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To any Canadian planning on buying a Canon Digital Cam

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Thanks for the tip. I'll check it out. I think I walked by there last spring on my way to the Intrepid, but the weather was miserable and we were in a hurry...

Hmmm... I see they list and carry the underwater housing for my Fuji 4900Z.
Jim V1 said:
B&H all the way !!! Love that store - http://www.bhphotovideo.com . And
btw, I don't think Canadian stores will match prices with U.S.
stores.For the 'nay-to-USA-sayers : Hey it's your money - if you
want to pay more - go right ahead !
Click to expand...
 
Hi,

I have a more specific question, maybe someone knows the answer.

I will be travelling to Boston next week (from Canada) and plan on checking out what kind of price i can get for the A80. If it is enough of a difference (given the strength of the loonie) i was going to purchase the camera down there.

My question is: i know that you are allowed to claim certain dollar amounts duty free if you are away for extended periods of time - although i do not know the exact details. If i am in Boston for a week, and buy the camera, and suppose i declared the camera as a purchase once i return, what type of taxes will i be paying on the purchase? tax/penalty/other?

Maurice maybe you know the answer - or if anyone else can offer some insight it would be appreciated.
 
I don't think the question of duty fees applies to your situation. Like I said, digital cameras are duty FREE when importing them in Canada. You still have to pay the GST thats for sure, I'm not sure about the Provincial Tax though, someone else might enlighten us...
gd14 said:
I have a more specific question, maybe someone knows the answer.

I will be travelling to Boston next week (from Canada) and plan on
checking out what kind of price i can get for the A80. If it is
enough of a difference (given the strength of the loonie) i was
going to purchase the camera down there.

My question is: i know that you are allowed to claim certain dollar
amounts duty free if you are away for extended periods of time -
although i do not know the exact details. If i am in Boston for a
week, and buy the camera, and suppose i declared the camera as a
purchase once i return, what type of taxes will i be paying on the
purchase? tax/penalty/other?

Maurice maybe you know the answer - or if anyone else can offer
some insight it would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
 
I did a quick research to see if it was woth getting the A80 in the US.
I mean only getting the camera and no other accessories.
I looked at the B&H store. And found the Cam at 399.95$ US dollar.
Used UPS shipping at 30$.

so in Total before taxes. Cam 400$ US + 30$ US ship. = 430$.
The exchange rate that would make about 570$ Canadian.

I found the cost at a Local Camera Shop (LL Lozeau) in Montreal
to be about 598$ canadian.

That is only a saving of 28$ Canadian.. That before paying the taxes (provincial and Federal taxes)

The cost of getting the camera in the USA is not really worth the saving.
You really have to think twice before shopping to the USA. Better do

a lot of reasearch before thinking about this.. and Make sure you deal with a very good and reputable store befire buying from the USA.
 
gd14 said:
Hi,

I have a more specific question, maybe someone knows the answer.

I will be travelling to Boston next week (from Canada) and plan on
checking out what kind of price i can get for the A80. If it is
enough of a difference (given the strength of the loonie) i was
going to purchase the camera down there.

My question is: i know that you are allowed to claim certain dollar
amounts duty free if you are away for extended periods of time -
although i do not know the exact details. If i am in Boston for a
week, and buy the camera, and suppose i declared the camera as a
purchase once i return, what type of taxes will i be paying on the
purchase? tax/penalty/other?
Click to expand...
Here you are, http://www.ccra-adrc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4044/rc4044-e.html#P284_19912

Scroll down to personal exemptions. If the URL does not work, basicaly it is : outside Canada for 24 hours $50 Cdn (no booze), after 48 hours absence $200 and booze allowed, after 7 days $750 Cdn. Note that the allowances are in Canadian dollars so you have to convert the US prices.
hope this helps.
 
HoTiCE,

There is a quick savings to be had by buying in the states and smuggling the camera across, but I don't want to take the chance of getting caught. I travel quite a bit for my work, and I wouldn't want a savings of 1 or 2 hundred dollars to ruin my career - getting cought smuggling things across a boarder would probably hinder (if not block) future boarder crossings which would be a major handicap for my job.

The dealer I bought the camera told me that if there is a warrenty problem, they will replace the camera on the spot and then they would deal with Canon directly - I won't have to wait for shipping, deal with the company, be short of a camera for x weeks/months... to me, that is worth something...

to each his own.

cheers
HoTiCE said:
CanonPat said:
I have a Canon A80 on preorder at a Canadian camera shop here in
Montreal. I bought the camera, a 256 CF card, a card reader, and
they threw in a Roots Camera bag as well as one of those flexible
mini tripods - all for 800.00 CAD (all taxes included)

Plus I get great warranty service because this is a reputable
authorized dealer. And I have a 30 day "trial period" - if I do not
like the camera for any reason whatsoever, I can return it for an
exchange. I don't think that kind of service is available from an
online retailer/dealer. And as for buying in the states, that makes
for a bit of a drive if ever there is a warranty issue – the
service is always better when you return to the place of purchase.

Just my 2 cents worth...
Click to expand...
Now just for arguments sakes, lets say u bought this camera from
the United States. The camera is listed for 399$ USD at
PCNATION.com in the States. Granted, it doesn't ship to Canada but
lets say you find some way to get it into Canada. First of all, add
a 256 MB card, which is again DIRT cheap compared here, at around
40 USD, a card reader for 20 USD, ur up to 460 USD. You get it
shipped to some relatives in NY close to the border.

Price goes to around 607$ CAN shipped free. Now if you "smuggle" it
through the border, you don't pay a single cent of tax. If you
think you can't look yourself in the mirror for the rest of your
life for doing that, then pay the GST and PST (which is 15% here in
Quebec), it comes in just over 700$, which still yields a
difference of 100$ easy. Now the other issues:

1) There are ALWAYS some risks that the product comes up defect,
and itll be harder to return it. But these risks are minimal when
products are factory sealed and comes from a reputable Online
Reseller.

2) Most people who buy cameras here have done extensive searches
online and KNOW WHAT they want to buy precisely so chances that
the'll return it are minimal

3) Having said that, after an average 30 day period, if any defects
were to happen to the camera, you need to send it back to Canon
ANYWAYS (unless you bought an extended-warrantee from the store,
which I didn't count in for comparison purposes). Canon Canada DOES
cover warrantees from units bought from an AUTHORIZED dealer in the
US such as PCNATION.

Moral of the story: if you KNOW what you want and do want to save
that hardearned cash, the US is always a cheaper option, thats what
I did, and for the record,I did save a whopping 200$ Canadian. But
then if money grows in trees in your backyard, DO feel free to buy
in Canada and give me the adress of your house.

Minh
Click to expand...
 
True, savings are not always to be found on every camera and or accessories but let's take 'another' example. This time look at the Sigma SD9 DSLR - at Henry's Toronto: CDN $ 2600,-(and they throw in that wonderful service...NOT)
At B&H, NYC price is US$1100,- or CDN$1500,- ! Makes you wonder ,EH?

I for one, do my research very carefully before I spend my money; these forums are also a great help in finding deals,there are so many people who know a lot more than me !
 
Unless it's a serious charge (drugs, or wholesale smuggling tens of thousands worth of merchandise) - you won't get much more that a slap on the wrist. And that comes from Canadian border guards. Then Americans won't hassle you about it; all they care about is if you are muslim or born in Syria or travelling on 9/11 or are Farley Mowat or stuff like that.

The American border people can arbitrarily refuse you entry to the USA if they don't like the colour of your tie. If they do, you spend months fiddling with the forms to get back the privilege of entering the USA. You don't want to mess with them. Don't argue, don't get smart. You want to be polite and straightforward and honest, ESPECIALLY, if you want to work in the states.

The Canadian border guards can't refuse you entry into Canada, since you're Canadian, eh? But they can make life difficult for you each time you cross back into Canada, and I'm sure the computers will, if they don't already, pop up a list of your travel history and any past offenses. For $35 duty on $500, why bother taking the chance?
CanonPat said:
There is a quick savings to be had by buying in the states and
smuggling the camera across, but I don't want to take the chance of
getting caught. I travel quite a bit for my work, and I wouldn't
want a savings of 1 or 2 hundred dollars to ruin my career -
getting cought smuggling things across a boarder would probably
hinder (if not block) future boarder crossings which would be a
major handicap for my job.

The dealer I bought the camera told me that if there is a warrenty
problem, they will replace the camera on the spot and then they
would deal with Canon directly - I won't have to wait for shipping,
deal with the company, be short of a camera for x weeks/months...
to me, that is worth something...

to each his own.

cheers
HoTiCE said:
CanonPat said:
I have a Canon A80 on preorder at a Canadian camera shop here in
Montreal. I bought the camera, a 256 CF card, a card reader, and
they threw in a Roots Camera bag as well as one of those flexible
mini tripods - all for 800.00 CAD (all taxes included)

Plus I get great warranty service because this is a reputable
authorized dealer. And I have a 30 day "trial period" - if I do not
like the camera for any reason whatsoever, I can return it for an
exchange. I don't think that kind of service is available from an
online retailer/dealer. And as for buying in the states, that makes
for a bit of a drive if ever there is a warranty issue – the
service is always better when you return to the place of purchase.

Just my 2 cents worth...
Click to expand...
Now just for arguments sakes, lets say u bought this camera from
the United States. The camera is listed for 399$ USD at
PCNATION.com in the States. Granted, it doesn't ship to Canada but
lets say you find some way to get it into Canada. First of all, add
a 256 MB card, which is again DIRT cheap compared here, at around
40 USD, a card reader for 20 USD, ur up to 460 USD. You get it
shipped to some relatives in NY close to the border.

Price goes to around 607$ CAN shipped free. Now if you "smuggle" it
through the border, you don't pay a single cent of tax. If you
think you can't look yourself in the mirror for the rest of your
life for doing that, then pay the GST and PST (which is 15% here in
Quebec), it comes in just over 700$, which still yields a
difference of 100$ easy. Now the other issues:

1) There are ALWAYS some risks that the product comes up defect,
and itll be harder to return it. But these risks are minimal when
products are factory sealed and comes from a reputable Online
Reseller.

2) Most people who buy cameras here have done extensive searches
online and KNOW WHAT they want to buy precisely so chances that
the'll return it are minimal

3) Having said that, after an average 30 day period, if any defects
were to happen to the camera, you need to send it back to Canon
ANYWAYS (unless you bought an extended-warrantee from the store,
which I didn't count in for comparison purposes). Canon Canada DOES
cover warrantees from units bought from an AUTHORIZED dealer in the
US such as PCNATION.

Moral of the story: if you KNOW what you want and do want to save
that hardearned cash, the US is always a cheaper option, thats what
I did, and for the record,I did save a whopping 200$ Canadian. But
then if money grows in trees in your backyard, DO feel free to buy
in Canada and give me the adress of your house.

Minh
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Yes, as I pointed out earlier... The super-discount places are already down to $325. (Reputation notwithstanding...) It's only a matter of time before everyone in the US Mail-order is at that price - once all the early adopters have bought the A80.

Do you think the price will drop the equivalent amount in Canada? Is it worth $100 for you to wait a month or two and see where the price goes?
Jim V1 said:
True, savings are not always to be found on every camera and or
accessories but let's take 'another' example. This time look at the
Sigma SD9 DSLR - at Henry's Toronto: CDN $ 2600,-(and they throw in
that wonderful service...NOT)
At B&H, NYC price is US$1100,- or CDN$1500,- ! Makes you wonder ,EH?
I for one, do my research very carefully before I spend my money;
these forums are also a great help in finding deals,there are so
many people who know a lot more than me !
Click to expand...
 
As far as smuggling goes - agreed, probably not worth the risk.

However,

It is possible to buy something in the states and legally bring it back w/o too much of a penalty, which is the situation i'm in. Because of the $750CDN exemption (i'll be there for a week) i may be able to buy the camera down there and save some money. If canon will honour a US warranty in Canada, then there's no risk involved. If i save 50 bucks by buying the camera in the states, then thats an extra 50 i have to put towards the CF card or batteries or whatever.

I still may call customs to get the info direct from them, ie. EXACTLY what i would pay given that i declared the item etc.
CanonPat said:
There is a quick savings to be had by buying in the states and
smuggling the camera across, but I don't want to take the chance of
getting caught. I travel quite a bit for my work, and I wouldn't
want a savings of 1 or 2 hundred dollars to ruin my career -
getting cought smuggling things across a boarder would probably
hinder (if not block) future boarder crossings which would be a
major handicap for my job.

The dealer I bought the camera told me that if there is a warrenty
problem, they will replace the camera on the spot and then they
would deal with Canon directly - I won't have to wait for shipping,
deal with the company, be short of a camera for x weeks/months...
to me, that is worth something...

to each his own.

cheers
HoTiCE said:
CanonPat said:
I have a Canon A80 on preorder at a Canadian camera shop here in
Montreal. I bought the camera, a 256 CF card, a card reader, and
they threw in a Roots Camera bag as well as one of those flexible
mini tripods - all for 800.00 CAD (all taxes included)

Plus I get great warranty service because this is a reputable
authorized dealer. And I have a 30 day "trial period" - if I do not
like the camera for any reason whatsoever, I can return it for an
exchange. I don't think that kind of service is available from an
online retailer/dealer. And as for buying in the states, that makes
for a bit of a drive if ever there is a warranty issue – the
service is always better when you return to the place of purchase.

Just my 2 cents worth...
Click to expand...
Now just for arguments sakes, lets say u bought this camera from
the United States. The camera is listed for 399$ USD at
PCNATION.com in the States. Granted, it doesn't ship to Canada but
lets say you find some way to get it into Canada. First of all, add
a 256 MB card, which is again DIRT cheap compared here, at around
40 USD, a card reader for 20 USD, ur up to 460 USD. You get it
shipped to some relatives in NY close to the border.

Price goes to around 607$ CAN shipped free. Now if you "smuggle" it
through the border, you don't pay a single cent of tax. If you
think you can't look yourself in the mirror for the rest of your
life for doing that, then pay the GST and PST (which is 15% here in
Quebec), it comes in just over 700$, which still yields a
difference of 100$ easy. Now the other issues:

1) There are ALWAYS some risks that the product comes up defect,
and itll be harder to return it. But these risks are minimal when
products are factory sealed and comes from a reputable Online
Reseller.

2) Most people who buy cameras here have done extensive searches
online and KNOW WHAT they want to buy precisely so chances that
the'll return it are minimal

3) Having said that, after an average 30 day period, if any defects
were to happen to the camera, you need to send it back to Canon
ANYWAYS (unless you bought an extended-warrantee from the store,
which I didn't count in for comparison purposes). Canon Canada DOES
cover warrantees from units bought from an AUTHORIZED dealer in the
US such as PCNATION.

Moral of the story: if you KNOW what you want and do want to save
that hardearned cash, the US is always a cheaper option, thats what
I did, and for the record,I did save a whopping 200$ Canadian. But
then if money grows in trees in your backyard, DO feel free to buy
in Canada and give me the adress of your house.

Minh
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Perhaps you could put the sales documentation and manuals in an envelope and mail them to yourself.
Maurice Daniels said:
Usually you aren't charged with a criminal offence unless the
amount is huge - however, nowadays they have all your old claims on
computer and if they get ticked off, I'm sure they'll do a thorough
search - i.e. let's see about the camera you're carrying, even if
it is 2 years old. The USA doesn't care about summary offenses any
more than they care about parking tickets - just criminal offenses.
(They nabbed me once when I was on temporary layoff -5 year later I
got "Hey, you said on your Unemployment claim you were available
for work, but we have a form that says you were in the USA for 5
days". I had to pay back a week's worth of UIC pay.)

In the 80's I recall reading about a raid that Revenue Canada did
on some upscale golf courses. (Obviously not upscale enough to be
well connected). They noted down the serial numbers of all the
clubs stored there, and then traced whether they had been bought in
Canada or if duty had been paid on them... obviously a profitable
quest.

On $500 the tax will be $35 - oooh, aaaah - against a savings of
$100 or more, why take the chance?

As noted at the beginning of this thread, cameras are duty-free -
just GST and possibly PST. (I haven't figured that out yet, but I'm
not sure if they charge PST or not. I don' recall getting hit with
it at the border... The story I heard was that they won't do it
until the province harmonizes their tax - because who has time to
learn the intricacies of what is and isn't taxable in each
province.)
Civis said:
If you enact ridiculously high taxes, people will be motivated to
avoid them. If the taxes get high enough, people will even go to an
ungers=ground cash economy. Canada found this out with tobacco
taxes. They didn't stop smoking, they just bought them from
bootleggers.
James C. Murray said:
HoTiCE said:
" You get it shipped to some relatives in NY close to the border."
Click to expand...
We all have relatives close the NY border, sure.
Maurice Daniels said:
" Now if you "smuggle" it through the border, you don't pay a single cent of tax. If you think you can't look yourself in the mirror for the rest of your life for doing that, then pay the GST and PST."
Click to expand...
If customs catch you doing that, at best you will pay a fine and
lose the goods. If they get mad you can be prosecuted and among
other things your days of being able to enter the US will probably
be over not to mention a whole lot of other inconveniences
associated with having a smuggling offence on your records.

Pretty big risk for the amount savings involved.

By the way the point of sale of items with serial numbers can
easily be traced by customs so each time you reenter Canada with
your camera you are in fact smuggling it each time if customs ever
decide to do a thorough inspection.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Get real, this is nickel and dime stuff, not a truckload of contraband cigarettes. Just register the serial # with Canon at in internet cafe back in the states after the purchase.
James C. Murray said:
Civis said:
Perhaps you could put the sales documentation and manuals in an
envelope and mail them to yourself.
Click to expand...
Tha camera STILL has a serial # unless you chisel it off !!!.
The serial # will be a matter of record with the distributer as
will the retail outlet generaly.
Click to expand...
 
Maurice Daniels said:
Yes, as I pointed out earlier... The super-discount places are
already down to $325. (Reputation notwithstanding...) It's only a
matter of time before everyone in the US Mail-order is at that
price - once all the early adopters have bought the A80.

Do you think the price will drop the equivalent amount in Canada?
Is it worth $100 for you to wait a month or two and see where the
price goes?
Click to expand...
Personally speaking...yeah, I can wait - I have several digital cameras that I can use now-I would be buying it for a family member. If I were to buy from a Canadian source, it would be 'out-of-province' since you save yourself the PST; you only pay the GST.

Will the price drop in Canada before Xmas ? Not drastically I would say,although I could be wrong of course. You might see a drop of $50,- to $100,- of certain models (usually the older ones). I believe in saving a buck but in the end, you have to weigh what's important to you. After all, the time that you don't have the camera is precious too. And no matter what you pay, there will always be someone who'll say how much less they paid.
 
Civis said:
Get real, this is nickel and dime stuff, not a truckload of
contraband cigarettes. Just register the serial # with Canon at in
internet cafe back in the states after the purchase.
Click to expand...
Better yet, the thing with the serial number is that you don't just find it on the bottom of the camera, there is one on the warranty card! I wonder how many people missed just that...

Also, you can just save an email with the serial on it, and nobody's gonna complain.
 
Maurice Daniels said:
I think I made my point - USA, cheap; Canada - cost$$$.
Click to expand...
Why that? We're literally paying through the nose even after the currency conversion difference has been taken into consideration. It's true that your point is correct, but it's true only for as long as the Washingtonian hawks don't advocate a strong greenback. Ironically, we do need a strong greenback because a higher loonie costs us far more than it benefits.

Prices in Canada are not as competitive as those in the USA because there are much fewer competition around. Under the 49th Parallel, there are Fry's, Ritz, Buy.com, Amazon.com, Office Depot, Newegg, Dell, and dozens, perhaps hundreds, more that compete on the same products. Canadian prices can be CHEAPER than those in the USA because most citizens here could not afford the high ticket prices -- we earn a mere fraction of what the average American makes annually, and we pay more in taxes than they do.

Fortunately, we don't have to worry about the insurance cos.-hospital collusion that leave so many Americans without adequate medical insurance.
 
That's one way to get rid of the unions.
MarekM said:
Your employer should close down the place you work at and move it
to Mexico. Your job could be done for a third of what you cost.
Feels good, eh?
Rgds
Click to expand...
 
break the law to save money... interesting. Why not just steal the camera in the first place? Much better savings.
Civis said:
If you enact ridiculously high taxes, people will be motivated to
avoid them. If the taxes get high enough, people will even go to an
ungers=ground cash economy. Canada found this out with tobacco
taxes. They didn't stop smoking, they just bought them from
bootleggers.
James C. Murray said:
HoTiCE said:
" You get it shipped to some relatives in NY close to the border."
Click to expand...
We all have relatives close the NY border, sure.
Civis said:
" Now if you "smuggle" it through the border, you don't pay a single cent of tax. If you think you can't look yourself in the mirror for the rest of your life for doing that, then pay the GST and PST."
Click to expand...
If customs catch you doing that, at best you will pay a fine and
lose the goods. If they get mad you can be prosecuted and among
other things your days of being able to enter the US will probably
be over not to mention a whole lot of other inconveniences
associated with having a smuggling offence on your records.

Pretty big risk for the amount savings involved.

By the way the point of sale of items with serial numbers can
easily be traced by customs so each time you reenter Canada with
your camera you are in fact smuggling it each time if customs ever
decide to do a thorough inspection.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
I havent seen any mention of a brokerage fee in this thread. I ordered 10 minidv tapes for $3.99 US each from the US alittle while back. By the time I paid exchange, the $11 shipping and $30 brokerage those tapes were the same price as i could have gotten them from Futureshop here in canada!

what is the brokerage fee and can it be avoided? I can't imagine how much it would be for a digi cam!
HoTiCE said:
To all you fellow canadians who are planning on buying a Canon, I
advise you guys to buy it online from the US,

1) Prices are MUCH cheaper (I saved 200$ on a PowershotS400)

2) Canon CAnada honors waranties if you bought it from an
Authorized Canon reseller in the USA

3) No custom fees on digital cameras (only pay GST&PST)

4) Canadian loonie has never been higher vs USD as of yesterday :)

This is an email i got back from a rep @ Canon Canada:

Thank you for your E-mail inquiry.

Canon Canada, Inc. will honour the warranty of a Canon PowerShot S400
purchased from an Authorized Reseller in the USA.

Should you require further assistance, please feel free to email us or
visit our customer support website at http://www.canon.ca

Sincerely,

David
Technical Support Representative
Customer Information Centre
Canon Canada Inc.
Click to expand...
 
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