Buying From Abroad

Hi Guys

I'm in the UK and have been pricing up a Pentax KS-2 recently with Kit lens I have realised that even with shipping if I buy from a US vendor and pay in USD$ that I can get what I want for about £100 less than buying from a UK retailer.

Is there any downside to this is the gear any different? Obviously I'll need to use a converter on Battery charger but any other reason not to do this?

I haven't brought anything expensive from overseas, but I believe you would have to pay an import duty/tax plus delivery charges.

https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/overview

you will be liable to duty and possibly vat plus delivery costs. it mounts up. what guarantee will you get? cannot see a dealer here willing to touch what in effect is a grey import.

You pay import duty, handling charges and then VAT on the lot. It can add a lot of money to your purchase. And what do you do if something is faulty?

There is no import duty on digital cameras. There is VAT but I can make it a business purchase quite legitimately and claim the VAT back,

I suppose I would need to see the terms of the Pentax warranty that would be supplied with the Camera to verify any geographic restrictions.

As with most 'grey' imports, it looks attractive -- and is, unless anything goes wrong. In that event (at this point you have to weigh up how lucky you feel), you'd be sending your camera back to the US to make a warranty claim. The likely bother and delay involved has a cost that might shrink or even eliminate the apparent saving.

I thought Pentax had a world wide Guarantee. At least it was like this some time ago.
So if you buy from a reputable seller, you should be able to go to any Pentax agency and claim it.

I would say no matter where you buy , It would be half price to anything you buy in GB.

Do you really have 100% import duty? on buys trough Ebay?

With this type of import duty GB must be rolling In money.

Regards, Horst

For those interested, these are relevant extracts from Ricoh's warranty policy:

'All PENTAX cameras purchased through authorised bona fide photographic distribution channels are guaranteed against defects of material or workmanship for a period of twelve months from date of purchase.... If your PENTAX was purchased outside of the country where you wish to have it serviced during the warranty period, regular handling and servicing fees may be charged by the manufacturer’s representatives in that country.  Notwithstanding this, your PENTAX returned to the manufacturer will be serviced free of charge according to this procedure and warranty policy. In any case, however, shipping charges and customs clearance fees must be borne by the sender.'

Like many warranties, it is less than crystal clear on some points. But it seems to boil down to the necessity of buying from an 'authorised' dealer, wherever located, and the expectation that having the warranty met 'may' cost money if you deal with the matter outside the country where the purchase was made. It goes without saying that you lose any of the regular protections of UK or European consumer legislation.

None of this is an argument against 'shopping around' for the best deal; but these drawbacks do need weighing in the scales, particularly since the biggest savings are often available from dealers not authorised by Ricoh.

Probably delay ought to be a factor as well. I can imagine if we had to send a lens back to Japan the delay in the warranty repair might be quite long. I could be wrong, but I'd really only want to do that as a last resort.

I bought my K5IIs from a German Pentax dealer, it was a special offer and a paid including shipping cost to the UK about the same as the average private advertised second hand ones in the UK at that time. The dealer stated warranty wasn't a issue if I was going to use it in a different country they said only I would be paying any cost myself for returning it to them in case of a warranty claim.

Buying from within the EU isn't a problem..in fact its your best overall 'foreign' option ...the chance to shop around and get all the same benefits as though bought at home...Buying from outside the EU though I would never buy a camera body...just wouldn't want to risk it as there is too much potentially to go faulty...i'd be more willing to risk a lens...but only if it had a reputation as reliable and robust...best of all are accessories like lens caps/cases etc where there's nothing really to worry about although then the savings are usually much smaller...often not worth the effort.

John wrote:

John have you read the current forum post: Rico Pentax awful customer service?

I believe the item was purchased in the UK and sent to get repaired under warranty in the UK

Regards, horst

I purchased one of my cameras in the far east whilst out there. When back in the UK sent it to Pentax (Slough) via Jessops for a warranty clean (apparently I was entitled to it). The camera came back with no question about country of origin. It seems as long as you buy from an authorised source, the warranty works worldwide.

There is, or was before Ricoh in any case, a worldwide warranty of one year. I bought my very first Pentax in Albuquerque and was issued a world wide warranty card by Pentax in Golden. Those were the days!

I wouldn't buy a camera from outside the EU nowadays, but would probably still buy lenses if the savings were enough, which they seldom are with the Dutch duties.

Problem is duties and the aforementioned warranty issues.
I would also add delivery time as an important factor.
Stick to EU and you can't go wrong.
Only ones I've considered for a big buy was B&H they had a great offer on K3s a while back but once I added the shipping and import charges I actually saved money buying from an Amazon UK sale.
Touch wood never had to send for repairs so far....