Advice Needed On where To buy lens in uk

[xstrio]

I just wondered if anyone from the uk had any advice on where the best place to buy lenses from, i was interested in the canon 17-40L best price i`ve found it for here is from 7day shop for 480 pounds, would i be better buying one off ebay from hong kong which is 390 pounds, or from say B&h photo in usa which is about 700$, how much import duty is normally charged .. any advice would be great

[wintoid]

I got one from Hong Kong for £400 and paid £45 import duty.

I've also recently ordered from B+H, and it seems the first international order you do with them can be a bit slow, because they insist on getting photos of both sides of your credit card to "verify" the purchase. Took about 3 days to "verify" me, which as far as I could see meant sitting on their hands. Otherwise, it was a flawless purchase :D I worked out the import duty I paid as 21% but I don't know what the breakdown was.

[JusSmith]

Canon UK won't honour the HK warranty, but they will honour the US/Canada warranty for lenses (but not cameras). 7dayshop stuff is from the US, so you can warranty it. Remember that Canon will also require a sales invoice for the warranty to be valid, so buying from Ebay probably won't give you this. 7dayshop is cheap because they source from the US and don't charge you VAT. But remember you may get charged by Customs! You won't get any after sales support from 7dayshop, you try finding any contact details on their website! I bought a 50mm f1.8 from them for £54 (no VAT or duty was demanded - apparantly about only 1 in 8 parcels are checked) and was happy to risk that amount. I wouldn't risk buying an L!


To play it safe, I would take a look at www.warehouseexpress.com (http://www.warehouseexpress.com), www.t4cameras.co.uk (http://www.t4cameras.co.uk) (Canon authorised) or www.parkcameras.com (http://www.parkcameras.com) (Canon authorised).

[agwright]

I got mine from 7dayshop about a month ago and am very happy with the service and speed of the order and the cost of coruse - ordered late on friday night and it arrived on Tuesday morning.

[griff2]

I just oredered a 17-40 f/4 L from B & H in America, it cost me £385.68 including shipping. I may get hit for import duties, if so, that will push the price up to £453.18 (assuming 17.5%) but that's still cheaper than 7days.

By the way. 7days is based in Guernsey, which is part of the UK, so they HAVE to charge VAT.

[JusSmith]

Guernsey is a separate state with it's own government, see www3.gov.gg/content/home-department/customs/guernsey-vat.jsp (http://www3.gov.gg/content/home-department/customs/guernsey-vat.jsp)
Why else are 7day so cheap?

If your parcel is intercepted you'll pay 6% import duty and 17.5% VAT!

[griff2]

From the 7days website: http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/info.php.

Scroll down the page, the text in red.

[GyRob]

i bought from the states twice and got duty put on, so now i buy from 7dayshop.com they have fair prices. and not had a problem yet.
Rob

[foxbat]

Canon UK won't honour the HK warranty, but they will honour the US/Canada warranty for lenses (but not cameras).

Wrong! I have an email from Canon UK support confirming their WORLDWIDE warranty on all their lenses:

"If I buy an "L" series Canon lense from Hong Kong will the warranty be honoured by Canon support and servicing in the UK? I am a UK resident."

Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding your Canon product.
There is Global Warranty on all Canon lenses.

We hope this information is of use to you. However, should you require any further technical assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us quoting your Incident number.

[JusSmith]

Typical of a Corporation, when I phoned 3 weeks ago and spoke to someone in the warranty department they said they wouldn't warrant a Canon HK warranty!

One of us is wrong and more worryingly so is someone at Canon!!!

[dpp]

Hello

I bought a 17-40L and a 50mm 1.4 from
Hugo So , URGalaxy on Ebay
you dont pay import duty as you pay into a UK bank account
Excellent service arrived in 2-3 days.

an example
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4687&item=7503612410&rd=1

[DavoMrMac]

The mention of T4, Park, and WarehouseExpress earlier in this thread is where I check out all my prices, as well as Pricrunner and Pricegrabber, with BristolCameras coming up quite a bit with good prices...

...then off to Jessops with a printout and they have always price matched for me :)

[Phil V]

7dayshop is cheap because they source from the US and don't charge you VAT.
If 7dayshop source from the US how come they can sell a 300d (not a Rebel), also they do charge UK VAT at source, and have been doing for some time.

I would agree with the other recommendations, but I've bought loads of stuff from 7dayshop and I've been pleased with the service and the prices. I do feel I have to keep putting the record straight as there are people who haven't dealt with them, but keep perpetuating misinformation.:o

[quadphoto]

I having been thinking of buying a 17-40L and have looked at most of the options mentioned in this thread, I have now taken the plunge and ordered one from URGalaxy on E-Bay, I hope it all goes ok. Will keep you posted. Quadphoto

[kevin_c]

The mention of T4, Park, and WarehouseExpress earlier in this thread is where I check out all my prices, as well as Pricrunner and Pricegrabber, with BristolCameras coming up quite a bit with good prices...

...then off to Jessops with a printout and they have always price matched for me :)


Yep... done the same thing loads of times and saved myself hundreds (New 20D etc. recently), never had a price not matched by them.
Bristol Cameras are very cheap on some items, anybody dealt with them?

[RichardtheSane]

Hello

I bought a 17-40L and a 50mm 1.4 from
Hugo So , URGalaxy on Ebay
you dont pay import duty as you pay into a UK bank account
Excellent service arrived in 2-3 days.

an example
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4687&item=7503612410&rd=1

I've bought from URGalaxy, that is how I got my 100mm Macro.
Great service!

[stormywhether]

I've always found http://www.onestop-digital.com/ very competitive indeed. They've supplied the guys at the DVDForums with tons of quality Canon and Sigma lenses.

They're based in HK but offer a no VAT guarantee for a little extra - well recommended.

[DavoMrMac]

I even had Jessops match DigitalRev on ebay before now, as they list an 0845 number and look as though they are UK based. Their prices are silly sometimes, so maybe don't try and push the price match too far.

[DamienB]

Bristol Cameras are very cheap on some items, anybody dealt with them?

Got my 28-135 IS from then a good while back, they were by far the cheapest for it at the time. No problems with order processing or delivery and the lens was fine so no idea if their customer service is any good if you have a problem.

[antaine]

will jessopps match 7dayshop.com?? any problems as they are not mainland uk? (I'm going to Manchester on Thur for a few days)

[JusSmith]

If 7dayshop source from the US how come they can sell a 300d (not a Rebel), also they do charge UK VAT at source, and have been doing for some time.


Phil V - the thread is lenses, not cameras!!! If you look at your warranty for your 7dayshop lens then it will be a US one!

For cameras then they're not that much cheaper, about £45 less for a 20D than the warehouseexpress price, about 4.5%. My 50mm f1.8 was 28% cheaper.

[Marshall]

Try the Urgalaxy shop on E-bay they guarantee no duty or v.a.t.If Jessops did a little more competetive pricing maybe their shares wouldn't have just dropped 37% ! As for 7-day shop com any of their items under £18 is exempt V.A.T.

[bigrob]

I have bought loads of stuff from 7day shop.

All came quickly, full invoices etc.

No problems with import tax. As was mentioned earlier the link to their website shows the VAT has been paid so you shouldn't get charged.

[DamienB]

Try the Urgalaxy shop on E-bay they guarantee no duty or v.a.t.If Jessops did a little more competetive pricing maybe their shares wouldn't have just dropped 37% ! As for 7-day shop com any of their items under £18 is exempt V.A.T.

Name any EF lens below £18... go on... ;)

[kevin_c]

Thanks for that - I'll give them a go

[russellsnr2]

Hi,Before you buy try going to Ebay uk & search for or click here kerso (http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=kerso&frm=1728) (ebay user I.D.) then ask him best price beleive he originates from Scotland, I just got the CANON EF 70-200mm F4.0L USM for £369 new, think that was a good price.

[johndm]

Hi,Before you buy try going to Ebay uk & search for or click here kerso (http://feedback.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=kerso&frm=1728) (ebay user I.D.) then ask him best price beleive he originates from Scotland, I just got the CANON EF 70-200mm F4.0L USM for £369 new, think that was a good price.

I got my 100-400 L from him....£830 delivered..:D

He is actually in the US, sends stuff to his Mum in Scotland to post on, so you might get stung for import/vat.
He will guarentee a price 'posted from Scotland' though

[malla1962]

I just wondered if anyone from the uk had any advice on where the best place to buy lenses from, i was interested in the canon 17-40L best price i`ve found it for here is from 7day shop for 480 pounds, would i be better buying one off ebay from hong kong which is 390 pounds, or from say B&h photo in usa which is about 700$, how much import duty is normally charged .. any advice would be greati got my 17-40 from ebay hong kong,5 days no duty no problems.if you go with b&h you will pay duty.

[Tomsk]

This site will tell you how much duty you can expect to pay

http://www.uktradeinfo.com/codes/classguides/eShoppingFeb05.pdf

eg.
basic price of lens after conversion to sterling is £100.00
add duty £100.00 + 6.7% = £106.70
add VAT £106.70 + 17.5% = £125.37
add whatever the shipping company adds for processing (Royal Snail adds £4 I think)

[xstrio]

will jessopps match 7dayshop.com?? any problems as they are not mainland uk? (I'm going to Manchester on Thur for a few days)

i went to jessops today to buy a tamron 28-75 , they have it listed at 350 pounds , i gave them a print out of a price i found it on the internet which was 250 pounds, the guy phoned head office amd said that they couldn`t match it but i could have it for 277. so i guess they try and match it

[xstrio]

i got my 17-40 from ebay hong kong,5 days no duty no problems.if you go with b&h you will pay duty.


who did you buy it offf and how much

[Marshall]

You should try Microglobe uk.com, their price £249 +£7 post. Got mine the next day.

[malla1962]

who did you buy it offf and how muchebay seller urgalaxy,£388 plus post but i allso got 2 hoya hmc uv filters for £13 each with no extra postage cost.

[DavoMrMac]

Whenever that happens to me, they always give me something like a case to make up the difference.

I guess it varies from store to store and if you stay loyal to them.

[samdring]

i went to jessops today to buy a tamron 28-75 , they have it listed at 350 pounds , i gave them a print out of a price i found it on the internet which was 250 pounds, the guy phoned head office amd said that they couldn`t match it but i could have it for 277. so i guess they try and match it

Couple of weeks ago I had same problem with same lens after waiting days and days for Jessops to get it in. I didn't bother cos the lens had obviously been rejected by some customer in another shop - I have had 2 lenses ordered from J's - rejected them cos they were clearly someone else's 30-day returns.

[Ray.Petri]

Hi Everyone

Just to add a pennyworth of my experience -

I bought my 20D and 70-200 F4 L from Jessopps UK plus many other bits over time. If you are armed with internet printouts they will make a genuine effort to match - or get as close as seems reasonable - I have no complaint with Jessopps on this score - and of course you actually speak to a person - Wow! So give the local high street Jessopps a try first because they do offer a service - sometimes saving a few quid might not always be to your advantage.

Why risk the possibility of import duties and returns problems if things go wrong?

[xstrio]

You should try Microglobe uk.com, their price £249 +£7 post. Got mine the next day.

i`ve done just that, get mine next day too, best price in uk i`ve found, jessops will do it for 277 which isn`t bad, i guess they have large overheads

[dewmuw]

I emailed 7dayshop and asked them about VAT and Import duty - they state in the e-mail that they guarantee that what I pay them is the total I pay. I have kept a copy and will use it as insurance should I order from them and get stung for extra costs!

[xstrio]

I emailed 7dayshop and asked them about VAT and Import duty - they state in the e-mail that they guarantee that what I pay them is the total I pay. I have kept a copy and will use it as insurance should I order from them and get stung for extra costs!

i ordered the 50 1.8 from them and it arrived in 2 days with no VAT or Duty to pay

[mdr]

7dayshop's prices include UK import taxes for items over £18, so there is no additional VAT or duty to pay, as clearly stated on their web site. I bought a 20D and 17-40L from them and they were marked as duty paid on arrival.

Note that if you buy a number of small items, they arrive in seperate parcels to keep each under the £18 threshold so no vat/duty is liable. Postman Pat wasn't too happy when he got 23 little envelopes containing slide film and print cardriges to deliver to me on one day!

[malla1962]

7 day shop prices include vat and they are verry good prices,where in the uk can you get a ef 100 2.8 macro for £339? you cant.