Anyone bought from Panamoz?

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James306

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Looking at buying a new Lens and have noticed a few threads referencing to Panamoz prices! I know they sell grey imports but was wondering if anyone has purchased lenses/bodies from them?!

I know grey imports have this stigma about them but am I really 'risking a lower quality' or is the only difference warranty/resale value?! I've had a look at the reviews online from prior customers but they only ever reference to delivery time and costs etc...

Thoughts positive or negative much appreciated, I'm in the North Sea on a ship with internet and some new lens funds burning a hole in my pocket.....
 
I bought a new Tamron 17-50 f2.8 from them a couple of months ago,paid for by PayPal. It arrived about a week later.
I have yet to see it cheaper anywhere else.

eddie
 
don't think 'lower quality' comes into to it, as it should be identical to the same lens bought on the High Street in UK.

The issue is one of warranty, and whether it would function as they claim.

I know of people that have bought from Panamoz on more than one occasion, and only have good things to say about the service, albeit none of them has had occasion to use the warranty.

That said, if the product lasts 12 months without having any problems, then you are 'in the same boat' as you would be if had bought UK stock. At least that is the case with Canon products, as their warranty only last 12 months.

Tamron, state that their lenses come with a 5 year warranty, so I'm not sure how that would work if bought from Hong Kong.

I am currently looking at buying a Canon L series Lens, which I can get from Panomoz £393 cheaper than from a UK High Street retailer. That is very significant saving.

In terms of product reliability, and whether or not warranty repairs would be needed in that first twelve months, is an unknown. However, having using Canon photographic gear for over 50 years, and not had a problem with any of it, I would say the odds of there being no problems during the warranty period are very much in our favour.

If I was to buy form Hong Kong, it would only be from one of the better known suppliers, that others had used, and commented on. I would keep well clear of some the deals on e-bay.

Dave
 
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Just another thought:

Assuming a worse case scenario, and the VAT/import duty hadn't been paid, as claimed, and I got 'stung' for this (20% VAT and 8% import duty), the lens is still £143 cheaper than from a UK retailer.

Dave
 
Wouldnt this be more suited in shoppers/suppliers section?
 
StuartH said:
Wouldnt this be more suited in shoppers/suppliers section?
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Possibly, and if the Admin/Mods think that is the case, then I'm sure they will move the 'thread'.

Dave
 
From the Panamoz website FAQ's:

"Will I have to pay any import charges, such as VAT?
No. All our prices are final. All import charges will be covered by us, and will be billed to our shipping account directly. You will not have to pay extra"
 
I have used them twice in the last 3 weeks, trusted them with just over £1400.00 and they are first class, delivery within 5 working days, no additional charges and you can track the package, the product is no different to what you buy in the UK (warranties aside) and it's cheaper, what's not to like.
 
Cheers for the comments guys, I did post it to the wrong place, but I wouldn't be the first and certainly not the last!!!

I shall be buying myself a new lens this week then ready for when I get home :D
 
Big downside is No Canon UK warranty
 
I recently bought a canon 24-105 lens . I ordered it Wednesday evening and it arrived Monday morning.it was cheaper than any where else and so far all seems ok.it was extremely well packaged as well.
 
You will love the 24-105L, I've been using one for a while now, both on a 7D and 5D Mklll, and its an excellent lens.

Dave
 
I dont doubt the speed of delivery and decent prices from likes of panamoz and digital rev but how many of you have had to return a faulty item under warranty?Is the customer service as good then?.That would be my main reservation just look at ricardos scenario with his lx7 from digital rev..
so are you going for the 24-105mm :D
 
I bought a Sigma 150-500 OS from Panamoz around 18 months ago, after 11 months it developed a fault so I emailed Panamoz about it. They sent an email back the same day with the instructions to send it to an address in London. I sent the lens back by RMSD next day service and was emailed when it was received. About a week later I had another email from Panamoz asking me to confirm my address, in case I'd moved since I bought it. I got a despatch email with a tracking number later the same day and after only 11 days since first contacting them I had a brand new lens delivered to my door with another warranty card. That's faster service than most UK places for any warranty claim, I had to wait nearly 3 weeks for a similar claim for a computer part that was faulty from a reputable UK merchant.

I'm more than happy with the level of service from Panamoz, like others I was concerned that a faulty item could takes weeks, if not months, to be replaced. That is the only camera related item I've ever had a fault with, apart from a 7D that I dropped and was repaired by my insurance, and with that in mind I'd be more than happy to buy from Panamoz in the future and recommend them to others as well.
 
I've bought from them more than once using bank transfer and am more than satisfied. As for warranty issues, put what you have saved in the bank for 12 months to cover any repair costs. After 12 months it's almost certain you won't have had to dip into it.
 
StuartH said:
.
so are you going for the 24-105mm :D
Click to expand...

I shall be, not back home for another two weeks so given the week or so delivery there's no point ordering for another week! Will be nice to have it sat waiting for my return home though! :D
 
I am having an issue with a tc I bought from Panamoz. It is refusing to focus with my camera and lens. I had been trying to contact Panamoz for the last few weeks and today I got a reply. They asked me to send the tc to a local Nikon repair centre even though there is none nearby.
The tc had the Panamoz 12 month warranty so as it has broken during the warranty period I expected to send the tc back for a replacement tc. I emailed them suggesting I send the tc back but have received no reply. Maybe I will receive a reply tomorrow.

I will post up if and when my issue gets resolved.

Regards Gerard.
 
DaveS2 said:
From the Panamoz website FAQ's:

"Will I have to pay any import charges, such as VAT?
No. All our prices are final. All import charges will be covered by us, and will be billed to our shipping account directly. You will not have to pay extra"
Click to expand...

As that isn't possible it's as likely as the flying pigs.

The importer will receive an invoice from the courier who clears it through customs (vat + duty + admin fee). The importer is the buyer.
 
Dave1 said:
As that isn't possible it's as likely as the flying pigs.

The importer will receive an invoice from the courier who clears it through customs (vat + duty + admin fee). The importer is the buyer.
Click to expand...

If you buy from Amazon USA they deal with import duties on your behalf, in their case you pay an estimated fee up front to Amazon and they refund any overpayment, I see no reason why the same can not apply to Panamoz, i.e. they deal with import duties directly and do not pass them on to you.
 
amazon don't misdeclare their parcels in the hope of avoid vat and import duty
 
Wrong thread Pete, the Panamoz import duty/vat avoidance moaning thread is way back on page 7 of the forum, try and leave this one clear of it eh?
 
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I'm not moaning about it - matty made his views pretty clear on that - but you asked why panamoz (or indeed any grey retailer) can't simply add the value of the vat etc onto the bill like amazon does... the answer to that is that if the correct vat and import duty were added many grey purchases would not be competitive.

To deal with the import duty directly, would involve informing HMRC of the true value of every parcel and paying the appropriate duty , which you would then either have to pass on to the consumer, or take a large hit in profit margin

The reason amazon can use the structure they do is because they are competitive anyway... this model doesn't work if you are only competive if Vat and duty are not paid in full.
 
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Steep said:
If you buy from Amazon USA they deal with import duties on your behalf, in their case you pay an estimated fee up front to Amazon and they refund any overpayment, I see no reason why the same can not apply to Panamoz, i.e. they deal with import duties directly and do not pass them on to you.
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As Pete says, it's pretty difficult for a dishonest retailer who falsely labels a £1450 camera kit as "Sample toy accessory - value $69" to then somehow correctly pay the required vat and duty on the sale.

There go those flying pigs again ;).
 
can we leave the vat/import discussions out of this thread please, or any other thread other than the VAT/Import duty thread that I will be creating.
 
matty said:
can we leave the vat/import discussions out of this thread please, or any other thread other than the VAT/Import duty thread that I will be creating.
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Matty, you need to create that thread. You said weeks ago that you would do it, but until you do, this sort of stuff *is* going to happen. Somebody asks about the pros and cons of buying from a "grey" importer like Panamoz, and one of the very real issues is the legality of the transaction, so the question deserves an answer. Write the thread, write it fairly - you don't want to come across as an apologist for retailers with questionable practices, like one of your colleagues sometimes does - and then people with genuine questions can simply be referred to your thread. Simples!
 
StewartR said:
Matty, you need to create that thread. You said weeks ago that you would do it, but until you do, this sort of stuff *is* going to happen. Somebody asks about the pros and cons of buying from a "grey" importer like Panamoz, and one of the very real issues is the legality of the transaction, so the question deserves an answer. Write the thread, write it fairly - you don't want to come across as an apologist for retailers with questionable practices, like one of your colleagues sometimes does - and then people with genuine questions can simply be referred to your thread. Simples!
Click to expand...

I would also hope the forum rule banning the discussion of the bad practices of grey retailers and buyers happy to break the law other than in one single thread will have a reciprocal rule also banning the discussion and promotion of tax evasion and smuggling (and the profits made by the buyers willing to break the law) on the forum other than in a dedicated single thread as well.
 
Not been on this forum long but I have to say what comes across to me is there seems to be an obsession with grey market? I won't comment on this practise because I don't understand fully, but there seems to be a great deal of speculation about the practises of retail outlets from outside of the uk from lots of lay barristers. It comes across as very evangelical to the point that every non uk retail shop must practise illegally and every British shop is a paragon of virtue. :)
 
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i still doing my research. I dont want to post a load of rubbish and claim to know all about how it works. its a *cough* grey area. (see what i did there?)
 
kev2010 said:
Not been on this forum long but I have to say what comes across to me is there seems to be an obsession with grey market? I won't comment on this practise because I don't understand fully, but there seems to be a great deal of speculation about the practises of retail outlets from outside of the uk from lots of lay barristers. It comes across as very evangelical to the point that every non uk retail shop must practise illegally and every British shop is a paragon of virtue. :)
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As you say (& many others too) you don't fully understand the potential implications. Hence needing an impartial, clear info thread. Or better still a `sticky`header, at the top?
 
kev2010 said:
Not been on this forum long but I have to say what comes across to me is there seems to be an obsession with grey market? I won't comment on this practise because I don't understand fully, but there seems to be a great deal of speculation about the practises of retail outlets from outside of the uk from lots of lay barristers. It comes across as very evangelical to the point that every non uk retail shop must practise illegally and every British shop is a paragon of virtue. :)
Click to expand...

thats a fair point - i'm sure many british shops have highly questionable practices too - for example the issue with (old) jessops putting demo cameras back in boxes and selling them as new, only for people to find cards in them with pictures on - however you wouldnt expect to find that mentioned on a thread about a grey retailer as it isnt germane

the other thing i'd say is that at least as far as my posting goes I am not posting speculation or acting as a lay barrister, I am sticking fully to the edict that matty made earlier in the year that we should only report facts - I know for a fact that at least two grey retailers frequently disccused on this forum misdescribe items to evade customs duty as i have made purchases from them and recieved items labeled as "toy parts $49" in one instance and " gift" in the other - I also know for a fact that HMRC take a very dim view of this practice as they told me so when i made a voluntary declaration and paid the appropriate duty ... thirdly I know for a fact that both purchases were not competitive with uk prices once full duty was added. (this is why I will only now buy from grey importers who supply in the uk and provide a Vat receipt)

Personally I don't really care whether anyone chooses to use a grey retailer or whether they choose to break the law by not declaring the appropriate duty, and i fully agree with matty that the forum doesnt need the continual bickering about the legality and morality so i fully welcome the thread matty is researching. However as Stuart notes if someone asks about any particular retailer, it seems perfectly valid to point out if they are a grey retailer and (once written) to direct them to the grey import / import duty thread - just as it would be equally valid to point out if a uk retailer had past 'form' - the potential buyer can then make an informed decision and act however they choose
 
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