Buying from DWI

[fairy bombs]

HI

Looking at purchasing a Lens soon,the cheapest I can find it for in Australia is $1500,a few people have mentioned DWI to buy items from,and I am just wondering if anyone here has bought kit from them,They have the lens I want for $1158,plus postage from Hong Kong.

Not sure how much postage is.

If anyone can let me know how they went with a purchase,that would be great,i have never done a transaction like this before.

cheers FB

[olympuse620]

Can only offer this piece of advice - be aware of customs and the possibility of extra charges. I work mate purchased tools from the US but because they cost over $1000 he got hit with extra in Australia before they would release them to him. In the end it was not cheaper.

[simonr23]

DWI will cover any customs charge, if it's even done. i think they ensure that the product doesnt get taxed.

and DWI are a good company to deal with, as long as you are aware that warranty has to go through them, for alot of products. i believe some/many lenses for canon and i think nikon are ok when bought o/s though, as far as aussie service goes.

[rellik666]

Nikon won't have anything to do with grey imports.....

DWI are good though....but make sure you call them to make sure they have the item in stock...because there website can be out of date...

Roo

[mikec]

DWI are fine to deail with, got my 5D II through them, no custom charges. The receipt said it was valvued at like $800 to get through with out any problems. Highly recommend them.

[Dylan & Marianne]

I had trouble with DWI when ordering a 7D and I wanted a canon 70-200 F2.8 IS I lens.
They told me both were in stock when in actual fact they weren't.
They then told me they could no longer get the older model of the 70-200 so I had to upgrade to the version II.
When it was all finally sorted, delivery was swift however.
They get around the customs tax through dodgy methods though.
- the package comes looking gift wrapped
- the receipt is fake value : eg my 7d was priced at 450, the lens priced at 450 so it would amount to <1000 (pray you don't get a customs officer who knows a thing about prices) - you may have issues with the fake value of the receipt I guess.

I'd still go with them again after careful consideration but this was one bad experience out of many good.

[fairy bombs]

thanks for the heads up chaps.

I had heard that its fairly good to buy from,and they some how do the paper work so its all fine going through customs.

I had heard about the delays with things listed in stock,then they did'nt really have the item in stock.

RE-making phone call,that sounds like a good idea,to check if item in stock,is the phone number on the web site?can you pay over the phone or is it all on line?

thanks for your help,FB

[maccaroneski]

I haven't tried paying on line, but I did call them once asking if an item was in stock, and they offered to take the order over the phone.

[etherial]

Here are two threads devoted to DWI and they are mentioned in plenty more...

http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...d.php?p=515096
http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...d.php?p=568975

[iijm]

Hi, have purchased several lenses and a flash from them. Paid by Paypal and goods delivered to central NSW within 4 days of payment. Will buy again thru them. Same can be said for my experiences with Citiwide.

[quangsta]

have brought and known of a few other mates who have brought through dwi. no complaints here.

[Buggles]

Hi,
No complaints from me. Bought 5d mkII and Canon 580EX flash through them and both have been fine. I just placed an order for another lens with them.
Cheers,
Craig

[bigdazzler]

My experiences with DWI have been positive. Make sure you call them first and confirm that what you want is in stock though. Ive heard stories about the online ordering system saying "in stock" and then after purchase you get an email saying "out of stock" ... So I always call first.

[soulman]

i think they ensure that the product doesnt get taxed.

got my 5D II through them, no custom charges. The receipt said it was valvued at like $800 to get through with out any problems.

Obviously people hold differing views about this kind of thing - which is entirely their business of course - but let's be clear about what it is: fraud.

I regularly buy stuff overseas from established companies like B&H, but limit it to orders under $AU1000 to legitimately avoid GST. If it's over $AU1000 and you add GST to the total order value, which is what Customs do, then it often works out to be about the same price as buying it from one of the local grey importers like Discount Digital.

[negatron]

We bought a 5d 2 from the as well with no issues or customs problems.