footnoteblog Posted February 9, 2009 Share #1 Posted February 9, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Would it be of any value for a US visitor to purchase Leica lenses in France or England? I would send the box back and throw the lens in a bag. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 9, 2009 Posted February 9, 2009 Hi footnoteblog, Take a look here US purchasing in Europe.. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
cbretteville Posted February 9, 2009 Share #2 Posted February 9, 2009 Well the Pound is not that strong, and there is the sales tax refund that eases the pain a bit. You don't get the full amount refunded the company that handles it take a bite for them selves, in my experience I've gotten about 10% refunded.. It will all depend on what you're after and which prices you can get at home. Do some on-line research and compare the prices to what you'd have to pay in the US. Red Dot Cameras in London is a place to start (Red Dot Cameras - Leica Cameras, Leica Binoculars, Metz Flashguns, Manfrotto Tripods, Leitz) as is The classic camera (http://www.theclassiccamera.com). People here will have things to say about both of them, personally I haven't dealt with any of them. I have dealt with ffordes in Scotland (ffordes photographic : Main Index) on several occasions and have been happy with them. Good luck, - Carl Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted February 9, 2009 Share #3 Posted February 9, 2009 It's a real opportunity if you plan to be in the UK, or even if you order from a UK supplier and have it shipped to the US. In the first case, for example, an M8.2 can be had for $4400 plus VAT. With the camera you get paperwork which, once you get it stamped at the customs counter on leaving the UK, you send back to the merchant, who then refunds the tax to the same credit card that you bought with. A merchant should give you all the VAT back. The agencies that give you a refund at the airport give much less. If you ship to the US, there is an expense for that, but no VAT is applied to the price, and currently the US does not impose any duties. scott Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfokevin Posted February 9, 2009 Share #4 Posted February 9, 2009 It's a real opportunity if you plan to be in the UK, or even if you order from a UK supplier and have it shipped to the US. In the first case, for example, an M8.2 can be had for $4400 plus VAT. With the camera you get paperwork which, once you get it stamped at the customs counter on leaving the UK, you send back to the merchant, who then refunds the tax to the same credit card that you bought with. A merchant should give you all the VAT back. The agencies that give you a refund at the airport give much less. If you ship to the US, there is an expense for that, but no VAT is applied to the price, and currently the US does not impose any duties. scott Is there 100% certainty that the US does not impose a customs duty if they ship you the item?... Others here have said there is a duty?... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
footnoteblog Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share #5 Posted February 9, 2009 Great information. I'm also curious about: money exchanges (airports, whatnot), credit-to-money exchanges, vs. straight credit card purchases; I assume the latter makes it worse in terms of maximizing on exchange rates? Meaning, how would you convert dollars and continue a transaction? Specifically, I'm just looking at the 28mm Elmarit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted February 9, 2009 Share #6 Posted February 9, 2009 I've discussed this over the phone with two dealers in the UK, with respect to picking up something while I am in the UK, so that's 100% certain. I've seen two kinds of answers to the question of shipping to the US from the UK. My strong impression is that those who have done it say there were no customs duties (but there may be service charges if you use a courier service such as FedEx or DHL). Just using the postal service should give no extra fees, but poorer tracking and a little greater nervousness. The second kind of answer is that several who have not received any shipments say that there might be customs duties. I tend to believe that the first group have answered the questions of the second group. scott Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stnolan Posted February 9, 2009 Share #7 Posted February 9, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I purchased an M8 from Robert White who shipped it to me in the US. UPS definitely DOES collect duty although it was around $70 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted February 9, 2009 Share #8 Posted February 9, 2009 I'm also curious about: money exchanges (airports, whatnot), credit-to-money exchanges, vs. straight credit card purchases; I assume the latter makes it worse in terms of maximizing on exchange rates? Meaning, how would you convert dollars and continue a transaction? . I've purchased stuff in Euros and I travel fairly frequently in areas that use Euros, Pounds, Swiss Francs, Hungarian Forint, and Swedish Kronor. I try hard not to let the folding stuff accumulate, and pay for everything possible with a credit card. (I have both US and Israeli cards.) There are occasional fees for the service of changing a foreign currency into what your account has, but the exchange rates are always better than what you pay at the airport. Check the two rates that you see -- buy and sell. When a currency is a bit shaky, I have seen as much as 30% difference between them. That means if you don't use the currency you just bought, you will get 30% less for it when you change it back. (The recent example was the Forint.) The Euro is currently about 10% difference from buy to sell at the airport, and you will get a rate in between the two from a cash machine withdrawal or a credit card purchase. If you want to buy a house or a yacht, you need to sit down with a banker somewhere and negotiate the transfer, but otherwise credit cards work just fine. scott Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted February 9, 2009 Share #9 Posted February 9, 2009 I purchased an M8 from Robert White who shipped it to me in the US. UPS definitely DOES collect duty although it was around $70 When I have stuff shipped to me in Israel, the DHL invoice has two parts, one is the local 15-17% VAT (there isn't usually a duty) and the other is their various fees. Recently DHL charged me $50 for the pleasure of having them extract a package from our Israeli customs, which I think is exorbitant. It was only $25 not long ago, before they started realizing the opportunity that they have, so I am looking for alternatives. Did your UPS shipment invoice have such a breakdown? Anyway $70 on an M8 is not too painful. scott Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
footnoteblog Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share #10 Posted February 9, 2009 Thanks, Scott. I guess the meta-question is, what kind of net percentage savings are we talking about for camera equipment? France vs. England (I'm going to France first, so having a new lens there would be beneficial )? I'm also flying into Frankfurt (for an hour), so is there any off-chance possibility that an airport purchase (doubtful, I know) be as good? Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted February 9, 2009 Share #11 Posted February 9, 2009 France and Germany are both priced in Euros. The airports, however, are not places to save money, so you will have to look up prices in stores in Paris. scott Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted February 9, 2009 Share #12 Posted February 9, 2009 Prices in France are high. When I lived in Paris I ordered my lenses from the UK. The savings could amount to hundreds of pounds - this was around 2001-2003. The place to go in Paris if you want to window shop is Boulevard Beaumarchais near Bastille. There are maybe a dozen shops within a few minutes walk of each other. Don't expect any bargains though. Beaumarchais is near Place des Voges if you want to walk to there and then through the Marais to the Pompidou centre. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eoin Posted February 9, 2009 Share #13 Posted February 9, 2009 I'm also flying into Frankfurt (for an hour), so is there any off-chance possibility that an airport purchase (doubtful, I know) be as good?Thanks! I came through Frankfurt on the 20th Jan last and there was no Leica M equipment for sale at all. UK will be the better place to buy, prices have not been adjusted to take into consideration the drop in value of the GB£. There is also a 15% rebate on lenses until 28 Feb 09. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHAG Posted February 9, 2009 Share #14 Posted February 9, 2009 May I remind you that the cashback offer from Leica in the UK, for instance if you buy from Ffordes, seems to be still standing. Ffordes has the best prices in Europe, as far as I know, much less than Leica bei Meister, for instance, even before rebate. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
footnoteblog Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share #15 Posted February 10, 2009 Thanks everyone; so my best bet may be to order from UK-- since we're not going to be there until after March, even. (Perhaps it's still a good bargain even without a rebate?) Alas. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter_n Posted February 10, 2009 Share #16 Posted February 10, 2009 Is there 100% certainty that the US does not impose a customs duty if they ship you the item?... Others here have said there is a duty?...I've bought from many different countries in Europe, Asia and the South Pacific and have never paid any duty. All my purchases have been for still camera equipment and the U.S. does not levy an import duty on still camera equipment. Just make sure you get the item shipped by the mail postal system in the country of purchase and avoid couriers, particularly UPS and DHL. There are a number of recent threads on this topic in the forum.I purchased an M8 from Robert White who shipped it to me in the US. UPS definitely DOES collect duty although it was around $70That was almost certainly their so called "broker's fee" for non-existent clearing of your item through customs. Check your tracking report - it will almost certainly have the following line items (apologies for the caps), first you will see this: SHIPMENT DATA NOT AVAILABLE ON TIME TO BE PROCESSED WITHIN NORMAL PROCEDURE. SHIPMENT HAS NOT CLEARED CUSTOMS / DELIVERY RESCHEDULED then these two: REGISTERED WITH CLEARING AGENCY / SHIPMENT SUBMITTED TO CLEARING AGENCY REGISTERED WITH CLEARING AGENCY / RELEASED BY CLR AGENCY. NOW IN-TRANSIT both with identical date/time stamps. Boy those customs guys are quick eh? Also of course, the delivery is not rescheduled. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott kirkpatrick Posted February 10, 2009 Share #17 Posted February 10, 2009 The fees at borders can be quite infuriating. Yesterday I received my upgraded M8, with the cost of the service, 1109 EUR (old price) indicated clearly on the outside of the package. Our customs at the airport converted this to shekels, and multiplied by 15.5%, the local VAT. They then added fees for computing (or a small computer duty) of about $9, a registration charge of $5, and an inspection fee of $9 for printing all this up on a nice full page invoice. It took them a few hours to accomplish all this. DHL then spent a day and a half calling first me and then the wrong people, to figure out how to deliver the package to the address indicated on the cover, the address from which they had picked up the camera in the first place. For their services, they charged an agency fee of $50, and an extra $1.25 for storage. Annoying, but at least there is someone to call when things don't go even this smoothly. scott Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
aj55 Posted February 10, 2009 Share #18 Posted February 10, 2009 With my creditcard I usually get a exchange rate that is quite good. And you have some sort of insurance. Last december in London I had a very good contact with The Classic Camera, where I bought the 50 2.5. Later I had a better deal with Jacobs, trading a old 35 2.0 Canada for a brand new 28 2.8 with cash from my side off course. For us in the Netherlands London is very cheap! Arnold Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
footnoteblog Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share #19 Posted February 10, 2009 I guess I'm not seeing the deal, unless I'm doing the conversion incorrectly. At Jacobs, the 28/2.8 is GBP1240; converted at XE today, it's USD1812. LEICA 28mm/2.8 Elmarit-M M8* for £1240.00*at*Jacobs Digital Photography & Video At Amazon US, it's USD1795. I've not included the rebates, because I'd imagine they'd total the same (less $300). Amazon.com: Leica 28mm f/2.8 ASPH M-Elmarit Wide Angle Manual Focus Lens for M System (11606): Camera & Photo Am I missing something? Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHAG Posted February 10, 2009 Share #20 Posted February 10, 2009 You're certainly missing Ffordes : Description Purchase a new Leica M lens between 3/12/08 until 28/02/09 and receive a 15% cash back from Leica. Excludes 21mm F1.4, 24mm F1.4, 24mm F3.8 and 50mm F0.95 lenses. Price Shown Excludes Cashback, Deduct 15% From This For Net Price. Price £1,099.00 https://secure.ffordes.com/index.htm Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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