Buying TT Artisan lenses in the UK

[Deejaybeephoto]

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Has anyone experience of purchasing TT Artisan lenses direct from the manufacturers?  The $/£ equivalent prices including postage to the UK are very enticing.  However, the small print mentions that the prices don’t VAT or local taxes.  UK dealer prices are so high that they are roughly comparable with used Voigtlander equivalents - which is probably the way I’ll go if I can’t find out how much I could be paying if import duty etc has to be paid. 
 

Thanks for reading.
 

 

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[Boojay]

6 minutes ago, Deejaybeephoto said:

Has anyone experience of purchasing TT Artisan lenses direct from the manufacturers?  The $/£ equivalent prices including postage to the UK are very enticing.  However, the small print mentions that the prices don’t VAT or local taxes.  UK dealer prices are so high that they are roughly comparable with used Voigtlander equivalents - which is probably the way I’ll go if I can’t find out how much I could be paying if import duty etc has to be paid. 
 

Thanks for reading.
 

 

I have bought used and new lenses/cameras from China and Japan, always received the VAT and import duty invoices from courier which usually amounted to a straight 20% on top plus handling charges - anything from 10-30 GBP.  Once thought I'd got away with it only to receive the invoice 2 weeks after I'd had the lens.  Feels like a saving at the time, generally doesn't turn out that way, plus there's the nuisance of return shipping and reclaiming the VAT if there is a problem.  This is not the same as some grey market sellers  who do include the charges.  Just a matter of factoring in the VAT and deciding if it's enough of a saving.

 

[farnz]

I haven't bought direct from the manufacturer but, in case it helps, I bought through Shotenkobo on ebay.  Shotenkobo is in Japan but shipping was free, it arrived in London in four days, and there was no VAT or import duty to pay.

Pete.

[Deejaybeephoto]

6 minutes ago, Boojay said:

I have bought used and new lenses/cameras from China and Japan, always received the VAT and import duty invoices from courier which usually amounted to a straight 20% on top plus handling charges - anything from 10-30 GBP.  Once thought I'd got away with it only to receive the invoice 2 weeks after I'd had the lens.  Feels like a saving at the time, generally doesn't turn out that way, plus there's the nuisance of return shipping and reclaiming the VAT if there is a problem.  This is not the same as some grey market sellers  who do include the charges.  Just a matter of factoring in the VAT and deciding if it's enough of a saving.

 

Thanks. That’s in line with my current thinking.

[Boojay]

2 minutes ago, farnz said:

I haven't bought direct from the manufacturer but, in case it helps, I bought through Shotenkobo on ebay.  Shotenkobo is in Japan but shipping was free, it arrived in London in four days, and there was no VAT or import duty to pay.

Pete.

I will remember that one... wonder if you just got lucky?

[Deejaybeephoto]

3 minutes ago, farnz said:

I haven't bought direct from the manufacturer but, in case it helps, I bought through Shotenkobo on ebay.  Shotenkobo is in Japan but shipping was free, it arrived in London in four days, and there was no VAT or import duty to pay.

Pete.

Interesting. I’ll check them out. Thank you.

[Boojay]

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Looking at their shipping policy, looks like it's a game of chance.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Edited May 31, 2024 by Boojay

[Deejaybeephoto]

2 minutes ago, Boojay said:

I will remember that one... wonder if you just got lucky?

This is from the EBay site - it appears you may have indeed been lucky😁

Import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the item prices or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. We recommend confirming to your local custom offices how much will cost for imports including tax and additional fees prior to purchasing. Also, we will declare correct values in an invoice according to eBay policies and custom offices' instructions

[farnz]

17 minutes ago, Deejaybeephoto said:

This is from the EBay site - it appears you may have indeed been lucky😁

Quite possibly so.  I've found that when vendors use couriers such as Fedex, DHL UPS etc, that sort out the VAT and import duty on HMRC's behalf and charge you separately they always add a hefty charge for the privilege.  When they wrongly apply import duty, which they often do, it's virtually impossible to get it sorted out because HMRC tells you to talk to the courier, the courier directs you back to HMRC and will not deliver the goods until the import duty and VAT is paid.  Trying to then get a refund from HMRC is virtually impossible.  (There's plenty of tales of similar woe to be found online.)

I found this to my dismay when I sent my 280/4 APO-Telyt-R lens to the US for a repair and when it was on its way back I was charged import duty on my own lens, which is not supposed to happen.  The courier based the import duty on the price of a new 280/4 and I was stuck having to pay more than £400 to retrieve my own lens. 

Even though I might have been fortunate this time I'll chalk it up against what HMRC has owed me for many years. 🙂

Pete.

Edited May 31, 2024 by farnz

[farnz]

19 minutes ago, Boojay said:

Looking at their shipping policy, looks like it's a game of chance.

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Yes that's a fairly standard vendor's disclaimer.

Pete.

[markhout]

A UK buyer is generally on the hook for 20% import VAT; there are no customs duties for lenses imported from China: https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/subheadings/9002110000-80?country=CN

also see here https://www.gov.uk/goods-sent-from-abroad/tax-and-duty 

[pippy]

5 hours ago, Deejaybeephoto said:

Has anyone experience of purchasing TT Artisan lenses direct from the manufacturers?...

I ordered a TTArtisan 28mm f5.6 (in silver-chrome) directly from the Pergear website on (having just checked!) the 10th December 2021. The first time I took it out for some snapping was on the 31 January 2022. This suggests that the lens took 6 weeks to arrive but I believe there were extenuating circumstances(*). I paid £236 for the lens and there were no further costs - VAT / Duties etc. - involved whatsoever.

Caveat Emptor, however, still applies. I might just have been lucky. Then again; 20% on the current price of £262 still only adds-up to £312 so Cheap-as-Chips for a lens here in Leica-Land!

Incidentally having used the Bank of England Inflation Calculator that £236 works out to be roughly £270 in today's money. The same lens listed on the Pergear website at the moment at £262 so pretty much exactly the same in real terms.

Philip.

* From memory I believe I was told - via e-mail after my lens was ordered - that there was going to be a very slight lens / optics redesign and, as such, there would subsequently be a delay to the expected delivery date. There was a thread about this lens at the time and owners of the earliest batch seemed to have a few issues with IQ. I recall that there was a brief period when the lens was 'out of production' / couldn't be ordered but when deliveries resumed those buyers of the later lenses all seemed to be far happier with their purchases.

FWIW my example is absolutely astonishingly good. PM me if you'd like to see some examples.

Edited May 31, 2024 by pippy

[NigelG]

I liked the 28 f5.6 enough to buy a second chrome copy (so I could keep one permanently on my chrome M9M) and a titanium version for my M60s…

I was US resident at the time so no tax or duty, but items I’ve imported to the UK are +20% VAT plus processing fees with no extra duties AFAICR

Edited May 31, 2024 by NigelG

[pippy]

2 minutes ago, NigelG said:

I liked the 28 f5.6 enough to buy a second chrome copy (so I could keep one permanently on my chrome M9M) and a titanium version for my M60s…

I empathise fully. I've been steadfastly resisting the temptation to buy a second one in Black-Chrome. Not helped by having met up with a certain member here who brought his B-C lens along with him when we met up a week or so ago...

They really are so good and so lovely...

Philip.

[NigelG]

From memory the chrome ones were c £225 equivalent and the titanium version was maybe £300 ish.

I bought them from their shopify storefront and all the shipping/taxes etc were set out at checkout I think so no hidden charges.

[Deejaybeephoto]

17 hours ago, pippy said:

I ordered a TTArtisan 28mm f5.6 (in silver-chrome) directly from the Pergear website on (having just checked!) the 10th December 2021. The first time I took it out for some snapping was on the 31 January 2022. This suggests that the lens took 6 weeks to arrive but I believe there were extenuating circumstances(*). I paid £236 for the lens and there were no further costs - VAT / Duties etc. - involved whatsoever.

Caveat Emptor, however, still applies. I might just have been lucky. Then again; 20% on the current price of £262 still only adds-up to £312 so Cheap-as-Chips for a lens here in Leica-Land!

Incidentally having used the Bank of England Inflation Calculator that £236 works out to be roughly £270 in today's money. The same lens listed on the Pergear website at the moment at £262 so pretty much exactly the same in real terms.

Philip.

* From memory I believe I was told - via e-mail after my lens was ordered - that there was going to be a very slight lens / optics redesign and, as such, there would subsequently be a delay to the expected delivery date. There was a thread about this lens at the time and owners of the earliest batch seemed to have a few issues with IQ. I recall that there was a brief period when the lens was 'out of production' / couldn't be ordered but when deliveries resumed those buyers of the later lenses all seemed to be far happier with their purchases.

FWIW my example is absolutely astonishingly good. PM me if you'd like to see some examples.

Some good information here. Thank you!  Interestingly, Pergear only has one M mount lens for sale now (of no interest).