Best place to buy Spyder Pro

[melvinch]

Hi,

Anyone knows of a good place to buy this besides Cathay Photo ?

Are there any better & cheaper alternatives ?

Cheers !

[YogiBear]

Try eBay.
You need to get yourself a Paypal account activated before using ebay to buy or bid.
If delivery becomes too ex, u can try opening a vpost account and ship any US stuff thru them.

[eclectyx]

Ordered and received my Spyder2 Suite from B&H (www.bhphotovideo.com) last week. Even with UPS Next Day Air shipping, still significantly cheaper than at CP. Paid about S$306 (total) compared to S$365 at CP. Can save a little more if you choose slower shipping, but difference was quite small. Ordered on Friday, arrived on Monday, and I think it took so long cos of the weekend! Tracking showed package arrived Changi on Saturday night/Sunday early morning. Caveat: Warranty issues!

[nottipiglet]

I ordered a Spyder2 Express from Amazon.com. It has free shipping to USA. So I shipped it to my VPostUSA address and it will be directed to me for about S$17 shipping charge. Shipping is so cheap these days, I can't even be bothered to wait until the next time I go to the US.

Say NO, NO, NO to local sole agents who try to screw us. Singaporeans making huge profits from fellow Singaporeans just irks me. I have nothing against a fair profit... but charging twice the amounts???

I don't know what these local shops are thinking. It's not exactly hamburgers we are talking about. These things don't go bad when shipped over here.

I'm sure we all notice the same phenomena with:
1. Canon Lenses
2. Manfrotto Tripod products
3. ... and now Spyder2

Nowadays, I buy a lot of things overseas.

[wind30]

did any of your sypder had problems?? the first one which I got from Cathay photo developed some problems. My impression is that the new sensor is very sensitive.

[eclectyx]

What kind of problems did you have with your Spyder? Did CP replace it FOC and without hassle? My main concern with getting it overseas is what to do if *touch wood* servicing is required.

Originally Posted by nottipiglet Nowadays, I buy a lot of things overseas.

As do many of us. And perhaps because of the ever shrinking number of people, in an already very small market that is Singapore, that still buy retail is the reason why prices are so high.

[wind30]

Originally Posted by eclectyx What kind of problems did you have with your Spyder? Did CP replace it FOC and without hassle? My main concern with getting it overseas is what to do if *touch wood* servicing is required.

mine went bonkers after I dropped it from a table top. The calibrated color was way off. CP replaced it FOC after testing it.

[nottipiglet]

Originally Posted by eclectyx As do many of us. And perhaps because of the ever shrinking number of people, in an already very small market that is Singapore, that still buy retail is the reason why prices are so high.

All they need to do is to charge the same price as the US market. If they are smarter, they can charge US price plus shipping. For example, if they charge S$127 for the Spyder2 Express, I will buy here because it is convenient. But $219??? I don't like to be treated like an idiot.

I don't think it's the small market. It's retailers preying on our ignorance. They charge an extremely high markup... but these equipment are not fashion items. Let's not be fooled.

When they don't get enough sales because they charge too high, the blame it on the small market. I think the grey market here is pretty big... don't you think?

[eclectyx]

nottipiglet, agree with you. I think it's like some restaurants where there's the $18 buffet but a small glass of Coke costs $6.50. Margins are supposedly and notoriously low for photo equipment retailers, so it becomes a case of we-have-to-make-money-somehow by marking up fringe stuff.

But I wonder why the margins are so low? Is it because the distributors are making all the money? Afterall, the stuff on the grey market are sourced from another market and then brought in, so it's reseller price plus shipping, and it still is cheaper than local authorised items.

Anyway, to keep this all on topic, I think we are generally agreed that getting the Spyder from online US retailers (Amazon, Adorama, B&H, etc) is the best way to go? Just don't go dropping them off the table!

[Cecil]

I have a spyder pro I'm willing to sell, interested, pm me.

[ianpaice]

Buying lenses from BHphoto and shipping them here is still more expensive than buying locally here in Singapore.

[nottipiglet]

Originally Posted by ianpaice Buying lenses from BHphoto and shipping them here is still more expensive than buying locally here in Singapore.

Well... it depends on which lenses you buy, and how you ship them. If you want expedited shipping, then it will be terribly expensive to ship. If you want to ship a small lens, then of course shipping will tip the scale.

If you really want, I suggest you find one with free shipping in the US, then ship to VPostUSA and have it routed back here.

Usually, I hunt for used lenses from Ebay... because they are even cheaper. If you want to take risk, might as well risk it all the way.

Generally, Canon lenses are way more expensive in Singapore. Nikon ones are not.

[thw]

I work in a private company in Singapore.

Just the other day, I ordered some stuff from a US company through their local representative here in Singapore. The price the Singapore rep quoted me was FOUR times the price from US. Luckily I checked the US pricing. I told the local rep this and they told me there was a 'mistake' and the price fell by 3 times!!! Still more pricey than getting direct from US, but I purchased from them out of convenience. In the future, I will never get from them again.

[volk]

I am also interested to get a spyder2

but what is the difference between the "express" and the "suite"??

worth to spend more to get the suite? I only need to correct my monitor.(no printer)

[mutabor]

Another overcharge example would be reflectors. I was looking for one, 30inch in diameter.
I was quoted 160$ in CP and the lowest quote from another shop was 60$.
I ended up ordering one from ebay for 38$ including shipping. The one I ordered is exactly the same model for which I was quoted 60$ by a local shop.

[blurboiboi]

Originally Posted by mutabor Another overcharge example would be reflectors. I was looking for one, 30inch in diameter. I was quoted 160$ in CP and the lowest quote from another shop was 60$. I ended up ordering one from ebay for 38$ including shipping. The one I ordered is exactly the same model for which I was quoted 60$ by a local shop.

which one did you get??.. any link?... looking around for a monitor callibarator too

[mutabor]

Originally Posted by blurboiboi which one did you get??.. any link?... looking around for a monitor callibarator too

this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=190008952505
I had purchased from this seller several times and he seem reliable.

[eclectyx]

Originally Posted by volk I am also interested to get a spyder2 but what is the difference between the "express" and the "suite"?? worth to spend more to get the suite? I only need to correct my monitor.(no printer)

See http://www.colorvision.com/profis/pr...iew.jsp?id=581 and click on the "Compare" tab.

The express version should be good enough for home use. I got the Suite version mainly cos I wanted to calibrate my dual monitor setup (two different monitor brand/size/type) and the sales info on website seemed to say this was one of the features. Box itself says multiple monitors NOT supported (!). Turns out from tech support FAQs that independant calibration of multiple monitors are only supported when using PCIexpress dual-head video cards, or else for AGP and PCI, need to have TWO separate video cards. Apparently, a Windows limitation. Of course, I have AGP8x...

[nottipiglet]

My spyder just arrived from VPostUSA... and it works fine. I'm please with it. Much better than Adobe Gamma.

[_espn_]

MacShop@Funan having a sale on spyder2pro. Can check it out.