LittleRed

Just today a thought crossed my mind. It all has to do with our (Canada) struggling Looney (dollar). At the present time it is taking a nose-dive against the American dollar, something that may be of a benefit to youse that live south of the 49th. I know a lot of you would prefer to deal with a brick and mortar photoshop if possible, but sometimes a online purchase becomes necessary. I know that is what happened to me. We lost our last home-grown store awhile ago, and now all we have local is a Best Buy, which I cant really call a camera store. So, if I can I deal with a real store while on the road its usually while visiting my daughter in Southern Ontario. My preferences are either Henry's or Camera Canada in London Ontario. Also in years past while our dollar was at par or near par I dealt quite a bit with Adorama out of NYC. But the changing dollar has made that unsuitable. However, I think that this fact may be of a benefit in some cases for youse Americans. Because of the difference in our money I think that you can get some pretty fair deals by ordering north of the border. I think that is would be something that could be looked at. At present our dollar is worth only $0.68 against your dollar. In fact the rumour is that it will continue to drop as far as $0.58 this year. This means that a lot of the items here in Canada would be quite a bit cheaper if you purchased it using your American currency. I did a quick calculation on a few items that are listed at both Adorama in the USA and Henry's here in Canada. As you can see in a few instances the difference is quite a bit. I should remark her that I'm an Cannoner, so I can speak more on them than any other make.
The prices shown are Adorama in USD, Henry's in CAD, while the third prices are the Canadian prices converted to American Dollars as of today.

Canon T6s - Body Only : Adorama $850, with 18-135 lens $1050
Body Only : Henry's $930, with 18-135 lens $1250
Converted prices = CDN prices in USD : body $620, with lens $860
Nikon D610 - Body Only : Adorama $1500, with 24-85 lens $2000
Body Only : Henry's $1700, with 24-85 lens $2200
Converted prices = CDN prices in USD : body $1170, with lens $1510

As you can see, if you were to purchase the items from Canada using your own currency there is savings. On the T6s body $230 while on the Nikon body $330. This would apply to any purchase, be it a camera or lenses.
However, there might be other charges that would determine the final price of the article. I know from personal experience that there was not Duties/Tarrifs on cameras or lenses when I purchased my items from Adorama a few years back. I purchased quite a bit from them when our money was at par with yours, including both a 100-400 and a 300 prime lens for my Canon. At that time there were no duties bringing it from the USA to Canada, not sure it its the same going the other way. I did a quick check on line and it appears that there is none going into the USA but would not guarantee that fact.
Also, there is the question of the warranty. Again I can talk with a bit of experience regarding Canon. When accidently (stupidly) damaged my 100-400 which I purchased in the USA, I sent it in for warranty work in Canada. There was no problem as I was told that the warranty was International and was good on both sides of the border. All I had to do was prove that the lens was purchased from an Authorized Canon dealer (which was Adorama), that the SN showed that it was indeed authetic and the lens was repaired free of charge. I do believe that this holds true at this time, but should be checked on. As for the Nikon, I have heard two different stories, that the US Nikon will honor the Canadian warranty and also that they wont. This would really have to be checked out. One glitch with the Nikon warranty I believe is that in the USA it is for one year, but in Canada it is a 2 year deal. This might where a problem might arise.

Personally if this works it might be of great benefit to those looking at cutting costs when purchasing both new or refurb camera equipment of any sort. One just has to do a bit of detective work to see exactly what the final costs would be. I know that I will be taking a good look at this. We spend quite a bit of time doing photo trips to the southern states in the winter. A few years ago when our dollars were near par we purchased a goodly sum of your dollars and have it stuck in a US bank account. My wifes camera is getting a bit long in the tooth so a new one might be on the horizon and it would also benefit us (as Canadians) to purchase a camera from Canada using some of our US money. Just a thought for youse Hoggers and myself to think about.

Little Red

jlefebvre Loc: Toronto, Ontario

I live in Toronto and I am a U.S. citizen. I agree, the loony taking a dive has really affected any purchases that I would have made across the border. It used to be that I would go to the U.S. for any major purchases because of the great deals, now it is just best to do my business here. We have Downtown Camera and Henrys Camera...I work for a major automobile auction in Toronto...the dropping loony has affected our auction in a positive way..the Americans are just flocking to our auction to purchase trucks, trucks and more trucks...which drive up our sales which in turn, drive up our bonuses...

jim quist Loc: Missouri

I checked a couple items I have on my wish list against BnH, and BnH is quite a bit less expensive. for instance
Canon 16-35 sale price at Camera Canada is $1799 and BnH is $1499.
Canon 1dx Camera Canada is $5259 BnH is $4599.
Unless Im missing something.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

I checked a couple items I have on my wish list against BnH, and BnH is quite a bit less expensive. for instance
Canon 16-35 sale price at Camera Canada is $1799 and BnH is $1499.
Canon 1dx Camera Canada is $5259 BnH is $4599.
Unless Im missing something.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

Yes, you overlooked telling us who BnH is.

jim quist Loc: Missouri

A major supplier of professional camera equipment in America
http://www.bhphotovideo.com

f8lee Loc: New Mexico

Jim, first of all, the store in NYC is B & H (not BnH) as in B and H Photo.

Second, I believe the thing you are missing is the exchange rate - from the OP's comments I think the CameraCanada prices are in Canadian dollars (loonies) - so that 5259 Canadian converts to $3616 (according to XE.com, a currency conversion site).

LittleRed

Yes, your right, the prices you found at Camera Canada are shown higher than those at B&H. But the prices shown at Camera Canada are in CANADIAN dollars which are only worth about $0.68 against your dollar. Go online to any website that will convert the Canadian $ to American $ and I'll guarantee you'll be surprised at how much cheaper the item would be if purchased with USD. It's true that some items are as affected as others yet. For example, the new Sport Sigma the difference is less than $100, probably not worth the trouble to order from an foreign country. But, if our Looney keeps sliding it will be.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

How do I tell if prices are USD or CAN?

http://www.henrys.com/search/nikon%20d750.aspx

photoman022 Loc: Manchester CT USA

If US buyers purchase items in Canada, remember that they are "gray" market. Nikon USA will not repair Canadian purchased items.

That being said, are you willing to take a risk? I bought my Tamron f/2.8 24-75 from a Canadian company (on Ebay) a number of years ago; I have had no problems with the lens. Counting the cost (I saved a bundle!), I was willing to take the risk and would do it again.

Morning Star Loc: West coast, North of the 49th N.

Considering that Henry's is a Canadian company, with store locations in Canada only, it would be reasonable to think that they'd be using Canadian dollar-amounts for their pricing.

dmeyer Loc: Marion, NC

Camera Canada's website sure looks a lot like Cameta Camera's--only coincidence?

Indi Loc: L. I., NY, Palm Beach Cty when it's cold.

So that camera, the Canon 1 DX is selling for $4600 at Amazon, but if one bought it in Canada, it would be $3617 USD.

That's a very nice savings. But what about the USA Warranty?
Same problem as grey market?

LittleRed

To me this appears to be somewhat true for Nikon products, but there also seems to be some confusing statements on the Nikon USA website. Like I said in my original post I didn't have any problems with Canon, but even there any be changes there. One would have to do a good check with them also. Been about 2 years or so since I used their warranty services
However this is a statement directly quoted from the Nikon USA website -

"If you purchase equipment in another country where the NIKON WORLDWIDE WARRANTY applies, copies of the sales receipt and this warranty are necessary to obtain warranty service in the United States."

It doesn't spell out exactly what equipment is eligibe or whether Canada is one of the countries where it might apply but is probably worth looking into if interested in a Nikon. The above statement is then followed by another to me dumb statement. If you however purchase this worldwide warranty in the USA and the receipt is not from outside the USA the said warranty is NOT valid in the USA? And to add insult to injury if your receipt is from the USA then the warranty is not valid outside the USA. In other words, of you get this Worldwide Warranty on your equipment within the USA it's not valid anywhere!!! Makes me a bit happier that I went with Canon when I see stuff such as this.
Like you said photoman Canadian Nikons could be called "gray market" but since we are side by side it's probably just as easy but a bit more costly and/or time consuming to send it to Nikon Canada for warranty work. But that's a very good option considering the savings now available due to the differences in our dollars.

LittleRed

Found this online, seems to indicate that what was true a few years ago is still so. Hope the attachment works, first try using my pad.