Deals Do you want it cheaper

[Whizzo5]

Panamoz are Hong Kong based and seem to be the cheapest for both the R5 and R6 at this moment in time, and they do offer a three year warranty, with repairs carried out by a Canon U.K. approved repair centre. HDEW is a U.K. based company with a shop near Croydon that also sell grey imports and are usually very competitive on price, they also offer the three year warranty (on cameras) handled by a Canon U.K. approved repair centre. They do only offer one year warranty on lenses though. Both of these companies get great reviews on trust pilot that compere very well against the best U.K. supplier, and absolutely smashes the reviews of a certain U.K. national retail chain. Although slightly dearer, I bought my R6 from HDEW, because I was able to phone them and discuss my purchase with a knowledgeable member of staff. So better price, better warranty, availability of the Canon EF adapter and I was able to purchase as a kit with the 24-105 F4 L series lens. U.K. dealers can only supply a kit with the cheaper non L series 24-105 lens and haven't had stock of the Canon EF lens converter for months.

Another vote for HDEW, have used them for years, never had an issue with Canon repairing cameras or lenses sourced from them.

 

[SO8]

Having used MPB from their early days I have found them very good. We recently bought a Panasonic 55-200 (?) as the other half who is a professional uses Panasonic stuff (M43 sensor .... and worked for them as a specialist photography adviser). It was listed as new and was indeed as described.

HDEW, likewise, I have used for years and am very happy.

I have recently used UK Camera Club, another 'grey' importer and their kit has been more readily available and of top quality. Their packaging puts others to shame too !! Their stuff is packaged within an inch of it's life to protect it which I like. All boxes have plastic protective corners put on and extra cardboard in the box to protect before the usual bubblewrap.

 

[Nick L]

Hi, I also used Panamoz for my R5 purchase due to the high cost of the camera in the UK, no issues with delivery, it was tracked via UPS from Hong Kong, the price was as advertised and was well packed and had UK plug and manual. I did go back and buy the control ring adapter as I was let down with the one I bought in the UK.

Also I registered my R5 with CPS and it was accepted with no issues, it does say it has no warranty but it counts towards your CPS account.

Hopefully once RF lens stock improves the Panamoz costs will come down and make the 100-500mm a reality as there cost is the same as the UK dealers (but they have stock)

 

[goju00]

Gray market lenses are still canon manufactured lenses. As long as you know you may not get the warranty it may be worth purchasing depending on how much you save. I have done this for EF lenses in the US. If I could find a 100-500 in the US and save 30% it would be worth it. Not 5%. Risk versus reward. There are plenty of good 3rd party warranties which are better than what canon provides in the US

 

[Wileyone]

I presume you are on about Panamoz , as they are only grey importers in UK that offer 3 year warranty , I bought 3 of my RF lenses off them and saved a lot of money , I decided to buy my R5 and RF 100-500 off Wex though as I wanted the security on the camera of a Canon warranty .

Hdew are also uk importer that have been around a while

 

[Dave Williams]

Lots of false information posted in this thread...at least if you live in the UK.
Grey imports can be registered on your CPS account and are awarded points towards membership level but are not eligible for free repairs under warranty. You have to pay, and claim back if you have an alternative insurance warranty from your grey sales importer.
You might not be able to sell them on as a trade-in using a Canon registered dealer although selling private always gets you a better price anyway.
Comparing USA retail prices with the UK's isn't straight forward either as the US ones don't tend to include sales tax because it differs from state to state. Prices quoted in the UK tend to include VAT.
I believe import duty to the UK is roughly the same as VAT so if you buy abroad you might be liable to pay that on delivery. Some importers are getting around that. Likewise, if you travel to the USA and buy a new piece of gear you can claim the sales tax back at the airport on departure. You then should go through the correct channel and declare your purchases on arrival back in the UK airport and pay the duty there.

 

[Greg]

Overall your comments are correct. As for false information, I cannot agree with that. Maybe not full information has been supplied, but definitely no intention to deceive. It's always good to get another perspective.

 

[Dave Williams]

Quoting retail price comparisons of US vs UK prices, one without and one with sales tax/VAT adds up to false information in my book. Describe it as inaccurate if you prefer, same difference. I never mentioned that it was intended to deceive, I'm sure it wasn't , just misunderstood.
Maybe CPS terms differ in the USA, maybe they don't. Doesn't concern me but if I live d there I wouldn't take it as gospel that you can't register your gear and gain points benefit to enhance your membership terms, I'd check for myself instead of reading it on this thread.

 

[Nick L]

Dave, I have looked up the B&H price for the RF100-500L (the price has recently increased in US) it is now $2779.00 (it was ~ $2600), the highest sales tax is Louisiana which has a total tax rate of 9.55% this gives the cost of the RF 100-500L (with sales tax) as $3076.10 Dollars.
The UK price of the same lens is £2979.00 (inc VAT) with the exchange rate of 1.38 means the UK dealer price is $4112.84. So the difference in cost is $1036.74 or £751.26.

Which I believe is unfair on UK and European buyers. You cannot get B&H to ship to the UK and whilst the camera's are much cheaper from grey market providers there are some risks. The lenses are not that much cheaper from Panamoz and actually more expensive from Hdew and others, but they have stock which no UK dealer has at present.

I am sure no one is giving false information you are just late to an old thread.

 

[Greg]

This price variation, that differs depending on which country you live in , and it seems which USA state you are in, is not a line of attention we as end users have much influence over. I, in another thread read. in Dubai the cost of camera equipment is even higher than what we have been experiencing in this thread. Their import duty is excessive and the guarantees, from Canon, only 1 year. That was some time ago, when I looked just a bit earlier the prices looked very similar to the UK current costs.

When I started this thread is was mainly to alert UK buyers of cheaper alternative to normal Canon retailers. The price difference now, between grey imports and official, appears to have started to level out. My original advice could be out of date.

 

[SO8]

Hdew are also uk importer that have been around a while

I have used HDEW loads since the early 2000's and have met the owner. I think he said they have been around since 1995 (?) and he had no plans on going bust !!

I saved £1000 on my R5 body with HDEW and a lot on lenses of various types over the years. Two 5D 2's and then 2 5D 3's also never missed a beat. Much like now, they got kit when I could not get it elsewhere - though at the moment it seems worse than ever, especially for lenses.

 

[Dave Williams]

Interesting thread in as much as it's had me checking my facts and in the process noting some interesting differences.
Assuming you buy from B&H you'd be paying 8% sales tax... far less than the UK's 20%VAT, and yes prices are much cheaper in the US than they are here in the UK even before tax is applied.
When it comes to the difference between UK grey imports and US retail prices the gap narrows considerably but still reveals an interesting disparity in as much as lenses are still cheaper in the US whereas bodies are cheaper from our grey importers.
Then again it's worth checking the prices between E-infinity and Panamoz too. They can be quite considerable.

Anyway, my original point was to say that I have no qualms whatsoever buying from a grey importer provided they have a good record. You usually get a better warranty than you would there Canon one provided by UK retailers.
I haven't a clue what margins UK photographic retailers work on or why they all seem to adopt the same retail price. Is it a case of price matching or price fixing?? More to the point who is behind it ? Take one guess!

 

[SO8]

Interesting thread in as much as it's had me checking my facts and in the process noting some interesting differences.
Assuming you buy from B&H you'd be paying 8% sales tax... far less than the UK's 20%VAT, and yes prices are much cheaper in the US than they are here in the UK even before tax is applied.
When it comes to the difference between UK grey imports and US retail prices the gap narrows considerably but still reveals an interesting disparity in as much as lenses are still cheaper in the US whereas bodies are cheaper from our grey importers.
Then again it's worth checking the prices between E-infinity and Panamoz too. They can be quite considerable.

Anyway, my original point was to say that I have no qualms whatsoever buying from a grey importer provided they have a good record. You usually get a better warranty than you would there Canon one provided by UK retailers.
I haven't a clue what margins UK photographic retailers work on or why they all seem to adopt the same retail price. Is it a case of price matching or price fixing?? More to the point who is behind it ? Take one guess!

UK main dealers do not make much.

HDEW warranty I am sure is great as I had an issue with an EF 24-70 Mk II about 8-10 years ago and they just replaced the lens !! No mucking around.

I know a company who will generally not, even if brand new, replace kit ... and always says to send to manufacturer ! Out of order big time IMO but they do it.

 

[Greg]

Taking your point about the dealer sending clients to Canon. That is ileage . In the UK your contract is with the shop you buy from. I'm almost certain, in some circumstances you can get a refund, if goods are faulty, within 72 hours of the purchase, on line purchase you can return goods within 14 days without reason

 

[SO8]

Yep. Agreed … but that’s what they do. I wouldn’t buy from them as I knew what they do.

 

[Greg]

Who is that dealer?

 

[SO8]

Who is that dealer?

That’s the bit I can’t say as it will compromise my source No one on here is likely to buy from them.

 

[Greg]

Ok.

What county is the shop in, just in case I'm near by?

 

[RobSample]

Great bit of info.

I know UK dealers have to make a profit, I'm just wondering if they are making excessive profits. Anyone know what the mark up is for UK dealers,

I rather think it is Canon with their UK pricing policy who are making the extra profit. All UK prices the same £4300. I have previously bought a Canon camera from B&H in New York; 18m later the screen died but even after I paid Lehmann's in Stoke to replace it the total cost was less than the street price of the camera in the UK. Currently B&H are prohibited from shipping the R5 & R6 to UK which I guess is Canon applying pressure to close the back door route. At the moment it is cheaper to hop on a return flight to NYC to buy the R5 than buy it in UK. However, my preferred route was HDEW as they have office in UK and 3 years (insurance) guarantee. A number of members at my camera club have bought from Panamoz and have only good things to say about their service.