Are Grey Imports OK?

Unfocussed Mike I don't think there's any escape from VAT and any duty these days to be fair, however, what some chinese suppliers are doing is letting the courier recover any sums due at customs clearance. Some customers fall for it and pay which effectively gives the overseas seller additional profit as they are required via ebay to include such costs in conformity with trading practices. I had a recent issue with a supplier trying their hand for a lens I purchased but the ebay invoice had net figure listed along with gross shown on the payment transaction...not the sale invoice amount. When confronted the seller instantly credited my account with disputed sum the courier attempted to collect. The items from e infinity have taxes paid.

indemnity said

Unfocussed Mike I don't think there's any escape from VAT and any duty these days to be fair, however, what some chinese suppliers are doing is letting the courier recover any sums due at customs clearance. Some customers fall for it and pay which effectively gives the overseas seller additional profit as they are required via ebay to include such costs in conformity with trading practices. I had a recent issue with a supplier trying their hand for a lens I purchased but the ebay invoice had net figure listed along with gross shown on the payment transaction...not the sale invoice amount. When confronted the seller instantly credited my account with disputed sum the courier attempted to collect. The items from e infinity have taxes paid.

Yeah. I don't think I'd be worried about any of the _major_ grey importers now, because it's not like HMRC haven't caught on. It was the wild west in the early 2000s though; HMRC appeared to have no idea of the size of the grey sector.

tigDJB said

A few years ago I bought a second-hand Canon 5D mk 3 from a reputable UK based retailer and then tried to register it to my Canon Prof Servs ‘kit bag’. When I entered the serial number a pop-up told me that registration was not possible as the camera was assigned to the North American market. For a company producing kit in the Far East and selling it world-wide, that seemed a bit strange.

Odd.  I bought a couple of successive Canon cameras in LA and Sydney, since I happened to be there at the right time, and each was accepted on my list. Along with the lenses from Singapore and LA. 

I've bought 3 Sony G Master lenses from Panamoz (all at the same time) and they're been fine. I cheekily also got an extra £150 off the total price in addition to their £50 per ordered item if you buy 2 or more by asking for a bigger discount. Saved me around £1500 on the UK prices at the time. Just because you buy in the UK doesn't make it super safe. Just look at Rotolight as a prime example. 

MidgePhoto said

tigDJB said

A few years ago I bought a second-hand Canon 5D mk 3 from a reputable UK based retailer and then tried to register it to my Canon Prof Servs ‘kit bag’. When I entered the serial number a pop-up told me that registration was not possible as the camera was assigned to the North American market. For a company producing kit in the Far East and selling it world-wide, that seemed a bit strange.

Odd.  I bought a couple of successive Canon cameras in LA and Sydney, since I happened to be there at the right time, and each was accepted on my list. Along with the lenses from Singapore and LA. 

I subsequently part-ex’d it back to the same retailer.

I bought my last camera from HDEW

Something went wrong with it so they arranged for me to send it to somewhere in Glasgow for repair. While it was there they spotted something else wrong and got in touch with HDEW who authorised that repair as well

I bought my camera supposedly 2nd hand from Camera World in London. It was part of bankrupt stock from a film company in Germany. It was totally brand new and came with a shop warranty. So technically a grey import. Had no trouble registering to download Canon software from Canon UK. 

I had a shutter failure on a camera which would have been out of uk warranty but was sorted quickly and efficiently by Panamoz who covered it with their own longer warranty.

In future I will be buying all my major purchases via them.

Edited by Pix Photography