Buying a digital camera ... UK or USA ?
Discussion
I'm off to San Fransisco then Hawaii at the start of January 
Want to get a new digital camera (around £200-300) for the holiday ... is it still worth getting one over there, or are the advantages not worth it now-a-days ?
What about the battery charger ? Will it have a USA plug on it (do they use 110v ?!?)
What about the guarantee ?
Will I get clobbered for VAT or some other tax upon my return ?
Ta in advance
Want to get a new digital camera (around £200-300) for the holiday ... is it still worth getting one over there, or are the advantages not worth it now-a-days ? What about the battery charger ? Will it have a USA plug on it (do they use 110v ?!?)
What about the guarantee ?
Will I get clobbered for VAT or some other tax upon my return ?
Ta in advance
Haven't bought a digi camera from the states but I got an MP3 player over the summer.
I would say its probably worth it as the exchange rate is very favourable at the moment.
To charge when you get back it might simply be a case of getting a 2-pin socket adaptor, like it was for me. It had something to do with the charger being able to switch between voltages.
To avoid paying import tax just make sure its out of the box and make it look like you've been using it, then they'll presume you took it over with you.
Hope some of this helps.
I would say its probably worth it as the exchange rate is very favourable at the moment.
To charge when you get back it might simply be a case of getting a 2-pin socket adaptor, like it was for me. It had something to do with the charger being able to switch between voltages.
To avoid paying import tax just make sure its out of the box and make it look like you've been using it, then they'll presume you took it over with you.
Hope some of this helps.
Nev, as you know I was there last week and had a good look around. Places like Frys and Bestbuy are no cheaper than back in the UK. The charger will have a US plug on it too, sometimes just a lead which can be replaced, but not always (plus it may not be 110-220v anyway).
FWIW I've just looked at my Canon Ixus 500's charger and it is 100-220v with the 2 pin lead connecting so you can buy the lead back home. However, this camera was £399 + 10% sales tax in Best Buy. I bought mine for £211inc. from the Canon 'store' on Ebay. Using $1.9 this means it was cheaper in the UK.
Personally, I'd buy online from a reputed source in the UK (some actually ship from the US if you read the small print, but they promise UK adapters etc.).
Edited to say - If you do but something don't worry about VAT - unless you're bringing in something big like a pushbike they won't know and you're not likely to get stopped as you don't look like a student/Jamaican/won't be carrying really oddly shaped boxes in a huge pile on your luggage trolley (IME).
>> Edited by targarama on Saturday 4th December 19:48
FWIW I've just looked at my Canon Ixus 500's charger and it is 100-220v with the 2 pin lead connecting so you can buy the lead back home. However, this camera was £399 + 10% sales tax in Best Buy. I bought mine for £211inc. from the Canon 'store' on Ebay. Using $1.9 this means it was cheaper in the UK.
Personally, I'd buy online from a reputed source in the UK (some actually ship from the US if you read the small print, but they promise UK adapters etc.).
Edited to say - If you do but something don't worry about VAT - unless you're bringing in something big like a pushbike they won't know and you're not likely to get stopped as you don't look like a student/Jamaican/won't be carrying really oddly shaped boxes in a huge pile on your luggage trolley (IME).
>> Edited by targarama on Saturday 4th December 19:48
nevpugh308 said:
What about the battery charger ? Will it have a USA plug on it (do they use 110v ?!?)
What about the guarantee ?
Will I get clobbered for VAT or some other tax upon my return ?
1) Most chargers seem able to accept either 110 or 240V. I'm sure you can change a plug.
2) Guarantee will be US only - your risk.
3) No, if you make it look like it's yours. Ditch the packaging or post it home in advance.
You're likely to get the best price ordering by mail order from another state for delivery to friends in San Fran, ready for your arrival - avoids sales tax
I just went through the process of buying an Olympus mini mju (called the stylus verve in the US). Best prices I found, converting all into GBP at exchange rate of 1.94:
Breakdown: Net Price / Tax / Shipping / Total
UK High St: 211.91 / 37.09 / 0.00 / 249.00
UK Mail Order¹: 161.62 / 28.28 / 6.00 / 195.90
US Store: 177.48 / 14.20 / 0.00 / 191.68
US Mail Order²: 148.67 / 0.00 / 10.24 / 158.91
I found that you could generally match the US street price by ordering online in the UK
Another option is to buy duty free at the UK airport - no VAT to pay, but difficult to predict what they will have in stock
¹ www.dabs.com
² www.familyphotoandvideo.com - you can usually find the best online deals at www.pricescan.com
I just went through the process of buying an Olympus mini mju (called the stylus verve in the US). Best prices I found, converting all into GBP at exchange rate of 1.94:
Breakdown: Net Price / Tax / Shipping / Total
UK High St: 211.91 / 37.09 / 0.00 / 249.00
UK Mail Order¹: 161.62 / 28.28 / 6.00 / 195.90
US Store: 177.48 / 14.20 / 0.00 / 191.68
US Mail Order²: 148.67 / 0.00 / 10.24 / 158.91
I found that you could generally match the US street price by ordering online in the UK
Another option is to buy duty free at the UK airport - no VAT to pay, but difficult to predict what they will have in stock
¹ www.dabs.com
² www.familyphotoandvideo.com - you can usually find the best online deals at www.pricescan.com
I was over there in the summer and some things were much cheaper - MP3 players for example - and better specs. I bought one Sony CD/MP3 player for about 35 quid. Today saw the first one of the model that I have ever seen in the UK - 66 quid.
But the specs can be different. Creative had a 40Gb HD MP3 player that was not available in Europe atthe time, but not the 60Gb that was!
The othr benefit of the US MP3 players was that you could hear them play things. The EU versions have nanny approved software changes so that people have no chance of hurting their ears - or hearing the music. (You can usually flash an upgrade to get round that to be fair, but then why run the risk?)
As for cameras - could have saved aabout a 100 quid at the time but couldn't find stock of the one I wanted - and I tried several places in different parts of the country.
UK camera prices in the price range you mentioned have now dropped considerably since then - not sure if they have in the US. Find a good price in the UK (dabs.com perhaps or one of the other on line retailers) and then check the current US prices - Walmart seemed to be about the cheapest prices quoted back in the summer.
Most of the bigger US specialist chains work the same business model as Currys/Dixons. Some things cheap, many not. They have higher overheads to support. Buy with care and you can get a good deal.
Plugs are not a problem, or chould not be. Several recent purchases have been delivered with a standard 2 pin plug (not checked if US or EU) that is fitted in a 3 pin 'jacket' which seems to take any 2 pin size. Looking at one of them now - made by Power Connections in Harlow it seems.
Best of both worlds if you travel - fit the thing in the UK, take it off and you have a 2 pin plug and cable for travelling.
EDIT:-
Also - at 200 to 300 there ain't a lot to be saved and remember to include a large memory card in the purchase for all the lovely pics you will take. I assume you will be used to the take anything concept of digital but don't forget that the megapixel ratings are increasing rapidly and therefore so are file sizes. The jpeg compression on my little 2Mpixel Sony typically produces 400 to 750Kb files. The 5Mpixel Pentax, at top quality jpeg mode on, starts at around 2.2 Mb and heads rapidly to 3.3Mb. Thankfully SD cards are cheaper than Memory Sticks!.
If you don't buy and get to know the thing before you go, the chances are that half of the shots, and certainly most of the early ones, will be less than exciting when you return and see them in all their 'glory'.
So any saving is hardly worth the potential for disappointment.
My failed shopping was not a problem - I had already bought a nice shirt-pocketable device at a good price. The one I failed to find was simply a nice to have and not essential, so not finding one did not matter too much.
>> Edited by LongQ on Saturday 4th December 23:24
But the specs can be different. Creative had a 40Gb HD MP3 player that was not available in Europe atthe time, but not the 60Gb that was!
The othr benefit of the US MP3 players was that you could hear them play things. The EU versions have nanny approved software changes so that people have no chance of hurting their ears - or hearing the music. (You can usually flash an upgrade to get round that to be fair, but then why run the risk?)
As for cameras - could have saved aabout a 100 quid at the time but couldn't find stock of the one I wanted - and I tried several places in different parts of the country.
UK camera prices in the price range you mentioned have now dropped considerably since then - not sure if they have in the US. Find a good price in the UK (dabs.com perhaps or one of the other on line retailers) and then check the current US prices - Walmart seemed to be about the cheapest prices quoted back in the summer.
Most of the bigger US specialist chains work the same business model as Currys/Dixons. Some things cheap, many not. They have higher overheads to support. Buy with care and you can get a good deal.
Plugs are not a problem, or chould not be. Several recent purchases have been delivered with a standard 2 pin plug (not checked if US or EU) that is fitted in a 3 pin 'jacket' which seems to take any 2 pin size. Looking at one of them now - made by Power Connections in Harlow it seems.
Best of both worlds if you travel - fit the thing in the UK, take it off and you have a 2 pin plug and cable for travelling.
EDIT:-
Also - at 200 to 300 there ain't a lot to be saved and remember to include a large memory card in the purchase for all the lovely pics you will take. I assume you will be used to the take anything concept of digital but don't forget that the megapixel ratings are increasing rapidly and therefore so are file sizes. The jpeg compression on my little 2Mpixel Sony typically produces 400 to 750Kb files. The 5Mpixel Pentax, at top quality jpeg mode on, starts at around 2.2 Mb and heads rapidly to 3.3Mb. Thankfully SD cards are cheaper than Memory Sticks!.
If you don't buy and get to know the thing before you go, the chances are that half of the shots, and certainly most of the early ones, will be less than exciting when you return and see them in all their 'glory'.
So any saving is hardly worth the potential for disappointment.
My failed shopping was not a problem - I had already bought a nice shirt-pocketable device at a good price. The one I failed to find was simply a nice to have and not essential, so not finding one did not matter too much.
>> Edited by LongQ on Saturday 4th December 23:24
targarama said:
Edited to say - If you do but something don't worry about VAT - unless you're bringing in something big like a pushbike they won't know and you're not likely to get stopped as you don't look like a student/Jamaican/won't be carrying really oddly shaped boxes in a huge pile on your luggage trolley (IME).
Oh I don't know. Last year I bought front and rear spoilers for my MX5 over the phone in the US and got them delivered to my sis-in-law as my wife was visiting. Got her to bring them back as her luggage
Customs did'nt stop her even though she had two huge very odd shaped boxes
nevpugh308 said:
I'm off to San Fransisco then Hawaii at the start of January
What about the battery charger ? Will it have a USA plug on it (do they use 110v ?!?)
What about the guarantee ?
Will I get clobbered for VAT or some other tax upon my return ?
Ta in advance
I sort of spend my life in San Francisco and London amongst other places, and if you do want to buy something then please be carefull. The standard SF tourist electronic stores will rip you off. You could if you have a known address just buy one off amazon.com and ship it to your hotel. Certainly just bought a camera for my father this way, with current exchange rates we saved £200 on uk prices. A 5mb Casio exlim is about £150. Charger is no issue because they are always multivoltage.
Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff