Anyone bought a lens on e-Bay from a Hong-Kong supplier?

viper_biker

viper_biker

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My lovely parents gave me some money for Christmas and I am looking at getting a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 over the next few weeks. Most UK retailers are between the £600-700+ mark, whereas e-Bay listed ones from Hong Kong are in and around the mid £500 mark. I understand that there might be import taxes (I have bought quite a lot of bike stuff from Japan to know this) but it would still work out less than a UK version.

There are 2 things that I also need to consider. I have read on here about people sending this lens back to be re-calibrated. Is the still the case, or has version II of the lens corrected this? Secondly, I remember seeing a UK retailer that was doing an offer where if you bought this lens you would also get the Sigma 2X TC included for free and that was around the £650 mark. A 2X TC isn't what I'd want, but by selling that I could maybe look at a 1.4X converter instead. What are you opinions on the, buy in the UK and keep the warranty and if there are any issues get them resolved here, or go for the cheaper Hong Kong version?
 
Most of my kit is from HK. I've saved hundreds of £.

Haven't had any problems, some eBay sellers will refund any customs charges too.

One Stop Digital is a good site, free delivery and will refund any customs if you get charged, the Sigma you are after is £540:

http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=24_28&products_id=45

Kit from HK may not come with a UK warranty though, so if it breaks, you might have to send it back to HK to have it fixed.
 
I've bought a lens for HK but I got a very good deal from Kerso on here too for a macro flash that went wrong, I was able to get it fixed in the uk under warranty which was handy. Might be worth getting a price from him too just pm him with what you require and he will give you a price. Worked for me ;)
 
I've bought a lens for HK but I got a very good deal from Kerso on here too for a macro flash that went wrong, I was able to get it fixed in the uk under warranty which was handy. Might be worth getting a price from him too just pm him with what you require and he will give you a price. Worked for me ;)
 
Who is Kerso? Is he a forum member or does he have his own shop/site? The 70-200 an 2X T/C was on Warehouse Express for £640 if that's any help.
 
Yes he is a member and has supplied lots of members here, is is also on ebay but you will get a better deal if you pm him on here.
 
Bought stuff from Digital Rev via ebay, no problems and would not hesitate to use them again if the £ ever recovers......
 
I purchased my Nikon 300mm af-s f4 from digital rev in hong kong, this was via flea bay. The lens was with me in 3 days and I saved just under £300. Its my most used lens and I thought the service was fabulous. They even refunded me the £30 customs charges, they do state in some of there listings that they will refund import taxes to uk customers.
Now the lens has never missed a beat so I havn't had to use them regards warranty, but I was willing to risk it to get a lens that I really wanted and couldn't afford in the uk.

Dean
 
This is a good thread. I'm also looking at buying a few lens from abroad before the pound falls even further. Kerso and One Stop Digital are recommended then?
 
I bought my M1 version of the Siggy 70-200mm for £450 from Jessops - it wasn't listed on the website but asked in store and they got it for me next day
 
I've bought from both Kerso and DigitalRev and both are highly recommended.

The only problem with DR at the moment is that the weak pound makes their stuff as expensive, if not more so, than UK-sourced gear, especially if you end up paying vat and import duty too...
 
I purchased a Kenko pro converter from Digital Revolution, and it is fine.

A word of caution, with the devaluation of the £ some of the prices I have seen from the Far East have not been that competitive recently, also you might have to pay import Duty/VAT which could be a unexpected addition to the cost.
 
Depends how the item is sent, if they use dhl or any of the other carriers they charge you duty etc directly. The best way is to look for an auction that says vat free or vat refunded, DRs' auctions are like that sometimes. Paying the import duty also gives you the safeguard of knowing the manufacturers guarantee will be honoured.
 
Merovingian said:
How many HK buyers have been stung for import duties? Is it a hit or miss arrangement?
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Digital Rev give you the option to pay the duties or take your chances. I paid the duties as the saving was still a lot of money, but if you feel like taking a gamble then it might be worth a shot...
 
I bought a Bigma from DR and they were very quick to refund the duty paid.
 
The stuff's not cheap from there any more though. There's no point in going down that route unless you're making a decent saving, at the moment you'll probably get just as good a deal on most things in the UK.
 
Merovingian said:
And DigRev's claims they'll pay back the duties within 24hrs? Quite a claim.
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My lens was delivered from them via DHL. About a month later I received an invoice from DHL for duty/tax. Scanned it and emailed it to DigitalRev and it was refunded within 24 hours.
 
Do DigitalRev declare full value on the invoices?

In other words, for a £1k item are you paying £150 to DHL you have to claim back?
 
puddleduck said:
Do DigitalRev declare full value on the invoices?

In other words, for a £1k item are you paying £150 to DHL you have to claim back?
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My purchase was a couple of years ago and I can't remember for certain. The lens was about £540. I think they may have declared a lower value but not sure. I had to pay around £42.
 
Thanks - so for Sigma gear you are still stuffed for warranty then as you are not paying VAT on the true value.

VAT on £540 would have been about £95 if it had been declared at its true value.
 
puddleduck said:
Thanks - so for Sigma gear you are still stuffed for warranty then as you are not paying VAT on the true value.

VAT on £540 would have been about £95 if it had been declared at its true value.
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The Sigma lenses I've bought in Hong Kong and Tokyo (in the actual country - not off the net) have all had international warranties.
 
Merovingian said:
Perhaps it's worth a punt then...:thinking:
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Yup got my duty refunded into bank account witin 24 hours of emailing a scan of duty receipt.

delivery from HK was quicker than most UK mail order.
 
MisterE said:
The Sigma lenses I've bought in Hong Kong and Tokyo (in the actual country - not off the net) have all had international warranties.
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Unless you've paid full VAT the paperwork is the box is worthless.

See:

http://www.sigma-imaging-uk.com/pdfs/going_grey.pdf

Sigma will only honour the warranty on legal imports, so if its been marked down or sent as a "repaired lens" etc, you're stuffed.
 
Indeed, I had to send my lens to Sigma for repair and they would not do it without evidence of vat and duty paid.
 
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