UK also take p*** by providing everyone with good roads, NHS and social care and rest of the things taxes pay for
I’m a high tax payer so you’re preaching to the wrong person.
So your taking the moral high ground due to previous work experience , my previous varied work experience is none of your business , but suffice to say it ranged from top to bottom . I did though in my teens work in a situation where I saw with my own eyes ,large amounts of stolen and smuggled goods up for sale ,the main customers being policemen , lawyers ,and judges from bow street police station and magistrates court … And virtually anything could be obtained to order
Roads are actually very good IMO and idiots glueing themselves to the road isn't exactly HMRC's fault! I don't get the connection.
You can moan but you can also appreciate why the UK prices are higher compared to other places.
Or less GAS and own cameras they can afford legally
Of course I appreciate why costs are higher, I’m just not prepared to give the likes of Jessops and Wex £4300 for a canon R5 when Panamoz have it for £3090, makes no sense.
Yes exactly in my case £4300 was more than I could afford so it was second hand or Panamoz
Doesn't make sense from your wallets point of view perhaps. At the same time likes of wex and Jessops can't afford to sell at panamoz prices. May be you don't care if they go out of business but they can't run at a loss.
There is also the option of buying whatever you can legally afford. I know it's not obvious, just thinking out of the box here
No. I'm simply pointing out that I have specialised knowledge of how Customs and Excise used to work.
I expected that you did but why the hatred?I live in Birmingham and have done all my life so no need to be dramatic.
The firms you call “grey importers” are not importers but suppliers and do not break any of our laws because they are not subject to them
.
There is also the option of buying whatever you can legally afford. I know it's not obvious, just thinking out of the box here
Priceless!
:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
Or less GAS and own cameras they can afford legally
I understand why you smugglers buy from Panamoz etc but I’m amused by the contortions you go through to justify it rather than just accept that you are bl.
Is it guilty feelings?
There's still a generation or "type" that doesn't like doing online business. They'll bank in branch or "over the phone" and never do online. My folks for instance.
Erm... the person I replied to could afford a £3.1K camera body (as supposed to £4.3K one). I don't think that exactly entry level, he could have still legally afford likes of A9, R6, Z7, A7RIV etc. Not exactly entry level.
(but I could be wrong of course)
And I have bought a camera or two from panamoz (while most of my gear are from within the UK)
I understand why you smugglers buy from Panamoz etc but I’m amused by the contortions you go through to justify it rather than just accept that you are bl
Is it guilty feelings?
This whole conversation raises two interesting questions, who are these grey importers and why are their prices so low?
Depends if it's a genuine UK business simply acting as a retailer, or an agent for some overseas company, or an overseas company using a virtual address to give the impression they are in the UK. That's a suspiciously low price, though these lenses have been below £1700 from UK shops in the past. Of course a lot of grey market operators only state they are non-UK businesses (if at all) in the T&C small print. With a virtual office and a local telephone number that in fact takes customers to an overseas call centre it's easy for the distinction not to be obvious. Ambiguity, plausible deniability, and 'insurance' against a shipment being intercepted and taxed (they will often pay up if tax is levied) are what many of these companies are really selling. The customer is allowed to assume (or at least claim to assume) that tax had been paid. But a company that is not in fact paying tax on your behalf will not go as far as giving an itemised receipt showing it because that would clearly be fraudulent. If no VAT is indicated, and the company refuses to provide evidence that tax has been paid on request (something very few buyers would ask for, of course), I think we can draw the obvious conclusions.
Another argument to make is the money saved by going grey has been spent in cafes/restaurants/hotels around the UK due to more trips being afforded by that choice.And I have bought a camera or two from panamoz (while most of my gear are from within the UK)
I am not here trying to be the righteous knight of the HMRC
the comment by @sphexx quoted below makes my point.... just don't go around trying justify what's essentially illegal because it is just that (plus there is a very good reason for things costing more in the UK and its not good to not entirely care about the businesses here)
Good point, I suppose it’s the same with, say, fraudsters or burglars, they recycle their I’ll-gotten gains to the community too
. Keep struggling.
yeah I'll try that in court next time - "I am only building the economy and making sure we don't drop into another recession after this pandemic lockdown"Good point, I suppose it’s the same with, say, fraudsters or burglars, they recycle their I’ll-gotten gains to the community too
BTW B&H deliver to U.K. I believe.
Not on all items - I checked as I was looking at a D850 from there and they wouldn't post to UK. The 645z lens they would but I bought a UK used one for less again and it does the same thing a new one would do...Good point, I suppose it’s the same with, say, fraudsters or burglars, they recycle their I’ll-gotten gains to the community too
BTW B&H deliver to U.K. I believe.
