How to tell what`s a grey import

ruffdog64

ruffdog64

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I`m in the market for an upgrade and some are obviously cheaper and i`ve assumed they are imports ,are there any other ways to tell?
 
You could look on Canons website for retailers they approve to sell products intended for the European market
 
Ask the seller directly.
Also, advertised `in-house` warranties, rather than the manufacturers, can be a clue.
 
Thanks guys, i`ve come across a company called hdew and reports say they have a uk based service centre ,is it worth the risk?
 
Hdew have a shop front in the UK but they sell grey imports hence the big difference in price. Many on the forum have bought from them, depends whether you want uk sourced and pay more or grey import and pay less
 
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ruffdog64 said:
Thanks guys, i`ve come across a company called hdew and reports say they have a uk based service centre ,is it worth the risk?
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I've purchased Nikon Pro gear from HDEW with no problems whatsoever. When I asked them for a UK receipt it was sent to me without delay and I had no problems registering the equipment with Nikon UK.

George.
 
Has anyone had a problem with a camera that had a fault and needed to be repaired?
 
pete.rush said:
Hdew have a shop front in the UK but they sell grey imports hence the big difference in price. Many on the forum have bought from them, depends whether you want uk sourced and pay more or grey import and pay less
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That's not quite true though, is it. The reason they're cheaper isn't because they're grey per se, but because HDEW are obviously doing something unconventional with their accounting.
 
StewartR said:
That's not quite true though, is it. The reason they're cheaper isn't because they're grey per se, but because HDEW are obviously doing something unconventional with their accounting.
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Is that a fact or are you presuming?
If you have proof that they are fiddling tax and vat I for one will not use them.
 
StewartR said:
That's not quite true though, is it. The reason they're cheaper isn't because they're grey per se, but because HDEW are obviously doing something unconventional with their accounting.
Click to expand...
The Greek said:
Is that a fact or are you presuming?
If you have proof that they are fiddling tax and vat I for one will not use them.
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I don't have proof that HDEW are doing anything illegal. If I did, I'd hand it over to HMRC. That's why I very deliberately said "unconventional".

I think it is obvious that they are doing something "unconventional". The photographic equipment market is hugely competitive, and yet they manage to undercut all the other UK suppliers by up to 20%. The obvious way to do this would be to evade VAT (or, technically, to facilitate your customer in evading VAT). That's what most grey market suppliers do. Yet HDEW are VAT registered and they do supply VAT invoices to at least some customers. So whatever they're doing, they've come up with some sort of scheme that nobody else is using. If it's legal, good luck to them. Personally I find it hard to believe that a small UK retailer would have devised some sort of accounting scheme that the likes of Amazon haven't though of, but I guess it's possible.
 
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