Buying used from America

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The Boz

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Hi,
This is my first post on here but I’ve been here a while just reading. I’m looking to buy my first dslr, and after loads of research I’ve decided on the Nikon D5000. I’m going to go for a used one as I can’t justify the cost of a brand-spanker and the absolute entry-levels like the D3000 and Canon 1000D are missing lots of features that I know I’d use. I also really like the D5000 having the same sensor and AF system as the D90, amongst other things.

Anyway they go for around the £320-350 mark on ebay and there’s loads for sale. The thing is, if I get one from America, even after adding the customs duty and VAT, the price is more like £250. So what are your thoughts on buying used from America? Is this a bad idea? I’ve bought things from overseas in the past and never had any trouble, but thought it’d definitely be worth asking on here first.

Cheers.
 
Firstly, :welcome: to TP :)

Looking at ebay.com the D5000 seems to sell used for around $350, shipping will add another, say $50, making a total of $450/£250 plus duty at this end, which is going to make the difference between buying that or a UK one £20 at most and you still need an adapter for the battery charger.

Hardly seems worth the hassle....:shrug:
 
Don't forget to include the Parcel Farce clearance fee. I bought an old rangefinder camera from Japan recently and their clearance fee was more than the import duty and VAT!
 
Ah yeah I thought they were a little cheaper than that when I looked. But yeah ur right, about $350 is more like it. Ha ha I guess it looks like I'll just have to bite the bullet eh
 
Strappy said:
Don't forget to include the Parcel Farce clearance fee. I bought an old rangefinder camera from Japan recently and their clearance fee was more than the import duty and VAT!
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Yeah, my luma loop strap had a £2.80-something VAT/import charge, and £10 parcelforce clearance fee. Was enough to make me rage for a few minutes.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
That takes care of the last £20 then :lol:
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It was almost worth it to listen as the depot manager tried to justify the charge. I pointed out that it was the same as my cleaning his car and then refusing to let him leave until he gave me £10 and he just started shouting that it was the law.

Thing is, the postal act has been changed with effect from 1st October so it's now legal for them to charge you for an unsolicited service without offering you an alternative to pay the import charges directly to HMRC.

Want to know something else stupid about it? It's £13.50 for an item on 24-hour delivery and £8 for something on 48-hour. In practice it means nothing because they still hold your parcel in the depot while they send you a card to tell you to come down and collect and they don't do anything different with the parcels despite the additional money that the sender has already paid to get it to you more quickly.

Yeah, I'm still cross about it. :bat:
 
Also you may have a problem getting the camera repaired if buying from abroad.

Realspeed
 
That was actually my main concern, things like warranty. By never owning a proper camera before I don't know how big of an issue that really is
 
The Boz said:
That was actually my main concern, things like warranty. By never owning a proper camera before I don't know how big of an issue that really is
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It's not an issue if you're buying used as they're not transferable, so it doesn't matter where the camera was originally purchased, you'll have no warranty either way.
 
Well yeah I thought that'd be the case, but I've seen a few eBay ads where they say they'll supply the original receipt. My thoughts were more along the lines of how likely it is for one of these things to break. I thought it must be pretty rare because they get so well looked after? And for the amount of money they cost I'd expect them to be pretty reliable
 
realspeed said:
Good question, Warrantees are usually for the country of purchase and an import wouldn't be covered. Phew got out of that one successfully.:D

Realspeed
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Not really, the warranties aren't transferable even if the camera was bought and resold in the same country....;)
 
You guys have got me questioning whether I should buy second hand now. I mean what kind of charges could I expect if I need to take it somewhere to be fixed? I know that might be difficult to answer but someone with a past experience might be able to give me a rough idea of how much repair work costs?

Cheers guys
 
The Boz said:
You guys have got me questioning whether I should buy second hand now. I mean what kind of charges could I expect if I need to take it somewhere to be fixed? I know that might be difficult to answer but someone with a past experience might be able to give me a rough idea of how much repair work costs?

Cheers guys
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Any repair that involves opening the camera up is going to be expensive, however the chances of a fairly new camera needing repaired are fairly slim.

For peace of mind, if you're buying secondhand, I'd suggest sourcing your camera from a dealer.

MPB, who are forum sponsors here on tp, have a few D5000 bodies in stock at around £300, complete with a six month warranty....
 
Don't be afraid to buy second hand. If you can try and buy second hand from somewhere where you can physically look at the item and check it out. At the end of the day £300ish is a lot of money to handover for something blind!
 
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