Buying a camera in China - need some advice

[Shai]

Hi all,

 

I'm in the market for some top notch photo gear, more specifically the Sony a7r.

Now in the states this camera goes for 2300$, but after browing gome for a while I noticed it goes for 400$ less.

So what is the deal here? Is gome reliable? is there some hidden luxury tax I need to know about?

[abcdefg]

Gome has always been a reliable place to buy household electric appliances on the Chinese mainland in my experience, though I haven't bought any cameras there. It's unusual for cameras to be cheaper in China than in the US because of excise taxes and customs duties.

 

Might not be necessary to mention, but I would suggest making 100% sure that you are pricing the same exact model of camera with the same accessories included in the deal.

 

Also not sure where you live in China. Reason for mentioning location is twofold: some major cities have dedicated Sony stores with good selection and honest fixed prices. (You can find the list on the Internet -- Google "Sony Stores.")

 

I recently bought a Sony camera at their store in Shanghai and was well pleased with the deal and service. Had to be careful when pricing the same item elsewhere to make sure they were quoting me the price for this year's model and not last year's.

 

The other reason for mentioning location is that if you are close to Hong Kong, you might get a better deal there. Pitfalls apply -- some places are notoriously dangerous -- Nathan Road in Kowloon, Tsim  Sha Tsui, for example.

[Shai]

Well, like I said, I was looking into buying a new Sony a7r (body only, no extras)

 

B&H quotes it for 2300$ while gome's cheapest quote seems to be 11800 yuan which are roughly 1900$ - 400$ difference. 

I am actually in Israel right now, where asking price for this camera is 2600$, so buying in China seems like a good option. 

I should be arrving at Beijing in 4 months and that is when I plan on making the purchase. Is there a Sony store in Beijing? the one in HK seems to quote a higher price than gome.

[roddy]

Any possible issues with the warranty?

You may also want to look at Rayi, big Chinese camera retailer and they have (or had, at least) a big Beijing flagship store.

[gato]

Do you have a link to the Gome page for the camera?

Are you sure the listing is for a7r and not a7? I don't see the a7r listed on jd.com, the largest online retailer of electronics in China.

[Shai]

gome

rayi