So who is the most trusted importer?

JohnN

JohnN

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Hi,

Not wanting to start a bun fight on the moral ground or risks of importing but who are the cheapest\most trusted importers?

Panamoz were #1 but now they're expensive and ignoring emails.
DigitalRev - Good from the site but avoid their eBay arm
OnestopDigital - I don't know much about them but they seem cheaper than DigitalRev
FlashCamera (Kerso) - Really top bloke, excellent service bust sadly cannot come near HK prices
ProCameraShop - Discount for BT and tested now by myself and another in this thread - quick delivery and good comms.
eBay - Obviously varied often

Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences - especially on how they handy import duty and repairs
 
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Quick price compare:

135L F2

Panamoz - £709 (pre 5% BT discount)
DigitalRev - £679.99
OnestopDigital - £628.31 (out of stock)
FlashCamera - £749.00 + £10 shipping
ProCameraShop - £658.99 (£639.22 after 3% BT discount)
eBay - From £603.81 (Paradise Camera's ebay shop - price direct ~£670)

UK lowest - £859 (Amazon)
 
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Should be quite an easy choice for you really,

Panamoz - not sure I could trust them due to recent reports re pricing and emails etc

DR - they sold counterfeit goods before so that's them out as far as I'm concerned

One Stop - no stock so no point

Flash Camera - Ian admits himself he can't compete with HK but his service and UK warranty would swing it for me............and he's still here after many years.

If you're a tight git and fancy a risk then EBAY's for you :)

Not sure I understand why you have Amazon as UK's lowest price when Kerso is cheaper, unless I've missed something, what's the difference between buying the lens from Amazon and Kerso (Flash Camera)?
 
Remembering of course that Ian (kerso) does offer a discount for BT payments....
 
I have dealt with Ian (Kerso) over the years & if am after a new lens he is the first on my list.:clap::thumbs:
 
Mosty Trusted importer of Canon goods - Canon UK - simples :lol:

In terms of grey importers probably Kerso ,
 
Have a look at procamerashop

I have bought from Panamoz ,Kerso and Digitalrev in the past and my latest purchase has been from procamera and i found them to be as good .
 
Thanks all - I know Kerso is very good (and I got a 60D from him), but procamerashop intrigues me as I've not known them (and they have stock!)

I will have to have a better dig around.
 
How about Hdew, if it's not shown on the website give them a call or send an email
 
You signed up to tell us this?


Above my post here was a missive from a new user that joined especially to tell us how wonderful procamershop are....

They, and their post have left us now.
 
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wazza1947 said:
work from a uk (Carlisle) address, :
Click to expand...

I wouldnt put too much stock in that ... their UK address resolves to the Bourne Business Centre which provides Post resante facilities - chances are good its just a mailbox

According to google their actual address is Hollywood Plaza, 610 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong

I'm not saying theres anything wrong with them per se - most grey importers are overseas based by definition, but lets not pretend that the UK address means anything - they even say on their website that its just for corespondence
 
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tijuana taxi said:
How about Hdew, if it's not shown on the website give them a call or send an email
Click to expand...

I did they didn't have stock or know when they were getting any.

Still its good to get a list together and thanks to Wayne for that recommendation, although we naturally worry about a first post being a glowing report (not that we should, we just do!)
 
Also don't fairy stories usually start with 'once upon a time'

from the sigma website

Before purchasing your Sigma lens, please check with your retailer that the lens has been imported by Sigma Imaging (UK) Ltd. If the lens has not been imported by us, the extended UK warranty will not be available.
Click to expand...
 
wazza1947 said:
I recieved an immediate response stating, the advertised price was in full inc VAT & delivery.
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So who's lying? You, the bloke on the phone, or their website? You can't all be correct?
 
looking back at old threads there does seem to be an amazing number of people who join up to tell us about their excellent experience with procamerashop then never come back - i'm 'sure' its just a coincidence :naughty:
 
...and now he's gone - shame.

That would be mystery user 'wazza1947' for those not keeping up at the back :naughty:
 
Perhaps it was the 'sales@procamerashop.hk' email used to register here that gave the game away! :lol:
 
I've used kerso a lot, always good service, canon recognise him and have given cash returns based on his receipt.
 
JohnN said:
Interesting thread - most of the comments (apart from disagreements about grey imports in general and your feedback) were positive.
Click to expand...

Click on a few of the links included too.

They get negative reviews removed from sites by threatening legal action + spam many positive ones. Those reasons alone ring alarm bells for me, let alone the `grey` issues, apparently sending out dodgy goods, poor customer service, pretending to be in the UK ......

Check out & search yourself on google http://www.google.co.uk/search?sour...41l3.0.0.0.3756...........0.VPmDR84r7Lk&pbx=1 Again, click & read quite a few.
 
theres some odd stuff in their T&Cs - they claim that all their orders are fulfilled from their crawley warehouse

but then say in their T&C

"Additional Customs Duties and import tax may apply, for which pro camera shop does not accept responsibility, you are responsible for ahearing to any legal obligations or regulations relating to purchases through this website"

Go figure :thinking:
 
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Thanks:

First link - argument about grey imports plus one suspicious "1 post" positive (I wish companies wouldn't do this it makes them look bad!)
Second link - fake serial but camera swapped straight away (so like DR but quicker)
Third link - discussion about grey market then all positive (no "1 posters")

I may be being neive but they could be having bad reviews removed just to protect their branding, you know like most very large organisations do.
 
JohnN said:
Thanks:

First link - argument about grey imports plus one suspicious "1 post" positive (I wish companies wouldn't do this it makes them look bad!)
Second link - fake serial but camera swapped straight away (so like DR but quicker)
Third link - discussion about grey market then all positive (no "1 posters")

I may be being neive but they could be having bad reviews removed just to protect their branding, you know like most very large organisations do.
Click to expand...

LOL. Like which organisations? If you are going to make a statement like that then please show us all proof.

Tin foil hats everyone :cuckoo:

I've bought a 50MM Sigma from Panamoz and received it well wrapped and on time for a great price. It's a shame what's happened to them now with their pricing and level of service has seriously gone off the cliff!
 
jpwild said:
LOL. Like which organisations? If you are going to make a statement like that then please show us all proof.

Tin foil hats everyone :cuckoo:

I've bought a 50MM Sigma from Panamoz and received it well wrapped and on time for a great price. It's a shame what's happened to them now with their pricing and level of service has seriously gone off the cliff!
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lol, it was a bit wasn't it...

Of course I could tell you but the Men in Black would come for me ;)

Still in other media you could take your pick - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_censorship

You're right about Panamoz though, they were king of the hill for a while.
 
jpwild said:
LOL. Like which organisations? If you are going to make a statement like that then please show us all proof.

Tin foil hats everyone :cuckoo:

I've bought a 50MM Sigma from Panamoz and received it well wrapped and on time for a great price. It's a shame what's happened to them now with their pricing and level of service has seriously gone off the cliff!
Click to expand...

Both Matty and Marcel have indicated that they get requests to remove negative threads, followed by legal threats after non-compliance. They haven't said which companies are involved and there's no chance of you seeing any proof.
 
although you can work it out if you look at which companies are under discussion in the threads where the adminnies have edited a bunch of posts.
 
Oh knowledgeable ones.....

Do I get full warranty on a tamron lens if bought from digitalrev?
 
yes and no - you don't get the tamron 5 year waranty as the lens not being EU stock won't have the correct card - you do however get a digital rev 12 month warranty
 
I took delivery of a D5100 body yesterday (Tuesday), from procamerashop. I ordered it late on Thursday. I had some email correspondence with them beforehand regarding UK stock and grey imports, and they were quite up-front about it. They ship from a Surrey warehouse and they ARE grey importers; the warranties they offer are 1 year - theirs, not manufacturers'.

They shipped the body on Monday via UPS and I had the tracking number in my inbox before it was picked up by UPS. I tracked its movement as far as Tamworth before nodding off. UPS knocked on the door at 9:38am Tuesday.

For extra savings, I took advantage of their 3% discount for BT, so I paid £314.27 delivered - not bad for a D5100.

Their correspondence was the most comprehensive I've ever had from a retailer - I received notifications that they'd received my order, then that they'd received the transfer, then that they'd processed and passed it to the warehouse. The warehouse then notified me they'd received the order and that it'd been packed and was awaiting collection via UPS. THEN I received a message from Support telling me that by now I should have had correspondence and a tracking number from warehouse and to contact them if that hadn't happened.

I was very cautious about dealing with this company, knowing they're a grey market importer, but because I couldn't afford to pay more I decided to go ahead. It's only my experience, but I must say it was a good one. Of course, if the camera fails in the next 12 months, there's always the possibility that it'll all head south. I'll report in detail my experiences there too, if necessary! :)
 
Thanks Simon - no one can accuse you of just registering to vouch for them :)

I too have had a chat with them over the phone and as you say they are upfront about being grey and also where the stock is - I too was told it was in Surrey, I went on to ask about what happens regarding warranties and was told that items should be sent to them, I confirmed this to be a UK address although they will also use other UK repair centres - either way no sending back to HK.

Very brave going the BT route and thanks for posting.
 
Glad to hear you had no problems, Simon.

Also for peace of mind, check the shutter count & also the serial numbers match up on exif data, camera & packaging.
 
Actually thats a very good idea on all greys.
 
I can back what Simon says - after all that I too tried procamerashop.

Ordered Tuesday arrived today - several emails keeping me informed along the way - BT quote, order placed, money received, being processed at the warehouse and another one telling me it had been shipped complete with UPS tracking.

I also think it would have been a day quicker had I not paid via BT.

An excellent service so far and lens registered with CPS and Canon UK - or at least not outright refused.
 
JohnN said:
I can back what Simon says - after all that I too tried procamerashop.

Ordered Tuesday arrived today - several emails keeping me informed along the way - BT quote, order placed, money received, being processed at the warehouse and another one telling me it had been shipped complete with UPS tracking.

I also think it would have been a day quicker had I not paid via BT.

An excellent service so far and lens registered with CPS and Canon UK - or at least not outright refused.
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AFAIK you can register anything with Canon online, even make the number up. Doesnt count for anything.
 
Oh okay - no worries - thats why I added the "or at least not outright refused" part as I wasn't sure.
 
twist said:
AFAIK you can register anything with Canon online, even make the number up. Doesnt count for anything.
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I can verify that, I made up some numbers and registered them with Canon UK last time it was discussed, same ridiculous number (3333333333) was accepted for different camera models.
 
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