If I buy a camera off ebay (sony) shipped from overseas (US), will a uk purchased memory card still work. Will the camera be the same as if bought in the uk?

Ta

The shutter switch is usually on the left!:D

Seriously though, the memory cards specified for the camera are the same whether bought here or US.

There is a question of tax to be considered/avoided as well as warranty.

If the shutter button is to the left, does that mean the whole thing is the oposite way round - ie. view finder to the left and back lcd screen to the right?

Thanks

:rolleyes: I suspect CGK was having a humorous moment there FS ;)

The only difference you may find may be if it charges up on a mains cable. You'll need a transformer if it does, US being 120V and us being 240V :thumbsup: You can get them from palces like Tandy (or Mappins is it called?)

Originally posted by fierysatsuma
If the shutter button is to the left, does that mean the whole thing is the oposite way round - ie. view finder to the left and back lcd screen to the right?

Thanks

I'm sorry! That was my poor attempt at wit!
(We drive on different sides of the road etc.)

When the camera is given a full product number it should match the specifications for that model worldwide.

Sorry - long day at work, humour is going way over my head at the mo [reading back now - I cant believe I fell for it]]

Cheers

There are three reasons why you need to be careful when buying a Sony camera from the US.

Firstly, it will be subject to tax

Secondly, the guarantee will apply to the US, not to Europe (I found this out to my cost when I purchased a cybershot from the US last year). This may sound unbelievable, but this is what Sony Europe told me when I tried to activate the guarantee

Thirdly, if the seller proves to be dodgy, it will be expensive to knock on his door and sort him out

The camera itself though will be exactly the same as the UK model, apart from needing an adaptor plug for the battery charger.

If you get the sender to package it as a gift, isn't that a way round getting stung for import tax? Or is that some myth i've picked up from somewhere?

Originally posted by LordChaverly
Secondly, the guarantee will apply to the US, not to Europe (I found this out to my cost when I purchased a cybershot from the US last year). This may sound unbelievable, but this is what Sony Europe told me when I tried to activate the guarantee


this is the case for most electrical goods bought in the US.. i'm not quite sure why it's unbelieveable :confused:

Originally posted by jackthedog
If you get the sender to package it as a gift, isn't that a way round getting stung for import tax? Or is that some myth i've picked up from somewhere?

It is a common practice and often works.

However, it is tax evasion and you shouldn't cry if your package gets caught in a random check and you get hit for the duty.

it will most likely be too expensive to be considered a gift.
You could ask the sender to mark the value down as lower than it really it, but if they (Customs) check you'll be in trouble.

Most of the chargers are rated 110 - 240 these days, so no transformer will be required, just cut the 2 pin plug off and attach a 3 pin one.
My SO has a canon powershot from the US, her brother picked it up for her whilst over their and I have an MP3 player in the same way.

Originally posted by dirtybobby
this is the case for most electrical goods bought in the US.. i'm not quite sure why it's unbelieveable :confused:

The reason why I said it might seem unbelievable is because Sony is a global multinational company, producing global products and serving a global market place rather than segmented regional markets. Indeed, Sony has tried to brand itself as the first example of a truly global company, not easily associated with a particular home country (even though we all know Sony is a Japanese company). However, as I discovered, Sony's global aspirations don't yet extend to offering a global guarantee redeemable in any part of the world.

LordChavelry: its not particulally that Sony couldn't offer a global warrenty, its that the laws vary in different countries, hence why the US will have a different warrent slip in them compared with European ones.

Here the minimum manufacturers warrenty for goods to be manufacturing defect free is 12 months, whereas in america its 30 days. I believe this could be the reason why some of their goods are cheaper, if after 2 months your camera dies... your stuffed... at least here its covered for 11 more months... worth paying a little more on your very expensive and delicate equipment? possibly...

Originally posted by dirtybobby
this is the case for most electrical goods bought in the US.. i'm not quite sure why it's unbelieveable :confused:

quite a few companies now offer warranties that are redeemable anywhere.
Two examples that I can think of are Apple and Toshiba, who will honour their warranties wherever you are and where the goods came from.

Originally posted by xafier
LordChavelry: its not particulally that Sony couldn't offer a global warrenty, its that the laws vary in different countries, hence why the US will have a different warrent slip in them compared with European ones.

Here the minimum manufacturers warrenty for goods to be manufacturing defect free is 12 months, whereas in america its 30 days. I believe this could be the reason why some of their goods are cheaper, if after 2 months your camera dies... your stuffed... at least here its covered for 11 more months... worth paying a little more on your very expensive and delicate equipment? possibly...

Xafier, I tried to redeem my warranty witihn a week of purchase and I was told by Sony Europe that it was not valid here because it was purchased in the US. Buyers of expensive Sony equipment from the US beware!

Sony have also been warning people that if they buy an imported portable Playstation they won't get any support.

Originally posted by LordChaverly
Xafier, I tried to redeem my warranty witihn a week of purchase and I was told by Sony Europe that it was not valid here because it was purchased in the US. Buyers of expensive Sony equipment from the US beware!

well its the price you have to pay for importing goods... you can get them cheaper but you've got to be lucky something doesn't go wrong

theres always a catch with everything, its within their rights to not give you warrenty... afterall the product wasnt bought in this country... I'm sure you paid the relevant tax's for your goods too right? ;)

it's all swings and roundabouts, I used to import lots of stuff, but lately i'll just pay the extra to get it from this country to save hassle, like getting stuff stuck in customs for a long time...

I only import things I cant get in europe now, or rare items... like an old Ibanez guitar neck i bought a while back which I couldn't find anyone selling one in this country because the old style neck I wanted wasnt sold in this country ever, so the only ones here are imports

Originally posted by xafier

theres always a catch with everything, its within their rights to not give you warrenty... afterall the product wasnt bought in this country...

consumers thinking like that is what lets them get away with it.

How does transporting it across a country border somehow absolve them of the requirement that it be of the expected quality and last for at least a reasonable duration?

Cyclone, I dont think its fair or right... but I know that I'm thankful for our laws giving us 12 months, and I'm thankful our health and safety and such other laws that mean our products are also safer and better...

it should absolve them of the quality of the product, but if they realease it in the US to one set of standards and here to another set of standards then if you swap either direction then its going to get confusing...

maybe we should work on world peace and uniting so we have global laws and such and get rid of all this? I'm sure it could happen one day :?