Cleverest way to buy photo kit?

secretmachines

I'm looking at spending about £1,600 on a new camera and gear. Just wondering if people have any tips or tricks for the most MSE way to buy?

Haggling in store?
Freebies with a particular credit card?
Loyalty card bonus points somewhere?
Etc...

I_have_spoken

2nd hand .

paddyrg

There's generally not massive markups in these days of people checking internet pricing, so haggling will only go so far. Accessories tend to be marked up higher than camera bodies and lenses, so that's where you can get some deals.

If buying online, proceed with caution about import models (which may attract £00's of VAT and duty on import) or just not have a manufacturer warranty for the UK. Some less honourable vendors will unbundle kits, so you may find you are charged extra for a battery, and again for a charger, and again for any other stuff that was always in the box for a normal deal. Some will also swap genuine chargers, batteries for Chinese knock-offs (potentially less enduring/more fire risk), then sell the originals. Just online, it's hard to trust providence, especially from overseas.

If you want a genuine UK independent seller with excellent reviews and prepared to do deals, Ace Cameras are based in Bath but have a website, and years ago at the launch of the Canon 550D they were the cheapest by some margin.

daveyjp

If you have a model in mind look at the model history and go back 1 or 2 generations. Search on Amazon to see if there are any discounted models, or find one second hand. A few years ago I bought a 3 year old dSLR for £250. Launch price was £1500. It is still going strong and worth about £90!

secretmachines

I_have_spoken wrote: »

2nd hand .

true! though the model i'm after is fairly new, and not many become available, but will keep checking

daveyjp wrote: »

If you have a model in mind look at the model history and go back 1 or 2 generations. Search on Amazon to see if there are any discounted models, or find one second hand. A few years ago I bought a 3 year old dSLR for £250. Launch price was £1500. It is still going strong and worth about £90!

i'm looking at upgrading existing kit, so it'd be a forward step rather than a backwards one. i'm after a Nikon D750+MBD16, and am keeping tabs on the camerapricebuster website. i would try and avoid a grey import if possible (though panamoz seem reliable).

so i'm sort of happy to paying the asking price, just wondering if there were any MSE-type tips such as paying on a particular credit card to get vouchers, cashback, etc.

failing that i'll try a charm offensive and see if a Currys, etc. would throw in an extra battery, memory cards, etc.

Oblivion

It's been a while since I bought any new gear, but back in the day I built up a sizeable collection of Nikon digital equipment and I got most of it from Park Cameras. I got some decent discounts by making it clear to the manager of the Sussex store that I had x amount of money to spend and would remain loyal to his store if he could give me competitive quotes.


https://www.parkcameras.com/?gclid=CIn9xJr45cwCFcsp0wodrxAPpA

wba31

I use https://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk to search around for cheapest way of getting bits and pieces

Le_Kirk

Another vote for Park Cameras. Always had good prices ....... and when they didn't, I went somewhere else but that hasn't happened very often

[Deleted User]

Buy it from HK via Digitalrev.. you can get a Nikon D750 for £1,189, and the Nikon MB-D16 grip for £259 - but be wary of import costs.

I bought a panny LX7 from that site, and saved a nice amount on it. Delivery is about 3 days.