[Wild Mark]

I have bought from Japan (lots) and UK (a little) and my experience has been chalk and cheese. Japan is awesome. UK .... (I want to use expletives but cannot).

I find UK sellers way over estimate condition - materially so!!!

[Blacknight659]

Just want to put this out there as a question/observation.

Many of us have purchased used items from Japan. The consensus is they apologize for imperfections we would probably dismiss otherwise. In our eyes the lens(or item) is in "perfect" condition.

Could it be that the Japanese culture places a premium on perfection, making a wonderful buying experience for those of us with a higher tolerance for flaws?

[blan01]

I never had any problem with item from Japan, they grade camera and lens very carefully.
In fact, as long as shipping charge is reasonable, I actually prefer a Japanese seller.

[redrockcoulee]

I've ordered from Japan via Ebay and Amazon several times, and each time the item was as described or better. Shipping was prompt, and if a particular shipping option would take a while, that was noted. In almost every case, the item shipped arrived on time or a bit earlier than I expected. I ordered twice from the UK, and have gotten good product and service. Same with Germany. The times I've had problems wit Ebay sellers are fellow US sellers, and that is rare. I ordered once from Canada, the product was good, shipping was fast. But customs was bad. The customs tax itself was not too bad. The local UPS charged me $40 to drive it two miles from the airport Port of Entry to my house. So I've looked at certain items from Canada longingly, but no longer bid or buy. Just don't know what the final price will be.

---------- Post added 01-16-17 at 07:16 PM ----------



Wasn't aware of that. But even shipping inside the US seems higher to me sometimes than it should be. The items I've ordered from the UK have had very reasonable shipping charges. I'd say that is true of most everything I've ordered from outside the US.

I try to have anything I but from the States shipped by USPS as the couriers charge so much even to not collect any taxes. I would buy more often from B&H for example but find it almost cheaper to drive to Montana and spend the weekend then have it shipped to my home.

[iGlad]

live in the UK I never buy big price items from Japan or USA as the import duties and VAT will probably add half the price of the item to the total selling price. I do buy lots of small items from China without any problems but the delivery times can be very slow. Also the pound has fallen through the floor against the dollar so that's another reason not to purchase from USA.

[jgnfld]

I've ordered from Japan via Ebay and Amazon several times, and each time the item was as described or better. Shipping was prompt, and if a particular shipping option would take a while, that was noted. In almost every case, the item shipped arrived on time or a bit earlier than I expected. I ordered twice from the UK, and have gotten good product and service. Same with Germany. The times I've had problems wit Ebay sellers are fellow US sellers, and that is rare. I ordered once from Canada, the product was good, shipping was fast. But customs was bad. The customs tax itself was not too bad. The local UPS charged me $40 to drive it two miles from the airport Port of Entry to my house. So I've looked at certain items from Canada longingly, but no longer bid or buy. Just don't know what the final price will be.

---------- Post added 01-16-17 at 07:16 PM ----------



Wasn't aware of that. But even shipping inside the US seems higher to me sometimes than it should be. The items I've ordered from the UK have had very reasonable shipping charges. I'd say that is true of most everything I've ordered from outside the US.

The best shipping option to avoid brokerage fees is USPS. I ship to and from Canada and usually go that route.

If you need overnight express: Avoid UPS like the plague coming into Canada, at least, as they slap "brokerage fees" that are outlandish. Fedex usually is OK. Post Office again doesn't usually charge any extra fees.

[rgknief60]

I try to have anything I but from the States shipped by USPS

The best shipping option to avoid brokerage fees is USPS.

Thanks redrockcoulee and jgnfld for the heads up. For Canada purchases I will ask the shipper to use USPS in the future.