Ordering from B&H...

Hey everybody...


So photography is getting serious, and our trusty (except for when it hunts AF in low light[:)]) 55-250 IS is getting a big brother. Funds have been made available from a recent sale of a vintage camera, and a 70-200 2.8 L IS is very probable in the next little while or so.


Now, my family is iffy about ordering something online. I see B&H as the most reliable source for photo gear, so I hope to order from there.


Luckily, we haven't fallen into the trap of massive markups - (Vistek and Henry's in Toronto, $2100 + tax).


We're traveling down to the States in July, so we could get it at stores in Michigan for about the same price as B&H. But, a song festival is coming up, so the sooner, the better.


Could you guys outline the process of ordering, tips, what fees need to be paid, etc.? It would help out tremendously. PayPal would be used, and we live in Toronto.


Thanks a lot!


- Alex

Alex, can't tell you what B&H's policy is for Canada, but I can tell they are extemely reliable and I recommend them w/out hesititation.


Enjoy the new member to the family.


Regards


Bill

Watch out the fees from the delivery company ! They tend to overcharge when it comes to clear the package from the customs. You must pay them when they deliver your package, otherwise you will have to get it from their depot within 5 days.


My suggestion is to buy the lens directly in the US and declare it when you come back. Depending on the duration of your trip, you will have a certain amount of the lens cost that will be free of taxes (up to 750 $CAD per person if you stay 7 days or more - I think you can split the amount between the other travelers if they did not fully used their exemption).

B&H has been my best experience, overall, with online ordering of photographic equipment and supplies. I always get what I want, and if I have decided I didn't want it, I've never had an issue with returning it.


Adorama is second. I recently had an issue with a used item, that I didn't know was used when I ordered over the phone, and they paid for the return trip, no hassle, and I await an expected positive outcome.


As far as Canadian customs, I have little experience. If you've got a friend in the states, if you were so inclined, you could buy it for him, he could sell it to you cheap, and then have FedEx delivery it at a very good used price...


But I'd defer to the most legitimate means, if possible. Less headache, less unknowns. [:)]

I order from B&H all the time (ship to Alberta), highly recommend them (even with the exchange rate, shipping, duty and customs brokerage fees I find 9 times out of 10 they're still quite a bit cheaper than Henry's or Vistek). I usually have them ship UPS (FedEx is an option too) - expect a C.O.D. when your package arrives to cover duty and brokerage fees (fortunately the only duty charges levied is GST – there is no additional duty levied on photographic equipment – YEAH!!). So far the brokerage fees haven’t seemed too unreasonable.

"UPS Standard" to Canada is bad. Even a cheap, lightweight item will cost $5 shipping but the customer often gets hit with $20+ UPS hidden brokerage fees. That's why B&H doesn't even offer it. UPS Next day and two day air are all they offer, and for those services UPS does not charge any extra fees (as far as I understand it). USPS is much more inexpensive, but the service (e.g. tracking) is poor.

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Originally Posted by Daniel Browning

"UPS Standard" to Canada is bad. Even a cheap, lightweight item will cost $5 shipping but the customer often gets hit with $20+ UPS hidden brokerage fees. That's why B&H doesn't even offer it. UPS Next day and two day air are all they offer, and for those services UPS does not charge any extra fees (as far as I understand it). USPS is much more inexpensive, but the service (e.g. tracking) is poor.
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I usually choose "UPS Worldwide Expedited" (B&amp;H says 2-4 days, which may be true to Ontario, but I find it take a little longer than that to ship to Alberta as it usually gets hung up with Customs for an extra day). You'll still be charged C.O.D. for duty - it's possible that UPS includes custom brokerage fees in the shipping cost, that would explain why they've seem so reasonable. USPS isn't an option on B&amp;H's website for Canada.

<span style="font-size: medium;"]Ahh, I'm in Toronto too and I have ordered items from B&amp;H before. So I think I can help a lttle bit.


<span style="font-size: medium;"]B&amp;H is fantastic in dealing with all kinds of orders. I once ordered a camcorder (half price comparing to Canadian price!) from them through UPS super save shipping and it arrives the next day. The shipping price you see listed at B&amp;H is the actual shipping price you pay, of course in US dollars. The problem occurs when your item enters Canada. Items shipped by UPS are subjects to exam and Canadian tax will apply. You're not paying any US tax according to B&amp;H's policy, but you do pay the 13% tax just like we buy our stuff here in Toronto. You will see that after (should be the next day if you choose super save shipping) your item goes acrose the border, there's a tax charge applied on UPS's website when you try to track your order, you can pay online using credit card or you can also pay when your item is at your door. UPS will not release the item to you until you pay.


<span style="font-size: medium;"]I doubt if any other shipping method that B&amp;H offers can help you avoid Canadian taxes. Considering the exchange rate and the shipping cost, it may not be worth it IMO at this moment (CAD$ is low) to buy lenses from the US and get them shipped over. Plus, if your item had something wrong with it, it's just going to be hassles one after another regardless B&amp;H has a very good return policy.


<span style="font-size: medium;"]Check out [url="http://www.adencamera.com/]Aden Camera[/url], it's a camera store in Toronto downtown and it almost [b]ALWAYS[/b] has the lowest price in Toronto. As well as [url="http://www.downtowncamera.com/index.asp?c=669701622009053013817649231616]Downtown Camera[/url], they often have competitive prices too. Regarding Vistek and Henry's, they're the larger retailers with higher tag prices; however, if you go to them and say Aden sells the same lens for cheaper, they're happy to match the price for you; that's also in their policy - if you can find any Canadian price which's lower, they will match the price accordingly. They will [b]NOT[/b] match any US price for you, just for your information.


<span style="font-size: medium;"]So if I were buying a 70-200/2.8L IS at this moment (though I wish to[:)]), I will check out Aden camera first see what they have got. If those copies does not satisfy you, you can go to Vistek and Henry's to have a look and ask them to match the price.


<span style="font-size: medium;"]Hopefully that helps.

<span style="font-size: medium;"]Ohh, one more thing. If you want to pay US price without Canadian tax. Drive to Buffalo, buy, then drive back. At the Canadian custom you just say that you went to see the Niagra at the US side. To the safest, discard the box and only carry your lens back with other equipments you've already got as the police may exam your car if they pick up on you. When they see a new lens box with a new lens there, you're gonna pay Canadian tax again (may be with penalties if they think that you're trying to skip tax!); but if you just carry your gear with the lens, they probably will not notice too much on that.

"Camera Canada" ($2035, located in London, ON) and "The Camera Store" ($2077, located in Calgary, AB) are fairly similar in price to the normal B&amp;H price when converted to Canadian (US$1799 is about C$1968 according to Google). Despite appearing more expensive, the Alberta store should actually end up around $100 cheaper than the London one, as you should only pay 5% GST, instead of 13% for both taxes... (Worked for me when buying a $200 dollhouse this spring). The Alberta store's selection is very limited though.


I'd say the prices are close enough to not worry about customs fees, and if Canon Canada will honour a US warranty (though I've heard they do). The big problem is that Canon Canada decided to forgo rebates this year, while the US has them. And they lower the price substantially (US$1599 is C$1749). In fact it makes theB&amp;H option cheaper after tax, than the Canadian pre-tax price. Depending on the customs fee, it may still be cheaper after customs and tax, than the Canadian pre-tax price.


Right now, with rebates in place, there doesn't seem to be any good reason to buy it locally. With a reputable dealer like B&amp;H, you shouldn't have any hassles with your online order, so don't let that get in your way.


Speaking of B&amp;H, it sounds like a neat place to visit. http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090501/why-circuit-city-failed-and-why-bh-thrives.html?partner=fogcreek.

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Originally Posted by WAFKT

You'll still be charged C.O.D. for duty - it's possible that UPS includes custom brokerage fees in the shipping cost, that would explain why they've seem so reasonable

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That's precisely it. The brokerage fee on UPS Standard is so high that it's actually cheaper to pay for expedited; plus it gets there faster. USPS, if it were available (only for certain few items on B&amp;H IIRC), would be the cheapest option, since Canada Post is only an $8 brokerage fee.

I have spent in the realm of $5000 at B&amp;H.


I've received instant rebates AFTER receiving my order. Granted it was within the return time frame and I obviously am a 'good' customer, but they could have played hardball and seen if I was willing to pay for the shipping back to them and then re-order the lens.


I've also returned an item to them. They say RMA (return auth numbers) are only good for tens days. I shipped the item back 7 days after getting the RMA number and sent it USPS Ground (so you KNOW it took longer then the 10 days to reach them) and had no problems getting a refund (which I promptly re-spent...)


There are very few only places I would trust with four figure orders, but B&amp;H is one of them.