17-40 f4 L USM purchase B&H New York for UK [Archive]

billhercus

20th of January 2004 (Tue), 09:50

For UK members the following may be of interest.

Just purchased 17-40 L from B&H. Following is cost converted to my credit card (Egg) charges in pounds sterling.

Lens: £419.66 (inc postage) UK import duty + VAT = £116.56

Total = £536.22

Min UK price I could find was £580:00. Not much but still significant saving.

Morden

20th of January 2004 (Tue), 10:12

That's a nice price. :D

I'm in the UK and I have noticed that the current exchange rate makes buying from the U.S. rather an attractive proposition.

evilenglishman

20th of January 2004 (Tue), 10:46

billhercus

20th of January 2004 (Tue), 10:57

That's fair comment but two points to note. This is my first time caught with import duty etc. - there's a fair chance you might be missed :lol: and B&H's reputation is such that that is not that likely that items will need return, I suspect. ... and is still is 40 odd quid saved!!

Waterstar

20th of January 2004 (Tue), 12:05

"That's fair comment but two points to note. This is my first time caught with import duty etc. - there's a fair chance you might be missed :lol: and B&H's reputation is such that that is not that likely that items will need return, I suspect. ... and is still is 40 odd quid saved!!"

I've also bought from B&H. My observations:

* Avoiding duty & VAT if you use a courier is highly unlikely, their systems are automated and B&H will *ONLY* put accurate description on shipping documents.

* Saving varies from lens to lens, as a percentage of cheapest UK price.

* Filters seem much cheaper in US than UK, hence if you plan to buy something like a circular polarising filter, add it to the B&H order and it will increase quite significantly the saving.

* Use a credit card which does not have a high exchange fee such as 2.5 or 3%. If you can avoid this, potentially adds another £15 saving on £500 purchase.

As alternatives you could have bought from "Digital Rev" in HK, which others on this Board have done, and they seem to package goods in a manner which does not attract customs attention. I know no more as i have not used them. They are quoting £478 shipped to UK

Or others are contemplating Spain Price of Euro 599 which equates to £415. Spanish price includes VAT. No one seems to have done this yet. Hence it would be shipping cost onto this, say £30 giving total of £445. And it would have an EU wide warranty!! (Assuming it is not grey stock in Spain.)

http://www.fotoboom.com/pagina.php?cat=objetivos&marca=canon&comienzo=40&o f=&nov=

chris.bailey

20th of January 2004 (Tue), 12:33

Out of interest, how long did it take to get to you? I'm in Dubai in a few weeks time and am told that stuff is cheap out there. May well leave space in the bag for a 70-200L on the way back!!!

Waterstar

20th of January 2004 (Tue), 12:38

Out of interest, how long did it take to get to you?

Four working days from placing order with B&H to it arriving at my home in UK.

billhercus

20th of January 2004 (Tue), 12:45

V interesting waterstar! I tried various Spanish outlets on recommendation from a forum member. I got no response to any emails and did not find an outlet that spoke English when I tried phoning. You're right though, it is cheap although the point you make about the warranty is not relevant. A USA item (not grey import) has an international warranty and we are covered here for items purchased USA.

I'm a lttle nervous about Ebay. I did purchase a 75-300 on Ebay cheap (no import duty etc.) but it took a month to get here and I was having kittens during that period. This purchase - ordered PM Wed got it AM today (Tuesday) with tracking facilities etc.

Have still saved nearly 50 quid which is better than a slap on the belly with a wet kipper (as we say) but of course, there are those who will no doubt do better!!

... and yes, I did order a 77mm filter as well :lol:

samdring

20th of January 2004 (Tue), 13:36

You're right - 50 quid better in your sky-rocket than some beggar-elses. Well done - following soon
Nowt wrong with the photo - like the double sky-line!

pompeygreg

20th of January 2004 (Tue), 14:22

As alternatives you could have bought from "Digital Rev" in HK, which others on this Board have done, and they seem to package goods in a manner which does not attract customs attention. I know no more as i have not used them. They are quoting £478 shipped to UK

I used Digital Rev for my 17-40mm and paid £470 with insured P&P. Slightly delayed in getting here but it was the Xmas / New Year period and I have patience :wink:
I'm in the market for another lens at the moment and will go with the same route again.

Greg

Red Squirrel

21st of January 2004 (Wed), 10:43

It looks like FotoBoom can ship to the UK, but I don't understand Spanish and what's a NIR number??
Aaargh! what's it all mean???
:shock:

Waterstar

21st of January 2004 (Wed), 10:56

Hi Red Squirrel

Yes re Fotoboom i worked out that far also, meanwhile i am soon getting a fluent Spanish speaking friend to give them a call. I will post responses.

From what i can see re Fotoboom

* shipping to UK seems a fixed amount of euro 57 no matter what you order.

* not sure if they take credit cards, if not adds to expense to have to do bank transfer.

But a 16-35 L delivered in the UK for £750 or a 100-400L IS for £870 do seem very tasty.

Compared to B&H with all duties paid these prices are about £100 cheaper!

And compared to UK prices of £1200 and £1225 respectively from WarehouseExpress in the UK, definitely worth learning Spanish!!

UK_Terry

21st of January 2004 (Wed), 11:05

Red Squirrel

21st of January 2004 (Wed), 11:31

Hi uk_terry,

the problem with going the HK route is that your lens will not have a valid warranty. With a little perserverance, I'm sure we can manage to get a nice lens with full european canon warranty from the spanish.

Picked up my 10d from Jessops today for £1120 ( had to buy it from them as I had £550 in insurance vouchers )

It's a beautiful rugged beast - absolutely looks the business, can't wait to take it for a test drive with my old 24-85 usm when I get home :P

And it's already on 2.0.1, doubt I'd ever want pictbridge though.

UK_Terry

21st of January 2004 (Wed), 11:38

If you do get a "good Price" please let us Know.

i Have the 10D a great camera. sigma 17 - 35, Canon 28 - 135IS (best lens i own) and a Canon 75 - 300.
i am really interested in the New Sigma 80 -400, but not at UK prices.

Lesmac

22nd of January 2004 (Thu), 01:46

Purchased mine from HKSupplies in Hong Kong for around £480 including shipping, I have used before, and the guy there (Poon), I find honest and reliable.
They are grey lenses, and carry a years warranty, but need to sent back to HK supplies for any claim, which I can live with , as the £100 + saving I've made outweighs the cost of any possible return.
They always 'minimize' vat, import duties, and the one time I had to pay anything (on a £300 lens), was £27.

Red Squirrel

22nd of January 2004 (Thu), 07:05

I couldn't wait any longer,
I've ordered a 17-40l from Adorama. Got a 40x lexar as well. And a 50mm f1.8.

Quite a considerable saving over the uk price for that lot.

zerolight

22nd of January 2004 (Thu), 08:18

UK_Terry

22nd of January 2004 (Thu), 10:19

fox1

22nd of January 2004 (Thu), 10:47

Or others are contemplating Spain Price of Euro 599 which equates to £415. Spanish price includes VAT. No one seems to have done this yet. Hence it would be shipping cost onto this, say £30 giving total of £445. And it would have an EU wide warranty!! (Assuming it is not grey stock in Spain.)

http://www.fotoboom.com/pagina.php?

Looking at the Canon 100-400mm, seems to be around £850 from
Spain...could be worth considering over the US import.

billhercus

22nd of January 2004 (Thu), 11:04

Yep,

If you speak Spanish, Spain is worth a go. I have not been able to 'crack' a Spanish shop yet and eventually gave up. If anyone does find an English speaking one, let us know!!

BTW, I don't undersatnd the concern re warranty.

As long as it is not a grey item, the manufacturer's warranty is world wide.

I have had no questions registering my Canon lenses on line about where I bought them from.

UK_Terry

22nd of January 2004 (Thu), 11:20

Yep,

I have had no questions registering my Canon lenses on line about where I bought them from.

Me neither..a very valid point

pompeygreg

22nd of January 2004 (Thu), 14:27

I used Digital Rev for my 17-40mm and paid £470 with insured P&P. Slightly delayed in getting here but it was the Xmas / New Year period and I have patience :wink:
I'm in the market for another lens at the moment and will go with the same route again.

Greg

what is their web address?

Bought through e-bay. Still listing there with a good turnover of punters on substantial priced items. Only negative / neutral feedback appears to be people unhappy at getting customs duty on the way through....

fox1

23rd of January 2004 (Fri), 07:23

>>Or others are contemplating Spain Price of Euro 599 which equates to £415. Spanish price includes VAT. No one seems to have done this yet. Hence it would be shipping cost onto this, say £30 giving total of £445. And it would have an EU wide warranty!! (Assuming it is not grey stock in Spain.) <<

Shipping cost vary from 57 euros (£37) to 120 euros (£80) ...as far as I could make out. :shock:

jalafer

26th of January 2004 (Mon), 02:19

Hello, I contacted fptpboom in Madrid and they have one guy that speaks english. He explained to me that they currently sale lenses to Europe, their guarantee is international. You can contact him at javier@fotoboom.com please tell him that you come fro this forum.
Good look

evilenglishman

26th of January 2004 (Mon), 06:25

Red Squirrel

26th of January 2004 (Mon), 06:56

I received a reply from javier @ fotoboom this morning - They will happily ship to the uk...I think I am able to post a cheque to them.
I've cancelled my order with adorama - complete pain in the ar$e they are!

and the total price inc p&p was 640 euro (£460)

Waterstar

26th of January 2004 (Mon), 07:07

Hi Red Squirrel

You say Fotoboom will take a cheque... are you sure it would not be a bank transfer in Euros that they would require??

(Bear in mind that a bank transfer from UK to Spain may be about £20 or so.)

I am assuming they do not take credit cards.... at least that was my interpretation of their site with my limited Spanish.

jalafer

26th of January 2004 (Mon), 07:34

Waterstar, according to my bank's information, if you give them the complete IBAN code of the transferred company, they don´t charge you that much money for the transfer.
Check it with your bank in UK.

Red Squirrel

26th of January 2004 (Mon), 07:59

My bank says they should accept a cheque, however it's up to the company as to whether they will or not - and in this case it looks like they want a bank transfer only.

Still a bargain though :)

zerolight

26th of January 2004 (Mon), 10:01

i'm still kicking myself. I bought myself and my father a 28-135is from BHPhoto (huge shop, really) while I was in NYC on holiday a couple of weeks ago. I also had the 17-40L in my hand, and was about to buy. decided I was already spending loads, wait. the exchange rate was 1.78 on my CC on that day too. doh.

Ah well, seems like a good excuse for another trip to NY.

My dad called me last night to thank me again for picking the 28-135 for him. Then told me he'd gone into town to get a 20-35 and came home with a 16-35L. Git. :)

pompeygreg

29th of January 2004 (Thu), 05:51

My bank says they should accept a cheque, however it's up to the company as to whether they will or not - and in this case it looks like they want a bank transfer only.

Still a bargain though :)

Did you go through with this? Thinking about using them for a lens purchase but would prefer not to be the first to try!

Red Squirrel

29th of January 2004 (Thu), 06:05

I've wired the funds and am awaiting my lens. I shall keep you posted.
Hopefully it'll focus a lot better than my piece of sh#t 24-85 usm.

pompeygreg

2nd of February 2004 (Mon), 06:51

Well that's now two of us. I placed my order today as the price / european supply convinced me it was the best deal.

Greg

Waterstar

2nd of February 2004 (Mon), 09:20

Hi Red Squirrel & Pompey Greg

Likewise I have made enquiries of Fotoboom and have had email replies of how to pay by bank transfer.

Two questions I have not asked Fotoboom and thought I would check with you guys before asking the questions of Fotoboom.

1) Do fotoboom have a retail site in Madrid, i.e. I could go from Luton by easyjet on a day trip for about the same price as courier cost and bank transfer costs. Madrid has good public transport, is about 8 stops on Metro to the city centre. On the other hand if wanted to make it a two day trip hotels at about 50 Euro.

2) Do "L" lenses in Spain come with all the same accessories included in price, i.e. lens hood, "pouch" or carrying bag" and, if applicable, tripod ring.

Any answers/info much appreciated.

Look forward to hearing about delivery of your lenses.

jalafer

3rd of February 2004 (Tue), 02:06

Yes, fotoboom has a shop in Madrid where you can pick your purchases.
In the other hand I was yesterday discussing with other shop in Spain and they informed me that Canon Spain will increase soon the prices of the lenses by a 20% or so. They explain to me that the price reduction they did last year was an attempt to take part of the Nikon market, which is very strong in Spain, now they plan to recuperate profits again.
If you want the L lenses ... be quick !!

Red Squirrel

4th of February 2004 (Wed), 09:51

Well, my 17-40L has arrived from FotoBoom - it indeed does come with lens hood and case. In fact the box is indentical to the one I saw in Jessops.
Now all I need is for the rain to stop and I can take a few pics... :D

UK_Terry

4th of February 2004 (Wed), 10:41

Red Squirrel

4th of February 2004 (Wed), 10:49

It would have taken 2 days, but they were waiting for my filters to come in.

Lens £427
delivery £28 ( approx )
bank transfer £25

so total cost was £480. ( as opposed to £530 from b&h inc. all charges )

pompeygreg

4th of February 2004 (Wed), 12:56

Congrats Red Squirrel on your lens, I am sure you will be very happy together!

Also makes me more confident that I will be receiving my purchase soon. :D

For anyone who was interested my purchase of a Canon 100-400mm L IS Lens including delivery to the UK came to approx £850. Not bad considering that it has full duty paid on it.

Greg

UK_Terry

4th of February 2004 (Wed), 13:02

pompeygreg

4th of February 2004 (Wed), 13:12

Yep. Through Fotoboom, the same route as Red Squirrel.

Greg

pompeygreg

17th of February 2004 (Tue), 06:43

My lens arrived today (exactly when Fotoboom said it would), and I am very happy with the service they provided. Unfortunately my bank made an error and sent 14 euros less than was needed, Fotoboom were kind enough to send me the lens anway to save me having to wait while the additional money went across.

A very good shopping experience....

Greg

kiwimichael

18th of February 2004 (Wed), 16:18

Thanks for the info - I ordered my 17-40 lens yesterday at Fotoboom and just beat the EUR 30 price increase.

Michael

kiwimichael

24th of February 2004 (Tue), 13:25

Today I picked up my 17-40 lens! WOW! It's my second L lens (the other is the 70-200 f/4) and joins the 28-135 IS. Fotoboom wre indeed a pleasure to deal with.

I just hope now that my 10D arrives very soon.

Waterstar

24th of February 2004 (Tue), 17:42

Unfortunately, Canon in Spain have increased prices and Fotoboom have increased prices of "L" lenses by at least 10% and up to 30%.

As fate would have it, increase came through on the day I ordered 100-400L. So now looking at what are alternate sources for UK purchase.

Any ideas??

pompeygreg

25th of February 2004 (Wed), 11:09

The 100-400mm is showing on Fotoboom at 1300 Euros. With delivery you are looking at 1350 Euros or approx £930 inclusive of taxes. So even with £10-£20 for the bank transfer I would be surprised if you could pick one up as cheap in the UK. Even the grey stuff on e-bay will cost in at more than that.

If you want I'll do you a 100-400mm for £1100....will take me about 10 days to source it from Spain though :D

petiot

25th of February 2004 (Wed), 15:28

Hi all

that might be a stupid question, but i am in uk and i went on ebay. Some 17-40 are available for 438 £ ... am i missing somethign here?

cheers

Red Squirrel

26th of February 2004 (Thu), 05:10

Were they from Hong Kong by any chance?

petiot

26th of February 2004 (Thu), 05:30

yes, it is said on the site "imported from hong Kong". However, they also mention that they manage the transfer (and cost) from and to Hong Kong is any problem occur with the lens (since the warranty is local to hong Kong.

i dont know how many people had problems with L glass in the first year (warranty for L glass is one year right?). not many i guess, or i hope. but i think that for nearly 100 UK £ (one fifth of the proce), it might be worth taking some (limited i think) risks.

I try to see if there is a catch since i think i will go for a 17-40 L lens in the couple of months that come. What do you think? 530£ for a US imported lens (by the way is there a world wide warranty?) or 430 for a hong kong imported one?

(Dan)

fox1

26th of February 2004 (Thu), 05:54

or 430 for a hong kong imported one? (Dan)

That £430 might well cost another £100+ once you have added
fees. shipping, Vat, duty.... :oops:

Waterstar

26th of February 2004 (Thu), 06:22

Just ordered a 100-400L IS from Fotoboom in Madrid. They offered me a good price as they had previously given me a quote before they increased prices on web site.

Subject to final confirmation of exchange rate from my bank on transferring Euros total cost including shipping and bank transfer costs should be in range of £890 to £900.

Waiting impatiently for delivery!!

petiot

26th of February 2004 (Thu), 06:22

that is the point Fox1. I have read this thread and i know that import duty have to be paid if bought from abroad.

I am not talking about personnaly buying from a shop in hong kong, but buying from a E-bay selling company which import from hong kong. And the asking price is 430. I can t see anywhere on their web site that you have to pay for the import duty or whatsoever.

one more time. i might b emissing something.

Waterstar

26th of February 2004 (Thu), 06:30

Not sure which "Hong Kong" site you are referring to, but for example on Digital Rev ebay site they state

"This item will be shipped to you from our Hong Kong office. If you are purchasing this item as a gift please be sure to let us know so that we can mark the customs papers accordingly. We will do all that we can to help you minimize your import duty exposure on your request. In case some import duty is due upon delivery, it is your responsibility to meet that expense."

see 17-40 at

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2989606540&category=46 87

It is a question of the risk you are willing to take, both on warranty and on risk of being charged import duty. Different buyers have different views.