buying camera equipment in St. Maarten

[TLLCanada]

We are headed on the Fantasy next week with a stop in St. Maarten and one in St. Thomas. I understand St. Maarten is duty free shopping and I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there were any bargains/deals to be had on camera equipment there and if so, which shops might I head for once we dock.

Many thanks!

 

[woody73]

We were on St Maarten recently.

Upon reaching town, we met people handing out a shipping passport (it actually resembles a passport book) with various coupons. The camera shop coupons looked pretty good -- free camera bag or SD card with purchase.

Woody

 

[UmmGooD]

We are headed on the Fantasy next week with a stop in St. Maarten and one in St. Thomas. I understand St. Maarten is duty free shopping and I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there were any bargains/deals to be had on camera equipment there and if so, which shops might I head for once we dock. Many thanks!

If it was me I would shop for what you want in the US before you go. The. Compare when you get there and see if you can save. Keep in mind there is a very high likelihood the manufacturer will not honor their warranty if you buy their equipment out of the country you live in. I would also check bh photo and video online.

 

[OKW Lover]

If it was me I would shop for what you want in the US before you go.

Very good suggestion. The last cruise I was on we stopped in St. Thomas and St. Martin. I had a list of camera equipment I was interested in and checked in both ports. I found that in St. Thomas the prices were a few dollars higher than I could have gotten on Amazon. In St. Martin, they were lower but it wasn't a US warranty.

 

[Robin"D"]

we were recently on St. Marrten, and have bought a watch whcih I got a GREAT deal on [saving of over $300]....so I thought I would try my luck on a camera lens. We went to the camera shop.....
the 1st thing I noticed was that the photographers from the DCL ship were shopping in the same shop I was at. So I talking to them and they told me this was the place to be. So I talked the the shop owner/ not pushy and he wanted to get the right lens for me.....I was looking at the Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR. He wanted $799 for it. after some time, my wife & I went to get some lunch at a place that had free internet. [had my ipad with me] So I looked up the lens on line, the cheapest I found it for was $1059.....after lunch, we went back to the camera shop and purchase the lens/ and that is with a 5 yr manufactuing warranty .....NO REGETS!!!!!!!!!!!
LOVE THIS LENS....no more changing lens

Hope this helps

Robin & Angel "D"

 

[UmmGooD]

we were recently on St. Marrten, and have bought a watch whcih I got a GREAT deal on [saving of over $300]....so I thought I would try my luck on a camera lens. We went to the camera shop.....
the 1st thing I noticed was that the photographers from the DCL ship were shopping in the same shop I was at. So I talking to them and they told me this was the place to be. So I talked the the shop owner/ not pushy and he wanted to get the right lens for me.....I was looking at the Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR. He wanted $799 for it. after some time, my wife & I went to get some lunch at a place that had free internet. [had my ipad with me] So I looked up the lens on line, the cheapest I found it for was $1059.....after lunch, we went back to the camera shop and purchase the lens/ and that is with a 5 yr manufactuing warranty .....NO REGETS!!!!!!!!!!!
LOVE THIS LENS....no more changing lens

Hope this helps

Robin & Angel "D"

That is a great deal! I am a lens junkie and I would probably buy a lens out of the country if I got a good deal. Most likely you won't have any problems with a lens in the warranty period anyway. I would definitely try it and look for aberrations before the purchase but if you are happy with it there it should be good. I might look at a flash when I am out of the country. I have a big lens and it creates a shadow on the bottom of the photo with the built in lens. I usually don't use a flash at all but it would be nice to have one.

If you are buying a camera itself I would definitely make sure you are saving a LOT before you buy out of the country. I had a Canon DSLR die within the warranty and that would have been a major expense to buy a new one.

 

[dmccarty]

Nikon has US warranties for equipment bought in the US. You can buy gray market Nikon equipment in the US but without the US warranty. Look at /http://www.bhphotovideo.com/ to compare prices between Gray Market, ie, products without US warranties, and products with the warranty. Gray Market products bought from B and H can be returned to them for repair.

There still appears to be authorized Nikon repair centers that are not run by Nikon. That may seem like an odd statement but Nikon stopped shipping parts to unauthorized service centers. This can be a PITA because one used to be able to order parts for repairs/replacement.

I would make sure you one, know the price of the product with the US and non US warranty and two, know of a place that you can ship the product for repair if needed.

Knock on wood, I have never had to send photo equipment out for repair. But all it takes is one opps and you drop the equipment. On the other hand, if the price is so low that it would cheaper to replace a broken lens or camera rather than pay for a repair, then the warranty is not useful.

If the prices are so good in St. Maarten, maybe I can use that as an rationalization, errr, reason, to take a Disney cruise!

I mention this to the wifey, and she said, "Well...." Not sure what the means.

Later,
Dan

 

[dllocals]

we were recently on St. Marrten, and have bought a watch whcih I got a GREAT deal on [saving of over $300]....so I thought I would try my luck on a camera lens. We went to the camera shop.....
the 1st thing I noticed was that the photographers from the DCL ship were shopping in the same shop I was at. So I talking to them and they told me this was the place to be. So I talked the the shop owner/ not pushy and he wanted to get the right lens for me.....I was looking at the Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR. He wanted $799 for it. after some time, my wife & I went to get some lunch at a place that had free internet. [had my ipad with me] So I looked up the lens on line, the cheapest I found it for was $1059.....after lunch, we went back to the camera shop and purchase the lens/ and that is with a 5 yr manufactuing warranty .....NO REGETS!!!!!!!!!!!
LOVE THIS LENS....no more changing lens

Hope this helps

Robin & Angel "D"

What is the name of the shop and do you remember where it it? Cruising to St Maarten this December and I would greatly appreciate this information. Thanks!

 

[Robin"D"]

What is the name of the shop and do you remember where it it? Cruising to St Maarten this December and I would greatly appreciate this information. Thanks!

after work, I'll look up my paperwork and get the name....

AND YES VERY HAPPY WITH THE LENS

need to go back to Alaska now.....

Robin & Angel "D"

 

[Robin"D"]

What is the name of the shop and do you remember where it it? Cruising to St Maarten this December and I would greatly appreciate this information. Thanks!

Here is the address:
Chulani's Seiko House
81 Front St.
owner is Ramani, great guy.

Be sure to print off things are looking for with prices. I think it is smart to do your home work, that way you are ready.
Good Luck, enjoy the island!
Hope this helps

Robin & Angel "D"

 

[OKW Lover]

I'll second Robin D's recommendation for this shop. That's where I got my 35mm F1.8 Nikon lens when we stopped in August.

 

[dllocals]

Here is the address:
Chulani's Seiko House
81 Front St.
owner is Ramani, great guy.

Be sure to print off things are looking for with prices. I think it is smart to do your home work, that way you are ready.
Good Luck, enjoy the island!
Hope this helps

Robin & Angel "D"

Thanks Robin!

 

[Robin"D"]

Thanks Robin!

Good Luck, enjoy your cruise....

But do your home work!

Robin & Angel "D"

 

[truck1]

Just a word of warning about buying expensive items overseas. Before you buy, it if is something that you may want to do later, make sure that the manufacturer will honor any warranty, unless you dont mind paying out of pocket for a repair that may occur later. Someplaces may not even touch the item if they think that it didnt come from an authorized retailer.

Theres 3 markets for a lot of items.
Theres a white market, grey market and black market.
White market is a item, that comes from an authorized retailer. For example, Nikon says, ABC Cameras can sell this item between this price bracket, or you wont sell any of our products again. Nikon will honor any warranty issue that may occur.
Grey market, is where an item, or items, is new/used stock. Say Bubbas guns and cameras goes out of business. They may have been a Nikon dealer, but there stock was bought out by Earls Cameras. Because the cameras, lenses etc have changed hands, warrantys typically no longer apply because they are technically used stock at that point. Generally, youll see those items, at a slightly lower price point.
Black market, is basically what is sounds like where an item fell off the back of a truck, and is being sold at a steep discount.

 

[CMontheseas]

It doesn't hurt to ask for a crew member discount! They never ask any follow up questions and we normally get 15-30% off electronics in St Maarten!