Ebay purchase from Japan?

treeman

treeman

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Looking at S/H Wista Field cameras and they are considerably cheaper from Japan than anything I've seen in Europe, even allowing for import duties and shipping.

Having already made one Ebay "school boy error" this week, I'm just wondering if there's any other reason not to buy from there?

Thanks
 
treeman said:
Looking at S/H Wista Field cameras and they are considerably cheaper from Japan than anything I've seen in Europe, even allowing for import duties and shipping.

Having already made one Ebay "school boy error" this week, I'm just wondering if there's any other reason not to buy from there?

Thanks
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I've bought loads of stuff from Japan, apart from the usual ebay buyer beware and the fact that if you do need to return somthing to get you're paypal protection it'll cost a lot more, there's no problem.

Most send stuff priority air mail which arrives quicker than 2nd class local post. I did have one lens disappear into parcel farce's customs warehouse for 6 weeks then into my local post office for two weeks (who only open when I was at work) but the sellers have always been good.
 
bought a few nice rare Nikon and mamiya things from japan.
my experience has allwways been good and yes expect the usual duties and vat etc.
 
I've bought loads of stuff from Japanese eBay sellers, and had no problems whatsoever. Everything has been exactly as described and in at least as good condition as stated. To be honest, I'd rather buy from Japanese and Korean eBay sellers than those in the UK...who I have had a few problems with.

Make sure you add 30% to cover customs duty, VAT and Parcelforce's handling fee.
 
Same as everyone else, all of my experience with Japanese eBay sellers has been extremely positive. Both of my Mamiya 6 cameras came from Japan and they arrived quicker than some things I've bought from major shops.
 
Usually find things in better condition coming from Japan even though it could be described in the same way as a Britihs/European item, i.e if it says it's mint then it has barely been out of the original packaging. Whereas to British sellers mint sometimes means 'not many marks'.

Bit of a generalisation I know, but I would rather buy Japanese from ebay is the upshot.
 
Thanks folks, much appreciated, sounds like a good plan then ;-)

I'm amazed at how much film stuff is available out there compared to Europe, happy days.
 
I've also bought lots of things from Japan, the only issue I've had was with my Canon P. I asked a specific question about the condition of the shutter blades (they tend to wrinkle because they're made from very thin stainless steel) and was assured they were completely flat but when the camera arrived, there were definite creases. It's not enough to affect the operation of the camera but I was peeved given that I'd asked about them and been told fibs.

I asked for a partial refund to pay for a service and the seller wasn't interested until I opened a case showing the exchange of messages (through ebay's messenger) and photographs of the blades. Then, funnily enough, I was offered the partial refund I'd requested. I could have returned the camera for a refund but I had the distinct impression that the camera wouldn't arrive and I'd have to claim from the carrier.

In short, gear from Japan is generally in excellent condition and the sellers are exactly what you'd hope for but for your own peace of mind, you need to treat any potential purchase the same as you would from any other ebay source just in case.

Also, it will arrive in this country in a couple of days but will take a couple of weeks to be processed through Customs. This is normal. Don't forget to factor in the ransom fee that the carrier will charge for providing their "service" of paying the import duties on your behalf - it's usually around £8 but can be as much as £15.
 
Me too - I’ve bought quite a few old lenses from Japan via eBay. It’s always been good - accurate descriptions, good price, fast shipping. It’s often been hampered by deadly slow processing by customs and (mostly) parcel farce once things get to the UK, but I’m used to that now.
 
Do you always get caught for import duties or do some slip through .?
 
I've been charged every time, from Japan, China and the US. I just assume I will be charged and budget accordingly
 
treeman said:
Just out of interest, what are peoples experience with delivery time to your home, do UK customs really sit on it for days/weeks?
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Yes, they're a bloody nuisance. The last package I ordered from Japan, a large format lens, arrived in the UK 4 days after I placed the order after nearly 3 weeks parcel farce had not contacted me so I phoned them only to be told they had it but were too busy to process it..... i complained and they did it a couple of days later. Very frustrating.
 
I have bought three items from Japan ranging from £60.00 to £300.00,two were shipped and received without any extra charges,the £300.00 item was not,typically 30%.

On all occasions superb service,delivery and most importantly product.
 
No.

Having said NO,there can be a ploy and that is to have it sent around the time of a Japanese festival.

Lots of post from Japan to Family and friends in GB.

The next festival is Hinamatsuri: Doll Festival (March 3)

So if you plan your purchase to coincide with this the custom would be under pressure and may miss your delivery.

Just a thought,but,worth a try.

Richard.
 
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the black fox said:
Do you always get caught for import duties or do some slip through .?
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A few years ago it seemed to be more likely that some items would slip through. A ParcelFarce manager once told me that there are two bins for parcels at airports and it's a matter of luck whether yours going into the one that's going to be reckoned for import duties or the other which goes straight through. I imagine with improvements to process and the desire to increase tax revenues, it's much more likely to be charged than not. Bottom line is that you need to budget for the duties and fees.

This link is for the current UK Trade Tariffs which shows the import duty rates that vary depending on what it is you're importing. Most photographic gear falls into chapter 90, lenses are currently 6.7% and 35mm bodies are 4.2%, though that's a best guess as the descriptions are written in government-speak.

Note that VAT is additional to import duty on items sent from outside the EU (Brexit pending). Import duty is calculated on the value of the item including shipping costs and then VAT is calculated on the total including the import duty.

There is no import duty on items worth under £135, it's a blanket 2.5% on gifts valued between £135 and £630 and the value from the trade tariff for everything else. I haven't tried asking for items to be sent as gifts. There is no VAT on anything worth less than £15 or gifts valued at less than £39.

treeman said:
Just out of interest, what are peoples experience with delivery time to your home, do UK customs really sit on it for days/weeks?
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Yes. ParcelFarce's excuse is that Customs cause the delay (even when the tracking details show an item has left the Customs building a week before you received any notification from PF) and they'll send you a letter to come in and pay the duties and their ransom so they won't even complete the job they've already been paid for of delivering the parcel to your door. It's possible to pay the carrier online and request delivery of the item but much simpler to go and get it.

There is no way to pay Customs directly and avoid the ransom charge. A few years back there were some formal complaints that the carriers were charging for an unsolicited service by paying the duties up front and then levying their ransom fee on top of the duties payable, so Parliament amended the law to specifically allow carriers to charge for these unsolicited services.
 
Having made a recent purchase from a Japanese registered e-bay seller (Canon F-1n focusing screen) all went off without any issues.

Parcel was provided with tracking, and arrived within 15 days with no additional UK customs fees to pay (value was declared at full E-bay purchase price by the seller).

Condition was 100% as described, and I'm sure I will be making further purchases in the future, especially as UK prices appear to be on the up currently for anything film related
 
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