Wilderness cameras!

[David Rees]

obtained by buying outside "rip-off" Britain.

Ebony 45SU new:

Badger Graphics: $4,495, excluding sales tax, equivalent to £2,809 in our money.

Robert White: £3,900, excluding VAT.

Sadly, this is not an isolated example.

I like to support UK manufacturers, and sellers, but when the difference in price is larger than can be accounted for by different rates of sales tax and duty, I do think carefully about where I spend my money. If I can import an item, paying duty and VAT as I am legally obliged to do, and still save a significant amount of money, then I do so.

It seems to me we have a duty as intelligent consumers to buy sensibly; if we blindly pay whatever price a UK supplier wants, without considering the price outside these islands, we do all of us a disservice. Send a clear signal to the firms who take advantage; drop prices to match the real world (allowing for different taxes), or lose business. I'm thinking of Fuji here, or Ilford.

BTW, this is not a criticism of Walker Camera, who make excellent, well-priced cameras; it is really directed at ourselves, who are often too parochial to consider alternatives.

There is always the counter-argument: support your local shop/supplier/manufacturer, otherwise they will go out of business/stop importing my favourite film/stop making something. The trouble is, in a global economy, those adverse changes are going to happen anyway; the actions of a few isolated individuals is not going to make any difference--except to their own bank accounts. I imagine most of us buy much of our film, chemicals and equipment via mail-order now anyway; this has been the trend for photographers (and not just us!) for a decade, and it is not going into reverse anytime soon. Buying internationally is not significantly harder.

I'll go and take my pills now...

[Sal Santamaura]

...The prices we see on US sites are not inclusive of taxes and, if you were to buy them in a store in the US, you would be charged tax at the point of sale...

In the US sales tax is a state/local levy. If one purchases from another state via mail order or on-line, assuming the seller has no physical presence in the buyer's state of residence, no sales tax is charged. Also, some states have no sales tax at all.

...I'll go and take my pills now...

A very appropriate close to your post. I would feel privileged to pay the duty/taxes this thread complains about if living in a civilized country such as yours. It seems very few there understand what life is like in a third-world country like the US, where there is no NHS. Photography equipment and supplies are definitely luxuries; health care is a necessity.

[David Rees]

...I'll go and take my pills now...

A very appropriate close to your post. I would feel privileged to pay the duty/taxes this thread complains about if living in a civilized country such as yours. It seems very few there understand what life is like in a third-world country like the US, where there is no NHS. Photography equipment and supplies are definitely luxuries; health care is a necessity.[/quote]

You seem to have misread my post. I was not complaining about the taxes we pay here; my whole point was that for some reason, the price BEFORE taxes and duties are levied are significantly higher here in the UK than in the US, and elsewhere. The difference is often 25% or more. I object to suppliers taking advantage of the inertia of the British purchasing public, by charging significantly more here than they do elsewhere in the world. And yes, I have heard the lame excuses they trot out to justify this--but I don't believe their excuses explain the mark-up.

[Sal Santamaura]

You seem to have misread my post. I was not complaining about the taxes we pay here; my whole point was that for some reason, the price BEFORE taxes and duties are levied are significantly higher here in the UK than in the US, and elsewhere. The difference is often 25% or more. I object to suppliers taking advantage of the inertia of the British purchasing public, by charging significantly more here than they do elsewhere in the world. And yes, I have heard the lame excuses they trot out to justify this--but I don't believe their excuses explain the mark-up.

I read your post the way you intended it. While inefficient or predatory exceptions undoubtedly exist, it appears likely that most suppliers there have higher prices because they, too, are subject to a range of higher taxes. My opinion after a lifetime here in the "wild west" is that you're better off overall with less photo "stuff" and more peace of mind.

[David Rees]

I read your post the way you intended it.

I beg to differ.

We appear to have different opinions as to the reasons as to why suppliers charge more here in the UK than elsewhere. Given that you are not a native of these blessed Isles, it may be that you are unaware that this is a perennial complaint here, across a wide range of goods and services. There are various factors which may account for this, but I don't propose to go into them now.

I fear this thread has been hijacked rather, and will not contribute further.

[Sal Santamaura]

...it may be that you are unaware that this is a perennial complaint here...

Quite the contrary, I'm very aware of the complaint, as it's been posted repeatedly by many at largeformatphotography.info and apug.org for more than a decade.

...I fear this thread has been hijacked rather, and will not contribute further.

I did not intend to hijack, merely to respond to those who complained in the thread before my first post that, from an outsider's perspective, the grass might not be greener (on the other side of the pond).

[dennis]

Thanks for the most interesting posts, but where is a user of a Wilderness camera? That is the question . . .

[Sal Santamaura]

Thanks for the most interesting posts, but where is a user of a Wilderness camera? That is the question . . .

Your answer was provided in the thread's third post:

There is a thread on another LF site, which covers this very camera:
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/ ... hp?t=71835...

[dennis]

Yes, the site could be accessed from the ebay ad, but 'celticexplorer' doesn't return to comment on using the camera. It looks too good to be true, & all the current batch appear to be sold.