Brian John Boyes
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Has anyone had any dealings with purchasing direct from dealers in China. I have been offered an EOS 1Ds Mkll at a very attractive price but I am concerned that it is too cheap.
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Purchasing from China
- Thread starter Brian John Boyes
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off of a building but I'm afraid that I might get hurt.
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EOSMan (got print button?)
http://www.pbase.com/eosman
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EOSMan (got print button?)
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I bought good Circular Polarizing filters from China. They were much cheaper then in the US. As far as I remember - about 2/3 of the lowest US price.
It was funny:
I paid using PayPal and got no response, no confirmation, no tracking number. I sent one message, second...
After ten days I sent that I was going to recall my payment.
I received back something like that: Don't worry, it was shipped a week ago.
And I received it in two more days.
So, consider 2/3 of the US price and two weeks for delivery I consider it good. But funny.
However all it was about hundreds, not thousands.
It was funny:
I paid using PayPal and got no response, no confirmation, no tracking number. I sent one message, second...
After ten days I sent that I was going to recall my payment.
I received back something like that: Don't worry, it was shipped a week ago.
And I received it in two more days.
So, consider 2/3 of the US price and two weeks for delivery I consider it good. But funny.
However all it was about hundreds, not thousands.
Ken Phillips
Forum Pro
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http://www.ahomls.com/photo.htm
Voted Best of the City 2004 by Cincinnati Magazine
I don't believe in fate, but I do believe in f/8! And while your at it, don't be afraid to vote Libertarian, for REAL freedom!
Eric Esser
Well-known member
Hi -
Do you mean that you're IN China, thinkinig of a purchase, or in the USA and planning some kind of mail-order internet deal?
I live in Shanghai. I have purchased some relatively expensive gadgets (but sub-$1000) from dealers there (I'm vacationing in the US right now!) with no problems so far. Generally in Shanghai things are on the up-and-up, and business practice there is actually quite similar to that of the US with one exception: it's absolutely necessary to very explicitly set out expectations on return, service, and repair before the purchase. Get them to write it down on the receipt (it will be in Chinese, so be sure you can read Chinese). There isn't so much of a "customer is always right" policy here, nor is there a sense that "reputation protection" and the idea of "doing the right thing" really there. However, if it's written down, every deal I've done so far has been well honored.
Again, if you're thinking of doing a deal this big with a Chinese dealer, I'm assuming you speak Mandarin (or whatever dialect). Believe me, if you have trouble, it's going to be very difficult to deal with them unless you do. Even if they are speaking English today, if there are troubles, the conversation complexity will likely quickly exceed their English capability.
Finally, if you're thinking of doing an internet / mail order deal, don't. Doing business in China effectively requires personal contact. Even if I call someone from 20 miles away in Shanghai, I can't get them to do anything they're not highly motivated to do unless I go visit them. I can't imagine buying something over the internet from China.
The last thing I'd say is that there aren't any really BIG dealers in China, that I'm aware of. At least there aren't in Shanghai. There are only 1000's of smaller dealers / stores. They can all get everything, and they all compete fiercely, but the point is that you're very unlikely to be dealing with a "large company" here. More likely a 3-10 person company with one or two kiosks around town at best.
Take Care,
Eric
http://www.essersinchina.com/
Do you mean that you're IN China, thinkinig of a purchase, or in the USA and planning some kind of mail-order internet deal?
I live in Shanghai. I have purchased some relatively expensive gadgets (but sub-$1000) from dealers there (I'm vacationing in the US right now!) with no problems so far. Generally in Shanghai things are on the up-and-up, and business practice there is actually quite similar to that of the US with one exception: it's absolutely necessary to very explicitly set out expectations on return, service, and repair before the purchase. Get them to write it down on the receipt (it will be in Chinese, so be sure you can read Chinese). There isn't so much of a "customer is always right" policy here, nor is there a sense that "reputation protection" and the idea of "doing the right thing" really there. However, if it's written down, every deal I've done so far has been well honored.
Again, if you're thinking of doing a deal this big with a Chinese dealer, I'm assuming you speak Mandarin (or whatever dialect). Believe me, if you have trouble, it's going to be very difficult to deal with them unless you do. Even if they are speaking English today, if there are troubles, the conversation complexity will likely quickly exceed their English capability.
Finally, if you're thinking of doing an internet / mail order deal, don't. Doing business in China effectively requires personal contact. Even if I call someone from 20 miles away in Shanghai, I can't get them to do anything they're not highly motivated to do unless I go visit them. I can't imagine buying something over the internet from China.
The last thing I'd say is that there aren't any really BIG dealers in China, that I'm aware of. At least there aren't in Shanghai. There are only 1000's of smaller dealers / stores. They can all get everything, and they all compete fiercely, but the point is that you're very unlikely to be dealing with a "large company" here. More likely a 3-10 person company with one or two kiosks around town at best.
Take Care,
Eric
http://www.essersinchina.com/
borderrose
Senior Member
My only experience with buying from China was for a Canon branded charger for the BP-511 battery. For some reason there wewre 2 chargers bundled in the ebay deal. I paid via paypal and the chargers arrived in the UK about 7 days later, both were counterfeits, and didn't work.
Having said that, there are many respected mail order dealers working from Hongkong.
Also be aware that big ticket mail order irems will usually attract import duty in almost every country, most at the 20% + - level. The duty takes a lot of the price advantage away.
Caveat emptor.
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Best regards,
Jim
Gallery at:
http://www.pbase.com/borderrose/viewgallery
Having said that, there are many respected mail order dealers working from Hongkong.
Also be aware that big ticket mail order irems will usually attract import duty in almost every country, most at the 20% + - level. The duty takes a lot of the price advantage away.
Caveat emptor.
--
Best regards,
Jim
Gallery at:
http://www.pbase.com/borderrose/viewgallery
em_dee_aitch
Senior Member
I did some work in Shanghai in 2005, and I went out of my way to check the local prices of Canon gear in real, authorized stores (as opposed to all the crazy counterfeit places; however, I saw nothing as complex as an SLR counterfeited... but that's just a matter of time).
Anyway, what I found was the any Canon gear at a legit store cost significantly more in Shanghai than it did at US retail stores, so the chance of getting a deal there is low. I don't know whether this is accurate or not, but someone in China told me the prices are higher due to taxes in imported luxury items.
I am well aware that the asking price in Shangai is almost NEVER the real price on anything except maybe groceries, so of course I tried to bargain them down on a lens I wanted, but they could barely get down to the "ask" prices at Precision Camera (a store in Austin), and nowhere near a B&H price.
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David Hill
http://www.davidhillphoto.com
Austin, Texas
Anyway, what I found was the any Canon gear at a legit store cost significantly more in Shanghai than it did at US retail stores, so the chance of getting a deal there is low. I don't know whether this is accurate or not, but someone in China told me the prices are higher due to taxes in imported luxury items.
I am well aware that the asking price in Shangai is almost NEVER the real price on anything except maybe groceries, so of course I tried to bargain them down on a lens I wanted, but they could barely get down to the "ask" prices at Precision Camera (a store in Austin), and nowhere near a B&H price.
--
David Hill
http://www.davidhillphoto.com
Austin, Texas
Eric Esser
Well-known member
Couldn't agree more. There is no question that branded merchandise, imported from outside China, is more expensive or at best the same price in China. It seems like a big surprise to most visitors. Every time a friend visits me in Shanghai, the first thing they ask is "ok, where can I get some really good deals on electronics and gadgets". They are universally surprised and disappointed to hear that you can't, really.
The exception is stuff that is unbranded, or where brands aren't very important, with the merchandise very likely to be made inside China itself. For example, (no-name) tripods, bags, batteries, even (generally no-name) memory cards can be had quite cheaply, often 30-40% below US prices. But cameras, cell phones, brand-name laptops, etc - all 0-20% more than US.
However, I have found so far that SLR camera gear is near the low end of the mark up pricing scale. Compared, for example, with digital point-and-shoot gear, that is often 20% more expensive, SLR gear seems to be closer to 0% more, sometimes even less, compared with US prices. I quoted a 5d at just under $3K two weeks ago. Looked at a lens for $200 that sells for $219 routinely here.
The other thing that I'd note is that if you're a ?? (foreigner!) who cannot speak Mandarin, you'll be hard-pressed to get anywhere close to the best price. If you're a ?? who can speak some (or a lot) of Chinese, you'll get CLOSE to the "local" price (but still, probably not all the way there). Only if you're a Chinese person will you really get to the bottom line. I'm in the second category - a foreign guy who can speak Mandarin, so my sense is that prices can go a little lower than I'm hearing / getting, but not too much.
EE
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http://www.essersinchina.com/
The exception is stuff that is unbranded, or where brands aren't very important, with the merchandise very likely to be made inside China itself. For example, (no-name) tripods, bags, batteries, even (generally no-name) memory cards can be had quite cheaply, often 30-40% below US prices. But cameras, cell phones, brand-name laptops, etc - all 0-20% more than US.
However, I have found so far that SLR camera gear is near the low end of the mark up pricing scale. Compared, for example, with digital point-and-shoot gear, that is often 20% more expensive, SLR gear seems to be closer to 0% more, sometimes even less, compared with US prices. I quoted a 5d at just under $3K two weeks ago. Looked at a lens for $200 that sells for $219 routinely here.
The other thing that I'd note is that if you're a ?? (foreigner!) who cannot speak Mandarin, you'll be hard-pressed to get anywhere close to the best price. If you're a ?? who can speak some (or a lot) of Chinese, you'll get CLOSE to the "local" price (but still, probably not all the way there). Only if you're a Chinese person will you really get to the bottom line. I'm in the second category - a foreign guy who can speak Mandarin, so my sense is that prices can go a little lower than I'm hearing / getting, but not too much.
EE
--
http://www.essersinchina.com/
Brian Choi
Leading Member
how much cheaper?
Strangely, I found the price in China to be lower than that I see on some US, and definitely UK prices. A few weeks ago, I bought a Nikon D200 body for RMB 11800 yuan, that is around US$1490 (£786), and my friend bought a Canon 5D for RMB 20000 yuan, which is around US$2500 (£1333), both from reputable Nikon and Canon dealers.
In my experience, the official dealers are pretty reliable, and there isn't really too much room for bargaining (usually a few hundred yuan at most). The only catch is, I guess, the warranty issue, since camera bodies usually come with national warranty, and if you don't live in China most of the time, that could be an issue in the unlikely event that something goes wrong and you need to get your camera fixed within warranty. (Not quite sure if it's possible to upgrade the warranty to an international one.) This is usually not a problem for lenses, especially pro ones, since they usually have global warranty.
In my experience, the official dealers are pretty reliable, and there isn't really too much room for bargaining (usually a few hundred yuan at most). The only catch is, I guess, the warranty issue, since camera bodies usually come with national warranty, and if you don't live in China most of the time, that could be an issue in the unlikely event that something goes wrong and you need to get your camera fixed within warranty. (Not quite sure if it's possible to upgrade the warranty to an international one.) This is usually not a problem for lenses, especially pro ones, since they usually have global warranty.
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