UKC

Looking at the Olympus TG-4 (on behalf of Santa) and there seem to be two very different pricing streams: the usual Brit retailers (Argos, John Lewis etc) are all at about 270-280 quid; and then there are a bunch of (apparently) British outfits on eBay for about 225-230. I say apparently, because I'm aware that there are companies in Hong Kong who sell at these price points - and only an idiot would get involved.

Are these British ebay sellers on the level? And if not, why not?

In reply to Martin not maisie:
They may not be charging VAT (if shipping from Hong Kong)? Or may have imported the goods without paying it/other customs charges?

That said you can make significant savings on Ebay compared to the high street. If the seller/item is definitely UK based, and they have reasonable feedback, you are usually pretty safe on Ebay. It is a buyer's market, and allegedly Ebay usually side with buyers in disputes (regardless of the actual evidence!).

In reply to Martin not maisie:

The 'premium' branded shops (John Lewis, Argos!) do tend to sell things like that at a bit of a premium. One thing they often do is stick to the original retail price even as a product ages, so that's where gaps often open.

I'd check the price on Amazon. In fact, you can use sites such as the weirdly named camelcamelcamel.com to track price trends on Amazon (check the marketplace sellers too). If the ebay price is way below Amazon, that might be a cause for concern. Having said that, the lowest prices on Amazon are sometimes scams too, but Amazon will always refund you. I tried twice to buy a Nikon D3200 on Amazon, both scams. Eventually I bought it from PC World!

In reply to Martin not maisie:

Are these not called gray imports?

There are legit companies out there that sell in this way (Martin's Cameras springs to mind). As above, it has to do with import duties not being paid. I've heard stories from both side of fence about being chased up for payment (I believe the onus is on the importer i.e you). I'd just pay the extra £50 for peace of mind.

In reply to Martin not maisie:

Could be useful in your search

http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/Canon

In reply to Martin not maisie:

The shops like John Lewis and Argos have significant overheads like having a huge building in prime city centre location, huge heating and lighting bills, staff costs, advertising and PR costs etc.

The 'shops' on Ebay are quite different, probably selling stuff from some cheap warehouse on some remote industrial estate, minimum staff, no heating etc., so their overheads are much lower. You don't get to play with camera first, or have a member of staff chat to you about the product for 10 minutes but you do get to save quite a lot of money if you know what you want. If unsure about an Ebay seller check their ratings and comments by previous customers.

In reply to all:

Yes, my thoughts were on some kind of duty/tax avoidance scheme, but I don't see how UK-registered companies, based in the UK and selling (allegedly) UK stock could do it. And there's no apparent middle ground: the price seems to be in one camp or the other, but never in between.

My gut feeling is that there's always a price to pay - and I'm one of those people who'd buy an import on the very day that Customs decided to make an example of somebody. Argos might still be the way to go.

In reply to Martin not maisie:

You headed your post "Very cheap" but the discounts are what.... 20%? well within the margins of reasonability. If it had been £125-£130 then you'd have had a point.

In reply to Martin not maisie:



I'd say that this is exactly the sort of price differential that I would expect to see between the likes of Argos etc and the best pricers available within the UK.

It is possible that it may be shipped from Hong Kong or similar in which case the worse that will happen is that you will be charged import duty and VAT plus an admin fee. Depending on the value declared on the customs declaration this may leave you paying more than the Argos et al price but it is unlikely as they rarely declare the full price paid.

In reply to Martin not maisie:

Try cameraworld, normally although not always cheaper than most the high street competition and u.k. based. Even have two very good shops.

D

In reply to Martin not maisie:

When I was last looking for a new camera, I watched the price on Camera Price Buster for a while and tried to buy when it was at the bottom of a drop. I'd be rather wary of something much cheaper than the cheapest ever recorded on there.

I think that the peace of mind of buying from a reasonably recognised source and being sure you have the security of the UK sale of goods act as well as a valid guarantee is worth a few quid.

In reply to cap'nChino:


I bought a grey import GPS on eBay ( Canada) I was told the manufacturer would not honour any warranty or provide support.
I never needed any warranty , but as soon as I got it I registered with no issues and asked a technical question, and got a reply again no problem.

Would I trust it from China? Maybe not.

In reply to cap'nChino:

Thanks for that - very interesting.

In reply to Martin not maisie: On recommendation from a friend recently I bought a Fuji Xt1 at a considerable saving through Cotswold Cameras. It is a grey import but they offer a good warranty using the same company that carrys out many of the insurance repairs on cameras and lenses. The price you pay includes any import duties (you may need to pay them if FedEx bill you but Cotswold Cameras refund you to your card on receiving a scan of your receipt). Whole thing was pretty efficient and painless.

In reply to obi-wan nick b:

That's a solid tip, thank you.

In reply to Martin not maisie:

i got an older olympus on a white box deal, not sure if it was refurbed or a return, but came as camera, battery, strap and cable, thats it, buy was about 60% of the retail price.

In reply to Martin not maisie:
I bought my new Canon 760D 5 weeks ago from Digital Rev and was charged £40 import duty which was payable COD to Customs via UPS. It still would have been significantly cheaper than UK price but when I chase it up Digital Rev stated it was their policy to cover that when required - was refunded within a couple of days.

Always had great experience with Digital Rev (4 cameras, 3 lenses, various accessories) but never had to test a warranty to be fair!

In reply to mudmonkey5:

I'm in Australia and have had no problem with 'grey' imports and our importing tax system is different. However, you need to do a bit of research as there are some dodgy online dealers out there, they're not all equal. Prices much lower than any other online retailer should make anyone very suspicious.

DigitalRev I would have thought to be one of the better ones, however I did coincidentally notice this story, two years old now: http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/camera-company-digitalrev-busted-se...