Benro from Hong Kong to US: Duties?

I see that the Benro tripod I ordered from Holgacamera in Hong Kong arrived in the USA yesterday and has gone into US Customs. I realize that if they want to charge me duty, it's my responsiblity, but I wonder what others' experience with this has been? I have ordered lots of stuff from INTL sites over the years and never had duties levied on the purchases.

Has anyone here had to pay duty on a tripod from Hong Kong or China?

michaelnel wrote in post #13895119
I see that the Benro tripod I ordered from Holgacamera in Hong Kong arrived in the USA yesterday and has gone into US Customs. I realize that if they want to charge me duty, it's my responsiblity, but I wonder what others' experience with this has been? I have ordered lots of stuff from INTL sites over the years and never had duties levied on the purchases.

Has anyone here had to pay duty on a tripod from Hong Kong or China?

How much is the tripod and how much is the duty?

yogestee wrote in post #13895164
How much is the tripod and how much is the duty?

$333, and I don't know.

There is no import duty on still camera equipment brought into the US. See the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States page 90 or thereabouts.

Many members have bought from Holgacamera and other HK dealers without issue.

Thanks Peter. So I guess it goes to customs and then back out to the post office for delivery to me then.

I live in San Francisco, and right now the USPS tracking shows it was processed through the San Francisco sort facility last night, and right now the status is "Inbound Into Customs".

Tracking now shows it as having gone through the SF Sort Facility again, so I expect it will be delivered tomorrow. It's a Benro C1681TB0, by the way.

Congrats, I think you'll like the tripod! You might want to consider eventually selling the B0 head and getting a Photo Clam, Markins or RRS replacement.

I have in the past owned Markins and RRS heads, so I am familiar with their quality. I sure don't want to own something called a Photo Clam. Markins is bad enough, being close to a word for a pubic hairpiece. Further, I don't think their additional quality justifies their additional price though (maybe it does in the case of the RRS heads).

I had a Benro C068 Travel Angel (the previous generation) and I have owned three really expensive Gitzos (GT2530, GT2531, and GT0531), and none of them have any better quality than the Benro I owned.

If the Benro head doesn't meet my needs I will buy a better head, but I think it probably will suit me just fine.

Yes the Photo Clam name is a bit weird but they're not bad, at least the one I had was OK. Not quite up to the Markins Q3T though. Agree with you on the Benro quality; I also use a Benro traveler and it retired my Gitzo equivalent.

Hopefully you'll get your new Benro tomorrow and you'll be all set!

Postman just dropped off the package. $15 expedited shipping from Hong Kong, and it only took 3 days to get here. The tripod and ballhead are just as I expected, perfect for my needs. I am very pleased again with Benro and for my first time with Holgacamera!

michaelnel wrote in post #13898415
I have in the past owned Markins and RRS heads, so I am familiar with their quality. I sure don't want to own something called a Photo Clam. Markins is bad enough, being close to a word for a pubic hairpiece. Further, I don't think their additional quality justifies their additional price though (maybe it does in the case of the RRS heads).

I had a Benro C068 Travel Angel (the previous generation) and I have owned three really expensive Gitzos (GT2530, GT2531, and GT0531), and none of them have any better quality than the Benro I owned.

If the Benro head doesn't meet my needs I will buy a better head, but I think it probably will suit me just fine.

Benro really makes the best legs for the money!

I just noticed a cool security feature on the B0 ballhead. It is a screw-type clamp, and if you unscrew it with the camera plate in it, it will only unscrew a little way and then stops. Where it stops, you can move the camera plate side to side, but only to the limits of the pins on the bottom of the plate (keeps you from sliding it out sideways inadvertently). You can unscrew those limit pins if you want to be able to slide it out sideways, but I'm going to leave them in for the security. Then, if you want to remove the plate from the clamp you have to pull out the screw knob against a pretty stiff spring before it will rotate far enough to let you get the plate out.

If I recall correctly, my Markins and RRS ballheads had the side to side security, but no stop on the knob to keep you from unscrewing it far enough to drop the camera. I think that's a good idea on Benro's part.

michaelnel wrote in post #13902907
I just noticed a cool security feature on the B0 ballhead. It is a screw-type clamp, and if you unscrew it with the camera plate in it, it will only unscrew a little way and then stops. Where it stops, you can move the camera plate side to side, but only to the limits of the pins on the bottom of the plate (keeps you from sliding it out sideways inadvertently). You can unscrew those limit pins if you want to be able to slide it out sideways, but I'm going to leave them in for the security. Then, if you want to remove the plate from the clamp you have to pull out the screw knob against a pretty stiff spring before it will rotate far enough to let you get the plate out.

If I recall correctly, my Markins and RRS ballheads had the side to side security, but no stop on the knob to keep you from unscrewing it far enough to drop the camera. I think that's a good idea on Benro's part.

That's kinda cool... they must have updated the ballhead design recently then... I bought a travelangel early last year and it didn't have the spring.

So how much $$$ did you save vs buying from US company??

BufordFZ1 wrote in post #13953364
So how much $$$ did you save vs buying from US company??

Over $150.