User Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Hello folks,I'm a Canadian currently living/ working in Berlin. I'm getting ready to drop some serious cash on new gear. But when comparing European/ USA/ Canadian prices, they are always significantly higher here in Europe. I'm considering flying to New York (B&H) to save on the purchase. I'm wondering how and what folks do living in Germany/ Europe to make purchases so that they save cash on larger purchases? Example:Sound Devices 702 = 2228.29 (taxi inc.) USD - B&HSound Devices 702 = 4203.38 (tax inc.) USD - Wellen-Noethen (Berlin, Germany) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Is this what you are looking for?http://www.avprofshop.nl/702-portable-2-kanaals-recorder.html€1950, without tax (€2359 tax included).Maybe you can find it cheaper within Europe, I only Googled for half a minute.I don't think evading tax (buying in the US, not declaring it in the EU) is the proper solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinegain Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 In general, look up prices at http://geizhals.eu , keep an eye on http://www.dealsrunner.com . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 Thank you Cinegrain & Julian. Julian, I'm curious why do you don't feel it's a 'proper' solution? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Because tax evasion is illegal... You could buy it in the US and declare it at customs in Europe and pay tax of course. If the price difference is really extreme like your example, that'd be still worth it. But in general, that is not the case.In general it might be true that we pay more for hardware in Europe, because of the higher tax. But on the other hand, US prices are always listed without sales tax (because it depends on the state).Actually, right now with the dollar almost the same value as the Euro, there is hardly a price difference. In fact, a lot of products are actually cheaper now in Europe.Sony A7R costs $1898 at B&H. That's €1699 - without tax.The same camera costs €1649 here, 21% tax included... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 Very good Julian. Thank you.I'm curious if you can tell me, what is best shop here in Europe that has the good selection on audio/ video equipment for sale? Like B&H in New York.WHere do people buy their gear in Europe/ Berlin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinegain Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 http://cvp.com is pretty nice, ships across Europe. Then of course there's Amazon.co.uk/.de. Redcoon.de suprisingly has a decent cinema/pro video offering: http://www.redcoon.de/c05190000-Cinema-Film . But as these are also to be found on http://geizhals.eu , that's where I personally start every journey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antonis Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 http://www.photocineshop.com/en (french) seams to have good prices usually.I have no personal experience with their services and responsiveness unfortunately as I haven't ordered anything through them yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 Thanks again Cinegain & Antonis.Look Like CVP is the cheapest option in Europe so far in this example, but it's still $1305.12 USD more than B&H.Sound Devices 702 = $2228.29 (taxi inc.) USD - B&HSound Devices 702 = $4203.38 (tax inc.) USD - Wellen-Noethen (Berlin, Germany)Sound Devices 702 = $3533.41 (tax inc.) USD - CVPI'm also on a Canadian dollar, so that stings as well, Ah well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 Actually the lowest price in this example is http://www.avprofshop.nl/ as Julian mentioned: Sound Devices 720 = $2590.84 (tax inc.) USD - avprofshop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dahlfors Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 The few times I order something from abroad to save money I order it online - and still pay European tax and toll import. I've saved a bit of money on Nikon batteries and a Metabones Speedbooster this way. I wouldn't do it with a more expensive product, could get messy to deal with it in case of product defects...Electronics sometimes have a slightly higher price in the EU, due to EU requiring 2 year warranty on all electronic equipment. Same products often have only 1 year warranty in other countries. If you do direct import yourself, you won't have this kind of warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinegain Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Wait, from Berlin, it's actually not thát far to Poznan, Poland (about a 2hr48min drive according Google Maps), where might be able to pick one up for 8999 PLN (7316.26 PLN + 23%VAT), that would be 2407.47 USD / 2155.69 EUR and shouldn't be a problem to take back with you to Germany ( http://www.finanse.mf.gov.pl/en/customs/basic-information ). Of course you'd have to add 6 hrs of what your time is worth + gas mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 Interesting option Cinegain. I don't think I would have come to on my own. And good to have your insight as well Dahlfors, agreed. Thank you both.They really wonderful thing when building a new camera/ sound package is walking into a store that has everything your need right in front of you. Nobody can beat B&H for this. Sitting on a plane for 12 hours is probably worth it in the long run, but I'm still open to options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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