Dinkar Jhalera wrote:
>...Jury is out
>whether it was a bargain or not and how much the customs here charge me
when
>it gets here.
UK subscribers may be interested in my recent experience in buying from a US
List member. It was the 24mm f2.8 from Dave Bulger that achieved a brief
"notoriety" on the List about three weeks ago, for $180 inc air postage,
which based on that day's Channel 4's Teletext rate, equated to £118.98.
(When I told Dave I would be going to the bank the following day to buy an
International Money Order, he posted the lens forthwith!) The bank charged
me at a slightly less favourable rate - £121.02 plus £8 for the IMO. To get
the benefit of Barclays insurance on non-delivery or misdirection of an IMO,
I had to send it by Recorded Delivery, another £3.25. So, for a total of
£132.27 for a mint 24mm with hood, things were looking good - but what would
HM Customs charge in duty and VAT?
Here I had an unexpected stroke of luck. The box arrived with a yellow
"Inspected by HM Customs" ticket - but no charge! When I opened it up it was
all too obvious that the inspector had not seen a Zuiko case before. Instead
of opening the press stud, he or she had prised or ripped off a pair of
rivets that held the flexible hinge, so that when I opened the press stud,
the case fell in two!
There was no apology, but I was more than happy to accept the lack of duty
in lieu, and a hot glue gun repaired the damage in minutes.
It's good buying from List members - thanks again Dave.
Regards,
Keith Berry
(Birmingham, England)
k.berry@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
www.keithberry.telinco.co.uk
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