price for k20d?

[woefulwabbit]

If you can wait, #1 seems like the best option at ~SGD$1030 Not sure about the warranty though, I think MJ said they are honoring "all Pentax warranties", but I dunno if that includes Pentax USA warranties since that would be asking too much of them.

For the other options, GST brings the price up to at least SGD$1100 already, which is approaching the estimated local price point... you might want to call up OP to check if they sell it body only and what price. Or wait to see what price the K20D becomes once MJ gets the distribution going again, my guess would be somewhere between $1100-1150.

 

[flowerpot]

just a couple of questions regarding buying k20d from online stores in USA & shipping back to singapore. your advice on this matter is greatly appreciated.

i want to purchase a k20d from buydig.com (for the free 2-yr extended pentax USA warranty) and somehow get it back to singapore. got a few options:

1) send to a family member who's coming back in 1-2 months and save on shipping, GST and credit card exchange rate entirely. savings worth about 100+sgd, but a long long wait though :sweat:

2) send to family/friend and get them to courier (UPS/DHL/fedex) to singapore. may experience some delay if they are not free to do the shipping stuff. how do i declare the value of the item to save on GST? if the value is under-declared & the parcel is lost in transport, am i only able to claim for the stated value?

3) vpost/borderlinx. if your advice for #2 is to just declare the value of the GST rather than take the risk, then i guess i should also consider these forwarding services if the total cost isn't too far off. read that borderlinx is quite efficient so it may be worth the premium.

4) buy local set and save the hassle, price permitting..

many thanks once again

choose 1 if you can wait...4 if cannot

option 2, u can declare it at value lower than S$400 to avoid GST, but there is a risk... if u have insured ur article(this is additional cost), if lost, u might oni get back S$400. If u declared the actual cost, than ur article will end up in the singapore CUSTOMS at Enous and have to collect it urself and pay GST there. If u dun insured it, u might not get anything if lost...

option 3 is safer than option 2 but u pay more...

option 4 is the best option for mi...though pay more, u get to test it.

why not i give u the best option... wait for the new cam to come out...they will be some who will upgrade and off load their K20D...but not mi...hehe

actually what u have is good enough... buy lens la...

 

[darrrrrrrrrr]

If you can wait, #1 seems like the best option at ~SGD$1030 Not sure about the warranty though, I think MJ said they are honoring "all Pentax warranties", but I dunno if that includes Pentax USA warranties since that would be asking too much of them.

For the other options, GST brings the price up to at least SGD$1100 already, which is approaching the estimated local price point... you might want to call up OP to check if they sell it body only and what price. Or wait to see what price the K20D becomes once MJ gets the distribution going again, my guess would be somewhere between $1100-1150.

forgot to mention.. i will be going to USA in september for studies, so the MJ warranty thing isn't a problem for me. the first year standard warranty should be able to be converted to international warranty which i think MJ will have no problems with, and i'll be out of singapore by the time the extended warranty kicks in.

will shop around locally, but ideally i would like to have the extended warranty. perhaps i should phrase my question more directly.. for those who have had friends buy and ship stuff from overseas to sg, is under-declaring the value of the item or marking it as a gift, etc, a reasonable course of action? :angel:

 

[night86mare]

i want to purchase a k20d from buydig.com (for the free 2-yr extended pentax USA warranty) and somehow get it back to singapore. got a few options:

1) send to a family member who's coming back in 1-2 months and save on shipping, GST and credit card exchange rate entirely. savings worth about 100+sgd, but a long long wait though :sweat:

2) send to family/friend and get them to courier (UPS/DHL/fedex) to singapore. may experience some delay if they are not free to do the shipping stuff. how do i declare the value of the item to save on GST? if the value is under-declared & the parcel is lost in transport, am i only able to claim for the stated value?

3) vpost/borderlinx. if your advice for #2 is to just declare the value of the GST rather than take the risk, then i guess i should also consider these forwarding services if the total cost isn't too far off. read that borderlinx is quite efficient so it may be worth the premium.

4) buy local set and save the hassle, price permitting..

many thanks once again

note that borderlinx needs a citibank card, not sure if you have.

the k20d comes with a lithium ion battery in the package, be careful with vpost, i am not sure about borderlinx, but vpost will not ship anything with lithium ion battery in the package as long as the merchant states that it is inside. i kena that, they will ask you for $$$ to help you return the package some more, but it is my fault for not reading the t&c on the site properly, even though it is like buried in some obscure place amongst the faq and t&c nonsense they have in large amounts on the site.

i would think #1 or #4 is the best option. or you can always wait until you go overseas to study.. :devil: it is after all.. 5 months only. the price can only drop.. no?

 

[flowerpot]

since u will be staying is US for a while, then buy there when u are there, its definitely cheaper, plus they sometimes have rebate every now and then, i got my lenses there through my sis and got US$250 rebate in total... 5 months is a short period, what u have now is already enough... save the cash for travelling in US and take nice pics, nice equipment dun give u photo taking opportunity, travelling does.

 

[darrrrrrrrrr]

choose 1 if you can wait...4 if cannot
...
actually what u have is good enough... buy lens la...

thanks for the insight into options 2 and 3, i was concerned with GST, insurance, lost in transport, stuff like that. looks like it's not really worth the hassle and risk to kiam a few dollars

agreed about waiting for the next-gen pentax DSLR but i've just sold off my k100ds so either i get a k20d now or i go on a half-year photographic hiatus... :cry:

regarding the rebates.. IIRC not long ago pentax had a $100 rebate on their DSLRs but the retailers simply jacked up the price so it actually cost more than before, right?

note that borderlinx needs a citibank card, not sure if you have
...
i would think #1 or #4 is the best option. or you can always wait until you go overseas to study.. :devil: it is after all.. 5 months only. the price can only drop.. no?

that's a dumb policy vpost has, sounds like a scam to cheat people of their money on shipping and handling fees by witholding such impt information. it's not like lithium ion batts explode while being transported.

don't think i can wait that long, got to consider the utility of owning the camera for this time period vs the potential $$ savings. actually if not for the extended USA warranty i'd rather buy from local shops and sleep better at night, especially if the price diff is minimal.

 

[flowerpot]

agreed about waiting for the next-gen pentax DSLR but i've just sold off my k100ds so either i get a k20d now or i go on a half-year photographic hiatus... :cry:

taking a half yr break might not be a bad thing... doesn't mean u can't improve without a cam, u can actually by looking at thousands of photos, study them, visualize them, angles, perspective etc... improve on ur PS skills...u will be surprise u might be improving just be looking at others...

i wish i have more time to shoot but i dun, like many of us who is busy making a living, weekends are either family or chores at home...u will be surprise how busy a person can get when he/she is married even though i have no kids yet... so no time to shoot how to improve ? i look at others... but i dun think its working on me, since i im not improving :bsmilie:

 

[night86mare]

that's a dumb policy vpost has, sounds like a scam to cheat people of their money on shipping and handling fees by witholding such impt information. it's not like lithium ion batts explode while being transported.

don't think i can wait that long, got to consider the utility of owning the camera for this time period vs the potential $$ savings. actually if not for the extended USA warranty i'd rather buy from local shops and sleep better at night, especially if the price diff is minimal.

they claim it is due to us postal regulations, whether that is the truth, i do not know, all i know is that my first experience with vpost was a very bad one..

they took very long to reply my emails, all that time i was sweating because they won't ship, the merchant i buy from got time limit for refund.. then they still take 3 to 4 days per email..

then in the end cannot refund, must wait until i rich enough, fly to us and pick it up from vpost 20 years down the road, i will vomit blood.

 

[darrrrrrrrrr]

they claim it is due to us postal regulations, whether that is the truth, i do not know, all i know is that my first experience with vpost was a very bad one..

they took very long to reply my emails, all that time i was sweating because they won't ship, the merchant i buy from got time limit for refund.. then they still take 3 to 4 days per email..

then in the end cannot refund, must wait until i rich enough, fly to us and pick it up from vpost 20 years down the road, i will vomit blood.

eh? so did you get the refund in the end?

flowerpot: good point there.. i spent about a year reading up on photography stuff (due to NS time commitments) and as a consequence i didn't have to fumble too much when i finally got my K100DS. however, once the shutter finger has been trained, it's hard to tame the itch!

 

[LancerEX]

eh? so did you get the refund in the end?

flowerpot: good point there.. i spent about a year reading up on photography stuff (due to NS time commitments) and as a consequence i didn't have to fumble too much when i finally got my K100DS. however, once the shutter finger has been trained, it's hard to tame the itch!

hi darren, so we shall have another round of drinks, after Arthur's? :bsmilie:

 

[night86mare]

eh? so did you get the refund in the end?

yes, and incidentally, because of the changing us dollar in such times, i didn't lose much, maybe 5sgd..

 

[darrrrrrrrrr]

was quoted in the ballpark of 1.8k at both CP outlets today

 

[woefulwabbit]

was quoted in the ballpark of 1.8k at both CP outlets today

...

Come on MJ do something!

 

[darrrrrrrrrr]

Just an update:

CP(P): S$1825
CP(M): S$1880
MSC: S$1799
OP: S$1250 (grey)

I hope the local pricing changes under Emjay..

I emailed Pentax to see if the extended warranty applies to K20D bought from B&H.. If so I think I may order from them since they ship direct to Singapore.

K20D Body US$669.95
Shipping (UPS Worldwide Saver) US$54.85
Total US$724.80 = ~S$1087
With GST = ~S$1163

 

[flowerpot]

let me know if u really buying from B&H... i got something i wanna buy... share shipping cost

 

[codered]

the k20d comes with a lithium ion battery in the package, be careful with vpost, i am not sure about borderlinx, but vpost will not ship anything with lithium ion battery in the package as long as the merchant states that it is inside. i kena that, they will ask you for $$$ to help you return the package some more, but it is my fault for not reading the t&c on the site properly, even though it is like buried in some obscure place amongst the faq and t&c nonsense they have in large amounts on the site.

It's actually IATA (International Air Transport Association) requirements and lithium bat is considered DG (dangerous cargo). It sounds ridiculous but it's rules - i think they added lithium bat into the list this year.

 

[gigahz]

note that borderlinx needs a citibank card, not sure if you have.

the k20d comes with a lithium ion battery in the package, be careful with vpost, i am not sure about borderlinx, but vpost will not ship anything with lithium ion battery in the package as long as the merchant states that it is inside. i kena that, they will ask you for $$$ to help you return the package some more, but it is my fault for not reading the t&c on the site properly, even though it is like buried in some obscure place amongst the faq and t&c nonsense they have in large amounts on the site.

i would think #1 or #4 is the best option. or you can always wait until you go overseas to study.. :devil: it is after all.. 5 months only. the price can only drop.. no?

Ithink Borderlinx can ship Lithiums its not stated on their site
http://www.borderlinx.com/citi/sg/en/prohibited.html

 

[darrrrrrrrrr]

"Any K20D purchased between October, 2008 and July 31, 2009 from an authorized Pentax dealer in the US qualifies for a free upgrade to the 3 yr. Pentax Extended Warranty."

yeahhhh! i think i will put my order in @ B&H first thing next monday!

flowerpot & whoever else interested in tagging along, PM me.

 

[darrrrrrrrrr]

K20D arrived 6 days after ordering

 

[hjbyeo]

K20D arrived 6 days after ordering

Congrats. You'll love the camera!