Thinking of buying this lense from Ebay please advise me

colmranger

Hi,
Thinking of buying me a decent all rounder lense for my Canon 30D.

What you think of this lense? http://http://cgi.ebay.ie/Canon-EF-17-40mm-17-40-f-4-L-USM-Lens-NEW-0Q_W0QQitemZ200030816586QQihZ010QQcategoryZ4687QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Also wondering has anyone else bought from Hong Knog on Ebay and if so did they get hit for VAT?

FreeAnd..

I bought that lens on ebay from Hong Kong and didnt have to pay Vat. It was shipped and marked for repair so it looked like it was being sent back to me. Got it within 3 days and the lens is great. I mainly use it at the wider end, and find that its great outdoors but not always great in low light. It took me a while to get used to this lens in different scenarios but any image in my flickr that is wide was taken with this lens. As for getting it on ebay, i would definitely reccommend as the price difference between buying here is huge. It will save a few hundred euro but you should still be aware of the risk and it might be alot of hassle if you're not happy with the lens.

rymus

be aware though.. if something goes wrong with it and you have to ship it back to the supplier, you're in for a shock. I had to ship a BG-E2 battery grip back to Hong Kong earlier this week. Cost me €97 to do it So, any saving I've made from buying in hong kong is down the drain. Also, infuriatingly enough, the seller in hong kong is sending my replacement by normal post so I wont have it for 4/5 weeks. But that's the subject of an irate mail I'll be sending later on so I wont go on here..

FreeAnd..

Definitely agree with Rymus here, its generally the same for all online purchases. As long as everything goes smootly and the product is good everything is perfect but if something should need to be returned then god help. Its always a bit of a gamble and should be weighed up. You can risk saving a few hundred euro by getting it from ebay or buy locally and know if anything goes wrong, returning it is far easier. Personally i have bought my camera, and 3 lenses online (saving a hell of alot) and had no problems. I did buy something from komplett that had to be returned and that was only in ireland. The hassle was unreal, if it goes wrong you'll wish you had bought it locally but if not you'll be glad of saving a few hundred euro...

rymus

Perhaps after that last post I should add that everything else I've gotten (including 2 dslrs, flash, tripod, lenses, etc) has been bought online and has never caused any problems. I'd say go for the lens, just be aware who youre buying from though. Some sellers will mark down items to avoid customs, others wont and you'll get stung majorly.

Roen

Colmranger, that link just redirects to the W3.org, one too many http:// 's.
As for buying in Hong Kong, I use URGalaxy and Rymus uses Kea-Photo. I've gotten a couple of grands worth (easily) of lenses, filters and cards and never paid tax yet. Touch wood. Also never had to return anything, again touch wood.
It is a good lens but I recall you wanting to get into nature photography, would something a bit longer not be in order?

FreeAnd..

I have always used Kea too and I would highly reccommend..

rymus

Roen, overall how do you find URGalaxy? I want to try somewhere other than Kea due to recent experiences. What's the delivery like from UR?

Roen

rymus wrote:

Roen, overall how do you find URGalaxy? I want to try somewhere other than Kea due to recent experiences. What's the delivery like from UR?

My last lens was posted Tue morning from HK and in my hands by lunchtime on Fri, you will pay for it though, it was £stg 38 via Fedex. I also think that insurance is mandatory with them, it was £stg 16 for the 300mm f4 L IS. For lighter or cheaper items they scale their P+P and insurance down accordingly.
They also put a few items in the one box and don't charge extra for postage if you buy at the same time, ie. I got a filter with that and only got charged the lens postage.

colmranger

Roen,

Sorry for the bad link about the lense, hope this one works:

http://cgi.ebay.ie/Canon-EF-17-40mm-17-40-f-4-L-USM-Lens-NEW-0Q_W0QQitemZ200030816586QQihZ010QQcategoryZ4687QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I already have a very nice Canon 70-300mm lense that i like lots although would some day love the 100-400mm for nature shooting.

Anyway i wanted to buy the above lense Canon 17-40mm for general use.

This is great feedback keep it coming;)

FreeAnd..

Hey Rymus, what kind of trouble have you had with kea? I havent used them in months and if things are slipping i would be weary of using them again.

FreeAnd..

rymus

little things.. like I was buying a 30D and a grip yet he wouldnt give me a discount on the postage rate for the grip even though both were sent together.. Also, when the grip turned out to be faulty I returned it via 3 day DHL at huge expense to myself because he indicated that the quicker he gets it back, the sooner he'll send out the new one. Then what does he do? Sends out the replacement grip by Hong Kong post. That'll take at least 4 weeks to get here

Bits and pieces like that, feel like tearing hair out cos theres feck all you can do about it.

FreeAnd..

B0llix to that so, el Albert can go jump. I remember when i bought my camera from Jessops it took a couple of weeks to be delivered. I was so anxious in the meantime that I almost wish i had bought it in a store in town. That feeling left when i got to put the cash i saved towards a lens though. Its a pity you cannot buy any gear at a reasonable price in ireland, having to constantly use Hong Kong for supplies definitely opens the possibilty of getting screwed at least once...knowing my luck that once will cost me big..

Fionn

good price - i got a relation to bring back one of those recently from the US it cost me €530,

my eldest is going over in dec and i'm tempted to get something substantial that would be too dear this side of the planet.

Ruu_Old

Decent price alright but you will probably be hit with customs, regardless of whether its marked as a gift or not. Just be prepared.

Flankerb

rymus wrote:

little things.. like I was buying a 30D and a grip yet he wouldnt give me a discount on the postage rate for the grip even though both were sent together.. Also, when the grip turned out to be faulty I returned it via 3 day DHL at huge expense to myself because he indicated that the quicker he gets it back, the sooner he'll send out the new one. Then what does he do? Sends out the replacement grip by Hong Kong post. That'll take at least 4 weeks to get here

Bits and pieces like that, feel like tearing hair out cos theres feck all you can do about it.

Rymus you never know you might be lucky I got filters and other stuff from KEA with normal post and it arrived within a week.

MyStuffForSale

Kea made same mistake with me. I'd asked for swifter post. He refunded charge for swift post and it still arrived withing the week. This happened on one purchase. No previous trouble.