HDEW or Panamoz

hdew do - some other grey importers have a track record of shipping cameras marked as "toy parts , low value" - I just wondered if the receipt showed customs and vat being paid ?
 
Good question moose, it gave me pause for thought & couldn't recall & so the hunt for said receipt starts as I think it's at my other half's house & she lives fifty miles away.
Plus there's no point asking her to look as she'd get worried & wouldn't rummage around her shed due to spiders which by the way is (the shed) where I think the box with receipt in side is!
And I'm not going there for about 4-5 weeks which is typical that such a subject should come up as I am normally there every weekend.
However, I think you may be correct moose with the 'gift-toy' but until I can ( hopefully ) get the receipt I can't say for sure.
So I shall let you know in about a month-ish.
 
I am going to order a D7200 from hdew tomorrow, at a third less than Jessops Wex etc I'd be daft not to. OK I take the warranty chance as it's their 3 year warranty (first year with Nikon and years 2&3 with them) and the last 3 Nikon's I've had ( all uk) a D40x D7000 and D300s have all work faultlessly over the years and have never needed a warranty. I will be asking for a VAT recp't and have already asked if there is anything else to pay other than what I get billed at their checkout, answer Nothing at all.

I will let you know when it lands:)

Trev.:nikon:
 
Well I was mistaken I do have the receipt at my place, here's a copy with some personal info blanked out of course.
The interesting bit is the sticky label near the bottom mentioning the customs payment.
View attachment 42006
 
retrosi said:
Well I was mistaken I do have the receipt at my place, here's a copy with some personal info blanked out of course.
The interesting bit is the sticky label near the bottom mentioning the customs payment.
Click to expand...

$18 customs payment on a £1200 lens! I think you owe HMRC something like £200. Obviously they made a false declaration on the customs form. Now you'd think that they were the ones breaking the law, but it's you. I'm not sure I'd post evidence in a public forum.
 
That's as maybe but I had a conversation plus an email from them saying what I saw on the site which can be seen is a .co.uk one, was the full price.
I had a fairly long conversation with the customs as well & the % varies according to what is being shipped.
They also went on to confirm when a USA firm which SLR Hut are ship from there, as can be seen, the sticker shows USD.
It depends on the state where shipped from, & the company has a UK base, that they only pay the taxes from the country sent from, and not twice, going into where it's going.
So very much a loop hole but they clearly ship it to themselves first to keep within this loop hole.
Here is a link to a site showing the customs charges for this item from the USA.
If you scroll down you will see indeed the UK import at 6.7% & 20%
But just below it the USA for this type of item at 2.3% & then the VAT shows 'depends on state'.
2.3% of £1200 is £27.60 which is very close to the discounted $28.31 plus $18.73 added together.
Todays exchange puts $47.04 at £30.14 which once again is close to the 2.3% paid given what the exchange rate may have been back then.
Hope this clears it up, that maybe just maybe SLR Hut have found a work around which can be seen they have put Camera accessory & not gift or toy on the ticket & show what custom charges they have paid.
For us I would say they are not the cheapest, I have noticed they have prices higher than the other grey importers, this may explain why they as a grey importer aren't quite as competitive, but when I bought this particular lens they were the cheapest.
Cheers, Simon...
 
retrosi said:
they only pay the taxes from the country sent from, and not twice, going into where it's going.
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I'm afraid it doesn't work like that, otherwise every company would do it.
The importer must pay UK duty and VAT when anything is imported from outside the EU.

Have you asked them for a VAT receipt?
 
And you work for HMRC?
I didn't ask for a vat receipt as I don't need one.
I suppose if I asked they would give one.
But not directed at anyone on here but is this a quest to find an importer that pays all the correct duties and can still give cheap prices?
It appears we are lambasting these importers for not paying these fees and or putting gift or toy as item and annoyed at this.
At the end of the day I am happy having spoken to the people direct at Sir Hut and had an email confirming what I saw was what I would pay.
And it was.
If people are upset that these firms get around the UK duties then they need to report them.
And of course not buy from them and then moan that toy is on the description.
If there are risks involved in us paying these taxes even if the firm says they pay then we as customers must be aware etc.
 
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retrosi said:
And you work for HMRC?
I didn't ask for a vat receipt as I don't need one.
I suppose if I asked they would give one.
But not directed at anyone on here but is this a quest to find an importer that pays all the correct duties and can still give cheap prices?
It appears we are lambasting these importers for not paying these fees and or putting gift or toy as item and annoyed at this.
At the end of the day I am happy having spoken to the people direct at Sir Hut and had an email confirming what I saw was what I would pay.
And it was.
If people are upset that these firms get around the UK duties then they need to report them.
And of course not buy from them and then moan that toy is on the description.
If there are risks involved in us paying these taxes even if the firm says they pay then we as customers must be aware etc.
Click to expand...

Very well said.
 
retrosi said:
If people are upset that these firms get around the UK duties then they need to report them.
Click to expand...

That's a great idea. The problem is that most of the grey importers aren't doing anything illegal. That's because their T&Cs explicitly state that the purchaser (that's you) is the importer and they are just acting as an agent for you. And it's the importer (that's you) who is resposible for paying all the relevant UK duties and taxes. Not doing so is illegal.
 
I have no experience in dealing with Panamoz, SLR Hut etc but HDEW do not have anything within their T&Cs about import duties being the purchasers responsibility. In fact they do not state that you are buying from anywhere other than a UK based company. They can and have provided me with a VAT receipt. They do state that all products have a 1 years manufacturers guarantee and that you need to keep your invoice should you need to make use of this guarantee, they also provided an FOC extended guarantee. They ship your product to you from the within the UK.

I don't think that they are trying to get around import duties or VAT etc. What I do believe is that they sell fully legit products in terms of VAT and duties, it is simply sold at a lower price due to being legitimately purchased and imported from an alternate market i.e. Asia. The reason this happens is that the manufacturers are making significantly higher margins from UK customers, they create the alternative market by doing this.

Quick edit: Probably worth me mentioning that while I have no wish to break the law and would not intentionally do so, keeping excessive profit from reaching huge multinational companies certainly won't keep me awake at night.
 
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I made an order on Thursday, I actually rang the day before for a chat to.
The phone was answered very quickly on both occasions, I ordered a D750 at a fantastic price.
Nikons 1 year guarantee and a extra 2 years with HDEW, I will let you know when the camera arrives.
 
Hi all, an update.
Ordered a Nikon d7200 from hdew on Friday late morning, it arrived this morning at about 1100. Fantastic service. As above total 3 years warranty. No complaints here and will without doubt use them again.

Trev. :nikon:
 
Ross Mac said:
I have no experience in dealing with Panamoz, SLR Hut etc but HDEW do not have anything within their T&Cs about import duties being the purchasers responsibility. In fact they do not state that you are buying from anywhere other than a UK based company. They can and have provided me with a VAT receipt. They do state that all products have a 1 years manufacturers guarantee and that you need to keep your invoice should you need to make use of this guarantee, they also provided an FOC extended guarantee. They ship your product to you from the within the UK..
Click to expand...

You need to look a little harder.....

Extract from HDEW terms and conditions... (Very small print)....
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS.

Please note that by making a purchase on this website you will be acting as the importer of the product for all purposes including all customs regulations,copyright and trademark laws.You accept that the role of HDEW Cameras is limited to sourcing products and making them available for you to import directly from the country of origin.By purchasing a product through this website you authorise us to make arrangements for clearance of customs on your behalf for the products you have ordered.
 
Once again, yes these companies put the onus onto the customer, so don't buy from them if this is a problem.
 
Bought from both with no problem either time.
My item from Panamoz came described as 'toy parts' :D, and was sent from a flat!!
A Chinese work colleague told me family send him foodstuffs from HK quite often and always label them as toy parts too!! apparently many Chinese people do this!
 
Buying from them is good if you want the item fast and a bit cheaper. If these two things are a problem buy from jessops...they MIGHT have what you want in stock, if not they will have to order you one in. Wonder who they use??? Hmmmm!
 
retrosi said:
Once again, yes these companies put the onus onto the customer, so don't buy from them if this is a problem.
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I've heard the you can get great deals from dodgy dave in the dog and duck ... of course the gear is stolen and you can get done for receiving if you get caught, but hey don't buy from him if this is a problem - but my experience is that hes great and its a fantastic saving over legit dealers.

If that post was serious i'd expect it to be deleted within minutes as encouraging illegal activity is a breach of the forum rules

But here the thing - tax evasion is illegal too
 
So what about the fact they are faster? Seriously tho, i cant for the life of me relate buying from abroad to theft.....
 
Paul pminteriors said:
Has anyone against buying from abroad ever bought stuff whilst on holiday? Anything??
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Fact number 1...if you import high value electronic camera equipment from Hong Kong, it is a legal requirement for YOU to pay any import duties due.,

Fact number 2.....Many people do buy from Hong Kong and it is entirely their decision to do so.

Fact Number 3....Some people think the above acts to be legal,even though they are not, unless you declare the goods YOU import to HMRC.

Fact number 4.....The subject has been done to death and that will continue. The forum contains people who are against importing goods without paying duties. The forum also has people who think it is ok due to the huge cost savings involved. The two groups will never agree and further arguments either way are futile. Just do your own thing, but I would council against stating buying from HK on internet forums.
 
That is a very fair comment fracster. But if......nah. Lets close this book and talk about the lovely sunset us as photographers dream of eh?
 
Slimbert said:
HDEW will supply a VAT receipt on request.
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Thats the reason to buy from HDEW (or another UK retailer if they are cheaper). VAT receipt will allow gear to be declared as business expense.
 
gcogger said:
Need I remind people of this thread?
Click to expand...
That thread has never been enforced as far as I can tell.

Plus, the FAQ itself has glaring inaccuracies in it (getting avoidance and evasion the wrong way round, and getting the name of the UK tax authority wrong) and is far from neutral.
 
Paul pminteriors said:
i cant for the life of me relate buying from abroad to theft.....
Click to expand...
No, he was equating tax evasion to theft. Both are criminal offences. It just so happens that some (most? all?) grey importers are facilitating tax evasion on behalf of their customers.
If the grey 'importer' is misdeclaring items as toys it should be ringing alarm bells - if it was all above board, why would they need to lie?

Paul pminteriors said:
Has anyone against buying from abroad ever bought stuff whilst on holiday? Anything??
Click to expand...
Yes, and I was aware of what the limits were for bringing items back into the country without needing to declare it for duty.
 
Llamaman said:
That thread has never been enforced as far as I can tell.
Click to expand...

It seems pretty clear to me: "Any and all discussions on the above topics will be contained in the one thread. It will NOT be acceptable to drag EVERY thread on buying from non-eu countries into the same discussions."
 
gcogger said:
It seems pretty clear to me: "Any and all discussions on the above topics will be contained in the one thread. It will NOT be acceptable to drag EVERY thread on buying from non-eu countries into the same discussions."
Click to expand...
Yes it's clear to me too. And yet there are dozens of threads about grey imports post-dating that announcement. I wasn't disputing what the thread said, only that it has never been enforced.

Out of interest, have you RTM'd this thread, or are just here to tut?
 
Llamaman said:
Yes it's clear to me too. And yet there are dozens of threads about grey imports post-dating that announcement. I wasn't disputing what the thread said, only that it has never been enforced.

Out of interest, have you RTM'd this thread, or are just here to tut?
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RTM? Not that I need to justify my posts to you, but I was interested to see what experiences people had with those 2 retailers (which is what the thread is supposed to be about). Predictably, it then descended into the same tired old arguments that all such threads do eventually. Oh well.
 
RTM = report to moderator. If you think a thread is breaking the rules you should RTM it, not try to moderate it yourself (which the Mods tend to frown on as it makes matters worse).

It is somewhat inevitable that threads comparing grey importers to high-street, or grey importers to each other, with eventually get round to the tax issue. It's the huge elephant in the room and can't be avoided. So either all discussion of grey importers is banned (which isn't helpful to the community who want to research these companies), or we attempt to have the discussion in a measured and accurate way.
 
Well, I thought a gentle reminder might be more friendly than reporting people to a moderator :) Not sure why you're making such a big deal out of it. Why don't we just drop it now, as this is taking the thread even further off topic?
 
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