Buying lens' from overseas.

Ant · Dec 11, 2004

With the current exchange rate between the £ and the $ I'm thinking that I could save an awful lot of money by buying lens' from the US through the internet and having them shipped to me.

Anybody (preferably in the UK) tried this, and is it worth it? I don't know how much shipping would be and if there'd be possible import tax. Even so at almost $2 to the £ it must be worth it right?

ajmall · Dec 11, 2004

if u do go ahead and buy from the states (im looking into it too at the mo with a 20D) then buy from www.bhphotovideo.com as they offer good prices. u given ebay a thought? there's a user called digital-rev who reimburse some items of duty fees...? i've been looking into that also.

vonnagy · Dec 11, 2004

from the other end of the earth, i've bought lens and stuff from the US and have them shipped here. One thing to consider is the duties that might get placed on your items when they are shipped here. Here in NZ they'll ignore items under $250 dollars in worth because its takes more time to do the paperwork. Even with the duties though, I saved $150 NZ on a canon 85mm prime lens I bought from Adarama. They shipped here in about 4 working days - not too shabby.

Another thing to consider that retailers in the US are weary of overseas customers placing, so you may have to make a phone call/fax to confirm your order.