cameras looks like the best way to go. I suppose the only bad thing about buying online is you don't get to play around with it before you buy, but after you own it instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovethismoment Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 What city are you in Latham? In Brisbane there's a big store called Photo Continental. I think they're probably a bit more expensive than what I saw on Dirt Cheap Cameras but they've matched prices when I've asked. Don't forget that a lot of stores can be bargained with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_smith15 Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 I once bought a nIKON f100 from B&H in USA and everything went fine. It came via fed express and I tracked it all the way. Customs charged 10% GST. In the end it cost me about $2000, but they retailed here for about $3000. By the way I sent it back and decided to go Canon (whoo that was the best decision I made :) and B&H had no problem refunding my credit card. Very Good shop B&H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuart_todd Posted January 10, 2003 Share Posted January 10, 2003 You think camera kit on your side of the ditch is costly? Wait until to have to buy camera kit here in little old New Zealand. Ouch. My new light meter cost me $450NZ from the US, but to buy it retail here in NZ, it would have cost me $2900NZ (YES REALLY!!!). However oddly enough, camera bags seem really cheap here... my new Lowpro backback costed me $160NZ, where as the same bag in the US costs $140US. go figure. Stu :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick_j Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 I bought a few lens' from ADORAMA, and never had a problem. I would order on Monday and have the lens by Thursday. UPS usually does all the work. If you choose to use the normal postal service, then expect to have problems with Customs. As a rough guide, I usually add 12% to the final price to cover GST and handling. In all cases I have saved big $$$$ by buying online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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