Buying from Hong Kong ?

hmboards

Hi,

I am thinking about getting a Canon Speedlite 580ex, and one of the best prices I've found is on ebay through http://www.hksupplies.com . I've seen this company mentioned in one of the stickies, but that was a long time ago. Has anyone bought from them recently, and if so, what's the situation with any additional taxes, duty etc. ?

Thanks

abetarrush

99% of the time the Hong Kongers are scammers

so, be careful

mallet head

hi all

long time fan first time poster


i have bought a canon 30d and 2 lenses from keaphoto in hk by ebay and have never had a problem on tax or duties. i would highly recommend these guys. Thanks to this board i am also waiting on a canon ef 50 f/1.8 which i ordered on friday.

hmboards

mallet head wrote:

i have bought a canon 30d and 2 lenses from keaphoto in hk by ebay and have never had a problem on tax or duties. i would highly recommend these guys. Thanks to this board i am also waiting on a canon ef 50 f/1.8 which i ordered on friday.

Thanks for that. They have one too for the same price, but delivery is a little cheaper. How long did it take them to deliver your camera and lenses ?

DEmeant0r

abetarrush wrote:

99% of the time the Hong Kongers are scammers

so, be careful

I resent that statement -_-;;

I've had many dealings with Hong Kong ebayers and they've been nothing but helpful and sometimes the stuff gets to my house quicker than stated.

hmboards

Senritsu wrote:

I resent that statement -_-;;

I've had many dealings with Hong Kong ebayers and they've been nothing but helpful and sometimes the stuff gets to my house quicker than stated.

Hi Senritsu,

Have you purchased photographic equipment from them ? If so, is there a particular seller you would recommend ?

Thanks

Kilree

I've bought a number of low priced items (although nothing photographic) from Hong Kong ebayers and never had a problem with taxes, duties etc. Sometimes delivery can be a bit slow but the stuff always arrives. I would, however, be a bit concerned about duty and taxes on larger priced items as you never know when you could be hit. You are really taking a chance when you buy from outside the EU and I have seen comments from UK ebay buyers where they were done for taxes and duties which made the original purchase not as attractive as they had hoped for.

mallet head

hmboards wrote:

Thanks for that. They have one too for the same price, but delivery is a little cheaper. How long did it take them to deliver your camera and lenses ?

No more than 7/10 days and they give you details for tracking your item. As i said i ordered a lens last friday and i will post up here when it arrives

TheNibbler

I'm thinking about buying a watch online from a company in Singapore. The price is a good bit cheaper than I've seen elsewhere but if I'm going to be hit with taxes then suppose its not such a great deal. Any idea if there's a way to find out for definite the kind of taxes you might be charged (if any)??

Roen

I've bought a 70-200 ƒ4 L, a 70-200 ƒ2.8 L IS, a 100mm ƒ2.8 macro, a 300mm ƒ4 L IS and a Canon Speedlite 580ex, plus no end of filters and chargers and batteries and leads from URgalaxy eBay shop in Hong Kong in the past year. The only mistake they made was sending me a more expensive set of batteries and charger for my 580ex than the one I ordered, and they let me keep the more expensive item anyway.

The usual caveats apply to eBay of course, but when a company has about 12,000 transactions with over 99% positive feedback in the past year you know you're pretty safe.

Didn't pay a penny in tax either

Ruu_Old

Be prepared to pay customs a slice, good chance you will have to pay it.

Roen

Ruu wrote:

Be prepared to pay customs a slice, good chance you will have to pay it.

I haven't paid a cent yet...I hope I haven't cursed myself but you'd think that if I was going to be caught I would have been caught by now.

And btw hmboards, delivery is usually 3 days from URgalaxy. You will pay about €50 for it, but that's still good value imo. 3 days from the far side of the planet is very good.

rymus

Roen wrote:

You will pay about €50 for it, but that's still good value imo. 3 days from the far side of the planet is very good.

Excellent value... Considering that to send a 500g box from Ireland to Hong Kong comes in around €100

I've never had any problems with buying from Hong Kong either.

Ruu_Old

Roen wrote:

I haven't paid a cent yet...I hope I haven't cursed myself but you'd think that if I was going to be caught I would have been caught by now.

And btw hmboards, delivery is usually 3 days from URgalaxy. You will pay about €50 for it, but that's still good value imo. 3 days from the far side of the planet is very good.

Nor have I, luckily enough. It is always good to be prepared though if that courier comes along with the customs bill in hand that has to be paid on the spot. Less of a heart attack if you know it might happen.

lensman

I'm just about to order from this lot here

hmboards

Thanks folks

I bought a (2nd hand) pda from the US via ebay a few years ago, and had it delivered to my work address. I noticed when I collected it from reception that a label had been attached instructing the courier/postman to collect duty on it. They never did, but I just wanted to check what the norm is these days with HK deliveries. I might try one of those recommended so.

hmboards

Just to update ... I ordered from URgalaxy via ebay on 30th Oct, and it was delivered tax free three days later. Wow that's fast! Will definitely use them again. Thanks for the tips folks...

Roen

My weapon of choice in the fight against Rip-Off Ireland!
Glad to hear that you got what you were looking for.

mallet head

mallet head wrote:

No more than 7/10 days and they give you details for tracking your item. As i said i ordered a lens last friday and i will post up here when it arrives

received the lens last monday (10 days) no taxes or duties

Roen

Woooooooooo

lensman

mallet head wrote:

received the lens last monday (10 days) no taxes or duties

A word of warning,.....I ordered a lens from Adorama in the US who ship via UPS,
I had to pay €104 to Irish customs which made a total cost of €525, I still happy because the lens is €776 in Conns Cameras

CrowdedHouse

Do you have to send money to Kea Photo by bank transfer for the more expensive items ?

Is there any hassle doing this,never did one

colmranger

How long was your item delayed in customs for?

I am waiting for almost 3 weeks now for a lense from Hong Kong and i put the delivery address to my pals house (not to avoid customs but so the missus doesn't flip).

lensman

colmranger wrote:

How long was your item delayed in customs for?

I am waiting for almost 3 weeks now for a lense from Hong Kong and i put the delivery address to my pals house (not to avoid customs but so the missus doesn't flip).

no delay at all, UPS Dublin called me on the phone and told me that they would be delivering the item & would collect the VAT at the door, 3days from the US.

lensman

also, ask the HK seller for the tracking No,...even if they ship via hongkong post they still get a tracking No,.....a lot of HK sellers say the ship via UPS, Fed-Ex but the save money and use hongkong post you still should have got it in about 7~10 days.

Roen

colmranger wrote:

How long was your item delayed in customs for?

I am waiting for almost 3 weeks now for a lense from Hong Kong and i put the delivery address to my pals house (not to avoid customs but so the missus doesn't flip).

Who did you order from Colm? That's an unusual length to be waiting.

colmranger

I ordereed it from Hong Kong Supplies on Ebay.

2 days ago i filed a complaint to PAypal and early this morning i got an email from the shop to say it's been shipped. They gave me a tracking number and said it should reach me in a few days.

Fingers crossed.

Roen

Good stuff, keep an eye on the tracking number to make sure that it is actually on it's way.

Borderfox

This sounds too good to be true!! 30D for about €900 thats what I was quoted in town to trade in my 350D off a 30D and this way I get another body as a spare!! ))) URgalaxy here we come

Roen

Borderfox wrote:

This sounds too good to be true!! 30D for about €900 thats what I was quoted in town to trade in my 350D off a 30D and this way I get another body as a spare!! ))) URgalaxy here we come

Don't forget p+p, that'll add a hundred, but for the peace of mind and insurance it gives you it's worth it, not to mind three days from HK is bloody good. Mind you my 70-200 went on a world tour, first to Anchorage in Alaska, then Memphis, Tennessee, then Newark NJ, Stansted and finally here. Normally it goes from HK straight to Paris and here. I think it was because I ordered at the weekend. Maybe the way flights are structured makes it better to order on a Sunday instead of a Friday, that way it will ship on the Monday and not a weekend day.

Borderfox

€900 including P&P. Nice tour for a 70-200 pity you weren't attached to it for the journey!

lensman

Roen wrote:

Don't forget p+p, that'll add a hundred, but for the peace of mind and insurance it gives you it's worth it, not to mind three days from HK is bloody good. Mind you my 70-200 went on a world tour, first to Anchorage in Alaska, then Memphis, Tennessee, then Newark NJ, Stansted and finally here. Normally it goes from HK straight to Paris and here. I think it was because I ordered at the weekend. Maybe the way flights are structured makes it better to order on a Sunday instead of a Friday, that way it will ship on the Monday and not a weekend day.

A 747 cargo direct from HK lands every friday evening at Dublin airport;)

Roen

Borderfox wrote:

€900 including P&P. Nice tour for a 70-200 pity you weren't attached to it for the journey!

265 days holiday a year is enough for me!

Roen

http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Buying-from-outside-EEC-apos-No-VAT-apos-Warning_W0QQugidZ10000000000695851

A quick one page read about the whole tax free thing. It's written from an English point of view. I posted it above in the sticky and just want to let everyone know that the whole HK thing is not as risk free as it looks.
What is described in the link has never happened to me and I have heard of no one who it has happened to, but just be aware at the same time.

Borderfox

Thanks Roen, Always worth a risk. It will still work out cheaper than Con's