scott kirkpatrick Posted January 23, 2017 Share #41 Posted January 23, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) Ah, arbitrage! The pound seems to move around the most, but even Ffordes, which seems to have the best deals, uses expensive but low risk shipping to the US. Meister in Hamburg or Berlin also is sometimes advantageous but expensive as an insured shipper. And while I have not yet incurred customs duties receiving goods in Texas (which are then relayed to wherever I happen to be in the US), our new administration has vowed to take on the rest of the world in a trade war, so this may not last. In Israel, which also has a VAT approaching 20%, our greenlane customs watchers go out on strike from time to time, encouraging returning travellers to go to extreme efforts. A few years back they returned from their strike without warning and took exception to a fellow with 27 fax machines in his checked luggage... scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 23, 2017 Posted January 23, 2017 Hi scott kirkpatrick, Take a look here M10 price. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
kentishrev Posted January 25, 2017 Share #42 Posted January 25, 2017 I see someone is auctioning an unopened silver M10 bought at L Mayfair on Thursday. Yesterday, offers were circa £4k but today it's crept up to £5k. LM said they could not offer proper receipt as it wasn't on their inventory, but new owner's name could be added for guarantee. An odd little story – is the seller hoping for huge increase over £5600? It looks like it didn't sell. Last I saw it was around £5400 - so I expect there was a Reserve of at least £5600. Clearly people want to be the first owner. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitalfx Posted January 25, 2017 Share #43 Posted January 25, 2017 The problem with the US is that it allows pricing to be stated in a tax exclusive manner which would be illegal in most European countries. On the other hand most Americans I have mentioned this to, actually like the tax exclusive system. William There is no problem in the US, It's simply not practical to list the price with tax included. Our sales tax system is very different, we are taxed locally not on a federal level. Taxes are levied by each state and each county separately. So listing a price including tax is not possible, as each buyer would have a different rate and some buyers are exempt from one or both taxes. For example, If you buy online and ship to a state where the seller is not located, then no taxes are charged. It's up to the buyer to self report any taxes that might be due based on his states tax rate. Every state and county has a different rate. If you buy in a local store, you pay that stores state tax + county tax...if you buy in a local store and ship to another county, then its a different rate. etc. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSV Posted January 25, 2017 Share #44 Posted January 25, 2017 It does seem like one can save some money on buying from Europe and have it shipped to the US. I did the calculation, a M10 + Visoflex comes to $6,240 together vs $7,140 - that is $900, thank you very much! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollisd Posted January 25, 2017 Share #45 Posted January 25, 2017 It does seem like one can save some money on buying from Europe and have it shipped to the US. I did the calculation, a M10 + Visoflex comes to $6,240 together vs $7,140 - that is $900, thank you very much! Where are you looking at ordering from? One of the earlier comments said the Leica store (name?) includes 3-day expedited shipping which helps with customs snags in theory. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fireboy Posted January 25, 2017 Share #46 Posted January 25, 2017 $8650 CDN worth every penny. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSV Posted January 26, 2017 Share #47 Posted January 26, 2017 Advertisement (gone after registration) Where are you looking at ordering from? One of the earlier comments said the Leica store (name?) includes 3-day expedited shipping which helps with customs snags in theory. Go to https://us.leica-camera.com/Stores-Dealers/Leica-Stores-Worldwide and find one that you like and that has online shopping, alternatively email the store and ask for price/shipping/details. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hollisd Posted January 27, 2017 Share #48 Posted January 27, 2017 Emailed Leica London (Mayfair) today and learned they do not ship international under direction from Leica AG because in my case there are Leica stores in the US. He suggested buying and shipping or picking up locally and then doing VAT return at the airport but I would like to try online with international shipping as it's a lot easier. So does anyone know any independent shops in London that ship international - I will read back through the thread as I recall someone mentioned one - will also inquire at Red Dot Cameras Current waitlist is 4 months according to their reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jvansmit Posted January 28, 2017 Share #49 Posted January 28, 2017 - Breguet Camera in Hong Kong had two in stock ....priced at USD 9,597! The black one has sold already. - The HK Leica Boutiques are taking orders at USD 8,093. Personally, I loathe this kind of profiteering Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerrito Kid Posted February 1, 2017 Share #50 Posted February 1, 2017 Your math is correct, but you thinking has but one flaw: trying to recapture all (100%) of the VAT you paid in a London “highstreet” photo shop for the Leica. Generally, when you buy such items, the store gives you a VAT refund slip which you in turn have to (in person with camera in hand) submit to a VAT refund agency at the airport when you depart for the U.S. In 8 to 10 weeks (they say, but my experience has been longer) they will refund part of the VAT to your credit card. The refund is less than 20%, as the refund agency wants its cut (and a rather large one in my opinion). For the U.K.. one such agency Global Blue gives you only a 12.2% refund. See: http://www.globalblue.com/customer-services/tax-free-shopping/refund-calculator/. So the price of a M10 net VAT becomes US$ 4817. Still much better than the price (pre-tax) in New York City. The savings could pay for you to fly over to London for one hell of a great weekend — just make sure you have lined up a dealer who has it in stock as you know Leica always has problems getting sufficient new product to dealers and thus dealers have waiting lists and have favorite clients placed at the top of the list. Slightly different example the Leica Summicron-M 35mm f/2 ASPH that I have my eye on sells for US$2,377 or 1,899 UK pounds at Heathrow duty free store. At one London highstreet shop (Harrison Camera) this lens sell for 2,150 UK pounds. So the Heathrow discount is only 11.7%. Kind of different from 20%. Nevertheless, this is better than $2,995 (pre-tax) at B&H. Perhaps, “Leica owner” is German for “photographer with deep pockets.” ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_tribble Posted February 1, 2017 Share #51 Posted February 1, 2017 Emailed Leica London (Mayfair) today and learned they do not ship international under direction from Leica AG because in my case there are Leica stores in the US. He suggested buying and shipping or picking up locally and then doing VAT return at the airport but I would like to try online with international shipping as it's a lot easier. So does anyone know any independent shops in London that ship international - I will read back through the thread as I recall someone mentioned one - will also inquire at Red Dot Cameras Current waitlist is 4 months according to their reply Richard Caplan is also good. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted February 1, 2017 Share #52 Posted February 1, 2017 The biggest stores will refund 100% of the VAT to your credit card when you present to them a customs officer's report that you have exported the camera from the EU (or, in the future) the UK. I've done this for a lens I picked up at Ffordes. scott Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
graphlex Posted February 1, 2017 Share #53 Posted February 1, 2017 Ditto Richard Caplan. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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