Grey Imports vs Genuine Stock

[FourRingCircus]

How does companies like warehouse express and jessops make any money? why dont they just go grey?

They can't! Simples.

'Grey' normally means something which has not come into the UK via a manufacturer approved route to market. In the case of cameras, this would be a product which has not been brought into the country by eg. Canon (UK) and then sold at trade prce to Jessops etc.

However, grey is also fast becoming a term for something purchased on the net via Hong Kong or such like.

Either way, the UK retailer as to add 20% VAT on to the sale price. They cannot get round this. If Jessops were to buy-in 'grey' imports, they would still have to charge VAT and hence the saving to the shopper would be minimal.

UK consumers buying directly from HK are effectively evading VAT (knowingly or otherwise) and the supplier is complicit in this - although they are not necesarilly breaking the law in their country.

UK high street prices have VAT added-on. It's as simple as that. The Internet has turned the retail world upside down and left a very un-level playing field which works against the UK retailer. Selling 'greys' won't help them in any way.

 

[domino1999]

They can't! Simples.

'Grey' normally means something which has not come into the UK via a manufacturer approved route to market. In the case of cameras, this would be a product which has not been brought into the country by eg. Canon (UK) and then sold at trade prce to Jessops etc.

However, grey is also fast becoming a term for something purchased on the net via Hong Kong or such like.

Either way, the UK retailer as to add 20% VAT on to the sale price. They cannot get round this. If Jessops were to buy-in 'grey' imports, they would still have to charge VAT and hence the saving to the shopper would be minimal.

UK consumers buying directly from HK are effectively evading VAT (knowingly or otherwise) and the supplier is complicit in this - although they are not necesarilly breaking the law in their country.

UK high street prices have VAT added-on. It's as simple as that. The Internet has turned the retail world upside down and left a very un-level playing field which works against the UK retailer. Selling 'greys' won't help them in any way.

Totally agree with all this. Only the UK government and the manufacturer can do anything about this. Rip-off Britain at its best!

 

[FourRingCircus]

Rip-off Britain at its best!

Perhaps.......:|

VAT = government coffers = public services & public sector employment.

We typically want the best of both worlds. Life in the UK is the envy of many parts of the world and a utopian dream for some. We want to retain the lifestyle here, but pay the prices enjoyed in parts of the world which don't have our tax regime or our public sector.

If everyone brought everything from HK, our unemployment would increase, our high streets would be completely dead and our government would be high and dry financially.

Some will say that unemployment is already increasing, our high streets are already dead and our government is already broke. Sorry, but if you think that then you really have no idea.:nono:

Last week, the (poor) public in Barcelona were pulling other members of the (not so poor) public out of cafes and resturants. Go figure........:shake:

 

[onform]

Unfortunately a couple of hundred pounds, sometimes more, is a lot of money and this is an expensive hobby. It is even more unfortunate that good quality photography shops are having to close due to these savings it is not a level playing field and they simply cannot compete!!

For the record I have bought off Kerso before but I chose to go to my local camera shop, Digital Depot, to buy my 5D mk3 as I have begun to realise the importance or more to the point the consequences of loosing such stores.

 

[SpikeK6]

Like I said before though my local shop was selling the same thing for nearly £500 pounds MORE than I have just bought it for, now forgive me but that is either very nearly the price of another decent lens or one hell of a big saving.

Charity begins at home in my house and I fail to see why I should have to pay that much more for the same product just to keep my local shop open.

We are not meant to pay VAT over here in Guernsey so I still fail to see how he can charge more than most uk stores, he is either ripping me off big time (in which case he deserves to shut) or he is not getting the best deal when buying which I find very hard to believe

 

[FourRingCircus]

We are not meant to pay VAT over here in Guernsey so I still fail to see how he can charge more than most uk stores, he is either ripping me off big time (in which case he deserves to shut) or he is not getting the best deal when buying which I find very hard to believe

He's ripping you off - fairly typical of tax-haven retailers. They like to make the extra that the government isn't taking, in the belief that the punters can afford it. They'll tell you that it's down to delivery charges but that's mostly a smokescreen.:nono:

 

[SpikeK6]

He's ripping you off - fairly typical of tax-haven retailers. They like to make the extra that the government isn't taking, in the belief that the punters can afford it. They'll tell you that it's down to delivery charges but that's mostly a smokescreen.:nono:

Wish we where a tax haven, you should see what we have to pay over here

I know he is ripping me off which is why I will window shop as i walk past but I never go in and I certainly will never buy from him. Even the 2nd hand gear is way over priced.

 

[onform]

Greedy over priced stores have and never will last long. But there are good honest and hard working stores out there that are selling at almost a loss on some products just to get a sale..

 

[FourRingCircus]

Hard business facts imply that these will be the first to close-down when the time comes.:thumbsdown:

 

[SpikeK6]

Greedy over priced stores have and never will last long. But there are good honest and hard working stores out there that are selling at almost a loss on some products just to get a sale..

Hard business facts imply that these will be the first to close-down when the time comes.:thumbsdown:

This guy has been there for years and years, I think it must just be the rich that keep him going(lots of them over here) who do not want to buy off the net so to speak. there are 3 camera clubs over here along with hundreds of people with camera's, so he must sell enough o keep him going.

To be honest its him or Jessops and to be honest they never have any stock in so god know how they survive

 

[Beardy]

What if the lenses don't have any receipt?

Simple, you don't have a warranty. I bought a lens from HDEW and looked into this in a fair amount of detail. I checked with Fixation and AJ Johnson who are both well respected Nikon repair centres. I checked because I wanted to check what HDEW told me, which was absolutely correct. You need a receipt, they (the authorised repairers) don't care about the warranty card.

So when people advertise items on hear in the classifieds as being under warranty they aren't. Sure a lot of people offer to intermediate etc but unless you have their agreement to help you there is no warranty.

 

[Dexy101]

Well I have just ordered a Canon 70-200 f2.8 mk 2 from Panomoz and i have just paid £1298 for it brand new, you cannot get a second hand one for that.

Yes you can. And I did. Only used once too.

And another second hand one used twice for £1200 on another forum I use.

So check your facts before posting.

 

[Byker28i]

Simple, you don't have a warranty. I bought a lens from HDEW and looked into this in a fair amount of detail. I checked with Fixation and AJ Johnson who are both well respected Nikon repair centres. I checked because I wanted to check what HDEW told me, which was absolutely correct. You need a receipt, they (the authorised repairers) don't care about the warranty card.

So when people advertise items on hear in the classifieds as being under warranty they aren't. Sure a lot of people offer to intermediate etc but unless you have their agreement to help you there is no warranty.

So how does that cover people buying whilst abroad, such as say Florida, New York (popular US destinations). Warranty is a year. I'm currently looking at £600 saving on a 5D mk3, that's a lot of saving and easily covers most repairs in the first year.

 

[killwilly]

For the record I have bought off Kerso before but I chose to go to my local camera shop, Digital Depot, to buy my 5D mk3 as I have begun to realise the importance or more to the point the consequences of loosing such stores.

As a slight deviation from the gist of the thread. Digital Depot have the best current price for a canon 60D listed on CameraPriceBuster. Do their cameras come with a full UK warranty?

 

[Tigger.ufo]

So how does that cover people buying whilst abroad, such as say Florida, New York (popular US destinations). Warranty is a year. I'm currently looking at £600 saving on a 5D mk3, that's a lot of saving and easily covers most repairs in the first year.

You will still have a receipt albeit an American one.


Heather

 

[Spiritflier]

Buying from the likes of DigitalRev isn't always cheaper... I bought a Panasonic G3 kit from Jessops yesterday for £340 and the same camera is listed on DR for £509.

Having said that, I bought my daughter a 60D from Panamoz for £500 which was a good couple of hundred quid cheaper than any UK supplier at the time... Normally, I'd buy a body from the UK but cash was a little tight so I went down the HK route!

 

[SpikeK6]

Yes you can. And I did. Only used once too.

And another second hand one used twice for £1200 on another forum I use.

So check your facts before posting.

I did check my facts thank you. I was checking out ebay for a while and also the last 2 to be on here was 1300, granted the guy has now dropped it to £1200 but it did not start there.

I do not use "other" forums for photography so this one and ebay and amazon where the only real places.

Anyway I do not have to explain myself to you about facts or where I got my info from, its out there in the big wide world.

spike

 

[John Soliven]

Simple, you don't have a warranty. I bought a lens from HDEW and looked into this in a fair amount of detail. I checked with Fixation and AJ Johnson who are both well respected Nikon repair centres. I checked because I wanted to check what HDEW told me, which was absolutely correct. You need a receipt, they (the authorised repairers) don't care about the warranty card.

So when people advertise items on hear in the classifieds as being under warranty they aren't. Sure a lot of people offer to intermediate etc but unless you have their agreement to help you there is no warranty.

If you don't have the receipt, but you as the owner of the item is willing to pay the repair fee, would there be a chance they (the authorized repairers) will accommodate you? Thanks

 

[Rod.F]

However, grey is also fast becoming a term for something purchased on the net via Hong Kong or such like.

Actually the term is often accurate because a lot of what folks back in the UK are buying is already grey market stuff in Hong Kong - ie, it hasn't entered Hong Kong via the manufacturer's approved route. The grey market sellers can't compete with the big stores locally so they'll often target foreign countries where the lack of a sales tax in Hong Kong gives them an advantage.

 

[Dexy101]

I did check my facts thank you. I was checking out ebay for a while and also the last 2 to be on here was 1300, granted the guy has now dropped it to £1200 but it did not start there.

I do not use "other" forums for photography so this one and ebay and amazon where the only real places.

Anyway I do not have to explain myself to you about facts or where I got my info from, its out there in the big wide world.

spike

So you will happily use eBay as a reference to used prices?? More fool you.

You clearly stated that you cannot buy a second hand one for less than £1298, when you clearly can.

Maybe you should branch out a little in to the big wide world "other" forums do exist, this place, ebay and Amazon are not the be all and end all of photography.

 

[Marcel]

This stops now. Either respond to each other with politeness and respect or we'll be forced to issue suspensions.
This sort of attitude and 'tone' towards each other is ruining the community.

 

[SpikeK6]

Ok sorry Marcel not going to reply in this thread no more. I am happy with what i have bought, a fantastic lens at a fantastic price for a brand new lens.

Spike

 

[John Soliven]

Simple, you don't have a warranty. I bought a lens from HDEW and looked into this in a fair amount of detail. I checked with Fixation and AJ Johnson who are both well respected Nikon repair centres. I checked because I wanted to check what HDEW told me, which was absolutely correct. You need a receipt, they (the authorised repairers) don't care about the warranty card.

So when people advertise items on hear in the classifieds as being under warranty they aren't. Sure a lot of people offer to intermediate etc but unless you have their agreement to help you there is no warranty.

Just bumping up my inquiry:

If you don't have the receipt, but you as the owner of the item is willing to pay the repair fee, would there be a chance they (the authorized repairers) will accommodate you? Thanks

 

[TheSeeingEye]

There is a lot of talk about Photographers paying for 'Official' Imports and Official warranties versus grey imports and the risks however here is a salutary story in progress as a warning.

My lens is a (second) Nikon 200-500mm VR bought in UK from WEX Photographic so attracts fully Nikon UK warranty as well as usual 12 months protection. This lens was for my wife as I already had one. As the weather was so poor it was some time before we ventured out. Following the first trip as my wife removed the LEXAR professional 633x 32gb card it suffered some sort of corruption so all but two images were lost. The weather continued with torrential rain so it was two weeks before we ventured out for a second trip. This time the memory card was OK bit the resulting images (especially in comparison with mine) looked unsharp. We put this down to technique a this is a large and heavy lens and my wife chose a lower ISO to shoot at than me. The third and final trip was around 10 days later and this time the lens was mounted on a gimbal on a hide clamp. Again the images were poor with terrible sharpness? At this point we debated the images for 2 days before contacting WEX. The lens was now 42 days old with 3 hours usage.

WEX insisted that the lens was sent to NIKON UK for repair and we were given no other options. It was duly handed over to the WEX courier in an oversize box with reams of bubblewrap. After two weeks I ring WEX to get an update on the warranty repair and get told it was to return to WEX the following day and will be sent on shortly after that to me.

So far so good.

A week later after no lens I ring WEX again and the customer service agent asks me if I had been invoiced yet? I quickly state this is a warranty repair for a 42 day old lkens with 3 hours usage. It gets escalated to a manager and this lady informs me that Nikon claim it has suffered damage (bent tripod foot and damaged VR capsule). After the initial shock anger sets in when they demand over £300 for a repair. I insist that this lens was mint and unmarked when returned for repair and although it clearly had issues it had neither suffered physical damage nor what appears to be massive impact to 'bend' the tripod foot. Have a look at the tripod fixing on this lens as it is robust and I cannot imagine damage to it? Despite this the customer service lady agrees there are no physical marks on this lens? Seems improbably given what Nikon are reporting?

So here we have a UK imported and UK sold Nikon lens with full warranty and only 42 days use by my wife that has never taken sharp photographs and WEX are refusing to honour either the warranty or my consumer rights initially stating I would have to get an independant engineers report to dispute Nikons report?

I can guarantee to readers here that no such damage or impact has occured to this lens in our ownership and as website Co-ordinator and Secretary of a local camera club we are well experienced photographers that are used to handling cameras and lenses. Indeed my wife has just won photographer of the year for a second year running!

So was it safe buying a UK shop bought lens (by mail Order)? Is your warranty worth the paper it is written on? Its all debateable. Clearly in this case something has happened to this lens as Nikon have no reason (other than they are non -independant as they get paid to fix lenses) to make a report up? All we know it we have a lens that has been cared for and sent for repair to get what seemed a simple repair to get this shocking situation confront us.

I am sure this is not the norm but it is extremely stressful as this lens is not cheap and adding another £300-£400 for damage we did not cause is just unacceptable.

Can other forum users please report their experiences?

 

[admirable]

Holy thread revival !

 

[BillN_33]

it's quite simple - just decide how much a UK Nikon Dealer warranty is worth?

same with many other goods - normal warranty versus extended warranty

At the end of the day, for most people, it is all about money

If you are used to a brand, only a small percentage will want to spend hours going to a dealer and playing with the camera even when spending £2k +

and most tend to read many review to help them decide

I think that the stats say, if the camera has a fault it usually occurs in the first few weeks - recalls are a different matter - Nikon now seem to honour recalls no matter from where they were purchased

The 3 year, (non Nikon) warranty given by HDEW seems to have been honoured in all cases that I have seen reported ........ so just choose your grey supplier carefully