[Frogfish]

Guys n gals maybe you can give some advice here. I am playing around with the idea of putting together a value pack of items that I can pick up at great prices in China (from my local photography mall in many instances) and that would provide great value for money for a lot of people.

It's only really worth my while doing this as a package though, as Chinese overseas postage rates can be exorbitantly high ..... more than the UK for example.

I would want around 15 - 20 items in the Value Pack, including such as :

Single camera strap - (Chinese equivalent of Black Rapid) (if preferred then a double camera strap could be included for a small extra ... or two singles).

WB Lense Cap (s) - slips on in place of your lense cap (different sizes available, 49mm up to 77mm) to enable you to set a very accurate WB in camera for difficult scenes.

5 way mini Reflector - folds down, weighs nothing and would easily fit in a large purse, bag or back-pack.

Rocket (type) blower & Lens Pen (two ended, brush and cleaning tip).

Softbox for pop-up flash.

Remote Control - cable or IR

Generic Metal Hoods (petal or wide) - for 49mm or 52mm or another popular size.

Soft lense bags (S,M,L)

Pop-up Flash cloth diffuser (fits in your pocket - I carry one everywhere).

Flexible legs tripod - similar to the one you already know, for wrapping around things ! In three sizes !

Mini-Torch - powerful yet tiny.

Wireless flash triggers

Wireless flash controllers

Water-resistent camera covers (some Pentax users smiling here - but what about using your non-water-resistent lenses too ) ?

Extension tubes

and other bits and pieces that you always mean to buy but either never get around to it or they seem expensive for what they are.

Postage to Eur / Aus / USA

... and maybe an interesting novelty item or two like a Simalens 100/2 (flexible plastic lens - I have one on order to try this out first - comes in various mounts), has a 45 degree flexible head with slip-in aperture 'disks' for a toy camera look.

It would be around US$150 including postage (and of course a little profit !) and could be tailored to Pentax, Nikon or Canon shooters.

Can you think of anything else that all shooters need that should be in there (can't be heavy or bulky) and what do you think of the idea ? Could be a nice gift idea ? I'm really interested to hear if it's something you think some people - even if not you - would be interested in.

Thanks for ANY comments !

[Ira]

I think it's a really good idea, but not some of those items. And how can you offer extension tubes with all the different mounts?

I think you should include a Cokin type clone filter holder with a few hood modules, a circular polarizer, and like 5 holder rings of various sizes. One of the first things most shooters learn that they need is a polarizer, and right away, your package holds appeal.

You should do a poll here that lists all of the items you're thinking about, and we can vote yes or no. I don't know how to do a poll like this myself, but maybe if you send a private message to a mod, they can help you.

Good luck! If you offer a good package at good value, plenty of us will throw business your way--if it's allowed here. The concept makes total sense, because no one is offering anything like this nowadays, and you can indeed offer significant savings as opposed to someone buying all of these things separately.

[Ash]

Gift packs are always a good idea. Probably suited more to the newbie just starting out as many of the items may already be owned (or unwanted) by an existing enthusiast. Sensor cleaner kit (not just blower) may be an idea, including the stick applicator.

[clockwork247]

if you're trying to do a group buy, it's best to do it within your country since shipping from china to you + shipping to another country overseas will add up the costs FAST.

[Frogfish]

Thanks Ira !

Extension tubes - no problem, I can easily get them in virtually any mount so if I choose just three (Pentax, Canon, Nikon) then that's not too much stock on hand and easily re-stocked.

Filter set sounds good - but may be expensive (Cokin widely sold here), I'll have to check that one out.

Sensor Kit - another one to look into !

Thanks Ash - what I'm trying to do is put together a package where people will look at it and think 'even if I don't need 5 of those items it's still good value for money and maybe I can easily sell off the items I don't want ... thereby recovering a little of the expenditure and making the package even better value' !

Thanks for commenting Clockwork. But actually as you can see I live in Shanghai so it's only the initial postage costs that I have to worry about.

[hoanpham]

Great. I m a kind of flash/strobist addicted. Can't get enough of: WB cap, lightweight soft-boxes/foldable soft-boxes for external flash, flash gels, light modifiers, vecro tapes, and more flash units...

[clockwork247]

Thanks Ira !

Extension tubes - no problem, I can easily get them in virtually any mount so if I choose just three (Pentax, Canon, Nikon) then that's not too much stock on hand and easily re-stocked.

Filter set sounds good - but may be expensive (Cokin widely sold here), I'll have to check that one out.

Sensor Kit - another one to look into !

Thanks Ash - what I'm trying to do is put together a package where people will look at it and think 'even if I don't need 5 of those items it's still good value for money and maybe I can easily sell off the items I don't want ... thereby recovering a little of the expenditure and making the package even better value' !

Thanks for commenting Clockwork. But actually as you can see I live in Shanghai so it's only the initial postage costs that I have to worry about.

oh, didn't notice that there, then yes, that would work, cut out ebay costs/fees, should be good for both parties. If you want to do some sort of investing, I think you'll sell quite a bit doing singular items like chinese ebay seller, i've seen people on audio forums do it before and they're not even from china .

[lavascript]

I would like to see different package options. For instance, like hoanpham, I'd like to see some stuff for off-camera flash folks, but a lot of people don't even own any external flash units, so that would be a lot of wasted accessories. I don't mean 20 different packages, but maybe a couple. One for landscape shooters, one for portrait shooters, one for all-around? I dunno, just a thought.

[Frogfish]

I like Lavascript's idea. 2 or 3 different packages (x 3 brands = 6 to 9 packages) !

It has to be a package of goodies as postage costs are too high otherwise.

[Gashog]

That's really kool of you to offer. Thanks man. I'd be down for a group purchase. Keep us posted. I'm Nikon tho.

[Frogfish]

Gashog - I'll do it for Pentax, Canon & Nikon after the Chinese New Year (around end of Feb.) - so you won't miss out