Reliable grey market sellers

[Hayaku]

More for my future reference, which grey market vendors are reliable?

I think I saw somewhere that DWI and eglobal

*Admin: removed your negative comments about DWI, refer to the site rules, in particular rules 3-7*

[rookie]

I have used DWI on many occasions and have nothing but praise for them.delivery to newcastle within 3 days

[Wayne]

DWI and eGlobal are essentially the same people.

I have spent significant amounts with both, paying by card and have had zero issues, they are great to deal, speedy delivery and very helpful when importing high end items.

I personally can recommend as a customer, the following grey sellers;

DWI
eGlobal
DigitalRev
B&H Photo Video - They have the widest variety in stock, and very efficient. Just watch shipping costs, they are not helpful with importing pricey goods. I use a broker instead for all USA freight.
Adorama
DD Photographics - Have a bricks & Mortar store in Sydney selling their self imported goods. They can be slow to source out of stock items, but they are reliable.

[ricktas]

Wayne is correct. DWI and eGlobal are owned by the same parent company.

Also remember that grey just means an overseas retailer that is not aligned with the official delivery channels in your country. So depending on where someone lives, even the Australian stores could be called grey. It is just a matter of geolocation.

[Pixley]

Mycamerafocus also sells a combination of grey and local gear. He is based in WA and is a fellow photographer. I have bought all my gear from him on the back of feedback in a forum on Whirlpool and have had nothing but excellent service.

[Sifor]

^ I've heard only good things about MCF... I'd certainly go with John than another mob in Hong Kong..

[ktoopi]

I can also reccommend both eglobal and DWi ..............have bought several items from both and no complaints at all!:)

[mikew09]

I have also used DWI and they are great.

[nwhc]

I just got some gear from eglobal, paid extra for 2-3 day delivery. Technically it was 3 days but this was after 4 days of processing my order! Not complaining still saved serious $$ but worth noting.

[wanderer51]

I have bought from both DWI and eglobal and have had no problems with either one. I think that DWI are a little bit quicker with their delivery, but eglobal are slightly cheaper (well they were on the lens I bought anyway....about $30 inc delivery).
So, six of one, half a dozen of the other as the saying goes. Either way they are both reliable and you will save $$. Oh, and if you go through AP (as I did), then Rick gets commission. So it is a win/win for all. :)

[brownie]

*please read the site rules - in particular 3-7*

[Iscariot]

When u guys bought from DWI did you incur any import costs? I'm exploring options to getaway 300 f2.8

[ricktas]

When u guys bought from DWI did you incur any import costs? I'm exploring options to getaway 300 f2.8

If you purchase something worth over AUD $1000, then there is the chance you will have to pay an import duty and GST. These are calculated not on the price you paid, but on what the customs database has the item listed for at retail price. So you might say pay $2000.00 but customs has the item listed at $3500.00, you pay duty and tax on $3500.00. There is no way of knowing if your particular article is going to be checked and have this applied or not, so you would need to consider it, in your budget.

[Mark L]

Does any duty come into it? Thought it was just the potential of 10% GST added.

[Iscariot]

Does any duty come into it? Thought it was just the potential of 10% GST added.
Im 99% sure lenses are duty free so it's only GST

[ricktas]

Does any duty come into it? Thought it was just the potential of 10% GST added.

There used to be a customs charge as well, maybe they are removed that.

[nwhc]

Cameraparadise guarantee no tax charges so they might be worth a look if you are concerned.

[ricktas]

Cameraparadise guarantee no tax charges so they might be worth a look if you are concerned.

They cannot do that. It is illegal.. tax evasion! They get away with their 'guarantee' cause they are outside Australia, but once your gear arrives, they have no control over our Customs service and if tax is charged in this country or not. Cameraparadise have repeatedly asked to advertise on AP and I have refused them cause of their stance on this matter.

What they do is place a value on the customs declaration that is nothing like what you paid, or the real value of the contents of the parcel, and in some cases the item description on the customs declaration is completely wrong. I have seen one on a parcel, described as 'shoes and accessories', which was nothing of the sort. Again illegal!

[MissionMan]

A word of warning (for the positive), when I was looking at purchasing my setup, I looked at a number of grey stores. I saw negative feedback about a couple of places (DWI, eGlobal etc) but when I looked carefully, the one thing I noticed was that 99% of the negative feedback on the forums came from first time posters. That always makes me extremely suspicious. People don't register on random forums to post negative feedback about companies. That smacks of something more sinister like an annoyed local company trying to badmouth grey markets that are impacting their bottom line. I've subsequently purchased from a couple of a variety of places like DWI and have had no issues whatsoever. I would highly recommend them. Oddly enough I actually purchased my body and lenses locally because I managed to negotiate the guy down and with GST, the prices weren't much different, but my 1.4x converter was less than half the price and my SB700 also half. Also remember negotiating is an option. I've tended to only purchase the items which are less likely to be warranty impacted or only where there is a marked difference. I.e. on my 1.4x converter, even if it goes faulty, I could buy another and still be in the same price range.

[ricktas]

A word of warning (for the positive), when I was looking at purchasing my setup, I looked at a number of grey stores. I saw negative feedback about a couple of places (DWI, eGlobal etc) but when I looked carefully, the one thing I noticed was that 99% of the negative feedback on the forums came from first time posters. That always makes me extremely suspicious. People don't register on random forums to post negative feedback about companies. That smacks of something more sinister like an annoyed local company trying to badmouth grey markets that are impacting their bottom line. I've subsequently purchased from a couple of a variety of places like DWI and have had no issues whatsoever. I would highly recommend them. Oddly enough I actually purchased my body and lenses locally because I managed to negotiate the guy down and with GST, the prices weren't much different, but my 1.4x converter was less than half the price and my SB700 also half. Also remember negotiating is an option. I've tended to only purchase the items which are less likely to be warranty impacted or only where there is a marked difference. I.e. on my 1.4x converter, even if it goes faulty, I could buy another and still be in the same price range.

Which is why we have the following rule on AP:


Members with Under 30 day’s membership and/or 50 posts:

[3] Are not allowed to promote or complain! Promotion or complaints about services/people/organisations/products/businesses by new members is not allowed anywhere on Ausphotography. New members are also not allowed to seek/advertise employment (either paid or unpaid) anywhere on the site.

We have experienced this on AP, Where a couple of people joined up and bagged out a business in one of Australia's bigger cities. Turned out these people were employed by the other business in the same block that competed with the named one, for trade.

[MissionMan]

Here is a good example of it underhanded bagging. When you look at the thread, look at the number of posts per user:

http://www.mactalk.com.au/20/75252-done-business-dwi.html

3 posters posting negative feedback about DWI, all first time posters (one with two posts, the other post surprisingly enough also bagging out DWI). The positive posts are all from users who have a higher post count. It's pretty sad that people resort to these sort of tactics.

[kanesmadness]

Ive used DigitalRev for most of my gear...mostly im pretty easy to make happy, send me the goods i asked for in close to the time you said you would and in good condition and ill be sweet.

However...in 2010 when i got my D7000 from DigitalRev they were great, items were shipped using Aramax and then Toll so it was not uncommon to be getting things within 3 days of the order (i once ordered something in the morning on friday and had it by monday), around the beginning of 2012 they dropped aramex and went with DHL and their fright times started to slide. Being a loyal customer with no previous issues i kept purchasing from them (i have a polish SB910 that i got from DigitalRev...) Then...early this year when my D4 turned up and i wanted some bits for it i placed the order with no issues and no warnings, got the usual 5 day delevery time and waited...and waited...and waited. By the time it was 2 days past delevery date i started asking questions and found this part of DigitalRev to be really really bad. First off i kept getting it will be send tomorrow, then i got we are short staffed...then i was reminded that the chinese new year celebrations last a week in hong kong and thats why its not been shipped. Ill admit i did not think about this and prob should have but it was enough for me to ask they cancel the order and refund the money.

I then went to B&H who were great, clearly said they would not be shipping for 1 more day, had what i wanted in stock and were actually cheaper then DR even with freight...the only down side ive seen with them is freight can be slow to leave their warehouse and they wont ship some items overseas. Other then that they were great.

[Milbs1]

I have bought plenty of items from Topbuy, only one minor issue when a speedlight was due to ship and then I suddenly got a refund as they had no stock. No major dramas.

I disagree a little bit with the "one-post" complainers. Often it isn't until you have a problem that you go searching on sites like whirlpool and want to vent. Sometimes you are so frustrated it spurs you into action!

Grey Market has obvious cost savings, but it will depend on your risk appetite. For me the savings outweight the perceived risk.