Import v uk stock - price point

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fidsey79

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Sarah
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At what price point does buying an import make sense?

I am looking at OMD prices. The best UK deal is UK Digital with 5 years warranty. This would include the free 45mm portait lens which is fab for £1144.00

Alternatively the HK price is £819.00 but the portait lens would be extra making it £1008.00.

Therefore the cost difference is £136 between UK and HK prices. Is it worth the extra for the 5 years warranty for peace of mind. Any thoughts???

Sorry for the ramble. Sarah
 
Only you know how much £136 is worth to you ... is it worth 5-years peace of mind?
Then will the warranty actually give you peace of mind ... is it from the manufacturer, a third-party insurer or just the seller ... are they likely to go bust and make it useless?
How much could you get repaired for £136 if a problem arose?

:)
 
I think I would also consider if I would still have the camera in 5 years time? 5 years is quite a long time! Especially in the ever evolving CSC area!

Also check if its transferable to a new buyer if you sell it on! Because that could increase its used value!
 
And whether you HKG lens is actually a cheap, mainland Chinese copy ;)

Not always the case I know, just be careful.

There are hundreds of photography stores in HKG and prices/quality varies quite a lot.

The trouble I find with HKG is very few have an actual web site to go to, but there are some good places too.

This one I have been too and was recommended by a good friend....
http://www.tincheungcamera.com.hk/

I think they 'may' be more expensive than the uk on prices though as last time I went prior to me buying my 650D, it was more expensive there than in the uk
 
I'd go with the UK version; there's a good chance you'll get hit with import taxes if you buy from HK. If you have any problems with it then shipping it back to HK can be expensive too.. not to mention the wait on shipping times.

I recently bought a few µ43rds lenses and could have saved £20 - £30 buying from ebay HK sellers but decided it was worth paying more for UK stock. I actually bought one from UK Digital but wasn't happy with it and although they refunded me they wouldn't sell to me again so ended up buying from Amazon for a bit more solely for their 30 day return policy.
 
fidsey79 said:
Another great answer. Also I guess the re-sale value of a grey import would be less too but not massively lower than a UK stock camera. It would be my only camera so I wouldn't intend on changing for a good while.
Click to expand...

A couple of UK companies - understandably - won't touch grey imports. Obviously not an issue if selling privately or on eBay, but worth noting.

With the warranty you would presumably have no cover whatsoever if the HK company went bust, but you would have the flexibility of going direct to the manufacturer if you bought from the UK, even if the store disappeared (and by the sounds of it in the OMD thread, Olympus are pretty good with issues).

There is also the moral/legal issue of buying grey if using a company that is cheaper because it mis-labels parcels (that you are ultimately responsible for), but I guess you're aware of that if you've been looking into HK companies.
 
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