[hangu]

Well I really don't know where to start with this post - it really is that bad and that inaccurate.

I have imported 2 cameras (SLRs) and maybe 6 or 7 lenses - no problem whatsoever, the only issue I have had is the flat fee for ANY lense (currently RMB1,200 or roughly US$180).
As for bribes - well the Customs issue their assessment and send the forms (with the exact amounts) to the Post Office which is where you go to collect parcels like this. Paid, stamped and collected with official receipts, the money paid by the Post Office is sent back to the Customs. Happily, just like with any Customs / Postal service sometimes they miss importations !

There are lots and lots of circumstances in China where bribes are paid or expected - but the importation of individual parcels is not one of them. So that's the Customs issue addressed.

Next

I really don't know where you get your information but you really need to either do even the minimum due diligence before posting such crap - or refrain completely.

The prices in China are not terrible at all, in fact in some instances they are cheaper than in the USA (same goes for cameras as I posted above). Though as I've mentioned already probably roughly equivalent to Canada's pricing due to heavy import taxation.

I would like to know where you pull a spurious figure like $300 - 400 per lense from !! Is that on a US$200 lense ? A US$500 lense ? A US$1,000 lense ? Frankly that is absolute @$%#$. Tell me a lense and I'll give the pricing .... and the proof. I'd like to see yours.

Some examples of cameras and lenses I've bought here :

Sigma 18-125 : US$265
Sigma 10-20 : US$455
Pentax 55-300 : US$ 425
Tamron 17-50/2.8 : US$415
Tamron 90 Di : US$405
Pentax K7 : US$910 (Jan 2010)
Pentax K5 : US$1,300 (Jan 2011)

The next lense on my radar is either the 60-250 (US$1,225) or the *300 (US$1,270.

all rounded up or down to the nearest US$. These are all from official outlets and are not 'grey' imports which can be had cheaper but without recourse, or a guarantee, in the event of a problem.

These are facts not unsubstantiated claims as you have posted (and I've probably posted these prices elsewhere on here (maybe not all) when I've bought them). Maybe one of two of these are higher than in the USA - I don't know, use EBay and check yourself. I do know that your claim of $300 - 400 per lense is absolutely hilarious.

Regards
Expatriate living for the last 15 years in Shanghai, China.

Even if I'm completely wrong, there's no need to be ill mannered.

My info is based on friends and family members who have frequently asked me to bring back lenses for them. There's a chance they're terrible at finding lenses at good prices but I seriously doubt that they're off by that much.

I also sell quite a bit of camera equipment on Ebay, so I'm quite familiar with the customs issues in China. I've never had any issues sending lenses, only cameras. USPS has explicitly stated that they will not ship any cameras to the PRC. An acquaintance of mine who runs a vintage cameras club in Shanghai has repeatedly complained to me about the ridiculous rates customs has asked for cameras. He even mentioned a few times that he just "slipped" them some money. I don't see any reason why he'd lie to me about this.

I'm sure you know so much more than I do about this since you're actually living there. Good for you. My uncle-in-law has been bugging me to bring him back the newest version of the Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 for the Canon EOS mount. The best I can find it at is about $700 with full warranty. If you can find it for that price and provide me a link, I'd appreciate it, it'd save me the hassles of having to ship it back to him. Thanks!

[Frogfish]

Hangu - you made blanket statements which directly contradicted my posts above, not in opinion (which everyone is entitled to) but in fact. Clearly I took this as a personal affront to my honesty and had to correct that - I gave you the prices I paid and that new lenses can be bought for - very clearly very competitive with the USA and not $300-400 more as you claimed (including the Sigma 10-20 which you gave as an example). You have now admitted your 'facts' may indeed be incorrect. With your name as Hangu I assume you are Chinese and can read & write Chinese - therefore it would have taken you no more than 10 mins to check these assertions on-line before posting them as fact.

USPS - well there a number of places they won't ship to, doesn't stop other countries shipping to China, however there are plenty of options, and personally I have never had a single issue with goods arriving intact - I did have a Xmas card go astray one time, does that count ?

re. Sigma 70-200mm f2.8. I have just had a quick check for you and used it can be found for US$484 - US$605 (some sellers are very close to, or in, Shenzhen - also in Guangdong). New US$910. They should check on New Egg, Taobao, Tudou etc. etc. lots of sites to check if they read Chinese, personally if I lived in Guangdong (which includes Shenzhen of course) then I'd go to Guangzhou to look in the camera shops and check the lense out personally. And of course if they live in Shenzhen then Hong Kong is just an hour plus' journey away by train or catamaran, though I have never found HK prices to be less than can be found in China.

[hangu]

Hangu - you made blanket statements which directly contradicted my posts above, not in opinion (which everyone is entitled to) but in fact. Clearly I took this as a personal affront to my honesty and had to correct that - I gave you the prices I paid and that new lenses can be bought for - very clearly very competitive with the USA and not $300-400 more as you claimed (including the Sigma 10-20 which you gave as an example). You have now admitted your 'facts' may indeed be incorrect. With your name as Hangu I assume you are Chinese and can read & write Chinese - therefore it would have taken you no more than 10 mins to check these assertions on-line before posting them as fact.

USPS - well there a number of places they won't ship to, doesn't stop other countries shipping to China, however there are plenty of options, and personally I have never had a single issue with goods arriving intact - I did have a Xmas card go astray one time, does that count ?

re. Sigma 70-200mm f2.8. I have just had a quick check for you and used it can be found for US$484 - US$605 (some sellers are very close to, or in, Shenzhen - also in Guangdong). New US$910. They should check on New Egg, Taobao, Tudou etc. etc. lots of sites to check if they read Chinese, personally if I lived in Guangdong (which includes Shenzhen of course) then I'd go to Guangzhou to look in the camera shops and check the lense out personally. And of course if they live in Shenzhen then Hong Kong is just an hour plus' journey away by train or catamaran, though I have never found HK prices to be less than can be found in China.

Try not to take everything on the internet so personally. In no way was I trying to call you a liar. Take a deep breath or two and see if that'll help with your blood pressure.

A link to said shop for the Sigma 70-200 for $484 would be very nice, otherwise, you're kind of doing the same thing you're bashing me for doing, no?

[Frogfish]

No - nothing like you. I actually took the time to check them out and find exact prices. Now you do the same.

[Pentaxor]

Can't disagree with your assessment of the knock-offs - that's why people who want the real thing don't buy them.

e.g iPhone 4 here is US$760 for a jailbroken version (or US$455 and US$305 in advanced payment on calls for a 'legal' non broken version). Compare that to a knock-off - US$60. No-one can be in any doubt what they are getting !

it does seem that prices in Eastern Asia nowadays are no longer cheap. what I think now is that the OEM copies are now being sold at a fixed price to maximize profit. gone are the days where the eastern regions are bargain compared to the ones in the western hemisphere. this could be a result of globalization and the only way to get something cheap is competition from other companies or the knock-offs.

in Singapore, an Iphone 4 costs $900 SGD when it first came out late last year, considering it has been out for 6-7 months earlier in North America.

[Frogfish]

The pricing for the iPhone 4 is very interesting. Apple were extremely slow to get into China and millions of grey import iPhones were on the streets before Apple even began talking to the phone companies here. Originally the grey import iPhone 4 was US$900 but now US$760 - the same price as you can get a 'legal' iPhone 4 with a 2 year contract and US$305 in credit ! If you want to jailbreak it then it costs US$10-15 and 1 hour. I recently upgraded an iPhone 1 from 1.xx to 3.xx for the same price !

[hangu]

No - nothing like you. I actually took the time to check them out and find exact prices. Now you do the same.

So you're basically throwing out numbers with absolutely nothing to back it up and then getting into a hissy fit when someone says otherwise?

[Frogfish]

So you're basically throwing out numbers with absolutely nothing to back it up and then getting into a hissy fit when someone says otherwise?

I've given you the websites .... now don't be such a lazy #$#% and do your own research.

[hangu]

I've given you the websites .... now don't be such a lazy #$#% and do your own research.

Chill out, we're here to help one another.

Edit: Forgot to add, not great at reading in Chinese, so any help is appreciated. Don't jump so fast to assumptions of laziness. Doesn't reflect well.

[Pentaxor]

I forgot to mention that the other way to get way cheaper prices are thru black markets. although this doesn't guarantee that 100% of what is being sold like lenses and other stuff will be automatically cheaper but the chances of getting one cheap are higher compared to the ones being sold in the grey or legal market. I know that there are some that may sell them cheap, but those sellers/ previous owners and others are pretty rare, but their prices are bargain in comparison. although you just have worry about the scalpers and scammers.

[bdery]

I go away for one day and get 24 replies... wow.

Long story short, bringing back lenses from China seems more trouble than it's worth, and probably not profitable at all. So I'll let this go, and ask for some oolong tea instead