Hong Kong Camera Gear Shopping Worth It?

Hi,

I will be in Hong Kong and Beijing later this year and was wondering if any of my fellow Nikonians have had a good shopping experience for Nikon gear in either location, or are the issues of price and warranty and customs back into the US deem it not worth the effort.

Appreciate any real world experience on the topic.

Thanks,

http://www.olegnovikov.com/technical/wheretobuy.shtml

http://www01.fengniao.com/camera/user2.php?lbID=3

Prices in HK are very similar to prices in the US.

I live in Europe, where we face usually much higher prices, so I buy in HK and US if I need a new lens or else.

But if you live in the US, I don't think it's worth while to buy in HK due to warranty and - potential - customs isues ( which I never had a problem with)

I live in South Africa, where prices are much higher even than Europe, so I would certainly buy when visiting Hong Kong.

But I often buy from the US because prices are so low there, so I cannot see that it would be wortwhile for someone living in the USA to buy from HK, especially taking into account the warranty issues, etc.

mycom said:

Prices in HK are very similar to prices in the US.

I live in Europe, where we face usually much higher prices, so I
buy in HK and US if I need a new lens or else.

But if you live in the US, I don't think it's worth while to buy in
HK due to warranty and - potential - customs isues ( which I never
had a problem with)

Click to expand...

I bought my AF-S 200mm/f2.0VR over there and the price was way cheaper than in the U.S.A. Very kind and proffesional service.
http://www.tincheungcamera.com.hk

Danny Brenner said:

I bought my AF-S 200mm/f2.0VR over there and the price was way
cheaper than in the U.S.A. Very kind and proffesional service.
http://www.tincheungcamera.com.hk

Click to expand...

Yes this is true if you get to the right store, BUT BE VERY AWARE of the NATHAN ROAD SHOPS in kowloon THEY WILL EAT YOU ALIVE. you will get into a fight they will skin you alive until you give your money to them and they give you junk products. Many first timers experince this.

Yes, these guys victimized my son since they knew that he was a photog newbee, When you get on a City Tour bus, the tourist guide themselves will tell you guys to keep away from these stores. Its a big shame.

Skidpan said:

I live in South Africa, where prices are much higher even than
Europe, so I would certainly buy when visiting Hong Kong.

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I agree with skidpan, i too am in South Africa , i have bought a D200 with 18-200 vr from Hong Kong saving a wopping 35% of what i would have paid here.

Skidpan said:

But I often buy from the US because prices are so low there, so I
cannot see that it would be wortwhile for someone living in the USA
to buy from HK, especially taking into account the warranty issues,
etc.

mycom said:

Prices in HK are very similar to prices in the US.

I live in Europe, where we face usually much higher prices, so I
buy in HK and US if I need a new lens or else.

But if you live in the US, I don't think it's worth while to buy in
HK due to warranty and - potential - customs isues ( which I never
had a problem with)

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

I was in Hong Kong in March of this year after a very nice vacation in the Philippines. Hong Kong is extraordinarily rich in Nikon equipment (Compared to Switzerland) and the prices just make you want to max out your credit card! I had been dreaming for a very long time on the 70 - 200 VR. I shopped around and got a wide range of pricing. The only word of caution I can give here is avoid Nathan Street. If you are unfamiliar with the area and the shopping techniques in HK, be careful when walking into a store and seeing a "coded" price instead of the actual price tag. The coded price is generally a set of numbers and letters and before they reply with the actual price, they tend to look at the sales potential and jack up the price.

To avoid this dissapointing sales rip off, I found a Authorized Nikon Dealer (Store is called Centerpoint) in a small parallel to Nathan street. The salesman had an official Nikon distributor sign and card and had 70 - 200 VR boxes in stock sealed with the official Nikon selofan. The guy opened the box in front of me, I treid the 70 - 200 vr for 2 minutes in the street and gave him the credit card. I have no regrets what so ever in my purchase and have not had any issues with my lens. I actually saved 1000.- USD purchasing the lens in HK!

I plan to go back next year some time (The philippines is my actual destination) and will certainly be buying more lenses there.

Just be extra cautious when purchasing lenses. Shop around and there is fair competition in the area. Be weary of strange pricing codes and .... if you feel that the vendor is pushy... just turn around a leave.... this is the best advise I can give you!

Mike

Hi,

Please visit the web site below, you can find a list of reference prices for lense and a shop address list.

http://www.ygdragon.net/
--
Casey Cheung

Check this previous trail for most complete info http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1021&thread=17403320

I lived in HK before and bought nearly all my gear there. Yes, prices are like low USA prices, on some items better. Be careful where you shop, be sure you shop in reputable places. Also, if you live in the States it is much better to buy there since warranties are longer and perhaps international warranties does not apply in USA based on agent limitations. For digital camera bodies the warranties in HK currently vary, with store only, HK only or Japan only (at least for my D200, so also the prices).

I advise Wing Shing / Man Shing as can be seen in that link. Also Kowloon Photo Services. Kowloon Photo Services allows you to pre-order on phone and can get you hard to find products if you give them some notice.

Regards, Anders
--
EXPAT WITH A HOBBY
Photo Aspiration - Artistic Pointing of Camera at Natural Light
Engineer and Architect - Aspiration of Arts in Technology

Also check out http://www.ygdragon.net/ for latest HKG prices. I came across this in the Canon forum. Go to the Canon 30D, 20D etc forum and search for "Mongkok". You'll pick up some interesting threads on HKG prices, best shops, etc.

Cheers,

Horacio

I really appreciate the pointers! Anyone else?

I've been living in Hong Kong for 11 years (I'm Australian) and the best advice I can give is:

Know EXACTLY what you want to buy and how much it should cost and/or how much you're prepared to pay for it; don't be talked into anything else, irrespective of how good the deal looks.

Know what a Nikon warranty looks like; there's plenty of "gray market" stuff available here with Japanese domestic warranties and Japanese manuals. For some reason Nikon digital bodies from the authorised agent come with a Hong Kong only warranties (as did my new D200 purchased last month), just about everthing else is worldwide.

Check the supplied instruction manuals; even legit equipment from the genuine importer quite often comes with only Chinese manuals.

Do not believe ANYTHING anyone tells you. This may seem a little harsh (and there are some very genuine exceptions to this rule, but only if you're extremely familiar with who you're dealing with), but most people in the smaller camera shops (particularly along Nathan Rd) have only one aim; to separate you from as much of your money as possible. Do your homework so you don't need to rely on advice from shop staff.

Be careful buying accessories; you may get a good deal on the major purchace, only to hand the saving back by buying overpriced (and generally parallel imported) batteries, filters, memory cards etc.

Hong Kong is is good place to get stuff that's hard to come by elsewhere. For example D200's and 18-200 Nikkors have been relatively freely available here for months, the only drawback is prices are generally well above recommended retail to reflect the relative "scarcity".

The large chains (Fortress, Broadway and to a lesser extent Wing Shing/Man Shing) are usually pretty reliable, but you will generally pay a higher (by 10-20%) price. Most of the smaller shops will charge you a premium (about 3%) to use a credit card for you purchace; your international card issuer will then generally help themselves to a similar "conversion fee". ATM's are everywhere here, so unless your're shopping at the large chains "cash is king".

The link in a couple of the posts above is a very good guide of prices for equipment from the genuine importers with real warranties supplied.

Thanks for this very informative post. I am visiting Hong Kong in August and found your post useful.

I was in HK for xmas. Checked out all the stores in TST (some interesting used gear in the plaza on Kimberley) and Mong Kok (good selection, best bet if you're going retail).

Best prices I found were at the shops on Stanley Street in Central. Pay with cash so you can talk the prices down, and if at all possible try to find a local to go with you. I picked up D200 batteries for $250HKD each ($32USD) and an MB-D200 for $1200HKD ($155USD). Considering this was right when it came out and the markup everywhere else, that's not too bad.

http://www.hkstreet.com/central/liststanley.htm

--
Ramen is how I afford my glass
http://www.blindmike.com

bugsy168 said:

Yes this is true if you get to the right store, BUT BE VERY AWARE
of the NATHAN ROAD SHOPS in kowloon THEY WILL EAT YOU ALIVE. you
will get into a fight they will skin you alive until you give your
money to them and they give you junk products. Many first timers
experince this.

Click to expand...

Is Wood's Photo Supplies still in business? Years and years ago, when I was a NikonUser to-be, I bought a ton of stuff from this store mail order to the USA. Easy to deal with. Of course, that was then and this is now.

Compared to then-current US pricing, I saved about 60%! Only hitch was that the Nikon trademarks had to covered over with some kind of black lacquer, but that came off right away with nail polish remover.

I'm still using some of the lenses I bought back then (on F2's).

--
LongTimeNikonUser