[tripodquest]

For digital cameras there shouldn't be any import duties: (TARIC Measure Information)
For some reason the EU has decided that there is no internal digital camera market to protect. It's the VAT that gets you.

There is import duty on lenses though, which makes lenses from outside the EU even more uninteresting then cameras.

oh, cool. thank you. only problem is i've been reading that the customs officials in the EU don't necessarily work within the counfounds of EU laws (or any laws). I wouldn't import lenses anyway, just the body. but i read that anything above X euros gets taxed, just not sure if it's import taxes or vat. VAT on top of the B&H $1300 (if it's 19%, no idea what it really is since it can be anything) would bring the total to 1163 euros, which would be about 140 euros less than buying it here. but add $50 for shipping and it's not such a huge advantage anymore. I hope the competition gets so fierce someone has to lower prices at some point!

It's not worth it, especially if there's a problem. First, you get a two year warranty within the EU. I don't know what country you're in, but the typically lowest prices on Pentax are in NL and FR. The DE/AT/CH distributor is a disaster and when there are markdowns/promotions/rebates, they scam by making dealers raise the prices. I see this every single time they do the rebate programs- the formerly lower price gets raised ON THE FIRST DAY of the eligible rebate period to well beyond the rebate amount. Luckily, I used a brick and mortar sponsor of the German forum via a price-checking site, who was something nuts, like 130 Euros lower, plus I got the rebate. That was the last one at that price, so there might have been some lag before their new pricing took effect, but I was lucky and sniped it.

The only way I'd get it from the US like that is if I went there (which I frequently do). Then I'd look into buying an extended, worldwide warranty.

Also note that someone above said "EU Customs". There is no "EU Customs", per se. Each individual country in the EU and sometimes overlapping Schengen Area are charged with managing their own ports of entry. So you have to go to the customs office of the port it might come through (which is not always cut and dry, depending on where you are). Then your country's VAT is different and they also base things on the local pricing. It's more hassle than it's worth, really.

thank you for your detailed reply. I'm in Germany, what do you think I should do? wait? where should i look for deals for a k-3? warranty inside the EU is little help if you're not in the EU when you need it, so a worldwide warranty is better anyway. ricoh's germany site sells it for 1300 eur in the webstore so it's probably unlikely any other store would have it for cheaper? what about NL/FR?

[tripodquest]

In Denmark at least, they add 25% sales tax and customs on top of that. If you have it shipped without a customs declaration, you are fined with the double amount.

On the plus side then, I have three children and school is free all the way, including university tuition - so I can probably pay the extra camera expenses with some of what I save on that account?
(Right, I won't pursue that line of argument any further outside the off-topic forums! )

Thanks for your reply as well, this is a perfect example of the customs officials not working exactly within the laws, I doubt there is any law legalizing this "double taxation penalty". Correct me if I'm wrong, but seems a bit shady.

I assume you mean that as a monthly rent in the expensive suburbs. You wouldn't pay that out here where I live.

I haven't paid rent for over 40 years since we bought our first home for $15,000 - so I'm a bit out of touch with the rental market.

oh wow, $15,000 for a house? or an apartment? that's insanely cheap!! of course it was a long time ago but still, wow!

[MetteHHH]

Thanks for your reply as well, this is a perfect example of the customs officials not working exactly within the laws, I doubt there is any law legalizing this "double taxation penalty". Correct me if I'm wrong, but seems a bit shady.

You could very well be right, for all I know. I assumed it was a penalty for attempted smuggling, which I expect would be legal? But I'm a bit ignorant, when it comes to law and tax rules. I just know that since I was fined massively for the lovely 1.7x AF teleconverter that I bought here from the marketplace, I have been very cautious about buying stuff outside the EU. Luckily camera gear in the UK is also quite a bit cheaper than Danish prices, and that is within EU - so I buy most of my stuff from the UK these days.

[snake]

oh, cool. thank you. only problem is i've been reading that the customs officials in the EU don't necessarily work within the counfounds of EU laws (or any laws). I wouldn't import lenses anyway, just the body. but i read that anything above X euros gets taxed, just not sure if it's import taxes or vat. VAT on top of the B&H $1300 (if it's 19%, no idea what it really is since it can be anything) would bring the total to 1163 euros, which would be about 140 euros less than buying it here. but add $50 for shipping and it's not such a huge advantage anymore. I hope the competition gets so fierce someone has to lower prices at some point!

thank you for your detailed reply. I'm in Germany, what do you think I should do? wait? where should i look for deals for a k-3? warranty inside the EU is little help if you're not in the EU when you need it, so a worldwide warranty is better anyway. ricoh's germany site sells it for 1300 eur in the webstore so it's probably unlikely any other store would have it for cheaper? what about NL/FR?

Pentax Germany is a disaster, a I mentioned, and I don't support them at all. Any company that goes to camera shows without cameras, or doesn't return emails to buy stuff, while they are simultaneously playing on facebook, needs to be shut down. From the beginning, you won't get a good price anywhere, especially the Germanic countries. Businesses here are very, very cheap and that's why we always have to pay more than surrounding countries, even 1 Euro more. AC Photo in Aachen (I think) is very good. Where I bought my K-5 for like 650 or whatever after the rebate (have to check the price). Foka.NL in Rotterdam has good pricing, but it's tough to get a sale going in my experience because they seem disorganized when it comes to selling outside NL. I would have bought from them if it were not for the fact that I had to beg and wait like two weeks for an answer on how to transfer the money to their account. And the answer wasn't even satisfactory. Possibly could have had a better experience by calling, but for bank stuff, it's better to get such things as an invoice and other things, otherwise you're just transferring money into space, hoping they send you your order over a verbal agreement. Use Idealo.de (how I got my deal on the K-5), but the best advice is to wait and not be an early adopter. Prices will drop radically three months after release. Asking for deals now will not yield anything significant.

[tripodquest]

You could very well be right, for all I know. I assumed it was a penalty for attempted smuggling, which I expect would be legal? But I'm a bit ignorant, when it comes to law and tax rules. I just know that since I was fined massively for the lovely 1.7x AF teleconverter that I bought here from the marketplace, I have been very cautious about buying stuff outside the EU. Luckily camera gear in the UK is also quite a bit cheaper than Danish prices, and that is within EU - so I buy most of my stuff from the UK these days.

From what I hear, unless it's something like drugs the EU customs officials don't even communicate with the police and I'm not sure if they have the right to give "fines" but they do it anyway. I don't know much about the laws either but that's how I think it is. But I might be wrong.

[tripodquest]

Pentax Germany is a disaster, a I mentioned, and I don't support them at all. Any company that goes to camera shows without cameras, or doesn't return emails to buy stuff, while they are simultaneously playing on facebook, needs to be shut down. From the beginning, you won't get a good price anywhere, especially the Germanic countries. Businesses here are very, very cheap and that's why we always have to pay more than surrounding countries, even 1 Euro more. AC Photo in Aachen (I think) is very good. Where I bought my K-5 for like 650 or whatever after the rebate (have to check the price). Foka.NL in Rotterdam has good pricing, but it's tough to get a sale going in my experience because they seem disorganized when it comes to selling outside NL. I would have bought from them if it were not for the fact that I had to beg and wait like two weeks for an answer on how to transfer the money to their account. And the answer wasn't even satisfactory. Possibly could have had a better experience by calling, but for bank stuff, it's better to get such things as an invoice and other things, otherwise you're just transferring money into space, hoping they send you your order over a verbal agreement. Use Idealo.de (how I got my deal on the K-5), but the best advice is to wait and not be an early adopter. Prices will drop radically three months after release. Asking for deals now will not yield anything significant.

What, seriously? They should have brought in the employees from Japan. I have good experiences from NL, stuff usually costs a lot less there than in Germany. At least some stuff. I haven't looked for a Dutch camera business yet. Maybe I'll check Foka.NL out, thank you. Thank you also for your words of wisdom. I will wait.

[snake]

From what I hear, unless it's something like drugs the EU customs officials don't even communicate with the police and I'm not sure if they have the right to give "fines" but they do it anyway. I don't know much about the laws either but that's how I think it is. But I might be wrong.

Customs is its own police. They have lots of non-enforcement administrative workers, but tehy have their own police. In all EU and Schengen countries.

Don't go by what you hear. I've ordered stuff that was sent to customs for me to pick up and it was an armed Zoll officer that inspected the package while I opened it.

[tripodquest]

Customs is its own police. They have lots of non-enforcement administrative workers, but tehy have their own police. In all EU and Schengen countries.

Don't go by what you hear. I've ordered stuff that was sent to customs for me to pick up and it was an armed Zoll officer that inspected the package while I opened it.

I didn't say they don't carry weapons. I said they don't communicate with the "regular" police. Like I said, maybe I'm wrong, it's just what I've heard.

[JanG]

I bought a few lenses in the US a few years ago and let friends do the transport. The procedure was quite simple. You declare your photo equipment (cam, lenses, whatever) on a form and have to pay import VAT (Importmehrwertsteuer). So indeed there is no customs on photo items but you have to pay the VAT as anybody else in the EU/your country (the percentage of the VAT indeed varies within the EU). If you get your items by mail you will have to pick up your parcel at the local customs office and pay there. That's all.
This is the legal procedure.
In Germany that means you'd have to calculate the US price in Euro and multiply by 1.19 (19 % VAT). As the Euro currently is at 1.34 US$ and prices in US$ and Euro are more or less at the same level you gain about 15 % but have to pay for the shipping from it - plus: servicing could get expensive.
When I bought my two Sigma lenses the Euro was at about 1.5 US$ and I had friends transport the lenses in their luggage. It was a bargain. At the exchange rate of today and without somebody transporting the items I'd hardly do it. I'd rather pay the few extra Euros and get the option of full and easy service.

[tripodquest]

I bought a few lenses in the US a few years ago and let friends do the transport. The procedure was quite simple. You declare your photo equipment (cam, lenses, whatever) on a form and have to pay import VAT (Importmehrwertsteuer). So indeed there is no customs on photo items but you have to pay the VAT as anybody else in the EU/your country (the percentage of the VAT indeed varies within the EU). If you get your items by mail you will have to pick up your parcel at the local customs office and pay there. That's all.
This is the legal procedure.
In Germany that means you'd have to calculate the US price in Euro and multiply by 1.19 (19 % VAT). As the Euro currently is at 1.34 US$ and prices in US$ and Euro are more or less at the same level you gain about 15 % but have to pay for the shipping from it - plus: servicing could get expensive.
When I bought my two Sigma lenses the Euro was at about 1.5 US$ and I had friends transport the lenses in their luggage. It was a bargain. At the exchange rate of today and without somebody transporting the items I'd hardly do it. I'd rather pay the few extra Euros and get the option of full and easy service.

Thank you for your message. I will see if it's worth it. I will also wait 3 months and see if I can get it cheaper then. Maybe I can buy it somewhere else in person and avoid the shipping. By the way, are the "local" customs offices in Germany only in bigger cities like Munich, FF and Berlin or are there a lot of them closer to smaller places too?

[p38arover]

oh wow, $15,000 for a house? or an apartment? that's insanely cheap!! of course it was a long time ago but still, wow!

It was a house on a large suburban block of land. Recently, the same house (we sold it 30 years ago and moved here) sold for over $500,000.

In 1982 we paid $72,000 for this house and land (about 1km from our old house), it's now worth about $500,000, too. We are in an outer Sydney suburb, 60km from the city.

[tripodquest]

It was a house on a large suburban block of land. Recently, the same house (we sold it 30 years ago and moved here) sold for over $500,000.

In 1982 we paid $72,000 for this house and land (about 1km from our old house), it's now worth about $500,000, too. We are in an outer Sydney suburb, 60km from the city.

oh, no wonder then, with that location you can only expect the value to rise. lucky you!

[PeteL]

It`s not just the taxes, The last time i ordered something from the USA the courier charged £13 for collecting the tax! :-(

[snake]

Thank you for your message. I will see if it's worth it. I will also wait 3 months and see if I can get it cheaper then. Maybe I can buy it somewhere else in person and avoid the shipping. By the way, are the "local" customs offices in Germany only in bigger cities like Munich, FF and Berlin or are there a lot of them closer to smaller places too?

They are all over. Big cities, small cities. If you're in a village, it might be necessary to travel to the next largest city.

It's also not 100% based on the size of the city, rather whether it has a "Grossstadt" status ("major city") and where it is in relation to the ports and neighboring countries.

Zoll online - Startseite for more information.

Areas of large drug trade, human trafficking, border violations, smuggling, and foreign workers will see more customs resources devoted there.

[tripodquest]

They are all over. Big cities, small cities. If you're in a village, it might be necessary to travel to the next largest city.

It's also not 100% based on the size of the city, rather whether it has a "Grossstadt" status ("major city&quot and where it is in relation to the ports and neighboring countries.

Zoll online - Startseite for more information.

Areas of large drug trade, human trafficking, border violations, smuggling, and foreign workers will see more customs resources devoted there.

Okay, thanks.

It`s not just the taxes, The last time i ordered something from the USA the courier charged £13 for collecting the tax! :-(

Sorry to hear that.