Panamoz.com

[RecceDen]

Hi guys.

I found this website Panamoz Home page Electronics and found their prices to be quite lower than the normal UK listings, including Amazon and Warehouse Express.

I read through their FAQ's and found that they have a UK distribution company but the parent company is from Hong Kong I sent the following email to them :

I find your company to be cheaper than a lot of other on-line retailers including Amazon. However the security of a non 'Grey Import' gives peace of mind especially when willing to spending 800 GBP on a singular item.

I am aware that your company distributes in the UK but has a parent company in HK. Does this mean that your items are 'Grey Imports'.

Please could you advise me on where your items would come from, in particular :

Panamoz Sigma 10-20mm lens Electronics

Panamoz Nikon D7000 Digital SLR Camera Electronics

Many thanks for your help on this information request.

RD

This is what i got in reply:

Thanks for your patience. To answer you:

1) Our items are shipped from Hong Kong, which is why we provide the Panamoz.com 1 Year Warranty. The original manufacturer's warranty will not apply.

2) Yes, a lot of people refer this as "grey import", as the items are not "officially" imported into the UK.

3) All our items are brand new, and original. The saving is pretty big, compare to non "grey import". Our warranty is a replacement warranty, and thus you will not have to wait for long repair time when something is wrong.

Please don't hesitate to contact us.

Regards,
Tina
Custmomer Support
Panamoz.com

Now my questions are this:

1. Have any of the fine community members used this site before?

2. Can anyone find the NEW prices cheaper anywhere else?

3. Is the discounted price with the 1 year Panamoz warranty (not Nikon) worth it?

4. If I move on from DX to FX how much hassle will I find in trying to re-sell?

I am sure I could come up with loads more questions but will save them till I find out more of your thoughts.

Many thanks in advance for any advice and information given.

RD

[jdepould]

They're a legitimate dealer: Panamoz - panamoz.com - Reviews, Ratings and Prices at ResellerRatings

Grey market is sort of ... meh. Put it this way: my stuff is all Nikon USA. I've needed repairs three or four times, and they've always handled everything very well. I like knowing that I just have to FedEx it to Long Island when it breaks, not Japan.

It's sort of a frustrating situation, because the regional Nikon affiliates won't touch grey market stuff, even if you pay them. They don't care that it's exactly identical to the officially imported equipment. IIRC, Canon has eased off of this policy in recent years.

[Jim Poor]

There are plenty of places to get gray-market items serviced though.

It really depends on how much you save or availability.

My first 600 f/4 was gray market because that was the only way I could afford it at the time.

My current 200 f/2 is gray market because the USA models were out of stock forEVER when I needed it.

[SwissJon]

If you do use these people, can you leave feedback here? They're significantly cheaper than many places I've seen.

On the down side, you may have to pay the import tax on your grey import, in the uk, that's 20% these days I believe.. (VAT) so you might want to factor that onto your price. That still make it cheaper than anywhere I've seen on the high street though.

I think Nikon offer a 1 year warranty that can be extended, you might want to check their warranty and whether you can extend it. Having said that, pretty much all my camera equipment is grey import or second hand. So far I haven't needed to worry about the lack of warranty, touch wood. personally I'd rather pay less and take the risk.. You have to consider life's a gamble.. And if your camera fails after 367 days, Nikon won't cover you either.

Either way, let us know how you get on..

[RecceDen]

Originally Posted by jdepould

It's sort of a frustrating situation, because the regional Nikon affiliates won't touch grey market stuff, even if you pay them. They don't care that it's exactly identical to the officially imported equipment. IIRC, Canon has eased off of this policy in recent years.

My D3000 is I suppose, in a way a Grey Import, well it will be when I move back from Germany to the UK. I am sure I will come across that problem if I need any work doing on it once I am back in the UK.

Originally Posted by Jim Poor

There are plenty of places to get gray-market items serviced though.

It really depends on how much you save or availability.

Looking at Amazon Nikon D7000 (Body only) and Warehouse Express Nikon D7000 (Body only) the price from Panamoz Nikon D7000 (Body only) a saving of 101 GBP or 96 GBP.

I suppose the question I would have to ask myself is, Would I miss my camera body that much if I had to send it away to be repaired? I think my answer would be no. I am not taking photographs as a first or second income, its only a hobby.

They do say that the 1 yr warranty is a replacement warranty.

I will have a think about this little dilema before I purchase.

Many thanks.

RD

[RecceDen]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

If you do use these people, can you leave feedback here? They're significantly cheaper than many places I've seen.

On the down side, you may have to pay the import tax on your grey import, in the uk, that's 20% these days I believe.. (VAT) so you might want to factor that onto your price. That still make it cheaper than anywhere I've seen on the high street though.

I think Nikon offer a 1 year warranty that can be extended, you might want to check their warranty and whether you can extend it. Having said that, pretty much all my camera equipment is grey import or second hand. So far I haven't needed to worry about the lack of warranty, touch wood. personally I'd rather pay less and take the risk.. You have to consider life's a gamble.. And if your camera fails after 367 days, Nikon won't cover you either.

Either way, let us know how you get on..

SwissJon, I will I think have to look through the site FAQ's and see what they say reference the import tax. Failing that I will email them again and see what their response is.

I will update this post when I find out their policy for import tax and, if I go ahead with a purchase from them will keep everyone posted as to how it goes.

This may be a couple of months yet. Just need to talk the lovely wife round to my way of thinking. I think her new sofa and a bed for the main bedroom will easily cover my new D7000 and Sigma 10 - 20mm.

RD

[RecceDen]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

If you do use these people, can you leave feedback here? They're significantly cheaper than many places I've seen.

On the down side, you may have to pay the import tax on your grey import, in the uk, that's 20% these days I believe..

Panamoz F.A.Q Electronics

Item No's 5 and 6:

5. Will I have to pay Import taxes?

No, all import taxes/duties/VAT are covered by us. We are responsible for all additional tax charges. The price you see when you place an order with us, is all you have to pay. The price displayed for items sold by Panamoz Electronics are inclusive. You will be able to see your final price before you confirm your order, when you have completed your order information (including your delivery address).

6. How much is shipping?

We use the FedEx Priority Express service only. It is the extremely quick and secure. For all our products, shipping costs 19.99 GBP, to worldwide.

As for the Warranty I found this:

Why the Panamoz.com 1 Year Replacement Warranty, is superior to the original manufacturer’s warranty:

1) You will not have to wait for weeks for the repair to be done. We understand many of our products are very important to you and your lives, and therefore, the shorter the wait time is, the better.

2) You will receive a brand new item instead of a repaired or refurbished item that may not be completely fixed. Quite often, a defective item may develop the same fault again after repair. The best solution is to have a brand new replacement.

3) If the product has been discontinued and we’re unable to send a replacement, we will then give you a full refund on the original unit price that you paid. No manufacturer’s warranty offers this option.

Sounds good.

Very seriously contemplating purchasing form them in the very near future.

RD

[SwissJon]

Sounds good to me too.. I wonder if that is just for the UK or if deliveries to Switzerland are possible..

[RecceDen]

Originally Posted by RecceDen

6. How much is shipping?

We use the FedEx Priority Express service only. It is the extremely quick and secure. For all our products, shipping costs 19.99 GBP, to worldwide.

I would send them an email to check

RD

[Smallfish]

Normally I'd say pay by credit card and you're covered but this has one big proviso that unless they are classed as a UK based website/company you would run into problems if you had issues with the camera and they did not want to play ball.

Here's the speal on Section 75:

"All purchases over £100 and under £30,000 made on credit cards are covered by Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. If you pay for an item on your credit card and a problem arises (e.g. breach of contract, false information, faulty goods or non-delivery) with this purchase, the credit card company is held equally liable by law as the supplier.

What this 'equal liability' means is that by law you can claim back the cost of goods or services that have not been supplied as said or are faulty from the company or the credit card you paid for the items with.

In fact, by law you can go straight to the credit card company first - as the liability is equal neither the supplier nor the credit card company are held any more responsible than the other."

Now here's the issue:

"It does not cover:

* Purchases made from websites or suppliers outside the UK"

So if you buy the goods and they are OK then you've got a bargain. If you have a problem and they replace as per their warranty you've got a bargain. If they say "sod off" you've got a problem