Just noticed this free shipping offer, which they say is for celebrating Australia Day. Free shipping is always good when you can get it :-)

Promotional landing page:

Australian Savings Day 2016

[Sandy Hancock]

There is a warranty if you buy from B&H, you just need to ship it back to the US for it to be honoured.

I learned the hard way when the card reader in my K-S1 died. The logistics of getting it back to Precision Camera in Connecticut for assessment was prohibitive, and the eventual local repair bill was not much less than the current market value of the camera.

[Luke.]

Okay that makes sense thanks heaps Mate

I've been wanting a DA* 50-135 for to long and i finally have the money together

B&H have it for $1000AUD and C.R have it at $1300AUD And so with this sale i thought i might take advantage.

Is this saving worth the risk? Or did it cost you a few hundred in the end to get it there and fixed?

Good advice thanks Sandy

Appreciated

[Des]

There is a warranty if you buy from B&H, you just need to ship it back to the US for it to be honoured.

Well, yes and no.

B&H allow for returns within 30 days of purchase, subject to conditions: Return & Exchange Policy | B&H Photo Video

But B&H generally do not offer any warranty themselves. You only get the manufacturer's warranty: Product Warranties & Repairs | B&H Photo Video

So what does Ricoh USA offer? Well I can't find anything on their website. But Steve said above,

the US warranty is limited to product purchased from authorized dealers within the U.S. and where the item is in the US at the time of claim.

The solution seems to be to obtain an international warranty card. See here for details: Camera Repair by CRIS Camera Services - Pentax Camera Repair

Of course you will still bear the cost of shipping the lens back to the US for service if something goes wrong. The Australia Post rates are here: https://auspost.com.au/parcels-mail/calculate-postage-delivery-times/#/optio...national/AU/US You would need to factor in insurance and possibly return mail.

Sandy's experience about the cost and logistics of this (post #16) is sobering (or maybe it would drive one to dip into his wine collection).

As Sandy says, things like tripods and bags (and Mark's "carbon fibre sticks") are low risk. Lenses, particularly SDM ones, are more risky.

Is it worth this risk to save $300? Your call. Actually it may be less than $300, because here it is for $1219 + $15 shipping from an Australian retailer, with a C R Kennedy warranty: Pentax DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 ED AL [IF] SDM | Camera-Warehouse

Personally I'd take up the suggestion from hcc and see whether C R Kennedy (or an Australian retailer) will price-match (or at least go close).

[Luke.]

I love this place!

Thanks Des

Great info

My only question then would be; Would the Camera Warehouse copy be new stock?

Their return policy has a note that seems to mention lenses specifically which seems to give them an option to not accept return on a lens. Not that i would return it unless there was a genuine reason which i assume they would accept.

I guess what i'm trying to ask is,

Would you have any hesitation in buying it from them? Or would you go C.R Kennedy? Like anyone else i'd like to get an as current a copy as possible an also not one that has been a return!

[kreuzn]

I'm actually not sure what the warranty situation is. I bought the lens from B&H, because my quick online search for the same lens from Australian retailers brought me zero results. None of the usual places I shop had it.
I buy all my camera related items online - in fact the majority of my purchases are made online. I live in a rural town, there hasn't been a camera shop here for years, and when they were here they didn't stock much anyway. Granted, this is the first new lens I've purchased from an American store, but when I can't get what I want what choice am I left with?
The other problem is when the prices of Australian available items are so high, it's little wonder people turn to overseas options.
I used to work with a company who used CR Kennedy as a supplier (not photography products), and I never had a positive interaction with the, nor did my fellow employees. So whilst I could have called them to see if they had the lens I bought, I'm not inclined to spend my money with them.
My brother bought a new Pentax body & 2 lenses two years ago from B&H & has had no issues with the equipment.
I haven't actually answered your question, but wanted to give you my perspective as to why I shopped with B&H

---------- Post added 01-27-16 at 05:09 PM ----------

And I've just read the above posts on the warranty situation. Sorry, I missed those replies.

I still feel comfortable with my purchase, I guess time will tell if my comfort is valid or not.

[Des]

My only question then would be; Would the Camera Warehouse copy be new stock?

Yes. That is what you are paying for. If they supplied a lens that was not new you could demand a refund or a new lens.

If in doubt get written confirmation first.

Would you have any hesitation in buying it from them?

No. But then I have no experience with them.

I took advantage of it to. Bought myself a 55-300 zoom. Have been looking since before Christmas, was umming & ahing about what to buy. The price is good, even once converted to Oz dollars & the free postage sealed the deal. Now to wait for it.... :-)

I still feel comfortable with my purchase, I guess time will tell if my comfort is valid or not.

Don't sweat it too much. If it was $US269, ie about $A380 at present, it's a good deal. It's a pretty low risk lens. SDM is another story.

my quick online search for the same lens from Australian retailers brought me zero results. None of the usual places I shop had it.

Just a general tip. For price comparison, try www.staticice.com.au It often does better than other online tools.

[Luke.]

Righto Des Thanks Mate

I guess i just meant the turnover rate of this lens at B&H would have to be far greater then that at C.R let alone at Camera Warehouse so would assume a copy from B&H would be as new as it gets... Again me probably being finicky! I'm sure a copy from C.R would have to be as current as B&H.

Thanks kreuzn. Some good extra info there to confuse me more ;-) Just kidding Mate i appreciate the input.

I'm just trying to get the best deal and get educated before this purchase as its taken a long time to save and i don't want to make the wrong choice especially when SDM is involved and i've been really ignorant about the whole warranty thing with buying from the US.

Thanks guys

---

Last edited by Luke.; 01-27-2016 at 02:37 AM.

[p38arover]

Sandy's experience about the cost and logistics of this (post #16) is sobering (or maybe it would drive one to dip into his wine collection).

I'm always happy to dip into Sandy's wine collection.

[Sandy Hancock]

I'm always happy to dip into Sandy's wine collection.

Well you have certainly dipped into my lens collection
If any of you are in Adelaide drop me a line: mi casa su casa,

[stevebrot]

The solution seems to be to obtain an international warranty card. See here for details: Camera Repair by CRIS Camera Services - Pentax Camera Repair

Of course you will still bear the cost of shipping the lens back to the US for service if something goes wrong.

I am not sure that the CRIS link reflects current policy. They have not been the Pentax warranty service center for a couple of years (page is out of date). The current version of the Ricoh Imaging USA Web site does not (yet) include a section on warranty service. Several months ago the matter of international purchases was the subject of an extended thread on this site. At that time the old US Web site was still up and the option of an international warranty card was no longer available.


Steve

[Des]

Several months ago the matter of international purchases was the subject of an extended thread on this site.

This? https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/58-troubleshooting-beginner-help/304163-p...-question.html

Very helpful Steve.

[stevebrot]

This? https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/58-troubleshooting-beginner-help/304163-p...-question.html

Very helpful Steve.

Yes, that would be the one. I had forgotten my contributions to that thread, otherwise I would simply have posted the link. Thanks for doing the work


Steve

[p38arover]

Well you have certainly dipped into my lens collection
If any of you are in Adelaide drop me a line: mi casa su casa,

Got any more?

[GodsPetMonkey]

Okay that makes sense thanks heaps Mate

I've been wanting a DA* 50-135 for to long and i finally have the money together

B&H have it for $1000AUD and C.R have it at $1300AUD And so with this sale i thought i might take advantage.

Is this saving worth the risk? Or did it cost you a few hundred in the end to get it there and fixed.

Plenty of good advice already, but my 2c...

Past experience with B&H has been good, if the item is DOA (including a bad copy of the lens) they are pretty hassle free, though return shipping will eat into your savings. That's the main gamble. After that (your 30 days), consider yourself on your own - IMHO shipping back for normal warranty is unlikely to be worth it for most things. On grey imports CRK will do out-of-warranty servicing, but you have to pay for that (seen this on Sigma products).

Local purchases come with local warranty (always make sure that you are buying AU stock, there are a few camera stores here that sell grey imports of their own), which is the major plus, and a lot of Pentax gear is pretty well priced (better then Nikon/Canon!). Given an import over $1000AUD will attract 10% GST plus processing fees (~$40 from memory) you'll probably only save about $150 - hardly worth the effort given known SDM issues.

If it helps, my recent warranty episode with CRK was positive. I'd bought a DA 16-85mm lens with my new K3II, but didn't get to play with it for a few weeks. When I did, I wasn't happy with it (turns out it was moderately decentered). I took it back to the retailer (storefont was here in Brisbane), they said they would need to send it back for a service under warranty but would give CRK a call first. CRK instructed them to just swap it out with another copy and they would take care of the rest, so I was very happy with that (the second copy is much better!).

[Sandy Hancock]

Got any more?

No lenses for sale at the moment, but good wine is on me