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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Fly from EU to US -> buy EPIC -> fly back?

J

Josh Snyder

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Is there any issues with this? Would save a lot of money when one wouldn't have to pay ditues and taxes. Will the warranty work in RED Europe/Red Germany or does the RED warranty only apply in that country/continent where the camera is bought?
 
You'll likely still pay local sales taxes in the US, and to be legal you'll need to declare and pay duty and vat on your return. You're already behind by the time you've done this, never mind the air fare and possibility that Red might not want to honour a grey import's warranty when proper channels exist.

Remember customs and excise have a long reach - just because you get through the airport doesn't mean you won't face a bill in the future.
 
I think you then California tax would be added to the price. I was checking out this option as well but in the end the difference was not so big as I remember. Might be wrong though.
 
I know you sould pay duties and taxes when buying stuff overseas, but I don't know anyone who actually does. I know many guys that fly from European countries to New York when they need bunch on new lenses. They shop at B&H and then fly back next day saving thousands of dollars even when flights and hotels are included in the prices.
 
My last purchase was a $25000 item. UK price was £17040

Add CA sales tax - $26812.50 = £16494

Add a flight, taxi rides etc. and where are you? Where you started, but with a dodgy import and a questionable warranty.
 
Don't forget that you can re-claim those taxes as a business.

You will also find yourself in a bit of a headache situation next time you need to send your camera away for repair/evaluation.

Oh, and if you get caught when coming home, your camera might get confiscated.
 
In the US, New hampshire, Delaware, Montana, Oregon and Alaska do not have sales taxes.
 
I doubt you'd get sales tax refunded. It's not like VAT in the EU. And if you want to buy in another state rather than in person, you'll need to be there long enough to cover shipment, have a valid shipping address etc etc.

If you break even financially I'd be surprised, and you're still on the wrong side of the law... a dumb place to put thousands of dollars worth of gear, especially if saving a few percent is a big deal to you.
 
I'm not familiar with the US taxes. I thought you don't have to pay extra taxes if you buy stuff in US since my friends didn't say about that when they shoped at B&H. They just told how much they saved which was a lot. Most of the stuff had also 1 year international warranty (like Canon lenses).
 
The sales taxes are never collected in the first place in those states mentioned, so there is no refund. Walk in the door, plunk your money down, and walk out the door. Lots of people go across the border, just to buy things and then drive back, nothing to it. Very legal too.
However if you use the item in a business and file state income taxes, then you have to pay a use tax which is the same as the sales tax rate. In the above example of leaving the US, you never pay any sales taxes.

Also, most states do not collect sales taxes on internet purchases, which is really hurting brick and mortar stores trying to compete with the internet.
 
Danno Anderson said:
The sales taxes are never collected in the first place in those states mentioned, so there is no refund. Walk in the door, plunk your money down, and walk out the door. Lots of people go across the border, just to buy things and then drive back, nothing to it. Very legal too.
However if you use the item in a business and file state income taxes, then you have to pay a use tax which is the same as the sales tax rate. In the above example of leaving the US, you never pay any sales taxes.

Also, most states do not collect sales taxes on internet purchases, which is really hurting brick and mortar stores trying to compete with the internet.
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So if I fly to NY and from there go to New hampshire or Delaware I don't get any extra costs to the RED store list prices? :) Few of my relatives live in California but I guess that wouldn't help in this situation.

People say on these forums that to get RED Europe prices you replace the $ on RED store with £. So 30,000$ package at Red.com would cost 49000$ at Red Europe. Huge difference and I'm more than happy to use 2000$ for flights, train, bus, taxi, hotel to go New hampshire or Delaware to get the package for red.com list price. Customs won't say anything if you don't carry the original boxes with you. Warranty would be the only problem in case you get issues with the camera.
 
Texas has a state sales tax exemption form for equipment that is used in the production of movies/video/tv. We are classified as "manufacturers" in the state.

Not sure if you are buying "online" from a california company. Best to check Red's tax collection requirements for online sales to other out-of-state buyers.

That equipment could be domiciled here in the State, and used in foreign markets/countries etc.

Just a thought...Plane ticket might be a wash by the time you do all of that.
 
Also you can use the US postal service to hold mail or packages which I used to use often when I traveled. Have a letter or package addressed to your name, then General Delivery in care of the street address of any US post office. The post office will hold the package for 14 days and then the US post office will return it to sender if you don't pick it up in person at the front counter of the post office with a valid ID.

Danno Anderson
General Delivery
Street address of post office
City, State.
Zip code
 
Josh Snyder said:
Is there any issues with this? Would save a lot of money when one wouldn't have to pay ditues and taxes. Will the warranty work in RED Europe/Red Germany or does the RED warranty only apply in that country/continent where the camera is bought?
Click to expand...

Seriously, not worth it. Register for vat, and declare purchase to your accountant. It is all deductible from your earnings. Not worth taking the chance that you may get caught at customs. If you import illegally, you will run a huge risk every time you leave your country with your epic. Sure, sometimes cheaper to get a lens or a litepanel,in the states and bring it back. Small item, with less chance of needing servicing. Even then, worth declaring as an import, paying the duities and vat, and claiming them back, which is what I have done from time to time. Chances are that red Europe would not touch your camera if there was a problem. You would probably have to personally take your camera back to red the west coast of US, as shipping agents would not ship your illegally imported camera.
 
We had one epic shipped over to Europe and picked up one in the US ourselves, no difference on warranty.
And It does not make a difference which state you pick your epic up in in the US. As long as you have it shipped from Red and dont pick it up in CA they will not charge sales tax so you can for example have things shipped to a New York address and not have to pay any State taxes. But in the end if you are able to recollect the VAT tax through your business you only save about 6 - 10 % which is the cost of international shipping and custums duty. 10 % can make a big difference on a large purchase though, if you dont get caught going through customs, which you might.
 
p.s. the Epic i picked up in the US needed waranty service and was promplty picked up by Red Europe through Fed Ex in Germany, returned to Red in CA for Service and returned working promptly at absolutly no charge what so ever. no problem whatsoever.
 
I think if you buy it with you own private savings the trip might be worth it. But if you buy it on your company then you accountant would ask you what you bought and then you would have to pay the tax to get the cost into your company book's. So that makes it cheeper to just pay the taxes and later write of the cost. That was what I was told when I was thinking I could get a free LA trip and also save some money by going there... And it goes without saying avoiding taxes and smuggling goods is illegal... I actually got cough for doing so (without knowing I was doing something wrong) about 10 years back when I was taking the plane home to stockolm after a ski vacation in charmonix. As I was flying out of geneva airport (that is located on the boarder to swiss, which is not part of EU) I had some time to spend on the airport so I found a minimoto in one of the tax-free stores... Little did I know I paid with my credit card and got a receipt in Swiss francs... Well the customs in stockholm looked at the little bike, asked me for documentation... I happily showed them the receipt for it and boom they took the bike and I had also to pay a fine. I later fought to get it back and ended up paying more than double the original price... Lesson learned I guess. It goes with the story that I later only used the bike for a few minutes total before I gave it away to the cleaning lady's kid at work.
 
Josh Snyder said:
People say on these forums that to get RED Europe prices you replace the $ on RED store with £. So 30,000$ package at Red.com would cost 49000$ at Red Europe
Click to expand...

That's just nonsense. Like I said - my last purchase is in the store at $25000. Red Europe billed £17040, that is approx. $27,700

You've only got got $2700 to 'save' in the first place. And by 'save' I mean avoid paying your legal dues remember.

Side note: I love my Red cameras, but I also love the warranty and local service. That experience is worth a lot when its the tool of your trade.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. A lot of things to think about for sure. I will wait for the Dragons to ship before making any decisions on one way or another, but it's good to know the options beforehand :) I don't have my own company so I woudn't get the VAT back if buying in Europe.
 
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