Buying Camera gear from America

[simon]

Help please. I am trying to get a lens, teleconverter and flashgun from the states. I emailed Adorama telling them want i wanted to order and to check that they would ship to an APO address and they accepted. The order was placed and paid for at the end of October. As i had recieved nothing i emailed them today to cahse up the order only to be told that the order had not been shipped as it was too large a value and would need to be sent as 3 seperate items. After a couple more emails telling them i wanted the order shipped ASAP and pointing out the fact that they had held my money for a month they decided to cancel the order and refund my payment.

Does anyone Know of a reputable company that will ship to APO addressess in England ? I have tried B & H but they have some clause in there international shipping stating that they do not accept Credit cards from England over $1000
Has anyone encountered this ?
I need to get this gear before the wife spends all the money

NEVER USE ADORAMA :storm:

[Doug Greenberg]

You might try this outfit:

http://porters.com/

Their prices may not be as low as the bigger dealers, but they seem willing to send things to APO addresses.

You might also check out Camera World of Oregon:
http://www.cameraworld.com/static/content/mail_forward.html

They apparently use the "Access USA" service, which provides you with a U.S. address for American companies to ship to and then forwards your parcel anywhere in the world. You might look into this as a way to get orders from B&H, perhaps:

http://www.myus.com/

No, I don't work for them and actually know nothing about them at all, but it seems like a good idea for someone in your situation. Good luck!!!

Doug

[Marcus Lawson]

Another one to try could be www.ritzcamera.com

[joannec]

I bought a teleconvertor lens from lensmateonline.com and they are a good company with good prices. Beware though, when buying from America, you could get caught UK customs. I did and had to pay an extra £8 duty. Good luck.

[simon]

Thanks for the suggestions but i'm afraid it's still a no go , porters/lensmate don't sell the lens i want, and Ritz\ camera world(are they the same company) are over $1000 more expensive just for the lens!! I have emailed B&H to see if thay are prepared to help still await there reply

[Ragna]

Simon please keep us imformed

[simon]

Simon please keep us imformed

Quite simply i've given up trying to get this stuff from the states, Emailed various companies and most either wont send to APO or did'nt even respond. Did get a very long winded reply from B&H which did'nt answer any of the questions that i asked like "Can i order these items and pay on my credit Card yet have the items shipped to an APO address and how much is shipping", all they did was to state that the prices etc were available from the website, yet it also states on the web that they do not accept CC from Britian over $1000! Anyway i have now given up on this route and will hopefully be aquiring from warehouse express(wife permitting)

[mjmw]

Quite simply i've given up trying to get this stuff from the states, Emailed various companies and most either wont send to APO or did'nt even respond. Did get a very long winded reply from B&H which did'nt answer any of the questions that i asked like "Can i order these items and pay on my credit Card yet have the items shipped to an APO address and how much is shipping", all they did was to state that the prices etc were available from the website, yet it also states on the web that they do not accept CC from Britian over $1000! Anyway i have now given up on this route and will hopefully be aquiring from warehouse express(wife permitting)

Hi Simon, I am sure you can get your foreign card 'validated' at B&H (my wife did a year ago when buying something from them when we lived in the UK). Place the order online, then call them to chase on the status. When you speak to someone they will want you to fax them copies of the front and back of the actual card and probably some other kind of ID.

Note that you will get caught on the import duty and VAT which you will have to pay the guy who delivers it to your door. It is still cheaper than WE, but maybe not worth the grief.

Cheers Mark.

[Ragna]

Simon what lens and converter were you thinking of getting.

[simon]

Simon what lens and converter were you thinking of getting.

Canon 300mm f2.8, the 2* and 1.4* converter and a 580ex Speedlight - a very nice xmas present

[Leif]

Firstly what does APO mean?

I suppose you have a few options. I have bought from B&H several times, once from the UK, and once when visiting the US. In the first instance I did a bank transfer, and Nat West charged me £20. A bank transfer is easy to do but you do have to go to the bank and fill in a form. It can often take place over night, or at worst it takes a few days. The second time I was in the US and I paid by UK credit card. They required a fax of both sides of the credit card to be sent. The item was about $400.

If you buy from B&H, you will have to pay customs taxes and duties. Note that the tax is on the item price + the P&P price! (HM Customs and Excise never miss a trick.)

The other alternative is to buy a cheap flight to NY from Stelios or whoever. (Flights might be pricey over the Christmas period.) Then visit B&H in person. It might be that they will allow you to use a UK credit card if you have the card, and a passport as proof of id. I would check with them first. Bear in mind that you will save P&P so that will partly cover the flight. I would think that it is best to pay the tax and duty i.e. be honest. Small items would get through, but the 300mm F2.8 lens is quite big, and I suspect an attempt to 'smuggle' it back would incur confiscation. Professional photographers might give you good advice about the procedure of going through customs with big lenses. I suspect they get a document from customs when leaving the country to prove the lens is theirs, and they show the document on returning

Please keep us informed as to what you do.

Leif

[simon]

Firstly what does APO mean?

Leif


APO is the address you use for American posted overseas similiar to BFPO in this country, if you can ship via an APO address you don't pay import tax and postage is usally cheaper, i have used this method for other items in the past with no probs at all, for some reason Adorama decided to cancel the order despite being emailed prior to the order being placed to check that they would accept and ship to the address given.
Anyway i've now given up with this tack and have spoken to the nice friendly people at Warehouse Express and the lens should be here by the end of next week and i wont have to pay for it until next September (provided the finance company accept me!! )

[Leif]

Thanks for the explanation of APO. Leif

[rosbifs]

Check with your insurance company regarding importing expensive items and paying the correct duties. Facture this into the cost of the item.

If not and you need to claim the company may invoke the 'over £143(or was a couple of years ago probably gone up a bit) and not properly declared' clause. Little known but effective if wanting to wriggle out of a claim. I've seen it used on jewellery items in a previous career.

[antdg]

Sorry to go off thread here but I going to orlando next summer. While in Orlando I was wondering whether to buy a new canon 400d or XTI. Has anybody done this while on holiday and what are the pitfalls.
Or should I buy camera over here and lenses while away.

I dont normally post but I do alot of lurking

Cheers

Tony

[Ragna]

antdg welcombe to bf if buying a camera from the USA then it will have to be returned to America for any warranty work but if you save enough money in the first place it maybe worth taking a chance as very few of us have to send our cameras back during the 12 months warranty.Lenses purchased from America are covered here in the UK are are well worth getting from America particulaly with the current rate of exchange.

[rezMole]

Anyway i've now given up with this tack and have spoken to the nice friendly people at Warehouse Express and the lens should be here by the end of next week and i wont have to pay for it until next September (provided the finance company accept me!! )
Make sure you keep a note of when the nine months interest free is up - they won't send you a reminder and if you go a day over, they charge interest on the full amount right back to purchase date.
Needless to say, i have used this method with WE and had no problems - getting interest on the money in the building society as i saved it up on the way.