That sounds like they have changed then.
Out of interest - which courier(s) and how long did it take - has this speeded up their despatch and subsequent delivery ?
Cotswold and Panamoz
- Thread starter phinix
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That sounds like they have changed then.
Out of interest - which courier(s) and how long did it take - has this speeded up their despatch and subsequent delivery ?
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This is inconsistent with their terms and conditions.
Also if your contract is with the UK co why do they not issue VAT invoices?
Note that Amazon often report the actual seller is Amazon SARL and not - for example - Amazon limited.
You'll maybe find if you go into a branded coffee shop chain that it might be setup so that it is ultimately setup so that it is paying royalties from the payment you make to the brand in another country and using this to move profit and taxation.
And if you buy a service from a VAT registered supplier then you are paying VAT on their service -- if you buy from one that is not VAT registered then you are not. So one is effectively paying on part of the price you pay directly as tax to HMRC - and the other is not.
And then we have sole traders vs employees - where on one side of the divide the work you may do might be subject to employers' national insurance (on top of which VAT may be added) whereas on the other it will not be subject to employer's NI.
So .....
If if anybody is really really really bothered - always seek out a company that records and pays all its operating profits locally, that is VAT registered, and that any work done is undertaken locally by employees subject to employers's NI.
Last item i ordered was 29th order - 9th arrival - 7 working days s per their FAQs.
Which terms and conditions?
The one I read stated Payments are taken by Cotswold UK Cameras Limited company number 14313543.
Registered company Address in the UK
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Honestly, I don't care too much
I just thought I'd ask Claude to see what its response would be.
As consumers we have plenty of choice where we buy our equipment, which is good and we can all make our own informed decisions.
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Setting aside your reducto absurdum arguments, large marketplace operators, coffee shop chains and the like are in discussions with HMRC. They do declare what they are doing and what they are doing is what you might call aggressive tax mitigation. This is not illegal and they are not misleading HMRC about the nature of the business or what it turns over or what it spends on “marketing material” with an overseas parent company. We may not like this situation, we may not feel it is fair but HMRC represent the people of the UK in monitoring and investigating such things.
A sole trader, a plumber or wedding photographer for example, who is “fiddling the books” is just as guilty as anyone else engaging in tax evasion. However while wrong and we would prefer it not happen the values involved are fairly small beer by and large.
A multi million turnover mail order company using a “willow the wisp” untraceable website and making false declarations to HMRC and border force is a much more serious matter for the country. I don’t reference any particular willow the wisp website just to be clear I am not making accusations of any particular company.
A sole trader, a plumber or wedding photographer for example, who is “fiddling the books” is just as guilty as anyone else engaging in tax evasion. However while wrong and we would prefer it not happen the values involved are fairly small beer by and large.
A multi million turnover mail order company using a “willow the wisp” untraceable website and making false declarations to HMRC and border force is a much more serious matter for the country. I don’t reference any particular willow the wisp website just to be clear I am not making accusations of any particular company.
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Agreed its the term that gets banded around "fair" and generally used by those not benefitting because they can't be arsed to learn the rules of the game and learn how to play it. There seems to be alot of whataboutism, lots of banging the drum and complaining about what everyone else is or isn't doing just because that not how "I" do it, lots of moral judgement and moral smugness.
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From the definitions in the terms and conditions (my highlighting):
Definitions
For the purposes of these Terms & Conditions, the following definitions apply:- Website” refers to www.cotswoldcameras.co.uk, the online platform operated by CHATEAUBRIAND LIMITED where products are listed for sale.
- “We”, “Us”, or “Our” refers to CHATEAUBRIAND LIMITED, the owner and operator of Cotswold Cameras.
- “You”, “Your”, or “Customer” refers to any individual or entity accessing, using, or purchasing from the Website.
- “Products” refers to any cameras, lenses, accessories, or photography equipment listed for sale on the Website.
- “Order” refers to any purchase of Products made by You through the Website.
- “Content” refers to any text, images, logos, graphics, trademarks, or other information displayed on the Website.
- “Contract” refers to the legal agreement between You and Us for the sale and purchase of Products once an Order has been placed, confirmed, and payment has been received.
Payment processing is handled by Cotswold UK Cameras Limited. Cotswold UK Cameras Limited act as agents, receiving payments from customers for sales orders
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Much bigger saving at Cotswolds and e-infinity, I’d expect Panamoz to come down quite a bit if you ask them.
Like new used are £1329
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I'm seeing it as £1,252.00 condition 9? I suppose new at
Will now check the lens price with them as well, cheers.
EDIT: New from Cotsworld is cheaper than used here. What's going on with Panamoz prices though? They seem rather high by comparison.
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ive used these often, never had an issue with them
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nor me Amazon rarely have anything cheap anyway
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The saving does not come from not paying taxes it comes from not paying the official importers markup.
The so called guarantee is actually covered by an insurance policy covering all their sales, and is very cost effective
Hong Kong , which is where most of this product comes from is a Freeport and carries no taxes of its own.
When you consider that Hong Kong traders are satisfied with remarkably small margins, dealing with these companies is frankly a no brainer.
Most large Chinese companies do in fact pay/collect British and European VAT and duties by arrangement with the UK and EU authorities.
Alibaba always includes vat in this way.
The so called guarantee is actually covered by an insurance policy covering all their sales, and is very cost effective
Hong Kong , which is where most of this product comes from is a Freeport and carries no taxes of its own.
When you consider that Hong Kong traders are satisfied with remarkably small margins, dealing with these companies is frankly a no brainer.
Most large Chinese companies do in fact pay/collect British and European VAT and duties by arrangement with the UK and EU authorities.
Alibaba always includes vat in this way.
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Very true
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Camerasdori is another one. They're connected to cotswold i believe
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Normal retail trade in the UK follows a now well established pattern.
Camera manufacturers or the like establish subsidiaries in each country who act as importers and wholesalers , these companies buy their stock from the manufacturer, they also become responsible for all costs there after, including advertising, marketing distribution, servicing, guarantees, dead and unrepairable stock, business and sales taxes, vat, salaries social security pensions of staff and holiday and sickness payments .. business overheads of all kinds. On top of this they must account for all profit and sales margins of that business.
The retailer is in turn responsible for a similar set of expenses. Retailers try to maintain a 1/3 mark up, they do this by adding 50% of the cost of the item.
Of course the importing company has done much the same to cover their costs. The ex factory price is much lower.
Directly importing from a wholesaler in a Freeport removes most of these costs as they buy in bulk and sell to most of the world, mostly to retailers in countries in which the factories do not set up their own subsidiaries.
The low cost retailers in the UK are a subset of these Freeport wholesalers often set up by individual traders, who take advantage of this established low cost infrastructure.
They are definitely not criminals, they are astute traders taking full advantage of the Freeport system.
We can benefit from this setup or we can choose not to, the choice is ours. This is not a new trade. it has been going on since the UK set up Hong Kong as a free port in January 1841
Camera manufacturers or the like establish subsidiaries in each country who act as importers and wholesalers , these companies buy their stock from the manufacturer, they also become responsible for all costs there after, including advertising, marketing distribution, servicing, guarantees, dead and unrepairable stock, business and sales taxes, vat, salaries social security pensions of staff and holiday and sickness payments .. business overheads of all kinds. On top of this they must account for all profit and sales margins of that business.
The retailer is in turn responsible for a similar set of expenses. Retailers try to maintain a 1/3 mark up, they do this by adding 50% of the cost of the item.
Of course the importing company has done much the same to cover their costs. The ex factory price is much lower.
Directly importing from a wholesaler in a Freeport removes most of these costs as they buy in bulk and sell to most of the world, mostly to retailers in countries in which the factories do not set up their own subsidiaries.
The low cost retailers in the UK are a subset of these Freeport wholesalers often set up by individual traders, who take advantage of this established low cost infrastructure.
They are definitely not criminals, they are astute traders taking full advantage of the Freeport system.
We can benefit from this setup or we can choose not to, the choice is ours. This is not a new trade. it has been going on since the UK set up Hong Kong as a free port in January 1841
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AbsolutelyHonestly, I don't care too much
I just thought I'd ask Claude to see what its response would be.
As consumers we have plenty of choice where we buy our equipment, which is good and we can all make our own informed decisions.
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It is a question of volume turnover and margins and demand. Perhaps they do not have the bulk demand for Fuji to get the necessary ex factory discounts to make it worthwhile.
It won't just be a preference.
.
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Margins from the suppliers apparently.
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Gosh I forgot Panamoz existed! Bought a Canon EOS 6D from them around 2012...remember emailing back and forth with a real person and saved a fortune.
Flashbacks of Gearbest and cheap iPads and Xiaomi phones too!!
Flashbacks of Gearbest and cheap iPads and Xiaomi phones too!!
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Well I’ve ordered it now and had an acknowledgment- just waiting to see how long it takes to get here.
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My last Cotswold order took 14 days from ordering to delivery.
which is within their FAQ window for delivery
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Out of interest, is that 14 calendar days, or 14 business days? (please say calendar, please say calendar...)
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That’s 14 calendar days, I ordered Friday the 12th of June and it was delivered Friday the 26th.
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I’m aware of that, I wasn’t expecting next day delivery
exceeded expectations thenI’m aware of that, I wasn’t expecting next day delivery
I have emailed Cotswold before asking whether they can get Fuji gear and they come back with a Yes and a price usually.
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Ordered a nikon Z9 and 180-600 mm lens last week from Panamoz took 6 days to arrive, Very happy with the service.
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Cheapest I can see the Z9 on camerapricebuster is £3,999 from Cameraworld (£4,399 on WEX!). Compared to £2,680 on Panamoz (and even cheaper at Cotsworld), it's difficult to argue against a whopping 33%+ saving on the camera body.
the original launch price was £5,299. I wonder if the current pricing is in advance of the next gen of flagship? After all it was released in 2021
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I'm not sure, was the launch price the same for grey as in the UK?
That was the UK RRP.
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Ah ok. I'm not really following you to be honest because my post was about the difference between UK and grey?
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Between the two items I saved almost £2000. I have found Panamoz very easy to deal with and watching the tracking is fascinating to see where it goes, my package spent 2 days at Donnington air port before clearing customs.