Grey Imports

"Grey Imports" are items that are legally imported and sold in a country, but where the stock originates from a different country. In the photographic example I will discuss here, they usually refer to camera equipment that is bought in from China, Hong Kong and other parts of Asia.

Grey Imports are usually on sale at cheaper prices than UK stock, simply for market reasons; goods simply wouldn't sell in much of Asia for the sort of prices that can be commanded in Western Europe. Sometimes, it can be due to exchange rates - a lot of Asian businesses trade in US Dollars - and a weak dollar can make goods significantly cheaper. This, in turn, makes Grey Imports very attractive to buyers - who will usually be unaware or not care where their goods come from - so long as they are getting a bargain. This is made all the more acute because we are frequently ripped off for consumer goods in the UK, especially when first released (how many American products simply turn the $ into a £?)

Yet, for all this, many photographers will advise you to steer clear of grey imports. Why?

• Warranty. It is very, very difficult to claim anything back under an "international warranty", no matter how easy your Grey Import seller says it is. Most sellers are, in fact, re-sellers or agents - they don't hold any stock, and they don't want to. They certainly don't want to be receiving non-working cameras back to their office to then have to post them to China and act as your go-between. Nikon and Canon UK will not recognise a so-called "international warranty", so you will have no choice but to try and get the item back to Hong Kong or whereever. Camera equipment is very technical and a lot of it still goes wrong from time to time, so be warned.
• Import Tax. One of the reasons Grey Imports look cheaper is because they don't have any taxes applied to them. Every item in the UK is sold with 17.5% VAT on top of it, and it is illegal to display goods for sale without adding all applicable taxes. Not so in the rest of the world. If you're bringing expensive electronic goods into the UK, HM Customs & Excise may well class you as an "importer" - even for a one-off purchase - and sting you for import duties. They can do this, and it's perfectly legal. The amount you will pay in duties varies according to the value of the item - the higher the value, the more likely you will get stung. Usually, when delivery and taxes are added to Grey Import goods, they become much dearer than if you had just bought UK stock from a UK dealer in the first place.
• Contact. When dealing in Grey Imports with foreign retailers, information can be very hard to come by. Contact is usually a very hit & miss affair, and most won't deal with you by telephone. This can make returning items a nightmare - even just checking where your goods are can become a hassle. Also, don't ever expect to be able to visit the premises of a Grey Importer to be able to try out the equipment first.
• Non-UK Parts. If your equipment needs to be plugged into the mains, it won't be shipped with a UK adaptor. Not a major problem, but I wouldn't like to be running a full studio setup that wasn't properly rated and designed with UK voltage in mind. Also, don't expect an English manual - most supplied instructions (if any) will be in Chinese.

Grey Importers have also been linked with scams and murky business practices. One Stop Digital, for example, deliberately mark down the items they ship as being "Gifts" of a lower value than they actually are to try and avoid import duties. A noble aim, perhaps, but it could bring you some unwarranted attention if HMRC open your parcel and find out that it isn't a £10 garden gnome inside, but actually a £3500 Nikon D3s. I believe Evasion of Tax Liability is a civil offence. The ubiquitous Camerabox are also Grey Importers, but at least they actually have items shipped to their warehouse in Oxfordshire. However, several people have reported fraudulent credit card payments being made on their accounts soon after shopping at Camerabox. While there is no suggestion that Camerabox are directly responsible, it just seems that murk and Grey Imports go together. You could even find yourself becoming a victim of Crazy Cameras, who have already been shut down once before after posing as a UK seller. They are, in fact, from the USA. So why hide as a British company? Again, look around the net - hundreds upon hundreds of negative reviews, claims of scams, goods never arriving, no refunds, "restocking" charges, and so on.

Even this morning I was answering questions about Froomoo, who also trade under the name of Fizi. A typical Grey Importer, Fizi / Froomoo are run from a rented office in the back end of Birmingham, but their identikit website gives an impression of sleek corporate functioning - a "world class operation" - to use their own hyperbole. In the real world, there is no warehouse, no team of "customer service advisers", and no "technical support". Froomoo is probably no more than a couple of people and a desk. They act as agents to Asian distributors, while appearing to undercut British retailers. They are nothing more than middle men looking to make a quick buck by creaming off the profit of selling Asian-market priced goods at slightly-cheaper-than-UK priced goods. It's not a scam, and what they're doing is legal. But do you think you're just going to be able to drop into Froomoo's office when something goes wrong? Like hell you are, even if they're around this time next year.

My advice? Cut out the middle man. Grey Imported goods aren't always bad - I bought a genuine Nikon HB-7 lens hood for my 80 - 200mm lens for £15 off a Hong Kong eBay seller, which was a lot cheaper than the £40 it was selling for here in the UK. But that's a piece of plastic. It's not likely to go wrong. If you want to dip a toe into Grey Imports, my advice would be to do the same (though beware of the millions of fakes on eBay and always read the small print). Don't give money to shady middle men who seek to destroy genuine British retailers. Yes, the genuine goods are dearer. That's because British retailers have to pay for their premises, staff and stock - those same premises where you can visit, try out camera kit, ask questions and even send it back if it all goes wrong with a refund or a replacement. With Grey Imports, you get none of that.