buying from an overseas website

[stuck]

Anyone care to comment about the 'bargains' available via web sites like:
http://www.digitalrev.com/shop
or
http://www.onestop-digital.com/
which are Hong Kong based , when I'm in the UK.

Ken

[bambleweeney]

I've bought a couple of things from digitalrev in the past with no problems at all. Watch out for customs though on a couple of occasions I've had a bill from the courier for import charges - still works out cheaper but be warned. I'd heard that some of the Hong Kong 'shops' now had outlets in the UK (?) which would avoid the need for these 'surprise' payments.
In all fairness I believe that the possibility of being charged for importing items is mentioned on these suppliers pages.
I think you can buy with confidence from these guys though.

[IanCD]

I agree - I bought a Markins (tripod) ballhead through a Korean supplier a few months ago. Saved ~ £100 on the Markins Europe price. I was slightly apprehensive, but needn't have been as there was really no hassle involved. I'd have no hesitation doing that again, though Paul is right about the import tax.
Ian

[Geoff F]

One other potential problem with overseas purchases is whether any guarantee will be valid.

I have purchased from a Gibraltar company http://www.bignorman.com/

And when I had a problem with a camera, not the suppliers fault, I sent it to an official UK repairer where it was sorted under guarantee with no problems.

Being an EU 'country' there shouldn't be any problems with import duty etc from Gibraltar.

[Manfred M]

Over and above duty, the big courier companies like UPS and Fedex often charge a brokerage fee. There have been instances when I bought from out of country where the fee exceeded the value of the goods. This was often related as to how the seller chose to ship the goods.