Alienbees Petition to Stop Gouging Canadians on Shipping

I hope this is the right section..

I want to call on all my photographers who shoot ALIENBEES and are tired of paying OUTRAGEOUS shipping fees, to please sign the petition so we can get lights shipped more affordably via the United States Parcel Service.

It should not cost $500 in total shipping fees with the shipping fee itself, brokerage and then duty fees to receive an item worth $500. And then there's the HST we have to pay once we receive it.

http://chng.it/MR9MRGQ​VXD

And if you know anyone else who has Alienbees, please send the petition to them as well and ask them to share it too!

ThatTorontoStudio wrote in post #19202905
.
I want to call on all my photographers who shoot ALIENBEES and are tired of paying OUTRAGEOUS shipping fees, to please sign the petition so we can get lights shipped more affordably via the United States Parcel Service.

It should not cost $500 in total shipping fees with the shipping fee itself, brokerage and then duty fees to receive an item worth $500. And then there's the HST we have to pay once we receive it.
.

.
I was incredulous over what you said about $500 total shipping fees for a $500 item ..... so much so that I looked up AlienBees to see what they are. . Looks like they're flash units ..... is that so?

When you mention $500 total shipping & fees for a $500 item, are you talking about buying them directly from the manufacturer?

I see them for sale from highly rated, reputable sellers on eBay (brand new) and also on B&H. . Are you sure that if you buy them from these retailers that the shipping will be so much? I cannot imagine that B&H or eBay retailers would charge so much for the shipping and fees for shipment to Canada.

So I wonder, why would you ever buy from the manufacturer who gouges you, when you have so many other options for the same products?

Please explain this whole thing to me. . I would like to know more about AlienBees - what they are and why one would buy from a manufacturer instead of a retailer? (if that is indeed the case)


.

Hey Tom!

Yeah they're flash units, and they're AWESOME. Super durable and great quality. Literally my go-to brand. BUT they just don't seem to care about the prices we Canadians incurr on shipping. In USD it's something like, $200+ to ship, $100+ brokerage/duty, and then we still have to pay the HST on it. And $300 USD is $400 CAD. And that's if we are lucky and the big private shipping companies don't decide they wanna charge $200 to broker the package. It's happened before to many of us. You never quite know what you're going to get on the brokerage / duty fees which costs only $5 with USPS to Canada Post.

As for availability elsewhere, I just tried to find them on B&H as well but can't seem to open the link. Do you have a working link?

I'm unfamiliar with any other retailers of Alienbee products, as it all seems to be direct through Paul C Buff's website. And not many people seem to be selling Digibees on Kijiji or Craigslist, probably because they're AWESOME! I still prefer them new though since I baby my gear and would rather pay the new price and make sure it lasts and is covered by warranty.

ThatTorontoStudio wrote in post #19202921
.
As for availability elsewhere, I just tried to find them on B&H as well but can't seem to open the link. Do you have a working link?

I still prefer them new though since I baby my gear and would rather pay the new price and make sure it lasts and is covered by warranty..

.
Thanks for explaining this to me. . I stand corrected - looks like the B&H offerings that came up were not actually for AlienBees products - even though they were at the top of my search results for "AlienBees".

Here are a couple links to new ones from 3rd party sellers, who I presume would have very reasonable shipping. If the links don't open for you, but you are interested, let me know and I can send you screenshots so that you know what keywords to search for so you can find them on your own.

https://www.ebay.com …Y-O&LH_ItemCondition=100​0

https://www.ebay.com …652113:g:ZNAAAO​SwVx5gMyuP

.

The issue of Buff cost to International end users was discussed back in 2012.

Here is what I learned about the issue back then, regarding customer in Australia...
https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=14722202

It also appears that Buff products are available thru some Canadian sources, such as
https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=14722202

Wilt wrote in post #19203138
.
The issue of Buff cost to International end users was discussed back in 2012.

Here is what I learned about the issue back then, regarding customer in Australia...
https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=14722202

It also appears that Buff products are available thru some Canadian sources, such as
https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=14722202
.

.
I think it would behoove the OP to read what you quoted in that first link.

After reading that, I now have a much deeper understanding of why cross-border shipping is so expensive, and it makes sense. . In order for AlienBees to charge much less for shipping & import fees, they would have to change their entire business model, which would necessarily raise the base price of the items significantly ..... which of course would then offset any reduction in the shipping & import fees.

For one to sign that petition would kind of be showing an ignorance of the way the entire corporation is set up to market, sell, and distribute their products. . They would have to change EVERYTHING about their entire business in order to charge less for shipping & import fees. . Do the people signing this petition really have a full understanding of that?

.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #19202933
.
Thanks for explaining this to me. .
Here are a couple links to new ones from 3rd party sellers, who I presume would have very reasonable shipping. If the links don't open for you, but you are interested, let me know and I can send you screenshots so that you know what keywords to search for so you can find them on your own.
.

Thanks for this! But as I mentioned I was interested in buying it new.

Wilt wrote in post #19203138
It also appears that Buff products are available thru some Canadian sources, such as
https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=14722202

Thanks for sharing. Couldn't find any Canadian source on that thread. Only that Paul C Buff ships to Canada, am I missing something?

Tom Reichner wrote in post #19203190
.
I think it would behoove the OP to read what you quoted in that first link.
For one to sign that petition would kind of be showing an ignorance of the way the entire corporation is set up to market, sell, and distribute their products. . They would have to change EVERYTHING about their entire business in order to charge less for shipping & import fees. . Do the people signing this petition really have a full understanding of that?

.

They would not have to restructure their business in any way whatsoever except for to offer shipping through USPS. That's literally the title of the petition. Offer shipping through a reasonable shipper, aka USPS.

USPS charges $5 at the border to clear customs VS the price gouged amount you can typically expect from a private shipper. I've NEVER paid $5 or anything under $30 to broker anything with a private shipper.

-

Anyways, thanks to posting this petition in multiple spots, someone actually made a recommendation for me. To sign up to Shippsy and ship to the border, then have these guys broker the packages for me and deliver it to either the Mississauga or Markham location in the GTA (Toronto area).

So something good did come out of this petition because I just signed up and I'm excited to see what the experience is like.

And they gave me a referral code where if I refer someone we each get $10 in credits so I'm pumped to use that too!
https://portal.shippsy​.com/register/P2Qa3C

ThatTorontoStudio wrote in post #19203312
.
Thanks for this! But as I mentioned I was interested in buying it new.
.

.
Those two links I gave you are to new items. . There were many dozens of used items, but I only gave you links to new ones because that is what you said you wanted.


.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #19203314
.
Those two links I gave you are to new items. . There were many dozens of used items, but I only gave you links to new ones because that is what you said you wanted.

.

My mistake, busy day - I glanced over it rather than reading the entire ad in depth. Thanks again for your help, looks like I've got it figured out with Shippsy thank goodness!

ThatTorontoStudio wrote in post #19203368
.
..... looks like I've got it figured out with Shippsy thank goodness!
.

.
I really hope that works out for you as well as it seems like it will.

Please keep us posted - I'm interested in how things go.


.