Import ban on "photographic goods"???!!

[SkyWatch]

Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone has ever heard of this: I was inquiring about purchasing a binocular case over eBay from the UK, and the vendor said they couldn't sell it to me because "Australia bans the importation of photographic goods"!!!
Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? (Quite apart from the fact that a binocular case has very little to do with photography!)
I certainly can't find any mention of this on the Customs website.
I am confused...

- Dean

[mental4astro]

It's a way of saying that the seller is not interested in exporting.

Of course it is not true that there's a ban. What a load of croc.

Just tell them "thanks, but I'll go to someone who isn't full of crap and is only too happy to ship items to Oz."

[bojan]

It must be some sort of confusion.... or cheap excuse?

I remember the guy was complaining about postal cost when sending me 400mm F2.8 lens...

[SkyWatch]

Thanks gents, that confirms my thinking.
Actually he has just responded after I sent him the Customs website for prohibited goods, and he said that Royal Mail refused to compensate him when one of his parcels went missing, saying that it was photographic and therefore a banned item. I suggested to him that: a) we actually have cameras etc in Australia, and most are imported, and b) Royal Mail was simply lying to avoid payment...
(Maybe he has confused "photographic" with "pornographic"!) :screwy:
Now he says he is checking his catalogue to see if a binocular case is a photographic item: and he claims to be a "professional store"!!!
I think I will be looking elsewhere....

- Dean

[bojan]

Good thinking IMHO :thumbsup:

[raymo]

I was looking for a 120mm or thereabouts refractor about three months ago,
and found a couple that interested me in the U.K., but the four retailers that stocked them said that they could not export to Oz.!!!!
raymo

[blink138]

the UK and europe seem to be awfully expensive on astronomical gear actually!
pat

[Shiraz]

it could have something to do with Joe Hockey flying around the world a year or so ago and telling businesses that they had to collect GST for the Aus Gov't when they shipped to an Australian address. If I was a seller based in the UK or the USA, my response would be "stuff that - I don't need the sale that much".
http://theconversation.com/three-holes-in-hockeys-plan-to-levy-gst-on-overseas-purchases-46460

[hobbit]

I received the same statement trying to order a nikon lens from the US.

[Stardrifter_WA]

I must be lucky! I order a lot of stuff from overseas, and I rarely have any problems.

Just in the past few months I have order over 90 items from various countries, and they have been arriving okay. I now only have six outstanding. I stopped dealing with certain Australian companies since they didn't respect my business, so most of my stuff is now bought overseas as a result. And, a lot of the stuff I buy you simply can't get here anyway.

Some businesses may be reputable businesses to deal with, however, you must talk to the right person. Due to high turnover of staff, you may just get some new staff members who have no clue and just makes stuff up to hide their inadequacies. I am pretty much clued in on what is going on and have dealt with some pretty stupid people, that have come up with ridiculous statements. When this occurs I always get in touch with the manager of the business and in most instances they have corrected the error. And in the cases where they didn’t I simply went elsewhere. This is why I often only deal with certain people within some companies as I know they know their stuff.

Some companies have restrictions on selling certain products due to contract obligations and exclusive distributorships arrangements in Australia. Celestron is good at that, where they try to force you to deal with the local distributor. Other brands do the same, and I have had issues with that too, however, I have also often found ways around this problem. You just need to be a little creative. A few times I have had to go through a third party, and that isn't at all hard.

I am also very much aware of what I can and can't import, so I have had no issues with Customs either, apart from having to pay GST, etc.

So, it surprises me when people have these issues.

[SkyWatch]

Thanks for all the comments folks.
The seller got back to me again because he found a clause on the customs website that says certain photographic items may be subject to customs inspections. The clause in question refers to potentially dangerous chemicals and content of films (e.g.: porn movies which are banned items)...
He also can't get it through his head that in any case a binocular case is not actually a "photographic item"- not in this universe anyway. (The good old Aussie phrase "thick as two short planks" comes to mind.)
I have told him that he won't be getting my custom- although he doesn't seem to want it anyway! Certainly a funny way to do business. :shrug:

[Stardrifter_WA]

Hi Dean,

Binoculars, and their accessories, have always been classified by Customs as being under photographic, for as long as I can remember. So, I can see where he is coming from in that regards, so he is actually correct, but in Australia it no longer attracts duty anyway, so it is kind of irrelevant. It used to attract a 30% duty back in the 80's.

See: https://www.dutycalculator.com/hs-code-duty-rate-import-restrictions/900510/binoculars/9005.10.0080/9005.10.0000/849/

Cheers Peter

[SkyWatch]

Thanks for the link Peter,

However, even if a binocular case is "photographic" (maybe we do live in alternative universe after all!!?? - although the site doesn't list bino cases that I can see), it is still not, and never was a "banned" item, and that is the guy's claim... :thumbsup:

[Stardrifter_WA]

Hi Dean,

No, it has never been a banned item. It really does sound like he just doesn't want to bother. I have experienced that on a couple of occasions.I just go find another supplier.

It is a global marketplace now, so having a good grasp of import/export laws, relating to anything you import, goes a long way towards avoiding issues.

Cheers Peter

[kittenshark]

Sometimes the supplier does not allow their dealers to export especially when they already have dealers in the country they're exporting to.

Dabbling in grey market imports/exports is not something some suppliers take likely and often will punish the dealer for it.

BUT... there isn't a law against it; Australian laws allow for grey imports, but whether the dealer wants to do it and risk the wrath of his supplier is another issue.

[SkyWatch]

Thanks Cheryl-Ann.

The flip side to that is if the purchaser wants to get into grey imports, they risk lower quality, non-guaranteed goods...

Just for the record, the binocular case I was trying to purchase was a second-hand item, and the seller is supposedly a "professional" dealer.