......which just proves they are evading import duty and/or VAT.
I thought long and hard about this last night. You are correct that it is they (and ALL the others who export from H.K. etc) that are sneaking under the radar of HM Customs in the UK. As the purchaser, all I'm doing is getting the best price I can. If I get hit for VAT at the delivery stage then I'll claim it back from Panamoz so nobody can accuse me of trying to do anything dodgy. However, consider that there is potentially £400 of VAT alone in one of these and you begin to see why Jessops etc just can't compete.
Our government basically want to cream 20% off everything that is purchased in this country. You get taxed when you earn the money, then you get taxed again when you spend it. Sometimes you get taxed two or three times in one go - like with petrol, tobacco and alcohol.:bang:
Even the likes of Tesco are trying to get round these taxes with distribution offices in Jersey / Gibraltar etc. Moonpig.com is Geurnsey (I think) and that's been hitting Clinton Cards etc for some time.
The simple problem is that it's not a level playing field. The UK chooses not to afford to have all it's imports checked by cutting border agency staff. Small packets of toy parts don't get looked at, but that's an awful lot of missed revenue when you are talking about £100's per small box.
So who is being dishonest and who looses?
Everyone and no-one at the same time. The UK tax system isn't the concern of foreign exporters. The purchaser isn't at fault, as they are aware that they could be hit for the money at delivery, but it will be reimbursed by a company who says they will cover that. Everybody knows it's bending the rules, but nobody is responsible for it. Just like speeding. We all do it, but only occasionally does someone get caught. I doubt if anyone has ever walked into a police station and said " I was just doing 40mph in a 30 zone, please charge me". By the same token, nobody is going to phone the vat office and say "you forgot to charge me on a personal import."
UK PLC is the one who is loosing, along with every UK based bona-fide business trading on the high street or the internet.
As far as warranties are concerned, this is one of the UK public's biggest hang-ups and I think it must be a cultural thing. The Jessops camera and the Panamoz camera come from the same manufacturer and the same production line. They have the same chance of going wrong (very small) and I'd venture to say that you will have more hassle (and cost and grief) taking it back to a shop after three months than you will sending it to someone in the UK who is a representative of the HK supplier. It may be that Canon UK won't touch it, but that's simply because they have no profit in it. I could be wrong but I'd guess that Canon UK are a private distributor who have no connection with the Japanese company other than perhaps a token shareholding in both directions.