A while back now I ordered myself a Canon Speedlite 430ex flash gun from eBay. It was from the very kind Hong Kong distributor, Digital Rev. I know what you’re thinking – eBay – Hong Kong – not good. No, these are different. The delivery is very quick (considering) and the prices are simply unbeatable.
The Speedlite 430ex retails at £199 at Jessops. Still not bad considering what you get, but Digital Rev had it on eBay for £119 plus £31 delivery. That comes to just £150, £49 cheaper than Jessops. Defiantly worth it, so I bought it. Just two days later, I had a note from UPS through my door telling me that they tried to deliver while I was not in.
Excellent, that’s very quick delivery, and I’ll go collect it from Eastleigh. However, on the note, it said "cash on delivery" was required, and an amount of £32.23. I was at first not too happy, and re-read the auction listing again on eBay which said nothing about any additional costs. I emailed Digital Rev about this cost, and then headed off to collect the parcel.
Upon arriving at UPS, I asked the guy about the additional costs and he said he’s got no idea, but its usually because of import-duty fees. I paid the money, got the flash and drove back. They emailed back (only an hour after I emailed them) and they were very apologetic, explaining that it was indeed import-duty fees and that its almost random when you do, and do not get the fee. As a kind gesture, they offered me two batteries, free, with no delivery costs! I am not entirely sure which batteries they will be (I think its 4 AA rechargeable), but to be honest, you can’t complain at that, whatever batteries arrive.
So, total cost for my flash was £182.23, which is still £16.77 cheaper than Jessops. Granted, I would have got a 30-day money back from Jessops, plus their support, but £16 is not just loose change. Worth it I think, and a massive thanks to Digital Rev – I will be ordering from you again in the near future. Highly recommended by me.
Update: After a quick search on Froogle, Its quite easy to find another online retailer from the UK offering a cheaper price than that of Digital Rev.
I have noticed my camera is on there for a good price with a load of free goodies. Makes me think i should of given ebay a thought but I didn’t want all the trouble with import duties or any damages.
I’m thinking about getting a semi-pro didgital camcorfer from them, I am getting into the world of video.
Nice one, I would recommend them to be honest. I am not sure if the import duty fee changes depending on the cost of the item – I would guess it does.
Either way, ordering from Digital Rev – even with all the fees – still works out cheaper in the long run. At least cheaper from high-street prices.
I look forward to seeing your video work.
Some is allready available. It isnt really something i have spent a shit load of time on but its more of an experiment.
myspace.com/shithousemusic
Listen to the “Thief” song, that’s me drumming that is!!
Nice one, I shall take a listen when I get five-minutes.
Good stuff. Enjoy the totally random crap that it is. Vladimir was bad camera work, I was trying to use my tripod like a steady cam, didnt quite work.
You mention £199 at Jessops. Perhaps what you don’t know is that Jessops almost always have some sort of voucher code offer on and a quick Google will usually get you an additional 10% off without really trying. So that would be £181 and you can take it back to the high street if you ever have any problems.
Indeed, thanks Bastion. At the time I didn’t realise this but I came across those voucher codes you are referring to just the other week.
Jessops also offer a great internet-price-matching scheme which seems to beat some eBay stores (after import duty) as well as most online shops anyway.
And, like you say, you have the back-up of a high-street store. Thanks
As I work in the shipping business, I know that you will usually get charged 17.5% VAT + approx 3.2% duty on any imports, so you should always add that to the price quoted by an overseas shop. In my experience, it is usually cheaper/more convenient to source in the UK.
Hi Andy,
Thanks for that, I’ll bear that in mind. I don’t expect I’ll be buying anything from outside the UK anymore, unless its either very cheap, or rare!
Ta