Buy ex1r From USA to EU

[Kostas Rose]

I have some questions mostly for taxes:
If i buy the EX1R from USA (B&H or adorama.com) i will pay 2000 euros less but i must pay more taxes here in Greece because it is from a non EU nation and that will make me pay more than 2300 euros in taxes for incoming products from USA..
One friend of mine told me that in Britain you don't have to pay taxes for products that have been bought from USA. So I am thinking to buy it from USA and tell the shop to send it in Great Britain in a friend of mine who works there and he will send it to me to Greece without taxes because GB is a EU member. Is that correct?
I don't want to use any service from companies like USA2me.com or something like that because i don't trust them for the safety of the package and the delivery to me.
The trick with a notice outside of the box "as a gift" is not working any more for Greek authorites. They open all packages from USA and if they see something expencive they will ask you to give them the receipt and then you have to pay taxes for import. If you don't give them the receipt you can't take the package.

[Colin Rowe]

Originally Posted by Kostas Rose

I have some questions mostly for taxes:
If i buy the EX1R from USA (B&H or adorama.com) i will pay 2000 euros less but i must pay more taxes here in Greece because it is from a non EU nation and that will make me pay more than 2300 euros in taxes for incoming products from USA..
One friend of mine told me that in Britain you don't have to pay taxes for products that have been bought from USA. So I am thinking to buy it from USA and tell the shop to send it in Great Britain in a friend of mine who works there and he will send it to me to Greece without taxes because GB is a EU member. Is that correct?
I don't want to use any service from companies like USA2me.com or something like that because i don't trust them for the safety of the package and the delivery to me.
The trick with a notice outside of the box "as a gift" is not working any more for Greek authorites. They open all packages from USA and if they see something expencive they will ask you to give them the receipt and then you have to pay taxes for import. If you don't give them the receipt you can't take the package.

Hi Kostas.
Not true I'm afraid, the camera would be liable for VAT at 20% + import duty. I works out at about the same price, sometimes more, than buying in your home country. You would also have warranty issues with a camera purchased from another country.
Hope this helps

[Kostas Rose]

I spoke with greek service of sony and they told me if something goes wrong with ex1r you must send an e-mail to sony and they send you a box with tapes etc. You put the camera inside the box and send it back to sony for service or replace.

[Marcus Durham]

Originally Posted by Colin Rowe

You would also have warranty issues with a camera purchased from another country.
Hope this helps

Didn't the EU stamp down on this?

[Colin Rowe]

Dont know about that Marcus, very possibly, but to what effect with the manufacturers ?

[Kostas Rose]

the EX1R support PAL and NTSC formats so why the manufacter will stamp the model?

[Alister Chapman]

Sony will know from the serial number exactly where it was sold. The Sony Prime Support package only applies to the country of purchase and as the camera is a professional product it is outside the scope of many EU consumer laws.

Sony will support the camera, but you would have to send it to the USA as you purchased the warranty from Sony USA.

[Donald McPherson]

What would happen if an USA citizen were to bring it over. Say for a family visit.

[Alister Chapman]

Legally they should have a Carnet. The EX1R is a professional item and any professional goods brought temporarily into the UK should be accompanied by a bond or Carnet. Failure to re export any items covered by the bond or carnet will result in the loss of the bond and/or legal action and in a very extreme case refusal of entry into the UK in the future.

In reality, they would probably be able to walk right in to the country and even if they were stopped by customs, blag their way in on the grounds of it being a personal item and video is their hobby. If they get caught trying to smuggle in goods without the correct documentation then in an extreme case they risk a fine and having it confiscated.

If it broke, it would either have to go back to the USA to be repaired under the US based prime support agreement or in to a UK Sony dealer for a paid-for repair. You will not get warranty repairs on a US sold camera in the UK. If you purchased a car in the USA and imported it to the UK, would you expect the local UK dealer to repair it for free???

The dealers, distributors, manufacturers, supply chain, in each country mark up products. Some of that mark up goes towards providing service and support. Is it really fair to expect the supply chain of one country to support the servicing and repair of products that they have had nothing to do with? If everyone purchased all their kit in the USA, then who would pay for and support the service centers in the EU?

I'm not saying don't do it, all I'm saying is be aware of the implications and possible outcomes.

[Donald McPherson]

I feel we in the UK are paying for the mark-up of too many things. You just have to look at Adobe products for a start.

[Andreas Andreou]

A Sony camera purchased in the USA and imported into the UK IS covered by parts & labour warranty. A faulty camera would have to be returned to Sony UK in Basingstoke (with copy of US purchase receipt), if Sony UK technicians confirm a manufacturing fault they will then contact Sony US (by email) and advise of Job number, fault codes etc, Sony US will then authorise the repair and will honour Sony UK repair costs. The same procedure applies if you purchase a Sony camera in the UK or EU and have a problem with it in USA.

And to correct Alister, the camera does NOT have to be sent to the USA for repair.
Just as you would NOT have to send your American car back to USA for warranty repairs or your locally purchased BMW back to Germany for warranty repair. You would get it repaired at your local franchise who will ultimately be paid for the job by either the selling agent or the manufacturer (provided the fault is covered under manufacturer’s warranty)

EU silver or prime support does not apply for US purchased equipment.
EU silver/prime support is a warranty service and fee that Sony EU (NOT SONY JAPAN) charges EU citizens for the peace of mind and door to door service they provide. SONY JAPAN issues a MANUFACTURERS warranty for every electronic item they manufacture and export. (check the manufacturers warranty documentation that comes with every item).

The fact of the matter is…you can buy an ex3 from any Sony authorised retailer on the planet and import it into the UK or other EU country and enjoy the benefit of a full manufacturer’s warranty. It is that simple, and if anybody says otherwise then they need to get their facts right before they get onto forums and wrongly advise people.

A lot of unsupported comments have often been made on this and other forums about Sony warranty relating to kit purchased in the US for EU usage or even the dreaded ‘beware of grey imports’ warning. It is not a grey import; it is a Sony manufactured piece of kit that Sony EU can’t charge you warranty for. But they are obliged under the agreements they have with Sony Japan to fix it. It is not in Sony EU’s financial interest to promote the manufacturers warranty…simple as that. They can make more money per sale on equipment by charging EU citizens a special charge called ‘prime or silver support’. This is an excellent service and charged accordingly, but it is a service over and above the manufacturer’s warranty.

What I have stated above relating to Sony US/UK warranty is not my personnel opinion or unsupported comments but is extracted from email and documentary correspondence from Sony UK/EU, Sony USA and the horses mouth Sony Japan.

Furthermore, the above warranty arrangements between USA and the EU have been confirmed by both Sony EU and Sony US in correspondence and in person. So you can be rest assured that it is fact and not heresy.

If anybody would like to know the name and contact number of Sony EU or Sony USA to whom you can contact for formal verification of the USA-EU warranty arrangement please let me know.

End of rant!

[Colin Rowe]

Going back to the original post. The guy is talking about saving about 300 euros. It hardly seems worth the hassle.

[Alister Chapman]

Sony Basingstoke does not normally handle the warranty repair of XDCAM EX cameras, it is all done at the central service center in Tilburg.

My information is that you will not get the same level of support for an out of region camera. You certainly won't get the free collection, shipping and return service you get via prime support. Perhaps it won't have to go back to the USA, but by the time you've paid to ship it to Tilburg and the negotiations to get it fixed have been done, you may as well have taken it back to where you got it. What happens if they have to get parts in from Japan? You won't get a loan camera.

[Andreas Andreou]

I agree, going back to the original post, saving 300 euros buying in the US is hardly worth the effort.

In reply to Alister, email correspondence with Sony US, UK and EU, clearly states and instruct that Sony equipment purchased outside of the EU must be sent to Sony Basingstoke. And contrary to your comments, you will get exactly the same level of warranty support in accordance with the manufacturers strict instructions as you would if you purchased in the UK. There is no such thing as FREE collection, shipping and return service...this is a paid for cost included in the Prime support service that Sony EU charge EU citizens for each purchase. Sony EU gives nothing away free, and if anyone believes for one moment that Sony EU provides a free delivery service then you'll believe anything. Prime support is an excellent but very expensive service to charge on each camera sale. So it definitely doesn’t' have to go back to the US and if you check with Royal Mail or Parcel Force the cost of secure and signed delivery with insurance is about £30 and delivered the next day. What negotiation are you referring to Alsiter? There is nothing to negotiate, you are obliged to inform of the fault or problem you have, Sony UK are obliged to carry out a full diagnosis (as they are legally bound to by Sony Japan) and they advise of the fault, the only difference is how the process internally the warranty claim, they email Sony US for a repair authorisation and not Sony EU, I cant see what negotiation you are referring too?

The Fact that no parts may be available for repair is pretty slim, In order for Sony UK and Sony EU to be listed as authorised service centres they have to conform to certain criteria dictated to from Sony Japan, 1) they must have technicians trained and certified by Sony Japan and, 2) they must also carry a comprehensive stock of service and repair parts for all the current range of equipment. This stock is mandatory and is ordered on a monthly basis as required. I accept that some parts may be in limited stock numbers but generally speaking Sony UK and Sony EU carry most of the parts in stock. Again it would not be in their interest not to keep adequate stock, it’s a financial decision, it’s cheaper to keep stock of serviceable items as opposed to not keeping stock and have to send out complete cameras every time they have a warranty issue? If you are using your kit 7 days a week then Prime support is a must, but if your work is a few days every month then you could look at the option of hiring out kit. The last time I checked, one of the UK hirers is hiring out a full EX1r kit with tripod, SxS cards and bag for £95. Pick up on Friday and delivery it back on Monday. That’s effectively three days hire for just £95. We need to educate ourselves, we now live in a global economic village, as consumers we have the power to purchase anywhere in the world, manufacturers provide an efficient global service and repair centres that is in place to serve the client and promote the Brand and not individual dealerships.

We should not blindly follow scaremongering or fearful scenarios instigated by other corporate financial interests. For those of us old enough to remember back in the mid 1980s British Leyland used to apply the same ‘Grey Import’ & ‘No Warranty’ scaremongering for anybody that went over to Belgium to purchase a Mini Metro cheaper. They used every trick to deceive and mislead the UK motorist, the fear factor of no warranty and you would have to ‘Go back to Belgium for repairs’ well, we know what happened to them?

And to prove the point, Alister you have some very high contacts within Sony UK, EU and Japan, and on behalf of us mere mortals please pass this thread on to Sony EU and ask them to comment on the validity of my comments regarding the USA - EU warranty issue.

[Alister Chapman]

Perhaps Andreas you could enlighten us all as to why you have had to have such in depth discussions with sony EU, USA and EU over warranty repairs. Have you had trouble getting a camera fixed?
I'd love to know where you get fully insured shipping for so little. The last time I got a price to ship and insure a video camera it was £22 per £1000 value and only loss coverage for lenses or other glass parts.