I was looking at ordering a few things from Paul C Buff but they use UPS. Does anyone from Canada have any experience buying from them or is there someone in Canada that is an outlet for their gear?
Just a couple of umbrellas, but with UPS it will turn into an expensive umbrella...
If it's just umbrellas, get them locally. I just ordered a beauty dish, softbox, long throw reflectors from them and used the UPS world supersaver or whatever it's called in order to avoid paying the ludicrous brokerage fees ... cost me over $200 to ship the boxes here AND I still had to pay an additional $70 upon delivery to cover the taxes ... UPS is such a rip off! There's no PCB supplier in Canada so either pay through the nose for the umbrellas, have them shipped to a family member/friend in the US or pick up an umbrella from a local distributor.
Yup, you'd think PCB would try a little harder to work with a market so close to home. UPS makes me look elsewhere, there is no need to use them...crazy
UPS to Canada is now a rip-off, period. They charge an additional $10 (on delivery) on top of their already expensive express shipping which is supposed to already include all the brokerage fees. Plus they charge small amounts like a dollar here and 50 cents there for duty which other shippers do not ... WTF!
I've started using United States Postal Service International Priority Mail for all my print (wedding albums, etc.) stuff imported from the US .. takes a couple of days longer but it's less expensive and you don't get ripped off! Not sure if PCB offers USPS as an option .. anytime I've ordered from them it always came through UPS Express Saver.
UPS to any other country is painful. I have an Intuos2 tablet on fleabay and someone from Poland wanted a shipping estimate...$240 (no typo) for a 4lb package. $54 via USPS worldwide priority mail :-O
Have a friend in the US buy it that trusts you and ship it up via USPS...
or just buy from somewhere else. If they don't realise that their orders from Canada are so low & shipping is the issue then they don't deserve our business...
Alternatives are BH Photo. They offer a Purolator all in option, so there is nothing to pay at the door and I have had great service from them. One a recent Manfrotto order the items I ordered were twice the price in Canada so bought them from BH Photo and still saved money after taxes and shipping.
As for portable battery packs, try Innovatronix, they have some new options. I own their Explorer XT unit to power my Speedo 2400 ws pack.
MikeW wrote:
or just buy from somewhere else. If they don't realise that their orders from Canada are so low & shipping is the issue then they don't deserve our business...
shame I want a vagabond mini so bad
I'm unsure of why PCB only offers UPS shipping, perhaps if you asked them they will ship via alternate carriers. And until very recently (past 6 months) I was reasonably content with UPS but now there is an additional $10-15 minimum charge on top of the quoted fee you pay when you place your order.
I've always been very pleased with both the customer service and products of PCB themselves. Top rate company.
I also recently ordered from B&H as the items were half the price they are here - even after shipping & taxes. Bottom line, B&H's shipping to Canada via Purolator is fantastic. NO hidden charges, NO additional fees and best of all it was a lot faster than UPS. So much for Worldwide Super Saver or whatever they call it ...
Sub-totaled out at $1,294.79
Shipping through UPS was $95.40
Total Paid was 1,390.18
(Exact figures off my invoice)
That was TO THE DOOR no extras added. I didn't feel raped or abused. Hell, I purchased stuff from all over the world and in as much as speed, price and what I got. This was one of the easiest deals ever.
I used the the recomended shipping for PCB . UPS Worldwide Saver, I was alright with that, other than they left the stuff sitting outside on the step and don't get a signature for it. For the umbrella alone it wouldn't have been cost effective, I wonder if they would USPS it?
I just received a Cybersync receiver from Buff and using UPS ( pronounced OOPS ) I paid as much as the receiver was worth in shipping charges. Canadians will pay dearly for anything shipped from Paul C. Buff or anyone who ships only by UPS. Taxes and duty I have absolutely no problem paying but it's the "extra" $10.00 fee charged by UPS for doing absolutely nothing to earn it that burns me. If I didn't already have Buff gear I would never have purchased the needed unit. They really need to get a grip on reality with their using UPS only shipping to Canada. If I run into problems with the Cybersync gear, I'll sell the lot and buy from anyone who will ship economically outside the U.S. - B+H have got it right . . . !
