Canadian order HMC150 from the US - Advice?

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Denwa

Well-known member
Have any Canadians ordered a HMC150 (or other panny camera) from the US?

Trying to find the best deal and a place that will Ship USPS (avoiding couriers due to there outrageous broker fees).

Any advice would be appreciated.

The reason I am ordering from the US is that the Canadian price for this camera is ridiculously high (all Panny Canada pricing is real high compared to exchange rate). At least with a US model I can mail it in for repair if it breaks down. Or even drive it down. :)
 
Im in the US and have many cousins in CA. I know the pain of being in CA.

My suggestion is having a relative in the US buy & mail it to you to avoid the taxes and hassles. They could also be your physical address for warranty.
 
I bought in the usa and live in canada. I had it sent general delivery to a us post office. Drove over picked, it up, and snuggled er across. Saved a bundle!
 
Do you self a favour. Buy it in Canada from an authorized dealer. The warranty issues make it worthwhile. You are in Kelowna and not far from Vistek in Calgary. By the time you deal with brokerage if you ship it or if you lie and bring it through the border without paying duty... it is not worth it.
Sure I buy from B&H and other big US retailers now and then but never a camera! FYI: I just bought an Ikan Camera Cradle last week. It cost me $114.00 Canadian with shipping. It cost another $16.OO for brokerage. It was opened by Canada Customs, one third of the styrofoam balls were spilled into the shipping box, when I got it it was missing a belt and had no manufacturers documentation with it. B&H are SUPER! and when I explained they issued an RMA and I can return it for a full refund. Except it just cost me $26.00 postage (6-days) to return it to them. Total cost for a bag of beans: $156.00.
If I had ordered it from Vistek-$129.95+$10.00 Shipping. Get my point? Support your local Panasonic dealer and save yourself some major grief.
Just my humble opinion.
 
Hi Denwa,

I bought my HMC150 from B&H Photo in New York, and had it shipped up via UPS WorldWide Saver in only 2 days to Toronto. After paying the exchange and shipping, it worked out to about $1000 less than buying it from a Canadian dealer. The only drawback is that your warranty is only valid in the US, so if you need warranty service you have to send it back to B&H Photo.

I've been dealing with B&H Photo for more than 20 years, and they have always been great with me, even when handling returns.
 
Most US warranties are not valid in Canada and some are not even valid in the US unless you have a US address, so that means paying for all repairs from day one.

But sometimes, budget wise getting camera in hand first and worrying about repair bills later is acceptable.

It may be more reliable shipping a camera via UPS than USPS. Inexpensive items yes, but with a camera I want continuous tracking ! You can avoid UPS brokerage fees by acting as your own broker. You inform UPS that you will act as your own broker. When your shipment arrives, go to UPS to pickup documentation. Take it to Canada Customs and fill out the import papers. pay GST and PST and when they release it, go to UPS to pick up your item.
 
jleo said:
Take it to Canada Customs and fill out the import papers. pay GST and PST and when they release it, go to UPS to pick up your item.
Click to expand...

That usually only works if you are in or near the port of entry. If the port of entry is Vancouver or White Rock or .... you may have to go there to get your paperwork and camera from the bonded warehouse. Check first.
 
jleo said:
Most US warranties are not valid in Canada and some are not even valid in the US unless you have a US address, so that means paying for all repairs from day one.
Click to expand...

When buying an item from B&H in New York, and then shipping it to Toronto, UPS World Wide Saver service will look after: The Duty, Brokerage Fee, GST, and PST.
You then pay UPS upon delivery, and your UPS invoice lists all of the fees and taxes that you have paid for your item.

Once I bought my HMC150 from B&H Photo in New York, I went online to the Panasonic website and registered my camera for the 3 year extended warranty using my Toronto, Ontario address, with NO PROBLEMS at all. I know from past experience that this is an American warranty, and thus I need to send it to a US repair site for any warranty repairs. Normally I send it to B&H to have them look after the repair, and they bill me for their service. Again, I've been a very happy camper with B&H for a very long time now.

Normally, I have no problem buying Canadian, but for some reason the HMC150 is priced much too high in Canada compared to the American and Canadian pricing for the HPX170 camera. ( which is almost identically priced in both countries )
 
Perhaps since the 150 is the "north american" model the warrenty covers the whole continent, as opposed to european, southeast asia, etc.
 
If you do ship equipment back to the US for repair, it's helpful to register the item with Canada Customs before export. It's the green card "Identification of Articles for Temporary Exportation." It proves you imported the item and paid taxes the first time. And customs officers have said that without this documentation they can charge GST/PST again!! We've shipped stuff for repair many times without it and had no problems, but once the shipper forgot to declare it a repair item and we were looking at $150+ GST/PST a second time! After umpteen years of bringing equipment back and forth the border, nothing is predictable.

This card is also helpful if you take the equipment out of Canada on a vacation or job. A copy of the receipt and GST/PST receipt is also recommended.
 
KnoxHotch said:
Perhaps since the 150 is the "north american" model the warrenty covers the whole continent, as opposed to european, southeast asia, etc.
Click to expand...

No it does not.
When buying an item from B&H in New York, and then shipping it to Toronto, UPS World Wide Saver service will look after: The Duty, Brokerage Fee, GST, and PST.
You then pay UPS upon delivery, and your UPS invoice lists all of the fees and taxes that you have paid for your item.
Click to expand...
Not everybody in Canada lives in Toronto.

But I will retrire from my comments on this thread.
 
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The camera is way over priced in Canada. I checked with vistek.

I usually ship via USPS expedited which is trackable.

I'll probably purchase this cam from BH unless Full Compass can match the price ($3329.25 USD). The Ebay cameras are pretty close in price and I would rather order from a known dealer.

Full compass is on the west coast so shipping should be quicker. Plus it's nice to deal with customer service that is in the same TZ. People on here seem to find them a good shop right?

One thing about USPS is that 50% of the time Customs doesn't even charge you for taxes. Can't count on that but it is a nice bonus savings sometimes.

Thanks for the input. I just wish Panasonic Canada was more in-line to the US pricing. $3329 USD is just over $3500 CAD right now. Yet Vistek has this camera for $4899 CAD. That's a huge difference.

Looks like I'll have to build myself an external battery. The stock one is pretty wimpy.

Any of you using an external HD monitor say in the 8" or smaller range? I hate the viewfinders and LCD's on these cameras! I miss the good old days of DVCPro B/W CRT viewfinders.
 
I should note that I am going to phone around and see if any Canaidan dealers will come close to the US price.
 
Denwa said:
The camera is way over priced in Canada. I checked with vistek.

I usually ship via USPS expedited which is trackable.

I'll probably purchase this cam from BH unless Full Compass can match the price ($3329.25 USD). The Ebay cameras are pretty close in price and I would rather order from a known dealer.

Full compass is on the west coast so shipping should be quicker. Plus it's nice to deal with customer service that is in the same TZ. People on here seem to find them a good shop right?

One thing about USPS is that 50% of the time Customs doesn't even charge you for taxes. Can't count on that but it is a nice bonus savings sometimes.

Thanks for the input. I just wish Panasonic Canada was more in-line to the US pricing. $3329 USD is just over $3500 CAD right now. Yet Vistek has this camera for $4899 CAD. That's a huge difference.

Looks like I'll have to build myself an external battery. The stock one is pretty wimpy.

Any of you using an external HD monitor say in the 8" or smaller range? I hate the viewfinders and LCD's on these cameras! I miss the good old days of DVCPro B/W CRT viewfinders.
Click to expand...
yeh I know I said I would not comment anymore but.....
I ordered my HMC 150 in August of 2008 and got it in October of 2008 from Vistek Toronto. It was one of the first in Canada. I paid $3999.00 Canadian for the camera and got the stock small battery and a large battery and a 16gig Panasonic Class 6 card, as part of the sale promotion. Panasonic supposedly raised the price to the dealers sometime in November 2008 as did Sony and others in Canada when our dollar dropped versus the US dollar. I agree the difference now between the US price and the Canadian price is way too much, but I think that with our dollar doing better you should call Canadian retailers and ask if they are willing to match or at least come close to the US price.
As for building an external battery, you can't. The batteries are "smart" batteries and the camera will only work with them.
I suggest you read some of the threads and do some basic research on this site. Your questions are not new and have been answered in many places. Use the search function and good luck.
 
BrianMurphy said:
yeh I know I said I would not comment anymore but.....
I ordered my HMC 150 in August of 2008 and got it in October of 2008 from Vistek Toronto. It was one of the first in Canada. I paid $3999.00 Canadian for the camera and got the stock small battery and a large battery and a 16gig Panasonic Class 6 card, as part of the sale promotion. Panasonic supposedly raised the price to the dealers sometime in November 2008 as did Sony and others in Canada when our dollar dropped versus the US dollar. I agree the difference now between the US price and the Canadian price is way too much, but I think that with our dollar doing better you should call Canadian retailers and ask if they are willing to match or at least come close to the US price.
As for building an external battery, you can't. The batteries are "smart" batteries and the camera will only work with them.
I suggest you read some of the threads and do some basic research on this site. Your questions are not new and have been answered in many places. Use the search function and good luck.
Click to expand...



I did ask Canadian dealers if they could at least come down in price after showing them the US price. No go. One dealer agreed it's crazy what Panasonic Canada charges dealers for cameras.

I ended up ordering from Full compass at $3229 US. Even after exchange and taxes I still save around $1300cad.

You CAN make an external battery. You take the dummy connector, and add an 12v to 7.2 v stepdown converter in line. Perhaps you need to do some searching. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=1480297&postcount=8

I'm not really new around here. I've been lurking for years. I stepped out of the business for a few years after a foot injury on a film set and am getting back into things.

As some things have changed I am asking questions. And often with forums these days you need the patience of a sloth to find them via search.

And for the record I have been shooting video (Started with DVCPRO) since 2002.
 
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Xaveryptak said:
That's a good price. Did you get any extras (battery or card) or just basic set up for accessories?
Click to expand...

Just the standard Panasonic promo. Edius neo in the box and the mail in for the 16gb class 6 sd card. (I'm going to have the card mailed to a friend in the US then resent to me here.)

Deal with Jon over the phone. Everything is always 5-15%% less than the web price when you do a phone order.
 
Received my Camera the other day and was able to register it IN CANADA. Had US and Canadian warranty cards in the box.
Registration stated "Panasonic North America". I had no problems entering my Canadian address and then Full Compass's USA place of purchase.
 
I bought mine early August from B&H , got it as a kit with the battery and mic (great deal!). Shipped it to Mike's Parcel Pickup in Pembina, ND. An hour's drive south of the city, right on the border. Paid about $32 shipping.

Now.. getting it back over the border cost me a fortune, but I've got the paper work submitted to fix that. I was assessed duty on a medical imaging camera (those border guys are not so sharp).

From some hunting, I found there should have been NO duty placed on the camera. Only GST and PST. You have to pay that for sure.

So I don't know if there are similar services for you Toronto types... take a ferry across the lake to Buffalo maybe? Not sure what that all costs. I took me 2 hours and about $20 gas, and Mike charged $5 for the package.

Shipping to Canada would have been almost $100, then there's still the UPS charges for self-brokerage.

No thanks. I just scored a sweet deal on a tripod from Amazon, it's going to Mike's as well... the drive ain't so bad, and costs much less than shipping stuff across the border.
 
I had to ship UPS but expidited etc has no borkerage fee. They might still charge you 2.7% on the Tax "bond" though. Cost me $75 to ship. I would have prefered USPS but it seems less and less places will ship USPS.

There's a place south of the broder here that will take deliveries, so I could have gone that route but I probably would have ended up spend that much on gas.

WPGCameraman, were you able to register your warranty in Canada?
 
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