Buying USED from the US??

fraggle101

fraggle101

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Tony
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Ivm looking at buying a Canon 300 F4IS from a guy in the US, he's not keen on Paypal , which is the safest and quickest alternative?

Also, would it be subject to TAX on entry even though its used??

Thanks in advance.. :)
 
Patooooooooowwww!!!

Festive toebung over to the shopping forum ;)
 
Tax and VAT will be charged when it's imported.....figure on around 21% on top of the price "declared" and then an additional fee of £8-15 for clearance.

Bob
 
Thanks for that M.. :thumbs:

Flipping ek Bob!! are you trying to kill me?? can we negotiatiate on that?? :lol:

So, if i tell him to say its not worth ANYTHING... :naughty: then i can afford the £15!!! :lol:
 
I would forget it unless its super cheap witch I doubt it will be due to the exchange rate.:thumbs:
 
$875 which is about £536 (Googles converter).. not bad, but then factor in the 21% and all the waiting and worry if it'll even turn up!! lol..
 
It was advertised as shipped to comus, so yes.. except that im not in the US so i guess there would be a bit on top.. how much i dont know..
 
Just had a look at some of my US imports and a 70-200/2.8 IS was $45 for shipping (USPS..slow boat).

Importing was okay at $2 to the £ but now it's more likely that things would go the other way.

Bob
 
If you ask him to mark the export label as a gift you wont get charged tax.:D
 
Canon Bob said:
Just had a look at some of my US imports and a 70-200/2.8 IS was $45 for shipping (USPS..slow boat).

Importing was okay at $2 to the £ but now it's more likely that things would go the other way.

Bob
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Thanks Bob, i have made an offer in a pm.. we'll see what he says.. Im not keen to go too high as the NEW price isnt very far away!! (Ebay prices)

jockwav said:
If you ask him to mark the export label as a gift you wont get charged tax.:D
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Thats the way!! i knew there was something!! i just couldnt remember!! thanks for that..
 
We buy swarovski crystal from the usa which we sell on,and we have become friendly with the supplier & thats what we do:):D
 
jockwav said:
If you ask him to mark the export label as a gift you wont get charged tax.:D
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Not so I'm afraid. The only way to avoid tax is to declare at a very low value. The downside of htis is that the shipping insurance will only cover the declared value.

Bob

From http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...HMCE_CL_000014&propertyType=document#P59_5036

2.4 Gifts
Goods sent as a gift are not free of import duties and import VAT. However, customs duty will not be collected if the amount is less than £7, and import VAT is not chargeable if:
  • the value of the gift does not exceed £36
  • the customs declaration is completed correctly
  • the gift has been sent from a private person outside the EU to a private person(s) in this country
  • the gift is for the use of either yourself or your family
  • there is no commercial or trade element and the gift has not been paid for either directly or indirectly
  • the gift is of an occasional nature only eg for a birthday or anniversary.
Please note the purchase of goods from outside the EU to give as a gift to a relative or friend, whether or not addressed to that person, is treated as a ‘commercial consignment’ for which the import VAT relief threshold is £18 (paragraph 2.3 refers).
 
fraggle101 said:
Thanks Bob, i have made an offer in a pm.. we'll see what he says.. Im not keen to go too high as the NEW price isnt very far away!! (Ebay prices)



Thats the way!! i knew there was something!! i just couldnt remember!! thanks for that..
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Thats not the way.Used lens $50 works ok ***.
 
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OK, while theres a few long lens guys on here i'll ask.. is the 1d MkII and the 300 f4 a good combo for air shows and wildlife?? or is there a very good reason the 2.8 is Sooooooo expensive???
 
fraggle101 said:
OK, while theres a few long lens guys on here i'll ask.. is the 1d MkII and the 300 f4 a good combo for air shows and wildlife?? or is there a very good reason the 2.8 is Sooooooo expensive???
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When
you start on the 2.8 big guns you are in another class other than both being 300mm they have nothing in common realy. A mate of mine had the f4 and mk2 and was happy with it, now he has the 2.8
 
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fraggle101 said:
OK, while theres a few long lens guys on here i'll ask.. is the 1d MkII and the 300 f4 a good combo for air shows and wildlife?? or is there a very good reason the 2.8 is Sooooooo expensive???
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From my experience...and others may differ;

I had a 300/4 for a couple of years and sold it to get a 300/2.8. The 300/4's big bonus is it fantastic minimum focus distance and I missed this so much that I bought a replacement.
The 300/2.8 is a seriously better lens (not just faster) and shows remarkably little degradation with either T/C. The 1D2 will normally need a 1.4x on it with only 300mm and often a 2x for birds.
The 400/5.6 is a better option lengthwise but needs good light and I've found that I used the 300/4 + T/C more often.
For £650, the 300/4 is your best bet but there'll be days when you wish it was longer.

Bob
 
Jeez Bob!! you know how to throw spanners mate!! :bang:

I thought id get the f4 as its still a 300mm Prime, and not too slow! f4 is reasonable.. I was going to go the 100-400 route, as i liked the flexibility of it, but then its not as sharp as the Primes and used with a TC there are IQ issues.. couple that with the loss of Fstops!!

I was also thinking that the 300 COULD be a little short too, but then i thought i was being cleaver thinking id just get a TC.. :shrug:

I dont know what to do now!!! :lol: i think id just get the 300 and see how it goes.. it shouldnt lose too much on a re-sell.. i hope!!
 
That one in the link is only £640 compared to £536 + post + 21% vat and import duty + PO handling fees.

I wouldn't go near the one in the US, especially as most carriers insurance doesn't cover glass items
 
fraggle101 said:
Jeez Bob!! you know how to throw spanners mate!! :bang:

:shrug:

I dont know what to do now!!!
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Come up and have a play and see what suits you (or we could meet somewhere useful)?

Bob
 
What!! and have you sell me something too!! :lol:

What HAVE you got for sale?? lol..

Its been a real toss up!! iv been looking at Ts AND mp-e's!! now im onto the big primes!! so far iv not got anything other than a load of Mamiya gear on its way!! lol..

Id love to come down and play again but im pretty booked up!! entertaining kids!! :bang: AND iv got a dicky shoulder so cant play too much anyway! but i'll keep you to your offer in the near future if you dont mind.. ;)
 
fraggle101 said:
What!! and have you sell me something too!! :lol:

What HAVE you got for sale?? lol..

Its been a real toss up!! iv been looking at Ts AND mp-e's!! now im onto the big primes!! so far iv not got anything other than a load of Mamiya gear on its way!! lol..

Id love to come down and play again but im pretty booked up!! entertaining kids!! :bang: AND iv got a dicky shoulder so cant play too much anyway! but i'll keep you to your offer in the near future if you dont mind.. ;)
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Nothing for sale Tony but you can play TS-E, MP-E, long and short...all in the space of an hour. Anytime that suits, drop me a PM.

Bob
 
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Thanks Bob, would be nice to see you and your wife again.. :thumbs:
 
Hi guys, just to throw in my own experience. I just got finished with a botched deal on a sigma 10-20 for $400 from the US. They seller was great, and put 'gift' on the box, but didn't want to undervalue you as insurance wouldn't be covered. UK Customs stuck on an additional £70 which put it near the brand new price.

At the moment, the currency rate puts just about all photog equipment at about the same price.
 
thx Sami.. thats what i DONT want to happen! i think i'll hold my horses a little while..

Id like to save and get the 2.8! but if i had that sort of money id be wanting to buy the 1Ds MkIII!!! there are just too many toys!!!!!! :bang:
 
fraggle101 said:
What!! and have you sell me something too!! :lol:

What HAVE you got for sale?? lol..

Its been a real toss up!! iv been looking at Ts AND mp-e's!! now im onto the big primes!! so far iv not got anything other than a load of Mamiya gear on its way!! lol..

Id love to come down and play again but im pretty booked up!! entertaining kids!! :bang: AND iv got a dicky shoulder so cant play too much anyway! but i'll keep you to your offer in the near future if you dont mind.. ;)
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WARNING! Do not have a go with his 300f2.8
unless you are planing to buy one lol.:lol:
 
fraggle101 said:
thx Sami.. thats what i DONT want to happen! i think i'll hold my horses a little while..

Id like to save and get the 2.8! but if i had that sort of money id be wanting to buy the 1Ds MkIII!!! there are just too many toys!!!!!! :bang:
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I bought a 24-70L from there when the rate was 2.1:1 (£450 :woot: ), but I was actually there and brought it back on the flight. It won't happen through the post. If you know someone that's travelling then maybe, but like I said, the prices are almost the same at the moment.

Good luck either way. :)
 
Iv had stuff sent from Hong Kong without being charged Duty! im sure most things have been sent as a Gift.. although, iv had things sent as (Now i cant remember the actual wording) being returned after repair under warentee..
:lol:
 
I heard the HK sellers usually put some nominal amount as the value, like £30 or something. This occurs quite a lot and might be fine, it's just that the insurance won't cover it.

If it's over the allowed value, customs hold on to it, open it, re-value it and add on VAT, handling fees and all sorts.

My Sigma 10-20 was valued at the brand new list UK price and VAT/duties were added accordingly, even though the lens was over 2 years old. Like I said, it put it at the same price as it was as new on AmazonUK.
 
I have found a 300 f4 and am in the process of buying.. ITS IN THE UK!!! hehe..

Thanks to everyone that's helped..
 
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