[shuttertalk]

With our currency doing strongly against the US, I'm wondering whether any Aussies here have been taking advantage of that and purchasing from the US? For some reason, our Australian goods tend to be overpriced, even factoring in currency conversion. For example, a 17" Apple Macbook Pro from the US apple store is priced at $2,799.00 USD, while the Australian counterpart is going for $ 3,799.00 AUD. Given the exchange rate of around 0.93, it should only be around $3010 AUD - that extra $800 is quite a large markup - that's almost 20%!

I know some places like B&H ship internationally, and we get quite a bit of savings there, although you have to factor in the shipping costs as well. Then there's the issue about warranty, and power plugs, etc.

What have your experiences been like? Do you prefer to buy your goods internationally?

[Wedding Shooter]

I must have spent over $20,000 at B & H over the last four years. I get the stuff in about 4 days usually.

Great service and all Canon lenses have an international warranty.

[bryancrump]

Don't tempt me to move just so i can get a job there and buy equipments from here, lol. I will be glad when the economy gets better here, but who knows how long that will take. I purchase things from all over, and even get some of my triggers and such from China.

[shuttertalk]

Wow Chris, you must be B&H's favourite customer...

Incidentally, I came across this site:
http://www.priceusa.com.au/

It's basically a mail forwarding service - so you can order from stores which only ship to US addresses (i.e. amazon electronics), and they will onforward it to you, for a flat 5% fee. They also process rebates for you! Sounds pretty interesting...

Just checking out their "quick buys" page - it's cool - you can get stuff like the chumby which isn't available here.

What do people think?

[wulinka]

Chris, I am wondering if you have ever used the international warranty B&H sells, it's the mackcam, isn't it?
It requires you to ship stuff back to the US, which makes me hesitate, as I am nervous about what might happen to it on the way....

Uli

[Wedding Shooter]

Hi Uli,

I just use the Canon International warranty that comes with the lens. I had to take a lens back to Canon that wasn't sharp enough and they fixed it no charge even with an American receipt. I haven't bothered with any warranties where I have to send back stuff to the US.

[henryp]

I must have spent over $20,000 at B & H over the last four years. I get the stuff in about 4 days usually.
Great service and all Canon lenses have an international warranty.

Thank you. This is very gratifying.

[henryp]

Chris, I am wondering if you have ever used the international warranty B&H sells, it's the mackcam, isn't it?
It requires you to ship stuff back to the US, which makes me hesitate, as I am nervous about what might happen to it on the way....
Uli

We were selling Mack Camera's warranties, but have switched to the Sagemax warranties from NEW.

[Wedding Shooter]

Price USA are good for getting stuff like iPhones when they were not available in Australia.

[wulinka]

Hey Henry,

thanks for the info, but the one I hold is still the Mack, and I don't use it because of the sending trouble.....
anyway, at the time I did not seem to pay extra for it, the " international" lense came with the warranty...

Uli

[Kombisaurus]

+1 for B&H here. I've got my last 5 lenses from them (including 4 L's).

It seems some local Australian internet-based companies are finally starting to get with the program a bit though. Once you consider GST+Import Fees (for photographic items over AU$1000) and freight, the price differences between some Australian companies and B&H isn't as big as it once was. Competition is good.
In fact a Kenko DG 300 2x Teleconverter I bought from QuickShop.com.au was cheaper than B&H (AU$194 at my door versus around AU$260). Still, B&H seems cheaper for most things.

Unfortunately most bricks-and-mortar stores here still try to charge close to RRP (for Canon gear at least). I really don't know how the likes of Harvey Norman stay in business - the highest prices and terrible advice from kids who don't know a DSLR from a toaster.

[Wedding Shooter]

Interesting news I heard yesterday. As of the 1st of July Canon Australia have dropped their pricing on Canon Lenses. There are quite significant drops across the whole range. This is direct from a Canon Pro Dealer.

Cheers,

Chris

[henryp]

Hey Henry,
thanks for the info, but the one I hold is still the Mack, and I don't use it because of the sending trouble.....
anyway, at the time I did not seem to pay extra for it, the " international" lense came with the warranty...

You may want to reread their Worldwide Coverage info.

[shuttertalk]

Bit off topic, but here's an interesting rant on why it sucks for gadget lovers in Canada...

http://gizmodo.com/5020940/why-canada-su...get-lovers

Selection of consumer electronics in Canadian brick-and-mortar stores is depressingly limited, with few non-mainstream products and long delays on others. The hilariously-named Best-Buy-equivalent “Future Shop” seems to be staffed with people chosen only for their ability to turn customers purple with rage. So you'd think Canadians would just turn to online shopping for their nerd needs, right? Well, Amazon only exists in Canada as a shadow of its true self, selling nothing but books, DVDs, music, and video games. Newegg? Forget about it. Woot for electronics? Not a chance. If you're lucky enough to find some misguided online retailer willing to ship you some gadgetry, you'll enjoy the lovable quirks of the Canadian postal service. Canadapost does deliver mail occasionally, but most of the time they indulge in their hobby of losing shit, charging more than my monthly rent in duties, and hoarding packages for weeks just for fun.

[matthew]

There's some truth to that -- and some irony, as well. For one thing, Best Buy is an American company, and bought the Canadian retailer Future Shop some time ago. And yes, many-if-not-most online retailers don't ship to Canada, with B&H being one of the better exceptions.

I've never had a problem with Canada Post / USPS, and prefer it to any other shipping method for lower-value products. For more expensive items, I'll use FedEx -- but neither carrier charges more than the regular taxes, with the exception of an occasional $5-10 charge that seems to be applied at random intervals. UPS can easily double or treble the shipping costs with its 'brokerage' (breakage?) fees, in addition to the normal retail taxes, and has only one depot location to serve a city of 4 million people. I will avoid retailers that only ship with UPS, they're too annoying for me to use...