17-40l f4 from Hong Kong

[MrDave]

I had a look on Ebay today and a HK company is selling this lens for just over £500. Has anyone had any experience of buying from Hong Kong?
I'd like to buy one from the US and import into the UK but think I might get hammered to death with import duties.
You Yanks have it soooo easy over there - goods are so damn cheap!!
Cheapest I've seen the lens in the UK is £650 by the way..
cheers!

[RichardtheSane]

You've not seen www.warehouseexpress.co.uk then - £599 there :D
I'd avoid importing stuff unless you are going to get the lens for 1/3 off or more. You would have to pay £25 shipping at least, and the warranty will be a HK warranty.
Buy from warehouseexpress and you pay £607 delivered and get UK warranty. If you get hit for VAT & import duty from HK (which you might) then you will pay more than £650

Good luck :D

[MrDave]

Wow! Cheers for that Richard,
Don't think it's worth buying from HK now!

[reggie]

Mr Dave,

If warehouseexpress.co.uk has it in stock, I'll take off my hat but I rather think it's going to stay on my head.
They haven't had any for ages- same goes for the 70-200 f4L.

The Hong Kong route ain't so painful and it is quick

Reggie

[RichardtheSane]

Mine came from there about 3 weeks ago :D

[evilenglishman]

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[Red Squirrel]

I'm thinking of taking the plunge and buying this lens...
Think I'll wait until after Christmas and see if the 10d drops in price then I'll buy both - until then I'll have to make do with my g3

[Waterstar]

I have been looking at possibility of buying one or more lenses from overseas, most likely choice so far would be B&H.

As I understand calculation of total costs, it would be as follows, taking the 17-40 lens

Cost of lens $700

Shipping $40

Total US $ Cost $740

@exchange rate of, say $1.65 = £1 £448

On importation

Import tariff of 6.5% on lenses £29

VAT @ 17.5% £84

Total £561

Customs Collection fee by post office/dhl etc, say £10

Total cost £571


Compared to UK price of £599, not worth considering importing, unless you believe you have a reasonable chance of it "slipping through" and no VAT or duty paid.

The arithmetic is not the same for every lens and there are some where it is potentially attractive.

Other considerations:

Exchange rate: at moment we have good £/$ exchange rate, but bear in mind that most credit cards charge a fee of approx 2.5% on purchases in foreign currency.

But looking at B&H prices the things which are very cheap (relatively) are Canon filters. Fancy a circular polariser and a general filter with your lens.... factor those into the calculation and it improves the case for importing!

[Red Squirrel]

It's almost like they factored in the rate of vat to deter us from buying from the States!

[Waterstar]

Hi Red Squirrel

it is not that Canon or US Retailers factor in VAT to discourage Brits from buying in the US, it is that Canon are selling product at reasonably similar prices which are then subject to local mark up etc and taxes.

I lived in US for 5 years and prices quoted on US sites are before sales taxes. The basis of whether you pay sales tax in US is complicated, based on where the retailer is and where you live, hence typical US site can only calculate taxes after it has your address.

But it works for some lenses

eg one I have been looking at is 85mm f1.8 USM

Price in UK at WarehouseExpress, including shipping £376

Purchased from B&H and all taxes shipping paid to UK as per calculation in previous posting: £283

If I then included a 58mm circular polarising filter, in the UK it would cost me £90, it would add £53 to the purchase from the US, including all taxes etc.

If it was a 77mm Circ polariiser as for the 17-40 lens it would be £157 bought in UK, £76 bought from US, all taxes paid etc

(On filters i am assuming they are bought with lens hence no extra shipping cost)

Final piece of advice on buying from abroad is to check how your bank or credit card deals with exchange rates and any additional charges. Most use standard VISA or Mastercard exchange rates and then add a further %age, typically 2.5%. A few, and the most notable is Nationwide, do not charge this additional percentage.

Sorry if this posting has bored non-UK members of the forum.

[AndrewEllinas]

i've just ordered a 24-70mm f2.8 L from Hong Kong to be shipped to the UK. cost £765 instead of £1,100 from a UK retailer.

i'll post when it arrives.

[Waterstar]

Hi Andrew

be interested to hear if you get charged duty (6.5%) and VAT (17.5%) plus Post Office (or other carrier) collection fee re VAT/Duty.

If charged these are approx 24% in total.

I've been looking at a few lenses and IMHO for many lenses the "gamble" is do you get caught for duty/VAT.

(and even if you do avoid duty/VAT on buying the lens you can get caught each time you enter the UK. A few years ago I had a customs official go through everything in my camera bag and UK customs appear to have serial numbers of all products brought in by official importer, hence the "I've lost the receipt" excuse does not stand up!! Once he had a sense I had receipts for everything he was quite talkative and knowledgeable about cameras and about the "excuses" people give and hinted as to how "excuses" can be tested.))

Meantime, saw Warehouse Express doing 17-40 for £999 in UK, if they have stock of course.

[AndrewEllinas]

i just bought a S50 for my wife from the same source. they marked the package as toys.

i'm hoping the same happens with the new lens. fingers crossed. if not, well i'll have to pay the tax but i think its worth trying.

[Waterstar]

Apologies

at the end of my last post, price of £999 is for 24-70 f2.8 L Lens at Warehouse Express.

[AndrewEllinas]

My 24-70 F2.8 L arrived at my office this morning from Hong Kong.

I ordered it on 25th and it arrived 3 days later - total cost £794 including postage.

I got it from DigitalRevolution Online - search for Canon L at ebay. Its the second time I've used them and they are efficient and easy to deal with, in fact I've another two lenses coming.

Can't wait to get home and try it out!

[evilenglishman]

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[AndrewEllinas]

They have a UK representative and if worse comes to worse I have a friend in Hong Kong who'll take it back for me.

I appreciate that I am taking a risk, but then there are no free lunches.

[RichardtheSane]

For the 17-40 the saving isn't worth it, but for a few other lenses it is. I have just recieved a Canon 100mm USM macro from a similar hong kong source. £325 inc postage and a Hoya HMC UV filter. That is nearly half the UK price, really it is worth considering if the saving is enough to justify the risk :D
This seller cleared the package as used equipment, so no duty payable.