[JensE]

Here in Australia at the moment the prices at the official Pentax store are FA31 ltd $1199 AUD ( $865.58 US, €793.82 ) and FA77ltd $799 AUD ( $576.81 US, €528.99 ) and these include free local shipping.
Next year I'll be travelling to France again and unlike my wife my luggage is always well under-weight, with a few of these lenses well packed in my luggage I could pay for my trip and then some.

Glenn

Argh - I wish I had known this two weeks ago - just back ...

[silver_dragon]

Nooooooooooooooooo! Now the secret's out. When it comes to Pentax gear Australians aren't being scammed. We don't want Ricoh to realise. This could merely be an oversight.

It appears we pay a few hundred dollars more for bodies here in Australia than USA and Japan. Whereas lenses are in the ballpark of pricing in Japan, if not a bit cheaper.

[Davidparis]

I'm curious... what happens if someone in the US sends it to you in France as a "gift"?

You have identified the secret! In fact, I generally order (tax free) from BH or Adorama and have the articles sent to my family in Florida. They then re-send to me by USPS with an adjusted content description and cost. 9.9 times out of 10, these shipments are never seen by French Customs and I receive the goods at US prices + USPS shipping costs. Alternatively, I buy while abroad and bring back with me as carry-ons. Never, ever had a problem in 25 years of doing so.

Finally, there is another solution I've used : MyUS.com. This consolidating/shipping company, based in FL, provides you with a US address where you have your purchased goods sent (this works for foreigners, allowing them to buy in the US with a US shipping address). MyUS.com then ships your package according to your chosen shipping options to you. Downside, you pay Customs and duties at import but still you save money. My latest operation - a boat motor! Same motor sold here in France, purchased and shipped from the US and total savings equalled 29%.
This is a labor-intensive work-around but it doesn't excuse the crazy price differences we see around the world...just about on any type of merchandise.

[Davidparis]

Not trying to flog a dead horse but ...here's another humorous example :

There is an internet site in France for selling used, second-hand items between private individuals which is quite successful.

Yesterday, found an ad from an individual who is "attempting" to sell a used K-5IIs with 9500 actuations for ... €1300.

Yep, 1300 euros. I laughed so hard that I had stomach cramps.

[Transit]

or $1700 grey import in New Zealand ....sigh

[gfurm]

£612 from Microglobe ex stock (840 Euro / 917 US$)

After reading about new items being in fact ex demos or returns, one day shipping taking a week, item in stock on website but not after placing order and grey imports I wouldn't buy anything expensive from them.

If it's too good to be true it's probably not true.

[bxf]

Does anyone know the import duties in France and the VAT?

You may want to read post No. 56 here:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/94-pentax-price-watch/304034-k-3-649-w-fr...-friday-4.html

Also, from my experience importing into the Portugal (and I get the impression other EU countries do similar crap), there will always be extra charges in addition to what you calculate as the appropriate amounts for duty and taxes. There are charges for processing, then for collection, etc. Even the rate of duty was applied to some artificial price rather than the actual purchase price. These people are thieves, and there ain't nothin' you can do about it.

[pinholecam]

Prices here in Singapore used to be rather on par with US.
But its not so favorable with the new distro. (or perhaps the US prices got more aggressive)

[Davidparis]

You may want to read post No. 56 here:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/94-pentax-price-watch/304034-k-3-649-w-fr...-friday-4.html

Also, from my experience importing into the Portugal (and I get the impression other EU countries do similar crap), there will always be extra charges in addition to what you calculate as the appropriate amounts for duty and taxes. There are charges for processing, then for collection, etc. Even the rate of duty was applied to some artificial price rather than the actual purchase price. These people are thieves, and there ain't nothin' you can do about it.

To further detail this out : when importing into Europe from USA by an express carrier (UPS, Fedex, DHL, TNT, etc.) you end up paying :

1. Price of item in USD (your bank may charge you 1-2% commission on currency exchange)
2. Shipping cost from US origin to Euro destination
3. At import, you pay the VAT of your country on the item cost PLUS the transport costs (item+transport cost * 20% or so)
4. You pay your county's import duties on photo equipment (around 5.5% of item)
5. You pay a flat brokerage fee to your transporter for handling the Customs procedure (around 18-25 euros)

Yes, it can add up. But if you have lots of headroom to start with, you can save money. The best option is of course to buy while in the US, have a friend/co-worker buy on his/her trip abroad or have family send by USPS.

It's a lot of work and worry but this is what I have to do when my pockets are not bottomless.

[Glorfindelrb]

Does anyone know the import duties in France and the VAT?

Import duties :
0% for cameras
9% for lenses

VAT is 20%

The pricing difference is only a choice from Ricoh to milk French that still buy and to try to be aggressive in USA to stay alive.

This is sad and I have stopped buying anything new since September and the price raise.

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/94-pentax-price-watch/305719-big-increase-pentax-lens-prices-france.html

[Stagnant]

For the fun of it, I decided to check the local (Estonian) prices for FA Lim. 31. Its regular price is 1499, but it is currently discounted to 1099, which is still way too high.
FA 77 is discounted to 899 with the full price of 1049. Euros of course.

[cxdoo]

Ah one of my favorite topics!
In the good ole days of 1.35 and higher exchange rate purchase in States was a reasonable choice.
Now, at 1.09, that's not really an option. And paying what RP asks in Europe is just not prudent.
I presume they are doing well, since the prices stay where they are.
So it's all good.


Second hand market a bit more alive this year. Pretty much anything available for those who wait.

[monochrome]

The Euro has appreciated 25% versus the Yen in there years. The dollar has appreciated 58% versus the Yen in three years, or 116% more appreciation than the Euro. European VAT is around 19%, depending on the country, and is included in the published price. USA Sales Tax is between 8% and 11%, depending on the city and state where the item is purchased, is added to the published price at point of sale, and can be zero for certain internet sales.

That completely explains the price differential. It is simply a good time to be a buyer of Japanese product in Europe, and a better time to be a buyer Japanese products in America.

[Kath]

And even better if you buy in one of the five states that doesn't charge sales tax: Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Alaska, and Oregon. Here in Oregon, we pay for it with our high income taxes. But, we sure do make it nice for our visitors.

[biz-engineer]

The Euro has appreciated 25% versus the Yen in there years. The dollar has appreciated 58% versus the Yen in three years, or 116% more appreciation than the Euro.

If the Euro appreciated 25% vs Yen in three year (actually more than 35% in the last 5 years), how can it be that the price of a Japanese lens increased? (if the prices of goods where really defined based on exchange rates...)