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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Buying Camera From The States? (1 Viewer)

gasjkh2

gasjkh2

Well-known member
Can anyone tell me how the warranty stacks up ref new cameras purchased from the U.S.?

I am looking for a D300 and have found a website (B&H photo) with the D300 at 1800 US dollars which seeems a good price. Has anyone used this company?

Any help & advice would be appreciated?

Many thanks
 
gasjkh2 said:
Can anyone tell me how the warranty stacks up ref new cameras purchased from the U.S.?

I am looking for a D300 and have found a website (B&H photo) with the D300 at 1800 US dollars which seeems a good price. Has anyone used this company?

Any help & advice would be appreciated?

Many thanks
Click to expand...

Don't forget that the electricity supply in the US is 110 volts, not 220 so any battery charger that plugs into the mains won't work here.

Also there is the matter of customs, you might have to pay import duty. Chances are they won't check but if they do you will have to pay the tax before you get the parcel.

Joanne
 
Nikon do not support warranty on digital devices from the US (I bought a coolwalker from Ritz a few years agou who were selling 3rd party warranties because of this) and as I found out MACK warranties should be taken with a lot of alcohol and dark glasses on. Yes you will pay import duty even on used equipment. If you want to buy off shore far better from the far east with sellers offering to pay any additional charges that may be incurred and state this risking yet another morality debate. at least with the far east they ship it with a Nikon Warranty, not experienced whether this is actually worth anything so don't quote me.....................
 
I thought of doing exactly the same, but B and H dont ship the D300 abroad. This is the message you get when calculating shipping costs: Due to the manufacturer’s restrictions, B&H Photo is unable to ship this item to an international destination

Bought one at my local shop last week: it's awesome.:king:

Good luck shopping!
 
Thanks everyone.
I am now looking at Hong Kong then as we get "ripped off" in Rip Off Britain.

Why is there such a HUGE difference in price even after taking into consideration the exchange rate?
 
gasjkh2 said:
Thanks everyone.
I am now looking at Hong Kong then as we get "ripped off" in Rip Off Britain.

Why is there such a HUGE difference in price even after taking into consideration the exchange rate?
Click to expand...

Because they can get away with it.
 
gasjkh2 said:
Thanks everyone.
I am now looking at Hong Kong then as we get "ripped off" in Rip Off Britain.

Why is there such a HUGE difference in price even after taking into consideration the exchange rate?
Click to expand...


Import tax by HM Government.

Distributors & Shipping cost

Retailers cost

VAT by HM Customs & Excise
 
gasjkh2 said:
Thanks everyone.
I am now looking at Hong Kong then as we get "ripped off" in Rip Off Britain.

Why is there such a HUGE difference in price even after taking into consideration the exchange rate?
Click to expand...
This should read "ripp off Europe" and most of the world. People from all over the world apart from the US and far east complain about the same thing. In that respect the UK is no different than most places. If you think it is cheaper in mainland Europe why not nip over there and get one.
 
pe'rigin said:
Import tax by HM Government.

Distributors & Shipping cost

Retailers cost

VAT by HM Customs & Excise
Click to expand...

I've been looking at microscopes. A Meiji unit is $1500 in the US, which is just over £700. I was quoted £1450 in the UK. Exact same model. How can that be justified as anything other than ripping us off?

Incidentally the US also has distributors costs and retailers costs.

My suspicion is that Americans spend more than us on consumer goods (due to lower income tax) and that greater turnover allows reduced prices.
 
pe'rigin said:
Import tax by HM Government.

Distributors & Shipping cost

Retailers cost

VAT by HM Customs & Excise
Click to expand...

Yep exactly right BUT look at the feedback that like of DigRev, Kea Photo etc get, 10s of thousands of people buy from the far east, its a dog eat dog world and I for one am not wealthy enough to chuck £100's plus away of my hard earned because a seller may be willing to reimburse any additional cost levied by the government B :)
 
Leif said:
I've been looking at microscopes. A Meiji unit is $1500 in the US, which is just over £700. I was quoted £1450 in the UK. Exact same model. How can that be justified as anything other than ripping us off?

Incidentally the US also has distributors costs and retailers costs.

My suspicion is that Americans spend more than us on consumer goods (due to lower income tax) and that greater turnover allows reduced prices.
Click to expand...

My American friends assure me that the US and Local Governments make up for the cheap goods in other ways and taxes 8-P
 
Hia Gas....don't know if this reaches you in time considering the dates. Just to tell you of my experience with Nikon warranties. I bought a D40x from HK via ebay, an excellent reputable dealer , no problems there. After 8wks the main PCB went down, the warranty I found out is invalid because Nikon have 3 world wide zones, Europe, Asia and the Americas. The camera is registered at the point of sale i.e. HK. I contacted the dealer in HK and explained, he told me to send the camera to him and he would return it to Nikon for repair under warranty, fair enough but when I checked out the shipping costs..I got a shock, £62 each way..! So I had a choice, pay that or pay to repair ot over here. I chose the latter for, I thought, better security and took it to Bligh's Optics in Leeds who I thought would repair it but they sent it to Nikon. Anyway it cost me £210 !
So much for, I thought, an original saving of £85 on ebay. There it is, I know there are success stories but we need to balance the equation......Would I do it again...not on your nelly...!!!! Regards Joe
 
joespy said:
Hia Gas....don't know if this reaches you in time considering the dates. Just to tell you of my experience with Nikon warranties. I bought a D40x from HK via ebay, an excellent reputable dealer , no problems there. After 8wks the main PCB went down, the warranty I found out is invalid because Nikon have 3 world wide zones, Europe, Asia and the Americas. The camera is registered at the point of sale i.e. HK. I contacted the dealer in HK and explained, he told me to send the camera to him and he would return it to Nikon for repair under warranty, fair enough but when I checked out the shipping costs..I got a shock, £62 each way..! So I had a choice, pay that or pay to repair ot over here. I chose the latter for, I thought, better security and took it to Bligh's Optics in Leeds who I thought would repair it but they sent it to Nikon. Anyway it cost me £210 !
So much for, I thought, an original saving of £85 on ebay. There it is, I know there are success stories but we need to balance the equation......Would I do it again...not on your nelly...!!!! Regards Joe
Click to expand...

Thats weird as long as you have the yellow international warranty slip it makes no odds?? that is why very few far east dealers will send it and offer 3rd party warranties instead. My D70s packed up after 13mths (my fault a story for another day) took it back and the authorised repaired didn't want to see my warranty!! Having used both Nikon and FixationUK I will say that IMHO I will always use Fixation every time, slick service, fast and courteous, Nikon were okay by very slow.

As the originator of this thread goes, there is a piece in this month Photography Monthly about the crackdown on imports from the US and the charges levied depending on what you buy. It makes no mention of imports from the Far East
 
Duke Leto said:
My American friends assure me that the US and Local Governments make up for the cheap goods in other ways and taxes 8-P
Click to expand...
Yes and I can attest to this. In this country, you can potentially be taxed at least four times on the same money. Taxes are taken when you make the money in the first place. Then you use that money to but a car. You're taxed again when making a purchase. You sell that car some years later, you're taxed again as it is an income. If you put that money in the bank and it collects interest, you're taxed on the interest. That's four times on the same money! Things only seem cheaper if one only looks at price before taxes.
 
Gentoo said:
Yes and I can attest to this. In this country, you can potentially be taxed at least four times on the same money. Taxes are taken when you make the money in the first place. Then you use that money to but a car. You're taxed again when making a purchase. You sell that car some years later, you're taxed again as it is an income. If you put that money in the bank and it collects interest, you're taxed on the interest. That's four times on the same money! Things only seem cheaper if one only looks at price before taxes.
Click to expand...

You might be right, but I'm not convinced.

We pay plenty of income tax. Let's assume an annual income of £30,000 (£40,000). You will receive £22,089.10 (£29,273.60) after tax. There is approx 5K tax free income, then tax rises to 40% above thresholds.

We also pay 17.5% VAT on most items, and fuel attracts silly tax. Assuming 95p per litre (we now pay about 10p more), then 63.7p of that is tax. There are other taxes: road tax, tax on insurance, tax on bank interest (40% for a higher rate tax payer), tax on capital gains (40% for a higher rate tax payer) and so on.

Of course a lot of people have two sets of books, or take cash in hand. In some areas that is commonplace.
 
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