[goddo31]

Did have you mean

I just picked up their last one an hour ago....

$1699 and they paid me $700 for my K7.....also its now my new camera shop. as they have great stock..great attitude and Im sucked in...LOL

they checked in store if the sensor was stained with a sensor scope

I rang CRK first..told them of all the problems about the K5 that ive read here..they told me if I have a issue they will sort it out with a new body....

Excellent!
That's nice of them to check the sensor too. As you may have read, at least one of the big NYC stores is not willing to do just that... However their volume would undoubtably be much higher.
Anyway, it's also good to hear that CRK is on the ball.

---

Last edited by goddo31; 12-22-2010 at 10:47 PM.

[eaglem]

I was just talking to a mate of mine at CRK in Perth and a shipment just arrived which should cover all the back orders for now and another shipment is due in early January from which I'll get mine. He also said out of the 30 to 40 K-5's they've sold in WA only one had a stained sensor problem which is quite good. In the meantime I'm preparing for getting the K-5 in buying all the accessories I need to go with it, ie camera bag, spare batteries and charger etc.

[ozlizard]

Yawn. Please refrain from baiting with this only-half-the-story type rubbish. I'm sure people who read this forum are not all 13 years old klooless impressionable kiddies and would very much appreciate any useful, complete information instead from you on this sensitive and always important to them subject. Thank you

I don't know what the hell you are going on about mate. It was just a heads up about a newly posted price. I bought my K20 from DWI and had no problems. There is a very lengthy thread on Whirlpool regarding DWI. You pay a lot less for a grey import and it's up to the individual if they are prepared to take the "risk". BTW you can also get a Mack warranty to cover that. Delivery charges are not hidden on the site so I really don't know what the hell you are raving on about.

PS No GST or other charges are applied when the goods are imported into Australia.

[goddo31]

I don't know what the hell you are going on about mate. It was just a heads up about a newly posted price. I bought my K20 from DWI and had no problems. There is a very lengthy thread on Whirlpool regarding DWI. You pay a lot less for a grey import and it's up to the individual if they are prepared to take the "risk". BTW you can also get a Mack warranty to cover that. Delivery charges are not hidden on the site so I really don't know what the hell you are raving on about.

PS No GST or other charges are applied when the goods are imported into Australia.

I think what Hypocorism is saying is that DWI expect you to pay customs fees ontop of the advertised price, if customs fees are applicable. From what I gather DWI ships directly to you from a warehouse/location that is outside Australia. Which means that if it's over $1000 in value duty may be added. The end result is that DWI is actually advertising a misleading price in some instances, which is against the law according to the ACCC.

However I guess in your case with the K20, no customs duty was applied so there were no additional charges...

[ozlizard]

However I guess in your case with the K20, no customs duty was applied so there were no additional charges

I suggest you read the thread on the Whirlpool forum. I havn't heard of anyone having to pay Custom duites or any other charges, regardless of the price.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1568503

[campdog]

Personally, I'm happy to bide my time and wait it out. My 20D works just fine and while I would LOVE to have a K5 in my hands right now, I'm pragmatic enough to realise it might take some time, and a few weeks now are going to be insignificant compared to the time I'm going to spend shooting with it when I get it.

Me too Paul. Ive had my K10 Limited for 3 years today and still love it.With the FA*28-70mm & FA*80-200 lenses I dont mind waiting. Definetly going to buy a K5 before going to the US next May.
John

[RichardS]

I am in a similar situation.
I ordered my K-5 and DA 18-135 kit from Ryda on 2nd November just after the kit prices were announced. I received an email from them on 3rd November stating estimated availability would be 8-14 days.
On 18th November i called Ryda , they told me the new date would be another 10 days.
On 29th November I emailed CRK. Their reply said delivery next week.
On 10th December I emailed CRK again . Their reply to this one was Ryda would probably have stock next week or certainly the following week.
Well we are now over half way through "the following week" and still no camera.

I am seriously doubting that I will have it before Christmas.

Peter

I really hope that you get it before Christmas, but even if you don't, it's well worth waiting for.

I have two little stories to tell. Read into them what you will.

A few months ago I ordered a Metz 48 AF-1 flash from Ryda.

The 50 AF-1 had just been announced, but I needed a flash in a hurry and the 50 AF-1 wasn't going to become available in time and, anyway, I'd sort of decided that the 48 AF-1 was what I wanted, but I was waiting for my birthday to press the trigger. The website indicated that it wasn't in stock, but that it would be available soon. I tried all the Australian web sites plus B7H and Adorama and none of them had it in stock. I phoned Ryda to see how soon and they said something like 2 to 7 days. I ordered. A week later my order status hadn't changed, so I phoned again. Still on order. One more week and I'm getting desperate. I phoned again and asked the Ryda guy to check with the importer. No change. I canceled the order and decided to try for any flash that would work off-camera with P-TTL. There was a guy in Israel with an e-Bay store who was selling 48 AF-1 (Pentax) at around $100 less than Ryda. It arrived 5 or 6 days later.

Many years ago I was reading a novel by Evan Hunter in his Ed McBain alter ego. It was one of his earlier 87th precinct novels, "Ten Plus One", where a sniper is killing seemingly unrelated people. One of the victims is a fruiterer and, just before he is killed, he's discussing the price of his apricots with a customer. She says that the guy up the road has them at half the price. He asks her why she doesn't buy them from the guy up the road. She explains that he hasn't got any in stock at the moment. The fruiterer is just explaining that you can sell things at any price you like if you haven't got them in stock when the bullet arrived. If he'd lived longer he might have been able to give us a few words of wisdom on the varying prices for K5s.

Richard.

[goddo31]

I suggest you read the thread on the Whirlpool forum. I havn't heard of anyone having to pay Custom duites or any other charges, regardless of the price.

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1568503

I had a look earlier and I see your point, as they seem to have really good feedback from the users on WP.
But check this out, from the first page of that thread:

Customs stopped my 70-300 and 18-105, I had to send them a copy of the receipt to get them cleared.
The more word gets out about DWI issuing dodgy receipts to assist with tax evasion, the more likely that Customs is going to look closer into packages being sent by them.
Eventually, these guys are going to get shut down – which is good news for all the other parallel importers who are doing the right thing.
Yes indeed.
And the more people who blab about it on here and say they paid $X but it was only receipted for less than $X, doesn't help.

and:
I've just (received Tues arvo) bought a Canon 7D, a Canon 50mm f1.4 lens and a Sigma 24-70mm f2.8 Macro lens from them.
Did Customs pick up on your order and make you pay GST and fees?
No! They had the total price at $978!! I "paid" them $191 for the 7D body. LOL! I really appreciated that. I saved around $290 in GST.

[Tommot1965]

I was just talking to a mate of mine at CRK in Perth and a shipment just arrived which should cover all the back orders for now and another shipment is due in early January from which I'll get mine. He also said out of the 30 to 40 K-5's they've sold in WA only one had a stained sensor problem which is quite good. In the meantime I'm preparing for getting the K-5 in buying all the accessories I need to go with it, ie camera bag, spare batteries and charger etc.

yep that's what the geezer said to me too...{CRK geezer}

he also said 400 K5 have been sold australia wide...

[Hypocorism]

Good point Hypocorism and thank you for the link to the ACCC.
Reading through the subheadings Was-now advertising, strike-through pricing and comparisons with RRP; I have to wonder how many sellers actually breach this.
...

Should we inform the ACCC about DWI in this case? I have to wonder if they are an Australian registered business.
...

If you are going to be hit with customs AND the item from DWI ships internationally anyway (implied by $50-70 freight fee), you might aswell just order from the NYC stores...

I think when I am ready to get a K5 I will try and buy it locally. Maybe.

p.s. shall I just call you "R" ?

Hehe, yep I realise ozlizard might get the rags on over what I posted, but real Oz-Lizards are bloody friendly buggers and don't take things the wrong way and we all know they mean well.

True, a lot of businesses try to "conveniently forget" GST on the label but happily mostly only small ones pull that these days. It's bloody disappointing though when "Faux Oz Players" like DWI who shift big-ticket items play that way, and deliberately for suck-in advantage.

Caveat Emptor is NO acceptable excuse on their part. Why do I say that?

Well it's no secret DWI is a grey, fair enough no probs there; but, regarding are they Australian based or not? Well, what can the innocent Fred Nerk determine from facts such as these (Btw the ACCC tries to look at these things through the 'average mums n dads' consumers eyes too, which they should);

- DWI prominently displays (read: solicits by) 4 Aust Landline numbers (diff states). Psst and... let's not ass-u-me that DWI have 4 paid bums on seats in diff states just at the beck & call of poor little guy you and me, they could be 'Aussie' voices from f..in' Bangalore and cleverly redirected over VoIP! Oops, so much for modern i-comms technology.

- You access their online website via a .com.au domain (as we all know you have to be a regd Oz business to get one of those), it clearly gives AUD prices and portends to be true blue, real we'll look after you "mates" type, in fact just about everything except the obligatory kangaroo!;

- But back to being grey;
1. CRK won't have a bar of supporting any camera not originated through their exclusive Pentax Au dealership, and;
2. OK, some might say; DWI gives "their own" warranty, sure they do. But how good is that for Fred Nerk who cops a crook K-5 sensor, and needs to get their AUD1700ish? toy rectified, properly to Pentax standards, and expediently? As good as "genuine" warranty would provide, no questions allowed!

- And is it reasonable to trust a business who openly flaunts Au trading/advertising laws?
You be the judge, don't believe what I say and can I urge you be suspicious of others who might come forth with "Myself/friend of a friend got away with it, so nuffin to worry about, I had no probs with my DWI cam, it's cool." stories too?
Guess where it's MOST likely that customs will be instructed to up their anti and random check many many more parcels coming in when obviously over the 1,000 bucks? And they are NOT stupid nor ignorant of what 'undervalue declaring etc tricks' goes on.
(for those wanting to ignore that there's a high pressure on the Govt to change rules re this enquiry - past experiences always count for Sweet FA! kids.)

Yes, if I were doing the sums and o/s sourcing a body (for myself), I'd feel more comfortable with a credible US mob like B&H or Adorama. YMMV.
Although I have at times seriously considered DWI for some things... either DealX, fleeBay or someone else similar won out.

You raise the matter of, if to 'dob in' DWI. Fair Q btw. (and I suppose we should include others like CitiWide etc., in this too), that's always a personal decision of course, depending on how one views ethics matters, depth of social conscience biting, whatever.
But on that let's never forget that the ACCC is there and batting for us, open to every citizen to voice their queries or complaints to them, which they DO follow up and will take action (if valid) as per their findings and do make rulings too.
That's my experience anyway, and I have another big Corp in sight for bitching about now (soon), which I'm sure isn't fair playing on certain advt'ing of hot-specials and deserves to be "reprogrammed", else rapped on the knuckles if stubborn, mainly on social equity (discrimination against disadvantaged buyers) grounds.

I always like to grab a deal like the next guy; Otoh quickly get the shits when a trader is over-the-top and could easily suck me in and leave me hang out to dry, as well as others who might unlucky to be as dumb as me. Money's just too bloody hard to save up for us plebs I reckon.

Really feel for the poor buggers here in limbo too with K-5 orders from Ryda, but at least Ryda is a CRK/Pentax authorised dealer so they're fairly safe - plus the greedy bastards got a decent discount... Hah, so let's lump it on them anyway.
And CRK/Pentax does have a genuine excuse for tardy deliveries of that camera too.

To sum up another of my boring exercises in mindless rhetoric: A few last comments (read: only MY opinions), about buying grey cameras;

1. Current Oz law means we can personal import UP to AUD1,000 inclusive and escape GST and related duties, so based on that, as well as prudence;
(Oops sorry, I neglected to provide the important full info refs where poss. -added 2010-12-24)
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5549.asp
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5653.asp

2. Importing DSLR bodies, the general peer consensus seems to be (and I personally tend to agree Fwiw) that it's fairly safe to snap up a good sub 1,000 (incl del), like say a K-x - proven qlty camera, no known or pending issues, not big $$ at stake, so OK to run the gauntlet.
But.. esp for over 1,000 total gear, only take chance rarely and then only if the saving is too much to resist, and you're comfortable with the alien warranty T&C offered.
(Personally I'd be shitting bricks at the mere thought of ordering a K-5 from o/s or grey, incl greyBay at any price, all things considered.)

3. Lenses on the other hand, usually get the thumbs up for personal o/s acquisition, in part because they're considered less susceptible to needing warranty claims, and/or worldwide warranties are available in some cases from mfgr, others by third party.

(for more on all this, also see WP et al forums for useful peer talk on the goods v bads.)

OK the sig: you or anyone can feel free to call me anything you want to, so long as you don't spare the adjectives, however crude or cutting. And the .R. ? it only stands for Ron (in a dotted way), a parental choice, so don't blame me!

.R.

[ozlizard]

Which is why I stated that I would probably get my K5 from somewhere like Ryda. Although I have no problems buying from DWI, I would not personally risk it for a + $1500 purchase.

[RichardS]

<snip> Lots of good stuff </snip>

.R.

Wot he sed.

Richard.

[Tommot1965]

Which is why I stated that I would probably get my K5 from somewhere like Ryda. Although I have no problems buying from DWI, I would not personally risk it for a + $1500 purchase.

given the K5's track record so far in the QC area...i wanted to buy one at a local {perth } store front..and feel confident that Id be sorted if the shit hit the fan...with the shop i used..I do feel confident...id hesitate about a Internet deal on the K5,,purely on the QC issues,

be a pain in the arse dealing with DWI or ryda I reckon

Id rather have the peace of mind and spend the extra $170 ..after all its only two cartons and a chinese take away .....plus I have mine at home Now..and playing with it as I type...LOL

[goddo31]

given the K5's track record so far in the QC area...i wanted to buy one at a local {perth } store front..and feel confident that Id be sorted if the shit hit the fan...with the shop i used..I do feel confident...id hesitate about a Internet deal on the K5,,purely on the QC issues,

be a pain in the arse dealing with DWI or ryda I reckon

Id rather have the peace of mind and spend the extra $170 ..after all its only two cartons and a chinese take away .....plus I have mine at home Now..and playing with it as I type...LOL

Damn that's some expensive beer.... Although I guess all beer is pretty darn expensive in WA/Australia. Have you travelled much and seen the comparitive price differences? :ugh: Even our Kiwi mates seem to get good stuff much cheaper.

Anyway, have fun with the K-5. Can I persuade you to attend our proposed WA pentaxians meetup in Jan 2011? On a serious note, we are thinking of going to Motorvation in Kwinana for cars/motorsport/people/action shooting. Any and all welcome to join.

cheers,
Jason

[Tommot1965]

LMAO

i only drink the best normaly with a poncey lemon in it ....and yep I could be in a trip out with me camera..be nice to swap some advice and meet a few blokes

EDIT

OT alert..LOL

yep Ive travelled a bit..and yes we get stung in WA hard.....most of my pomy mates who come over , cant believe how expensive thing are here now...