I am looking for a well preserved wide angle lens for my NEX-7, possibly a Leica 28m or 35mm. I have noticed that the best priced and condition lenses are often being sold from Hong Kong. My guess is that they have to keep their prices a bit lower due to the possibility of import duties.
My question is: how likely is there to be a duty and approximately what percentage of the base cost could one expect? I did have good luck with a Contax Jena Biogon lens from Bulgaria which came in great shape and did not seem to get taxed.
Anyone have expeience with this? Sorta like rolling dice?
AFAIK there is no duty on used merchandise coming into the US.
Edit: After more research, it is apparent that I have either been lucky or the values of my imported items were below some arbitrary threshold that made them easy to ignore. A "big ticket" item likely would not be so fortunate.
I just received a VERY expen$ive eBay item from Hong Kong, delivery was fast, no damages, and no duties.
I've only paid duties once, and that was a very long time ago.
buggz2k wrote:
I just received a VERY expen$ive eBay item from Hong Kong, delivery was fast, no damages, and no duties.
I've only paid duties once, and that was a very long time ago.
There are many great stuff in Hong Kong. I know several shops still have the Leica 35-70 Elmarit for sale. I also purchased my drop-in CPL for 280/4 APO from a member in Hong Kong. It's a rare item.
