walter_lee1 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Hello, I live in Sydney Australia. have read various forums that bhpotovideo is notorious for dodgy packaging. A week ago i took my chances and purchased a 550ex speedlite from bhphotovideo,the box it came in was slightly battered luckly the speedlite is in excellent condition. Now I am contemplating in purchasing the Canon EF 17-40L from BH, but concerned the lens may not tolerate the battering it could endure via USA New York. Has anyone in Australia purchased lens from BH? and recevied lens without any damages to box and contents? Im also worried about the 2 weeks return policy? Given our Aussies dollar is qutie high NOW its hard not to give up a bargain ... purchasing L lens here in OZ is very very expensive. Hope to hear from ya all soon =) Regards, Shockdude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ron c sunshine coast,qld,a Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Strange-i've never heard that about B&H. <BR>I've bought from KEH (2nd hand)and the service/packaging was excellent.The only problem i had was the ENORMOUS delivery charge -US$44 for the 100-300 zoom !! <br> Yes i still came out ahead but that sort of fee is just rude! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasona1 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 My shipments have always arrived over packaged. Generally my items are surrounded by little airbags and maybe the occasional styrofoam peanut. I wouldn't think overseas should be any different. Regardless of how they pack it, the box will get beat up going overseas in my opinion. However their shipping is definitely high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam_eberbach Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I live in Melbourne. Have received two boxes from them in the last month including one containing the 17-40mm lens. I would have liked the packaging to be a little better but it is adequate although did not appear to have suffered much on the way. None of my things had any marks on their red & white boxes. But the 17-40mm lens is not very well packaged from Canon - it has a couple of foam endcaps, not like the smaller lenses that are completely enclosed in foam. Isn't insurance available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter_lee1 Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 Thanks for all your input. I agree with Adam, that I would have liked the packaging to be a little better. Kindest Regards, Walter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter_lee1 Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 It's a done deal, I purchased my 17-40 and a hoya uv filter. Now its all in the hands of ups.... btw couple years back i bought a gadget from outpost.com via Fedex, and have received presents via fedex. Fedex is excellent, actually probably the best. I guess its the service you pay for. Besides UPS BH dose have a Fedex Option, I might consider using Fedex when i have enough to purchase a 300L 2.8 IS =) Regards, Walter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suman Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Walter how much you paid for shipping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whayne_padden Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I've used both B&H and Badger and had no problems with packaging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frederick_lau2 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I am also from Australia. I just wonder apart from the extra in shipping, how much is the duties charged by Australia Customs ? And how do they arrive at the sum of the duties, if any ? I am also thinking of buying gear from US, to take advantage of the high AUS dollar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louis tsai Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Australian customs will charge you 10% GST for new goods. If the item is shipped through UPS, use airmail not EMS! The reason for this is because the daily volume for EMS is much smaller than airmail, thus, they check it much more thoroughly. I have never got away with tax when shipping with EMS. I get away with GST at least 50% of the time if I ship by airmail. By the way, labeling as "gift" is not useful at all. <p>If the "last mile" is handled by auspost (UPS' items are handled by auspost at the end), the limit is AUD$1000 before you need custom brokerage to get your items declared through customs. However, if you are shipping via DHL or FedEX, the limit is only AUD$200 before you need custom brokerage (according to FedEx customer service). DHL will pay for the custom brokerage first to get the item through fast, and thye will bill you later. FedEx will give you a call and you can pay using VISA, but you must pay it off before the item is cleared for shipment to your door. <p>I had a extremely heavy (45kg) networking equipment shipped from US to Australia via FedEx, and their service is very efficient. By the way, in some countries, DHL can provide wooden shipping crates that's build to your item on the spot. US DHL doesn't seem to do it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louis tsai Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 My apologies for double posting, but I didn't answer Federick's question properly. <p>The customs calculate the 10% GST from the claimed value of the item. When the sellers ship the item, they need to declare the value of the item. Bad sellers will either under-claim or over-claime the value. Under-claim to help you avoid tax, but if the item gets damaged, insurance will pay you the "claimed" value only. Over-claim to cover their postage cost if the item does get lost and maybe make some extra cash while they at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter_lee1 Posted February 19, 2004 Author Share Posted February 19, 2004 Suman- I pay $48 USD for UPS, think Fedex is $100+ ... Think there are 2 more (cheaper) couriers to pick from aswell. Frederick - Big thanks to Louis, think he has answered all ya questions. btw Purchasing the 550ex (incl postage and AU duties) from BH i saved about $300.00AUD and for my 17-40+hoya uv filter (inclu postage) i will be saving about $350-$400AUD =) Thanks for your feedback and Good luck Walter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walter_lee1 Posted February 19, 2004 Author Share Posted February 19, 2004 Louis thanks for that, some useful tidbits, ive email your thoughts to alot of my friends =) Walter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frederick_lau2 Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Louis - I have to thank you personally for your useful info. It is really helpful when making decision in bidding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bevan_donovan Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Just a question regarding KEH, do they ship internationally? My reason for asking is that I was under the impression that KEH only shipped throughout the US. I would be over the moon if they ship internationally as they often have things that I would like to buy (I then would just have to find the money but hey that's another story). Cheers Bevan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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