It's interesting to see the different opinion people have on the importation of so called "Grey Imports". I understand each individual view and associated effects of importing equipment from abroad, however, the fact is from a quality aspect that this equipment is exactly the same as what is being sold via Jessops, Calumet, Wex, and many more UK retailers. The difference is purely monetary and in the case of my order which I placed with Panamoz, almost £2,000!
I would guess that these companies are shipping DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) as opposed to DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid). This places all responsibility on the supplier to ensure the item arrives at the buyers address with all import related taxes paid. For that reason, it doesn't place the UK buyer under any position of doubt as to whether they are doing something which breaches UK law.
As for the effect on UK retailers, well.. There is only one factory which makes a Canon 5D mk 4 and they produce them for the entire global market. I have just been able to go out and buy one which has come via a minimum of one middle man, then been shipped half way across the globe for £2.5k. Taking in to account taxes, the agents mark up which will be at least 20%, plus Canon's mark up which will be at least the same 20% then you are looking at the actual cost price to be in the region of £1.3k - £1.5k, probably less. Consider how they manage to reduce significantly in price over the next few years yet still prove viable to produce at a profit! So, this being the case, then why do UK retailers stick an extra £1k on the price and sell at £3.5k? Is it because they are not able to negotiate a purchase price for >1000 units per year which is better than me for a single camera? Or, is it just greed and hefty mark ups because the entire UK retail tech market is covertly fixing the prices? Or, maybe Canon see the UK market as an area for exploitation where they think they can force retailers in to marketing goods at inflated prices? We will probably never know. However, I can see from a financial database that WEX turnover was £67m last year with a gross profit of £11.5m. Granted, they have to take operating costs from this but there were some nice dividends paid to shareholders which ran in to several millions, maybe this tells part f the story?
At the end of the day, we are all in this for either a living, a hobby or pure enjoyment and there is nothing wrong with shopping around for a good deal. Yes, some places carry more risk than others, but that is a calculated risk which we all need to carry out and accept the outcome should something go wrong.
Anyway, I have my new f2.8 24-70, 70-200 and 5D mk 4 in the post from Panamoz and getting well exited, something which doesn't happen much at the age of 40! So, thanks for all the advice guys and sharing of opinions. Maybe I will get around to sharing some images on here when I get established rather than posting questions!
Cheers
Andy