US purchasing in Europe.

[stunsworth]

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£1,099.00

https://secure.ffordes.com/index.htm

 

That price also includes 15% VAT. This would be deducted for a sale outside of the EU.

[footnoteblog]

Wait a second, so that would be a net of ~£794?

 

US$1100? Really? Hmm.

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[peter_n]

I bought a lens from Germany this morning, but only after confirming that the seller would ship to me by Deutsche Bundespost rather than UPS, their standard shipper.

 

I highly recommend Ffordes, their prices are excellent and they are wonderful people to deal with.

[grduprey]

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

 

I don't know about the UK, but in Germany I got the full VAT back at Frankfurt Airport. I bought a used 180/3.4 R Apo lens and a used DMR. Both at prices lower than I could buy here in the US. I would definitely know what the prices of any item here in the US before making the purchase though, or you can find yourself buying the item at higher prices than you can get back home. But there are bargins out there.

 

Gene

[scott kirkpatrick]

I don't know about the UK, but in Germany I got the full VAT back at Frankfurt Airport. I bought a used 180/3.4 R Apo lens and a used DMR. Both at prices lower than I could buy here in the US. I would definitely know what the prices of any item here in the US before making the purchase though, or you can find yourself buying the item at higher prices than you can get back home. But there are bargins out there.

 

Gene

 

The service charge at the airport (and the time you have to wait in line to do it) varies from country to country. I got tax back on a new watch bought in Israel just before taking a trip abroad once, and only retrieved half the tax. Someone earlier said that there is a significant fee in the UK, but I haven't tried that. We seem to be heading into a period where smart shopping can pay off in the long run, so I hope people will share this sort of info.

 

scott

[rob_w]

I would add Richard Caplan Leica Cameras | Leica Digital Cameras | M, R and D System Cameras | Richard Caplan to the list. I have had good service from them and their prices are competitive with the other UK dealers mentioned. They are just off Piccadilly so easy to get to if you are a tourist in London. (Although Classic Camera and R. G. Lewis are both near the British Museum, another easy tourist destination, and I have had good service from all three at different times).

 

I find prices between outlets differ more on individual stock items than as an overall average -- probably reflecting the date and wholesale price at which the dealer took the item into stock. So I usually check 3 or 4 dealers' current prices on the item I want.

 

If you are not travelling until March you might do what I did with Richard Caplan when it looked like the 15% rebate would finish at the end of December and I was not going to be in London until January. I called them and paid for the item (in my case a 75 Summicron) in December so that the purchase qualified for the rebate (which Caplan's collected on my behalf) and they then held the lens for me to collect when I visited London in January. That way you get the lens rebate of 15% as well as VAT rebate (~ 15%) and you can carry the lens back to your home country, so no shipping or import hassles. That adds up to quite a saving, especially if the item you want is in stock at older prices.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Robert

 

PS Richard Caplan will provide all the paperwork to claim the FULL VAT refund at the airport. Simply have it stamped at the VAT refund desk, post it back to Caplan (there is a postbox right next to the desk) and Caplan will credit the refund to your credit card. Any UK dealer should do this for you. There is no need to pay a service charge, although some companies tout for a fee with unsuspecting tourists.

[etp095]

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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!

your shopping from a really high retailer.you could buy that lens for 1095-1099 sterling from other dealers.so after the 15%vat cash back and the 15% rebate you pay $1096 usd@ today's exchange rate(1.43).the 15% rebate ends on march 31,you could pay for the lenses you want before the rebate ends and have the dealer hold them for you till you arrive in the UK.if you buy the lens without the rebate your price would be $1331@today's exchange rate.to get the deal you need to buy before the rebate ends.

[Guest malland]

Thanks, Scott. I guess the meta-question is, what kind of net percentage savings are we talking about for camera equipment?

You can find this out by looking at the websites of UK stores; and if you have a question you can call them.

 

I saved about $1,000 over the US price, including the 15% cashback from Leica, on Summicorn-28 I purchased from Harrison Camera — good service, although other suppliers are good also, . The UPS service charge which included import duty was $62. It's also fast: the lens was shipped from Sheffield on Monday and arrived in the Washington, DC area on Wednesday evening.

 

Some of the UK websites show the price net of VAT, but for those that don't, just go to Checkout and they show the price without this tax if you've entered a shipping address that is not in the European Union. One doesn't need to go to the UK to buy from there.

 

—Mitch/Potomac, MD

Flickr: Mitch Alland's Photostream

[peter_n]

Thanks, Scott. I guess the meta-question is, what kind of net percentage savings are we talking about for camera equipment?

It will vary from day-to-day depending on sales prices and the exchange rate. I was lucky enough to save $1100 off a B&H price on a dSLR body from Ffordes late last year. Ffordes was having a two-week sale on the body and the $ was particularly strong against the £ that day. As Mitch says above, you need to check around the web sites of several dealers and keep an eye on the exchange rate at the same time.

The UPS service charge which included import duty was $62.

This is almost certainly a broker's fee as there is no import duty on still camera equipment imported into the U.S. Please see post #16 above.

[Guest malland]

...This is almost certainly a broker's fee as there is no import duty on still camera equipment imported into the U.S. Please see post #16 above.

Interesting, I didn't know that.

 

—Mitch/Potomac, MD

Flickr: Mitch Alland's Photostream

[Eoin]

I bought a lens from Germany this morning, but only after confirming that the seller would ship to me by Deutsche Bundespost rather than UPS, their standard shipper.

 

But, I think DHL handle all their parcel services both internal & international. I could be wrong though.

[peter_n]

Actually I think you're right Eoin. However I have (amazingly enough) received an international shipment through post/DHL and was not charged a fee. I do have a bit of trepidation about this but the deed is done and I'll wait and see.

[joekurtz]

So...Am I doiing this right. ffordes is selling the 72 f2 for 1749 GBP. This includes vat so i need to subtract 15% as well as subtract 15% for cash back. Which makes the total 1224.3 GBP or $1765 USD. In the US that lens is currently $2925 WITH $300 rebate???

 

Over a thousand dollars savings??!?

 

Am I doing anything wrong here. Sorry, for the stupid question.

 

thanks,

joe

[JHAG]

So...Am I doiing this right. ffordes is selling the 72 f2 for 1749 GBP. This includes vat so i need to subtract 15% as well as subtract 15% for cash back. Which makes the total 1224.3 GBP or $1765 USD. In the US that lens is currently $2925 WITH $300 rebate???

 

Over a thousand dollars savings??!?

 

Am I doing anything wrong here. Sorry, for the stupid question.

 

thanks,

joe

 

1. Ffordes has excellent pricing, due to big sales (I heard they did sell more than 50 Summilux 50 only in january).

2. Importing Leica gear in the UK is still under UE regulations. I gather importing it in the US is subject to taxes, duties, shipment, etc., that increase prices over there.

[Guest malland]

Joe:

 

I don't know how ffordes website is set up, but when I bought from Harrison Camera I found that when you go to Checkout and have entered a shipping address outside the European Union your pro-forma invoice shows the exact price without VAT. Whether the Cashback is still in effect should be indicated on the website. If you have any doubt you can send them an e-mail or phone them and ask. As I stated above, I saved about US$1,000 over the US price on a Sumicron-50.

 

—Mitch/Potomac,MD

Bangkok Noir© Book Project

[Guest malland]

1...Importing Leica gear in the UK is still under UE regulations. I gather importing it in the US is subject to taxes, duties, shipment, etc., that increase prices over there.

The only charge of this type I had when I bought my Sumicon-50 was a US$70 "clearing charge" from UPS.

 

—Mitch/Potomac, MD

Bangkok Noir© Book Project

[farnz]

So...Am I doiing this right. ffordes is selling the 72 f2 for 1749 GBP. This includes vat so i need to subtract 15% as well as subtract 15% for cash back. Which makes the total 1224.3 GBP or $1765 USD. In the US that lens is currently $2925 WITH $300 rebate???

 

Over a thousand dollars savings??!?

 

Am I doing anything wrong here. Sorry, for the stupid question.

 

thanks,

joe

Joe,

 

You're right but you need to add shipping and you may get hit for import duty. In the UK we have to apply for the 15% cashback directly to Leica after buying the lens but I've heard of some Leica dealers giving the 15% discount to overseas buyers at the time of purchase and squaring it with Leica themselves. (Don't know if Ffordes would do this.)

 

Pete.

[andybarton]

Don't forget that when you are subtracting the VAT, it's not 15% off, but you need to divide the price by 1.15

 

Therefore the exVAT price of the lens, without discount (which should be 15% of the retail price) is

 

£1,749/1.15 = £1,520.87

 

The rebate should be 15% of the £1749 = £262.35, and that will come via cheque, if the retailer doesn't sort it for you. Make sure you get the 15% on the full price, not the ex VAT price

 

The total you should be out of pocket (ignoring any duty or fees or credit card transactions costs) is, by my reckoning, £1,520.87 - £262.35 = £1,258.52. According to the Mac calculator conversion, that's $1,806.98, still over $1,000 cheaper.

 

You could afford to fly over and collect it in person at that saving

 

[Guest malland]

...In the UK we have to apply for the 15% cashback directly to Leica after buying the lens but I've heard of some Leica dealers giving the 15% discount to overseas buyers at the time of purchase and squaring it with Leica themselves. (Don't know if Ffordes would do this.)

In the case of Harrison Cameras, they apply to Leica for the Cashback on behalf of the overseas buyer.

 

—Mitch/Potomac, MD

Bangkok Noir© Book Project

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[footnoteblog]

Mitch, that was all done online?

 

Hmm, US users, try this: add one of the lenses (I am looking at the 28/2.8, but with the above-mentioned prices, maybe I should go faster):

 

-add an item without being logged in at Harrison's. note the prices they give, less VAT.

-then login, sign in, and add the cart. Higher prices, and different. I wonder if that's the price with VAT, but not noted.

Edited February 15, 2009 by footnoteblog