Re: where do the cheap SLRs come from?

Frank Arthur wrote:
> "(not quite so) Fat Sam" <samandjanet@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in
> message news:fslsvv$46u$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> Steve Carpenter wrote:
>>> In the UK, eBay purchases from Hong Kong look good, but we run the
>>> risk of having to pay customs duty and VAT when they come into the
>>> country. This puts the overall cost on a par with domestic internet
>>> suppliers. Some folks get away with it, but it's pot luck. I won an
>>> auction for a used zoom lens for just over $200 and ended up paying
>>> a
>>> further $52 on delivery to cover im****t duty and VAT (still a good
>>> price for me against new though). I guess you may have im****t duty
>>> and state taxes to consider in Canada also.
>>
>> Plus, Ebay purchases from Hong Kong often take in excess of a month
>> for delivery.
>> That's unacceptable in my opinion.
> All things being equal I would gladly exchange a savings of hundreds
> of dollars to wait a month or more. How many people couldn't plan
> ahead for good rewards?

True, but when they say "Fast Delivery" in the listing, you tend to assume

it won't take 4 weeks. Especially when they send you an email 2 days after

you've paid to tell you it's been posted. After a month, you tend to get a

bit twitchy and start considering credit card chargebacks and Paypal 
disputes etc.