Buying equipment in US

[Klaus]

Hi Everybody!
Does anybody have experience in buying photo equipment in the states?
My concerns:
- warranties (Nikon body / lenses)
- customs / broker fees
- service / repairs

I wander if the savings are worth the shipping / fees, but especially the warranty and service question.

Thanks

[Peter Wm. Richardson]

Hi Klaus:
I have not done so recently, so you need to check this info with Canada Revenue, or whoever handles Customs these days, but in the past I have bought a lot of Nikon Equipment in NYC and had no problems with any of your concerns. The duty structure for bodies is much higher than for lenses, but you have to know the correct rate, because the guy at the border will try to charge the first number on the page for everything, and that used to be 11.5% ! Nowadays they will collect GST right at the border, so be prepared for that too. As long as I had all the bills of sale, they never asked any questions, just asked for my money. Nikon says that they won't warranty non Canadian bought product, but I remember when I took my gear in for service I just said I used to work in the US and there was never a problem. The service part is worldwide, so that isn't a proplem, especially if you are NPS.
My concern today is really your last point. With the Canadian dollar at .89 US I'm not sure that there is enough savings to justify the travel and hassle?
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Peter
Peter Wm. Richardson
Photojournalist
peterw@journalist.com

[Klaus]

Hi Peter and everybody -
I have to correct myself and clear something up here:

I won't travel into the states to buy, I meant mail ordering.

So - would you still have some advice here?

Thanks

Klaus

[Alastair]

oooooo mail order can be dangerous. UPS will NAIL you with major customs administration fees, and the shipping can often be killer, as well. I was looking at a case that would have cost $19.95 to ship in the USA and it was about $65 to ship to Canada.

I have an address in Point Roberts, Washington that I have stuff sent to - I declare all the things I bring across and pay the PST and the GST.

At any rate, do your homework and make sure you know about all the admin fees as well as the extra shipping charges. Sometimes it can be a real deal, sometimes not. And if you are buying off of ebay, remember you can sort by country and just buy the stuff from Canada. Makes things a lot easier...

[dan]

I buy stuff from usa all the time. USPS has never charged any brokers fee but they do collect all the regular taxes that you'd pay here anyway. Shipping fees are definitely a consideration but I find its usually still worth while. I've also bought thousands of dollars in used gear and I've never been burned or even disappointed.

dan

[andrewr]

I got burned once by UPS brokerage fees when I ordered from Adorama. I think the extra fees UPS charged were more than the shipping and taxes combined, and Adorama did not offer any other options like FedEX, so I had no choice. I didn't know anything about these additional fees until the delivery guy was standing at the door asking for my credit card. I was really ticked off and have never used UPS since then. I've never been charged brokerage fees by FedEX.

I've also heard that Nikon Canada will not provide service to products purchased in the USA. So I would be careful with Nikon stuff unless you're saving a lot of money.

Andrew

[dan]

I read a while ago some guy in BC was taking UPS to court over these brokerage fees. I used to buy a lot of stuff at Adorama until they went UPS only. USPS is the way to go. I think they have an agreement with Canada Post.

6-8 months ago I got a door knocker from UPS and on it were the taxes and brokers fee so I called UPS and complained saying no other shipper charges these fees. They were very apologetic but didn't offer to do anything about it until I asked if they would wave the fees and the woman on the phone instantly said yes. It was as if she was waiting for me to to ask the question. When the driver came the next day I paid the $20 tax only. The guy went out to his truck and came back and said 'I called the office and they said you don't get charged anything' and he gave me the $20 back. Now I'm getting letters from a collection agency for the $20!!

Years ago I bought a used book online from the USA and it arrived with the brokers fee with shipping costing more than the book. I never used them again until this recent episode and that was a mistake because I always ask ppl to ship USPS.

I wrote Adorama and told them I had been a customer for years but couldn't contunue using them if UPS was the only option and they said sorry and that was it. B&H still offers USPS.

dan

[gr82bart]

When buying goods from the US via mail, you should be prepared to pay duty (duty free or 5%) taxes (GST minimum) and brokerage fees (varies). Refer to the following publication:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/...rc4051-06e.pdf

1. Canadian Import Duty Tariffs
Most commonly known as "customs fees". The duty paid is determined how the goods are coded for import to Canada. Most photographic equipment (when properly coded) is DUTY FREE. Refer to section 90.06 in the Canadian tariff:

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/general/p...7-1/ch90ne.pdf

The codes for photographic equipment are:

• 35mm film SLRs (and their accessories) is - 90 06 51 00 00
• Most other cameras and accessories - 90 06 10 00 00 (duty free) or 90 06 59 10 00 (5% duty) or 90 06 59 90 00 (duty free)
• Camera flash units - 90 06 61 00 00
• Filters - 90 02 20 10 10
• Lenses - 90 02 11 10 00

So you can see that a 'creative' broker could code everything so that all your imported items are duty free. All Canadian codes are based on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System set by the World Customs Organization. These are known as 'HS Codes'.

2. Canadian Taxes
There's nothing that can be done here. Most provinces charge GST and PST on imported goods. In provinces where there is an HST, the HST is applied. If you have a PST exempt business, you may be able to get a refund on the PST paid for your imported goods. I don't know for sure.

3. Brokerage Fees
This is where the real pain comes in. Some transport/carrier companies are just better than others about labeling/marking/coding their goods than others. Basically the brokerage fee is to have the broker properly code the goods per the tariff and to properly valuate the goods. Technically, the sender can do it themselves - the PDF for tariff codes is provided above and the valuation guide can be found here: http://www.cbsa.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/bsf5000/bsf5000-07e.pdf - look up the proper photographic equipment tariff code, valuate the goods properly, fill in the proper customs form. So even if the goods are duty free, you may still be required to pay the brokerage fee.

• UPS has the highest fees in the industry - http://www.ups.com/content/ca/en/shi...clearance.html
• Fedex fees aren't much better (this is an old document and Fedex doesn't publish their broker fees) - http://www.stokecity.ca/FTN-FXG%20Br...%20Version.pdf
• US Postal Service is by far the best way to send anything from the US to Canada. Their postal rates are inclusive of brokerage to Canada. This is the link to the most economic method of shipping to Canada (Column 1 and remember items still must be properly coded) - http://pe.usps.gov/text/pub51/51tblc.html

Hope this helps.

Regards, Art.

[dan]

I do agree , you may have to be careful regarding warranties.

dan

[imageswest]

I buy quite a bit of my gear from B&H Photo in New York. You should check prices carefully, though; I can buy just about any new Nikon or Canon gear for less money from my local Calgary dealer than I can from B&H right now. The Canadian distributors have dropped their prices on a lot of gear, while the US stores have been raising their prices due to the weakness of the US dollar.

There's no duty on cameras or lenses imported into Canada - the only fees you pay when the goods cross the border are GST - and PST if you don't live in Alberta .

FedEx and the USPS/Canada Post charge a handling fee for processing your Customs paperwork. UPS is the least expensive shipping option, and they don't charge any fees, but they seem to lose a lot of packages lately.

UPS Ground is a different service, and they do charge brokerage fees, as does FedEx Ground. B&H doesn't offer either of these services for shipping to Canada, and I would avoid dealing with any retailer that does.

If you do get charged brokerage on duty-free goods, you can fill out a Form B2G and send it in to the CRA, and they will refund the duty you paid.

Here's a link to the form: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pbg/cf/b2g/b2g-06b.pdf