Urgent - buying from Hong Kong

[Spatch]

Dear all,

Has anyone had any experience of problems with buying lenses from Hong Kong - specifically being classed as imports? I would have thought a Canon 300 F4L IS bought here (UK) would be identical to one bought in Hong Kong.

If anyone has any info please post as soon as possible as I am planning to buy this lens via ebay and the offer runs out in 13hrs.

Thanks for feedback
Mark.

[BlueTit]

Hi I have bought a good few Canon bits from Keaphoto on eBay who is in Hongkong and a 100% seller, I have had no problems, unfortunately I have not bought a lens so I can not help you there. I have heard that Canon warranties on lens is valid world wide, but not on bodies, but please check that as I am not sure. Good luck with your purchase.

[andygrif]

Beware that you are liable for duty and VAT on any purchase made outside of the EU, IIRC duty is something like 4% then you pay VAT on the full amount AND the duty too.

[Spatch]

Guys, thanks for the feedback. The vendor has agreed to pay full duty and VAT - that is part of the deal. The thing I am concerned about is whether the lenses that you buy in Hong Kong are different from those that you buy elsewhere in the world (in this case UK) - for example is the writing on the lens in a different language. I would have thought that the lenses would be identical irrespective of where they are purchased (and all writing would be in English) but I am just not sure.

Someone else out there must have bought a lens from Hong Kong - please any more info??? PLEASE

Cheers,

[kram]

I bought my Tamron 28-75 lens here a month back. It does come with an extra instruction manual in Chinese but didnt notice any change. All English characters come through the lens as English - no translations. :D

[Andy_T]

I would assume that most more expensive Canon lenses are made in Japan ... I know that the occasional 18-55 or 50/1.8 II are made in Taiwan or China.

Bottom line is, the lens you buy in Hongkong will come from the same assembly line as the lens you buy here.

Are you sure that the seller will pay the VAT?
Does he put that clearly in writing and is it confirmed by the feedback he has gotten so far?
Normally the risk of smuggling the lens by false declaration is with the buyer... and that 300/4.0 will surely be a big package that might raise customs officials' interest...

Edit: OK, checked it out :D
They mention it specifically in the offer, and there are buyers who mentioned explicitely in their feedback that they were reimbursed the VAT. Those who gave the feedback that they had to pay VAT were participating in auctions where this option was not given and there was a specific warning about the possibility of customs/tax.

However, the price of 724 GBP does not seem that hot to me. What is the cheapest price for the 300/4.0 IS in the UK? You know that there is a 100 GBP refund on www.canonextrapromotion.com on that lens if you buy it from a regular dealer. I only know the cheapest prices in Germany (I know that they are cheaper than in the UK, ~EUR 1200), so that would be cheaper than the HongKong offer.

Best regards,
Andy

[flipper321]

7dayshop are normally pretty cheap and they quote £849 for the lens - there is a debate as to whether you are definitely entilted to the cashback with 7dayshop as the lens aren't always UK sourced...

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=777_4_409_40910&products_id=98398

[sony23]

We were in Hong Kong in March and all the lenses I looked at were in English, Hope that helps.

Bruce

[quadphoto]

I recently purchased a Canon 17-40L from Hong Kong without any problems and saved well over £130 compaired to UK prices, but BEWARE I dont think mine is a good copy and I am still doing comparison test's to come to a conclusion, if i had purchased it in the UK it would have been a lot easier to exchange, also you never know when you might get caught for VAT and Duty as the parcel may have a false description as to the contents, and will be grossly undervalued on the invoice

Quadphoto.

[Spatch]

Thanks for the feedback, I have done it and ordered it. I have worked on the idea (as you mentioned Andy) that all Canon lenses, especially L's come off the same production line and will be the same as the lens I could buy here in the UK. The seller has confirmed that the instructions are in English. Part of the deal - in addition to paying full duty/VAT - is that they warranty the lens and will pay for all postage of the lens for warranty repairs (the warranty is 12 months). They also say that the lens would normally be back within 3 weeks - so I do not think that there is too much of a risk here.

Looking at prices here in the UK I will be saving about £150 - £200. With the above in mind, to me it is worth the small risk of buying from a reputable seller in Hong Kong rather than here in the UK. I will let you know how it goes.

Cheers,

[Andy_T]

Well, all that seems to be left now is waiting for your new toy to arrive and then have a lot of fun with it :D

Best regards,
Andy