Buying a camera, local store vs. from overseas?

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Andre-SC

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Hi

Given the strong rand, is it worth organising someone to buy the object of ones desire over seas? What are the warranty implications?

I'm looking at the D7000 with 18-200 kit lens; there's a difference of about 3K in prices between local shops, best coming in at just under 20K. With the strong it looks as if one might be able to get the same from the US for about 17K, but are there hidden pitfalls to doing this?

tx.
 
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If you're importing dont forget shipping as well as vat and duties (where applicable).

The warranty won't be valid here in SA so if something goes wrong you'll have to send it to the US or pay locally for the repairs. That said I've bought three of my four cameras overseas and none of them have needed it.
 
Thanks. Some googling seems to indicate that anything > R3k is subject to Vat and customs duty, but not how much the customs duty is. Any idea?
 
Actually depending on the warrente hey.. Because some companies (Like Apple) has an international warrenties.. And also, if you're not worried about the warrentee that it provides, so shop (Overseas) sell products that doesn't have a warrentee at a LOWER price that what you would normally get..

My friends parents went overseas and they got 3 camera (2-3 years ago..) And it's still working hey..
 
AFAIK canon lenses carry an international guarantee but bodies only local.
 
I recently bought a Kindle DX from amazon
was the US price -> rand price * 1.21
it the addition of vat @ 14% and customs duty @ 7%
stricly speaking it can/should be US price -> rand price * 1.14 * 1.07 = rand price *1.2198
I am not sure which method they followed due to the problem of bid/offer spreads on rand/dollar exchanges (u know where u pay more when u buy a dollar with rands than when u sell a dollar back for your rand)
 
Riot2 said:
I recently bought a Kindle DX from amazon
was the US price -> rand price * 1.21
it the addition of vat @ 14% and customs duty @ 7%
stricly speaking it can/should be US price -> rand price * 1.14 * 1.07 = rand price *1.2198
I am not sure which method they followed due to the problem of bid/offer spreads on rand/dollar exchanges (u know where u pay more when u buy a dollar with rands than when u sell a dollar back for your rand)
Click to expand...
Lenses don't incur duties - something for the OP to keep in mind.
 
For lenses: VAT is calculated at 110% of rand price and as rightly pointed out, no duties. Therefore the formula for landed cost will look like:

(rand price * 1.154) + shipping + (~R150 handling)
 
SubliminalThought said:
For lenses: VAT is calculated at 110% of rand price and as rightly pointed out, no duties. Therefore the formula for landed cost will look like:

(rand price * 1.154) + shipping + (~R150 handling)
Click to expand...
When there are duties they are calculated on 115% of the Rand price. Then VAT is calculated on 110% of that total.

Andre-SC said:
Thanks. Some googling seems to indicate that anything > R3k is subject to Vat and customs duty, but not how much the customs duty is. Any idea?
Click to expand...
Duties and VAT are payable on any value for an item that is not a gift, and in the case of gifts over R400 (last I checked - about time they increased this since it has been the same for over a decade). That R3000 might be the limit when going through customs at the airport (as I recall they give you a duty-free limit when returning to South Africa).

kaisterkai said:
Because some companies (Like Apple) has an international warrenties.
Click to expand...
Unless things have changed that is restricted to laptops.
 
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