What would you buy if...

[JackSw1ss]

Hey guys,

Here's the question:
given the very low euro currency we eu guys would die to have US prices here.
Let's say one of your relatives goes to US and could bring you a nice gift.
What would you ask him/her to bring you?
(I'm not thinking of what you need but I'm thinking the best way to maximize the currency/prices differences. I.e. an 85 1.2 seems the winner to me...but wanna hear your suggestions)

The city is NY
The store in question is BH off course
and as you might have guessed by now...yes I have my old man going to NY for a vacation and he asked me if I wanted him to bring me something...LOL.
I still have to figure out if it's a complete gift out the box (so i can shoot whatever i want) or if I'll need to pay him back LOL


You can also suggest lighting related stuff, but not too big and not too heavy.

 

[7enderbender]

Hey guys,

Here's the question:
given the very low euro currency we eu guys would die to have US prices here.
Let's say one of your relatives goes to US and could bring you a nice gift.
What would you ask him/her to bring you?
(I'm not thinking of what you need but I'm thinking the best way to maximize the currency/prices differences. I.e. an 85 1.2 seems the winner to me...but wanna hear your suggestions)

The city is NY
The store in question is BH off course
and as you might have guessed by now...yes I have my old man going to NY for a vacation and he asked me if I wanted him to bring me something...LOL.
I still have to figure out if it's a complete gift out the box (so i can shoot whatever i want) or if I'll need to pay him back LOL


You can also suggest lighting related stuff, but not too big and not too heavy.

I don't know where you're located but make sure that you know your local tax and customs laws. You don't want your old man inadvertently smuggle something for you.

Other than that: yes, price differences between the US and the Euro zone at the moment are quite significant when it comes to camera gear. That may be partially due to Canon's markups and market assessment on each side of the pond but I also feel that there is a lot of iffy stuff going on with our currencies at the moment in which the Euro zone has in interest in overstating the value of their money and the US seems to still think that we can shift things by keeping the dollar low. A lot of this doesn't reflect reality and hasn't for a while. So go ahead and take advantage of it while it lasts. I would go with what is useful to me though - and not what is the best value in terms of the "Big Mac Index". Unless of course you're buying it to sell with a profit - which I'm sure is something people have figured out probably already and will make customs officers at the airport look carefully at camera gear in people's bags. I've seen once how almost an entire plane from Hong Kong flying into Frankfurt was screened and officers checked serial numbers and all sorts of stuff.

 

[candyman]

Well, people travelling from the Netherlands to the US and coming back are subjects for customs check. The Dutch customs is very well known with the fact that products are cheaper in the US. So you can challenge the random check of customs and hope not to be caught. But recommendable is to report your US purchased product to customs. In which case you may lose the benefit.

I guess you have to calculate in advance prices and the additional tax payment and see if it still is worth. Now and then you can still have benefits. I have been checking prices for example the BH discount on 5D MKII. Here we have offers only 31 euro more expensive. So not worth to bring it from the States.

 

[unfocused]

Prices right now are very volatile. Hard to tell from day to day, but the best deals seem to be on 7Ds, 5D IIs and the 70-200 f2.8 II.

Here is what I would do. I would check CanonPriceWatch.com and see what you are interested in and see what the historical pricing graph looks like for the items you most want. Compare those prices to the prices at home and see if they are a bargain or not.

Then, when your Dad gets to NY and you know what day he is going shopping, check the prices to see which store is less, B&H or Adorama. Call him with the info and send him to the one that's offering the best price that day.

I don't know anything about the customs requirements and that's your issue not mine, but I do know that whenever I've taken my personal equipment to Europe I've never been questioned by anyone. (But then, I'm a U.S. citizen who is obviously coming to Europe on vacation). I pack my camera and lenses in a carry-on and keep them with me at all times. Sometimes the security people will ask me to take them out of the bag, but most times, they just go through the scanners, no problem. I'm guessing that an unboxed camera with attached lens in a carry-on bag would not be a problem. I'm also guessing that it would be a bit hard to convince people that your Dad just likes to carry around a 70-200 mm f2.8 lens in its box without a camera.

 

[JackSw1ss]

Thanks guys for your reply....
I'll see, think and decide.
Usually on my old trips to US I've never had problems while returning home with customs.
I live in Switzerland, yeah we have tough customs, but with planes (especially coming) from US I think they are a bit "open minded" LOL.
I'll think about it now.
I was thinking of one nice prime L since I can spare from 300 to 400 dollars compared to my lowest prices here.

We'll see...I'll keep you informed on how it goes

Cheers

 

[funkboy]

Just to add to the other good replies here: at least in France, when you go to sell a lens in a shop they're obliged to write down the lens model & serial number along with your passport number just in case the customs agents come around...

So, buying for your own use is a great idea (as long as your dad is carrying a body and a lens; if you don't have a backup body to give him then the ~$350 it will cost you to get one used/refurbed will probably nullify any savings you'd make in the process. Unless of course you need a backup body too...). But dumping a brand new lens is probably not such a hot idea. I think you're better off investing your time & money in the stock market or something).

 

[unfocused]

Jack Sw1ss, I've been thinking about this a bit more. All the sneaking around might not be necessary if you keep your purchase price down a bit. I don't know what the Swiss rules are, but U.S. citizens can bring foreign purchased goods into the country without paying any duty, so long as their total purchases fall below a certain dollar figure (I can't remember the total right now, but I know it's at least $1,000).

If Switzerland has a similar provision, you might just ratchet down your expectations a little and avoid all the worry. You mentioned "L" lenses. The 100 L Macro 2.8 IS is under $1,000 and a fantastic lens. I own one and love it. Both the 135 f2 and the 200 f2.8 L primes are also under $1,000. You also mentioned lighting. If you don't have a 580 EX II, I'd certainly recommend that.

There are also plenty of great prime lenses that are not "L" lenses but certainly very good.

Also, keep in mind that the U.S. warranty isn't going to do you any good, so you can compare the grey market prices at B&H and Adorama to see which is cheaper. (Right now, with the rebates, some of the U.S. Warranty prices are actually less than grey market, but that's not true in all cases).

Anyway, just thinking that you might avoid a lot of problems and worry if you keep the purchase price below whatever Switzerland allows tourists to bring back home.