Nikon D600 announced

USD 2100 +10% US sales tax=approx USD 2300.

Sales tax in the US is not national, it's local. When it's all said and done, it's set by each individual city/county. I can pay 8.75%, drive over a block and pay 7.75%. It ranges from 0% to 11.5%. So 10% is near the top. There are states where it's 0%. Also there are still plenty of online retailers that will not charge sales for items shipped to states they have no physical presence in. With my CCs, I can add and remove shipping addresses at will. I can easily add the address of the hotel I'm staying in and have things shipped there in 2 days and thus avoid sales tax. Also online pricing tends to be lower than physical stores and you can get cashback that can be up to 10%.

As for the warranty, this is where "grey goods" can help out someone buying in the US to take back home with them overseas. "Grey goods" are items sold in the US without a US warranty. They have an interntional warranty instead. Because of this, they are significantly discounted in the US. For a overseas buyer visiting the US, this is a win since that international warranty will serve them well back home.

You can save significant amounts of money buying electronics in the US versus in Europe. I ran through all this with someone I met from Germany looking to buy a laptop.. I got an email from him a few weeks later saying even after all the random costs, he still saved about 600 euros buying from the US over buying the same laptop in Germany.
 
Sales tax in the US is not national, it's local. When it's all said and done, it's set by each individual city/county. I can pay 8.75%, drive over a block and pay 7.75%. It ranges from 0% to 11.5%. So 10% is near the top. There are states where it's 0%. Also there are still plenty of online retailers that will not charge sales for items shipped to states they have no physical presence in. With my CCs, I can add and remove shipping addresses at will. I can easily add the address of the hotel I'm staying in and have things shipped there in 2 days and thus avoid sales tax. Also online pricing tends to be lower than physical stores and you can get cashback that can be up to 10%.

As for the warranty, this is where "grey goods" can help out someone buying in the US to take back home with them overseas. "Grey goods" are items sold in the US without a US warranty. They have an interntional warranty instead. Because of this, they are significantly discounted in the US. For a overseas buyer visiting the US, this is a win since that international warranty will serve them well back home.

You can save significant amounts of money buying electronics in the US versus in Europe. I ran through all this with someone I met from Germany looking to buy a laptop.. I got an email from him a few weeks later saying even after all the random costs, he still saved about 600 euros buying from the US over buying the same laptop in Germany.

Apples with apples.
We can compare "outsmarting the systems" schemes or we can assume the buyer is a straight shooter. Of course there are Europeans who buy abroad and try to get away without paying their countries import tax when returning home. That's a different game, though and to each its own. If you think saving at all cost or better risk is smart, go for it. I'm not going to risk anything for a few hundred bucks, it's not worth it. The majority of oversas visitors go to brick an mortar shops in the US (ever visited B&H in NYC) and pay US sales taxes. And when travelling back home comply with the law and declare goods at the border. By the way do you mind mentioning a few of trustworthy (i.e. excellent customer feedback) dealers who would ship to hotel adresses? I wouldn't know of any.
 
Apples with apples.
We can compare "outsmarting the systems" schemes or we can assume the buyer is a straight shooter. Of course there are Europeans who buy abroad and try to get away without paying their countries import tax when returning home. That's a different game, though and to each its own. If you think saving at all cost or better risk is smart, go for it. I'm not going to risk anything for a few hundred bucks, it's not worth it. The majority of oversas visitors go to brick an mortar shops in the US (ever visited B&H in NYC) and pay US sales taxes. And when travelling back home comply with the law and declare goods at the border. By the way do you mind mentioning a few of trustworthy (i.e. excellent customer feedback) dealers who would ship to hotel adresses? I wouldn't know of any.

I am comparing apples to apples. Who's talking about "outsmarting the system"? Who said anything about trying to get away with not paying import fees? A blanket statement about sales tax in the US was made that simply is not true. There are plenty of brick and mortar shops in the US that don't charge sales tax simply because they are in states with no sales tax. There this little chain called Fry's. Go to the Oregon Fry's and there's no sales tax. There's also another little chain called Best Buy. Go to a Best Buy in Delaware and there's no sales tax. And yes, I have been to B&H. I've even bought things from that store. What do they ask me when they realize I'm not local? They ask whether I want to have the item shipped instead so that I don't have to pay NY sales tax. They'll even figure out whether the shipping or the tax is more expensive.

As for "trustworthy dealers who would ship to hotel adresses". You already named one, B&H. They don't allow for it if you place an order through the website, but they will if you call in.

"I am sorry I am late to this conversation but in fact we do. You cannot place an order with shipping to a hotel/motel via our web site but you can initiate the order via email or do the whole thing from start to finish on the phone. There are some restrictions designed to ensure you're the one placing the order and you're the one getting the ordered goods but it's entirely possible.

Henry Posner
henryp@bhphoto.com
B&H Photo-Video"

Online stores deliver to hotels? - FM Forums

I've personally done this with B&H. I broke a camera while I was travelling and they shipped a new one to the hotel I was staying at. If you look at the same thread. You'll see that Adorama will do the same. That little chain I mentioned earlier will also do it if you explain it to them. It generally requires special processing because the item is not being shipped to the billing address. As I said earlier, that's why you can also add shipping addresses to credit cards. Many people don't know that you can. If you add a hotel as a shipping address on your credit card, many retailers will ship to a hotel without question.
 
If you are a d600 user, then you'll be glad to know theirs a new update to Apples Aperture, a digital camera RAW update to allow you to edit RAW files in Aperture and iPhoto. For other compact camera users there other camera updates too.


Cheers, Macjim.
 
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