Attention CANADIAN members (west coast)

My other half is off to Vancouver shortly and I would like to try and get a better deal on a couple of things from over there if possible.

Can you suggest the best Photographic store to go to in VANCOUVER for Pentax & Sigma gear please, it will make it easier for me to check out prices before he goes and he will know where to head for.

Thank you
Lilly

I looked into this before I went to Vancouver this year, and concluded that the savings were not large enough to make it worthwhile when Duty & VAT is taken into account*, considering the trouble if the goods turned out to be faulty.

* Payable on your return to the UK when the total value of goods bought is over £140.

Easily avoided if you just chuck the lens in your camera bag and post the box to yourself!

My 31mm Limited came from Canada landed in total for about £455, when cheapest price here was about £650, so the savings are definately there to be made!

The savings with a more modest lenses will be more modest. I couldn't have saved more than fifty quid with one I was interested in. I decided that wasn't worth committing a criminal offence for, plus hassle from customs every time I travelled in future. (You would have a black mark put against your name if you were caught out).

Customs can demand proof of where you purchased items from, and they know all the tricks people get up to.

I'm always amazed at how little attention I do get from security and customs at airports, but there is always the chance of a random check for anyone.

That's fair enough, mine was posted, but that price did include all fees, import duty & VAT.

Would agree if the savings are not that much that one should just jump in the car and go to Watford!

Lily;

I'm not on the West Coast anymore, not far from Toronto now, but from any research I've done and the lenses I've bought, Brick and Mortar Retail stores are all pretty close in price, with the only big "in-country" savings done through the web, and the best prices I've seen are generally ProDigital2000, the place Unlocker bought his from if I recall correctly.

Many of the bigger stores, or at least the ones that actually carry Pentax stock at all, only carry the bodies and the kit lenses, and maybe a couple slower consumer zoom lenses. The smaller ones usually dont even carry that much. For example, I wanted to try out an FA50, and not one local store had them in stock. But they all had 18-55's and 50-200's...

I travel all over East and Central Canada, and haven't had any luck just picking up what I'm looking for - it usually involves having the shop order in whatever it is I currently want.

That said, if he's got an afternoon to wast.. err... shop, he might get lucky...

I lived in Burnaby (just outside Vancouver for a couple years, about a dozen years back, and know of a few shops, but they're on this link, along with others... (Note : London Drugs is known for good prices, and though not a camera store, it does carry Pentax, but not an extensive collection.)

link

Hope this helps... (And by the way... You mentioned Sigma - their EX lenses come with a 10 year distributor warranty in Canada...)