Canon 2 x converter ll

[Interpreter]

Due to the nature of my work, I needed a 2 x converter. I tried Jessops and they had them in stock at around £289. This I thought was expensive, so I shopped around. The best I could find was £229. Then I tried Amazon, who sourced the converter from Germany. Photo-Koester was the company and there was a warning that this company took an extra two days to process orders. There was no rush, so I ordered the item.
I received an email from Amazon acknowledging the order.
I received an email from Photo-Koester acknowledging the order from Amazon.
I received an email with the processing status of the order the next morning.
I received an email with the tracking information.
I received an email with the shipping information and pdf files in English, German and Dutch(?) telling me how to return the item if I didn't like it.
The next day I received the item via UPS. It took an extra day to deliver from Germany. Why cannot British firms treat customers like this?

[matt_xyz]

they're not all bad. I've had some excellent service from UK based internet companies.

You could have got your converter for £175 from some Hong Kong based companies, although delivery would have taken a couple more days.

Matt

[ceb83]

Always a chance of getting 'stung' for VAT and charged for delivery and VAT collection on goods from Hong Kong, etc.

Trust me; I found out the hard way.


Carol

[Blackbrook Eye]

The other problem with grey imports from Hong Kong, is that although most companies provide a guarantee, if you need to get a repair done in the U.K. most service centres will not carry out waranty work unless you can show proof that duty has been paid on the item. Just a word to the wise !!

[HowlinWolf]

Originally Posted by Blackbrook Eye

The other problem with grey imports from Hong Kong, is that although most companies provide a guarantee, if you need to get a repair done in the U.K. most service centres will not carry out waranty work unless you can show proof that duty has been paid on the item. Just a word to the wise !!

It can be even worse than that, Blackbrook Eye. Nikon, for example, won't touch a repair on a grey import, even if you offer to pay them, or whether it's still under warranty or not. I don't know if Canon have the same policy on these imports, but I'd check it out before committing.

HW

[GerryNick2]

I have purchased numerous grey imports from overseas and have found that the likelyhood of having to pay import duties can often be related to the country of origin and which courier the supplier uses. I have obtained several lenses from Hong Kong suppliers who tend to use TNT, DHL or Parcelforce and never had to pay any duties.

More recently I purchased a ballhead for my Velbon Luxi F Tripod from the USA as I was unable to find one in the UK,which came via UPS. The value of the item was £19, UPS charged a staggering £54 import duties which include their fee of £11 for collecting the duties.

I challenged UPS on the amount and after 2 weeks and 5 emails they finally conceded they had made a mistake and I was entitled to a refund of £36 but I would have to wait a further 30 days to receive the cheque. They would not budge on the £11 handling charge.

Talking to a few colleagues it appears that they also have experienced similar problems with UPS.

I would strongly recommend if purchasing from outside Europe and the supplier offers a choice of courier avoid using UPS.

Gerry