International shipping

Hi all,

Do people worry about the lens being damaged when shipped internationally. Or anybody has good/bad experience with lens shipment overseas.

Thanks

I have ordered 50mm f/1.8 from Adorama and it arrived safely (I live in Israel). My two friends at work ordered several times from B&H and Adorama and never had any problem with shipping / damaged goods.

Have you considered insurance?

I have had all the following shipped here to England from the US with no problems:
From RitzCamera:
Canon EOS 10D/Big Ed
The rest from B&H:
Canon 16-35mm F2.8L
Canon 24-70mm F2.8L
Sigma 120--300mm F2.8EX
Smartdisk FlashTrax 40GB Drive
Other bits and stuff like filters/cable release, and suchlike.

Like aforementioned enquire about insurance.

Buy insurance from whom, the vendor or the courier.

Thanks for the replies

I'm considering purchasing a 17-40L from B&H Photo, however I am concerned about that extortionate duty that I will get billed for upon receipt of my nice new lens.

Has anyone had any experience of getting around this one, someone told me that if you get the supplier to mark the package as 'Gift' that you will not get billed import duty. However my experience is that loop holes soon get closed up and this sounds too good to be true, plus I'm not sure how B&H would view this

all my camera gear is purchased from B&H, and i didn't need to pay a penny for import tax/duty, however which u wanna call it 8)

and no, i don't worry abt damage when order from B&H at all, it's insured, well-packed n delivered by UPS.

and no, B&H do not write anything rather than the content of ur package under the description, together with value of the content, too. They don't do "gift", neither "with no commercial value", i've personally phoned up n got that info myself.

Anyone in UK wanna buy camera gear n not paying any duty? PM or email me (guaranteed)

sGu

I bit the bullet last night or the plastic was begging to be utilised once more. I've placed an order with B&H for a 17-40L

Have to see which will be my first L glass - the 17-40L from US or 70-200 2.8L IS from Warehouse Express, either way I'll be in the cLub 8)

I'm in France. Is it really possible for me to buy a lens online from the US without paying any extra taxes

darrenb wrote:
I'm considering purchasing a 17-40L from B&H Photo, however I am concerned about that extortionate duty that I will get billed for upon receipt of my nice new lens.

Has anyone had any experience of getting around this one, someone told me that if you get the supplier to mark the package as 'Gift' that you will not get billed import duty. However my experience is that loop holes soon get closed up and this sounds too good to be true, plus I'm not sure how B&H would view this

Anyone participating in labelling an item "gift" in order to avoid paying import duty and VAT is conspiring to defraud the Inland Revenue. This is a criminal offence sometimes known as "smuggling"... I doubt if a reputable supplier like B&H would participate in such a scheme.

p.s. I am not saying don't do it, just be aware that it's illegal and you are risking criminal prosecution if caught

I bought the body, lenses, flash and filters from B&H plus few smaller things from various ebay sellers. All have arrived in very good health.