AF100 from b&h to Europe. Any comments?
- Thread starter JauJau
- Start date
Rolf Silber
Veteran
You should first check what the Panasonic warranty regulations say.
Then I would make sure that Spanish customs will not charge you.
All in all it cane easily become a zero-sum game with the risk of having no maintenance.
Then I would make sure that Spanish customs will not charge you.
All in all it cane easily become a zero-sum game with the risk of having no maintenance.
Alpha Beta Omega
Veteran
I wouldn't buy it without a valid warranty so let that be your guiding point. I suspect US warranty doesn't include shipping to/from Spain for service.
anatusa
Veteran
if u buy your self direct from bh - it is 100% that u ll pay custom fee and vat
u definitely will not get any warranty support in EU! but maybe u can buy extra waranty service something like bh offers.....
about custom fees - well its 50/50, when your friend will ship it to eu he will probably will want to get an insurance for that pac, or maybe they will make him to insure it at post office , it means there will be some kind of invoice, that means 99% custom fees and vat.
when i send something from eu to usa - they always make me wright about what is inside, in fact post officer checks my pac ! so if same is in usa than it will be written that it is a camcorder , than probably u ll pay anyway! as i said its really 50/50.
make sure u know what the CHARGES ARE before u do it!!! in my country its 4.5% custom fee + 22% VAT. if u r a VAT registered in your country , u can get VAT back (1st u ll pay it anyway at custom, but than u get it back from your tax agency), but not the custom fee.
so in fact for me there is no much point to buy it from usa - even that i get vat back , i still pay 4.5% custom fee+ expansive delivery+insurance for the camcorder so i ll save maybe 400-500 usd, but will not get a warranty, + will wait a month or 2 or even 3 till get my vat back, i dont think its worth the pain in ass
here is what i did when decided to buy a AF101, i called panasonic local office and asked them who is the major dealer for PRO video tech, they told that major dealer for my region its poland company - beiks.pl, i contacted them and the price surprised me as it was not higher than in usa & i could buy it right away with out vat. so i was 1 of the 1st owners as i got it on 4th or 5th jan 2011.
so make sure u checked all EU dealers before u bought it in usa, if u r not vat registered i would suggest to find a friend with in EU with VAT number and asked him to order it.
good luck
u definitely will not get any warranty support in EU! but maybe u can buy extra waranty service something like bh offers.....
about custom fees - well its 50/50, when your friend will ship it to eu he will probably will want to get an insurance for that pac, or maybe they will make him to insure it at post office , it means there will be some kind of invoice, that means 99% custom fees and vat.
when i send something from eu to usa - they always make me wright about what is inside, in fact post officer checks my pac ! so if same is in usa than it will be written that it is a camcorder , than probably u ll pay anyway! as i said its really 50/50.
make sure u know what the CHARGES ARE before u do it!!! in my country its 4.5% custom fee + 22% VAT. if u r a VAT registered in your country , u can get VAT back (1st u ll pay it anyway at custom, but than u get it back from your tax agency), but not the custom fee.
so in fact for me there is no much point to buy it from usa - even that i get vat back , i still pay 4.5% custom fee+ expansive delivery+insurance for the camcorder so i ll save maybe 400-500 usd, but will not get a warranty, + will wait a month or 2 or even 3 till get my vat back, i dont think its worth the pain in ass
here is what i did when decided to buy a AF101, i called panasonic local office and asked them who is the major dealer for PRO video tech, they told that major dealer for my region its poland company - beiks.pl, i contacted them and the price surprised me as it was not higher than in usa & i could buy it right away with out vat. so i was 1 of the 1st owners as i got it on 4th or 5th jan 2011.
so make sure u checked all EU dealers before u bought it in usa, if u r not vat registered i would suggest to find a friend with in EU with VAT number and asked him to order it.
good luck
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JauJau
Active member
In b&h:
AF100 plus Lumix 14-140 : $ 4545
In Spain:
AF100 Euros 4700 : $ 6460
That makes $ 1915 PLUS the Lumix 14-140 in SAVINGS !!!
Even paying myself a plane tiket, that looks like a big price drop.
Of course, against that is that I'll have a US warranty...
Am I missing anything else?
AF100 plus Lumix 14-140 : $ 4545
In Spain:
AF100 Euros 4700 : $ 6460
That makes $ 1915 PLUS the Lumix 14-140 in SAVINGS !!!
Even paying myself a plane tiket, that looks like a big price drop.
Of course, against that is that I'll have a US warranty...
Am I missing anything else?
MadMonkFish
Well-known member
Presume the Spain price quoted is inc VAT? If it is, the direct comparison is 4700 less the VAT.
As others have said, if you really want to get one from the USA, there are many risks... don't discount the value of the EU warranty, these type of units do fail - and buying in your region means you'd get it back in a shorter time. If it fails and you have to send back to the USA... well, you might not even be able to send back to the USA as Panasonic have no reason to honour the warranty. The only thing you could do is get it registered in the USA by a friend... but then you'd have to ship the faulty unit to him/her... and they have to ship back to you when fixed (all at your expense)... it always helps to look at the worst picture to help put things in perspective.
It depends what you want to pay for peace of mind... I don't like UK prices either... but going VAT registered helps (saving 20% in the UK for example), plus, if you run the costs through a business properly, it's an asset that depreciates on your books and helps with tax also.
The other option that you seem to be considering is to fly out & get one (plus get a holiday at the same time
- but, bear in mind when you bring the unit back, you stand a good chance of having to pay import duty & VAT if you're stopped. You would have to prove that you bought the unit originally in Spain to avoid this... Customs know the tricks and are more on guard to this type of thing. For example, all your purchase info/receipts etc, would prove you purchased the unit in the USA.
It's risky, but that's your choice.
Everyone is pretty much giving the same advice, we all hate the USA vs EU/UK cost difference - but sometimes you have to bite the bullet.
Hope that helps.
As others have said, if you really want to get one from the USA, there are many risks... don't discount the value of the EU warranty, these type of units do fail - and buying in your region means you'd get it back in a shorter time. If it fails and you have to send back to the USA... well, you might not even be able to send back to the USA as Panasonic have no reason to honour the warranty. The only thing you could do is get it registered in the USA by a friend... but then you'd have to ship the faulty unit to him/her... and they have to ship back to you when fixed (all at your expense)... it always helps to look at the worst picture to help put things in perspective.
It depends what you want to pay for peace of mind... I don't like UK prices either... but going VAT registered helps (saving 20% in the UK for example), plus, if you run the costs through a business properly, it's an asset that depreciates on your books and helps with tax also.
The other option that you seem to be considering is to fly out & get one (plus get a holiday at the same time
- but, bear in mind when you bring the unit back, you stand a good chance of having to pay import duty & VAT if you're stopped. You would have to prove that you bought the unit originally in Spain to avoid this... Customs know the tricks and are more on guard to this type of thing. For example, all your purchase info/receipts etc, would prove you purchased the unit in the USA. It's risky, but that's your choice.
Everyone is pretty much giving the same advice, we all hate the USA vs EU/UK cost difference - but sometimes you have to bite the bullet.
Hope that helps.
Maukka
Member
Apart from the obvious customs and warranty issues, note also that the price $4545 does NOT include the US sales tax, which you or your friend would have to pay in the US before shipment.
Because of the US tax and the EU customs duties, buying through a friend in the US may not be worth it, considering that you would lose the warranty.
Because of the US tax and the EU customs duties, buying through a friend in the US may not be worth it, considering that you would lose the warranty.
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Oliver Rush
Well-known member
You don't have to pay U.S. tax if you buy it from a U.S. store in a different state than where it is delivered... Just saying... many people in NY don't order from B&H for the big ticket stuff for just that reason...
On another note, I have a friend whose RED M-X (he had an early camera that shows wear, and this still happened to him) was impounded by customs coming back from a shoot till he could prove he owned the camera, had paid tax on it, and everything was legit. As he was an american citizen, with everything in order, he got it back, but it was a PITA for him (and was scrambling to find a replacement body for those weeks). And his camera def. did not look new either, being one of the first 300 REDs with ALOT of shoots under it. So, keep on mind that this is a little more than a fancy laptop or a consumer camera you are trying to dodge taxes on, and the really pro level high end electronics often turn heads at customs, so you want to make sure you can prove everything later on down the road if you need to. BTW, this just happened to him, and he had his RED for four years at that point.
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