Sbig: Import or local?

[Geoff45]

I'm thinking of buying an sbig camera---what I end up buying depends on the price that I can get it for. Has anyone investigated the pros and cons of buying direct from USA as opposed to local? At first glance it looks like importing is far cheaper. What sort of customs duty is payable and what are the warranty implications?
Geoff

[Bassnut]

OH dear, this IS Peter wind up day ;-)

[Zuts]

Hi,

I am thinking of buying an $big camera as well :)

If they catch your package (and with the price of an SBIG) they will :), then you have to pay 10% GST on the marked price.

If you get someone to mark a lesser price then (1) I reckon its a dodgy retailer and i wouldnt trust them and (2) if its gets lost in the post you would be stuffed!

You also need to clear the item through customs and i dont think you can do this yourself so you need an agent. This may add a further 100 bucks to the cost.

I am not sure about warranty but I am sure that you could not get warranty in Australia. You would have to hopefully post it back to the retailer and get them to claim warranty for you. Possibly you could ask the retailer if this was possible before you purchased and a reputable retailer like OPT would probably tell you the truth.

There are some Australian suppliers, i suggest you get a best possible price from a reputable overseas supplier and then see if an ozzie one will match. If the cost differential (i.e if you get a good rate or if they let you pay the price in USD) and postage differential is not too great i would go with the local supplier purely because of warranty.

Just my thoughts
Paul

[gbeal]

I bought used from the US, but without a dealer in this country I figured there was little other choice. In your case the local guy who also posts on IIS should be your first port of call. Weigh up the options, and make the decision there. Importing isn't as easy as it first appears, and we all tend to make that decision based on the two prices alone.

[montewilson]

There are two kinds of local representatives.

Those who earn the right to represent a product exclusively and justify the small additional cost over a privately imported item by their service and product knowledge.

And then there are agents who regard a their local distribution as a birth right and a fiefdom and think they can charge what they like and treat customers with disrespect, on the basis there is no other local source. They exist in this market here.

The local SBIG agent is very much the former. There was a recall on early STL's and Peter did the small but complex alteration himself in Sydney. If we don't support people like him, getting your future CCD serviced would involve a two-way FedEx trip, which would cost more than the saving of using a US shop.

[turbo_pascale]

I concur with Monte's response.

If you're after a new cam, go local. If you're after a second hand one, obviously not so much of a problem.

Plus, good luck getting an overseas distributor to ship to Aus. SBIG have a strict policy on this. The OS distributor will be responsible for dealing with any problems (and you'll pay the shipping!)

Turbo

[Geoff45]

OK, I'm convinced. I'll go local!
Geoff