[Leica] Leica Prices in Hong Kong (cont'd) ...

["David Freedman" <dpfreedman@worldnet.att.net>]

My original post on this subject has generated a fair amount of traffic on
the list (and to me personally). I thought I'd add a few details for general
consumption. As this is of interest to many but not all LUG'ers, I'll keep
it brief:

First of all, the dealer I've used (and trust) in HKG is, in fact, Mr. K.M.
Chin of Cameron Photo. A nice gentleman and a pleasure to deal with.

Yes, he will do mailorder (that's how I purchased my 70-180 and 280/4
lenses) but the transaction is slightly complicated. The problem is, to get
approval from his credit card company/bank, he needs to have a customer
signature in hand. In my case, Mr. Chin sent me his store's pre-printed
charge slip (with all pricing in place) which I signed here in New York and
then sent back to him. Everything went smoothly from then on and Mr. Chin
kept me informed of all developments via fax.

Don't be surprised if there's a 2-3% surcharge tacked onto the quoted price
if paying by credit card (HK prices are always seem to be based on cash
payment).

Finally, yes, there is shipping and import duty to deal with. My shipment
came via DHL. Shipping is definitely not cheap ($100 or so) but negligible
relative to the potential savings.  DHL called me when my package arrived in
California and I had it the next day.  Some time later, I received an
invoice from them reflecting the duty on the items. As I recall, this was a
surprisingly reasonable amount.

Hope this fills in the blanks.  I'll gladly respond to any further inquiries
offline.

Dave F.