Importing from the US?

[Andrew Faires]

Well, I've been saving a few pennies here and there and am probably about a month away from getting the DA*50-135mm lens. Just one hang-up at the moment.......

The best price I've seen for this lens is at The Camera Store at $1220 CDN. Looking a little further south - at say Adorama, it's listed for about $830 US. This is the difference between keeping and selling my 77mm ltd. Because the value of each dollar is the same (as of about 9am this morning), I'm having a hard/impossible time justifying buying this lens from a Canadian retailer.

This brings me to my question: What would the duty be on this? or is it just GST and whatever brokerage fees you get burned with?

Also, I've dealt with B&H in the past (no more than $300 in an order), but I've never ordered through Adorama. Is Adorama a good place for on-line ordering?

[jnorth]

Brokerage and taxes. No duties. In BC we pay provincial sales tax and GST, not sure about Ont. provincial sales tax rules. Analyst reports I here on the radio say it's gonna go higher than par before it drops, so not buying just yet seems like it might play in your favour. My personal experience is that UPS charges the most brokerage, and they are not that swift moving it through the border either. I've had a book/DVD combo cost me $40 shipping/handling/brokerage with a busted DVD and 10 days shipping. A repalcement sent regular mail cost $4 total (shipper of course covered that - and switched for future Canadian orders), took 6 days shipping, and came with out a mark on it. I've got other UPS high cost stories but that's the one that sticks out in my mind the most. I won't buy from a US vendor if they will only ship UPS.

[Andrew Faires]

Thanks for the info on both fees & about UPS. Hopefully in a month the dollar will be doing a bit better

[Bramela]

here in Aussie, its even worse, $1307 US.
We are paying through the hip pocket down here, and it sucks