Buying from Hong Kong

bradnailer

How reliable is it buying equipment on ebay from Hong Kong,anyone get caught for tax here and what about product warranty.
I bought a 2GB memory card on ebay from england it started to degrade after about 6 months
kinda put me off buying anything on ebay.

Valentia

A quick look around here will answer your question. Have a look at the 40D thread for starters. Many people here but from HK through ebay.

bradnailer

Thanks,seems positive, still wondering if anyone has had any warranty issues or gotten caught for Vat

City-Exile

Anything I bought, that was worth anything, I got a MAC Warranty.
It hasn't been an issue though, as all the equipment from HK has been top quality. I use URGalaxy for the big purchases & can't praise them highly enough.

leinsterman

I have a bought plenty of gear from Hong Kong ... mostly from Kea Photo ... where I don't even bother buying through ebay any more since I prefer to deal directly with Albert ...

Other vendors I have used include - Hong Supplies, UR Galaxy.

For anything with a high value I purchase a Mack warranty also ...

bradnailer

What's a MACK warranty ?

bovril

Mack warranty

bradnailer

Thanks

rymus

leinsterman wrote:

I prefer to deal directly with Albert ...

Does he just knock the ebay % off the sale price or what?

Chochese

Just placed an order with Albert myself... €3200 worth of an order!

Getting me a 40D and some lenses and stuff! Counting the days till it arrives

*also bought a Mac laptop from the UK too!*

colmranger

Chochese wrote:

Just placed an order with Albert myself... €3200 worth of an order!

Getting me a 40D and some lenses and stuff! Counting the days till it arrives

*also bought a Mac laptop from the UK too!*

I ordered same last Monday and it arrived Thursday afternoon.

Great service

Canonfan

Avoid Digitalrev if you can, i ordered a digital camera and got stung by duty BIG time.
My first time and last time.

However, their service is good.

Freddie59

Canonfan wrote:

Avoid Digitalrev if you can, i ordered a digital camera and got stung by duty BIG time.
My first time and last time.

However, their service is good.

Bought a Fuji s5000 from them a few years back (around 2003/4). Cost here at the time was €749. Delivered - including €70 duty - for €463. Found Digital Rev very good TBH - as did others. But I believe customs have become far more stringent as Canonfan points out.

nilhg

Another option, if you are nervous of buying from the far east, is to buy from one of the continental websites. The basic price is usually much cheaper than here and if you are VAT registered (or know someone that is registered;) ), you can usually input your VAT number during the payment process and the price will then be excluding VAT.:D

Since you have bought in the EU the manufacturer warranty will be valid if you need it.

Canonfan

I was wondering if you buy from URGalaxy or Albert, are there any duties?

UPS always charge €13.5 'other charges', the delivery guy didn't even know what it is. He didn't carry any change with him, I told him to keep the change.

Borderfox

I have ordered stuff of KEA and touch wood all clear..

conzy

You need to look out for memory cards, be sure to find a reputable seller....

Lots of the cheaper cards are fakes and die pretty quickly

leinsterman

rymus wrote:

Does he just knock the ebay % off the sale price or what?

Yep ...

leinsterman

Canonfan wrote:

I was wondering if you buy from URGalaxy or Albert, are there any duties?

UPS always charge €13.5 'other charges', the delivery guy didn't even know what it is. He didn't carry any change with him, I told him to keep the change.

Talk to Albert about this ... albert@keaphoto.com

Canonfan

Thanks a lot.