Importing 24-70 2.8L Lens from US to Canada

Hi,

I just wanted to pass on my experience importing a 24-70 2.8L lens from the US into Canada in case others are looking at doing the same thing. I purchased the lens from B&H Photo, and everything went perfectly.

The reason I went this route was because the Canadian stores sell the same lens (Canada wide ... I checked everywhere) for several hundred dollars more. Also, the warranty on Canon products imported from the US is valid in Canada. The warranty card even states "Canon U.S.A. Inc. Canon Canada Inc.".

Here is the cost breakdown:

Lens cost: $1411.26 Cdn ($1139.95 US)
Shipping: $43.95 Cdn ($35.50 US) includes Custom Broker Fees & insurance
GST (tax): $98.79 Cdn
Visa "extra": $29.39 Cdn (assumed an additional 2.5% on top of exchange)

Total final delivered cost: $1583.38 Cdn

Price from Canadian camera store : $2099.00 Cdn
GST: $146.93 Cdn

Total cost from Canadian camera store : $2245.93 Cdn

SAVING BY IMPORTING FROM THE US: $662.55 Cdn ($535.18 US) !!!

I ordered the lens on Sunday, confirmed the order with B&H on Monday night, and it arrived today (Thursday) in perfect condition. The packaging was excellent. I was a bit nervous ordering such an expensive item from a store I've never been in, but B&H had quite a bit of positive feedback ... and I can see why.

Nice to finally have some good glass to replace my 28-105 II USM, which is not very sharp below f8 to f9.


Bob

Excellent post Bob! I have always wondered about thier shipping and whether it was going to cover the brokerage fees. With big items it never really mattered (an extra $75ish on top of taxes/shipping when your saving a few hundred is no biggie), but if you were to just order a couple hundred dollars worth of gear, spending another $75(up to) in brokerage fees + shipping + GST would not be worth it. I am curious, which shipping method was it that you choose when you check out? TIA and once again, thanx for the heads up...maybe its time Canon Canada started pricing respectabley up here for our retailers so we wouldn't have to cross the border.

You forgot the PST charged on the imported lens.
There was a time when the shipper forgot to charge PST, but now they charge it almost all the time (atleast whenI ship Fedex). They actually are supposed to charge PST all the time by law.

Hi drisley,

No PST in Alberta ... so the costs I have shown are all in.

For a province with PST the difference is even more, since the PST isn't a flat amount, but a percentage of the sales price.


Bob

Hi 3oh6,

I picked UPS expedited when I placed the order.


Bob

Great post!

I can't believe how much more Canadian stores are charging for the same lenses!!

I bought the Canon 100/f2.8 macro in Hong Kong for around $600CDN... Basically the same price compared to B&H. Anyway, it costs around $900CDN in Toronto. Factoring taxes, I saved over $400CDN. Eventhough, I have the so called interntional warranty, Canada is not on the list. Hahaha... Oh well... The lens is almost 3 months old. So far so good.

James

Very nice! I bought my 50/1.8 from BH aswell. In the end, it costed me $69.95 plus $22 shipping (oy).... which ended up to be $91USD... $114CDN. Plus 15% taxes and a $5 duty charge it ended up to be $136. The cheapest here is $129... plus tax is it's $148... and shipping too. Didn't save TOO much, but I still saved a lil bit Oh, and I also got a tamrac bag so the shipping was for both the bag and the lens. Henrys has the bag for much more..

Oh yeah, right, Alberta, the "great anomaly".
But, for the vast majority of the canadian population, you have to pay PST.
And for me, that makes the difference much less since when I order online in Canada (most stores arent in my province) I dont have to pay PST.
But still, depending on the lens, you can save a lot (less on others though).
For example, I bought my 135F2L from Adorama in NY, hoping I wouldnt get charged PST. Well, I did and in the end the price was almost the same as if I would have ordered from CameraCanada in London ON.
However, no harm because as you said, the warranty works the same regardless if you buy from US or Canada.
The 24-70L is one of those lenses that is WAY overpriced in Canada.

I recently watched a news story that investigated the question "since the cdn dollar has risen 30% in the past couple years, why havent prices of electronics fallen (since most are imported from the US)?"
Well, they discovered that either the US exporters or the Canadian retail stores are pocketing the difference, with the assumption that it's in fact the retail stores most of the time. They simply refuse to drop the prices. Because of that the story concluded that more and more Canadians are buying products online from the US.

Just depends on how much the difference is. As long as you know what all the costs are there are a lots of cases where it really makes sense to by from the US. Even CameraCanada charges only $166 less than my local camera shop for the 24-70 2.8L ... so I still would have saved over $500 by buying from the US versus going that route (since I would have had to pay for shipping from CameraCanada also). You're right, the 24-70 seems to be WAY overpriced here.

It's hard to believe that the difference is due to the market being smaller here, so I agree that something else must be going on (someones profits have gone up whith the rise in value of the Canadian $). However, camera bodies and expensive digital point and shoot cameras seem to be priced almost identically between the US and Canada. The different pricing seems to mainly apply to lenses and accessories.

Bob_A,
Yes, it seems that the big diff is in the lenses and accessories.
When the 20D came out in September, it was actually CHEAPER to buy it in Canada than the US.
I've always bought the bodies in Canada.

Hi Bob

I totally agree with you. I was looking for the 70-200 f2.8 L all over Canada and then decided to buy it from bh photo. After the conversion (US - CAN), taxes and shipping... I saved 500 dollars on the purchase.

The lens arrived safe and sound in 4 days!

The only little complain I have is that I couldn't get the lens ship to another location that was not my house. But anyway, I saved 500 dollars.... so I'm willing to forget about that complain

Leo

Importing camera item is cheaper than buying locally in HK (some items). Especially 85mm f/1.2L.

But HK's Mamiya gear is way cheaper than buying in US.

thanx much Bob!

As for pricing in Canada, I have talked to Eric and others from Canada Camera in London (i literally live less than a block away) as well as a couple local shops (Don's and Phase II) in Saskatoon, SK and they all insist that the prices they get from Canon has not changed since the doller has come back in to line with the US, relatively speaking. Canon simply sees this market as one that they can rip off...period. The pricing is inflated right from the source and the retailers really can't do anything about it. Yes some lenses and bodies are not quite as over priced but some are crazy. I have sent numerous emails and written letters to Canon Canada about this issue and have never received anything other than a cookie cutter automated response.

I think its time us canucks got our heads together and thought of a way to get Canons attention on this matter because it is crazy to think that you can save $500 on a $1500 purchase even with exchange, and shipping factored in.

I think the best/only thing to really do is buy from the US I guess.
However, it will hurt the local camera shops in the meantime.

you should think yourselves lucky you dont live in the uk, here we get ripped of with everything , cameras, lens even the bags