In which country is the Canon EOS R3 the cheapest, and most expensive?

[dominic_siu]

R3 price should be cheapest in the world, when official price announced will update again

 

[ColorBlindBat]

So if nationX keeps its currency cheap (say to boost local exports), every other country should have to pay over the odds for imports of goods from nationY to ensure the price paid for imported goods bought in nationX remain globally competitive?

What about local wage differences, size of country, local distribution costs, volumes. Container costs vary massively between different ports. Barely scratching the surface. There are just too many variables.

Pricing from Canon Global to any individual region / country should be based on each individual nation's / region's exchange rate. If nation X artificially pushes it's currency up or down, it wouldn't (and doesn't) affect nation Y.

Local wage issues are simply that - a local only issue.

Yes, there is a substantial difference in current container shipping from country to country. Globally, it is up more than 350% over 2020.

Per Freightos, the current cost per full 40 foot container from Japan to the US is ~$17380 and to northern Europe is ~$14260.

I have absolutely no idea how many R5s/R6s can be packed into a full 40 foot container, but I would guess at least 2500 in retail packaging. That says the US should pay ($17380-$14260)/2500 or $1.25 more per camera than an R5/R6 destined for the UK/EU. Surely not enough to justify any difference in MAP pricing let alone the dramatically different advertised pricing between the USA and the UK/EU.

Note, my argument isn't for cheaper pricing in the US, but fairer pricing world-wide -even if it costs me more.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I don't believe that Canon global sets the selling price for individual countries. Canon is broken up into several sub companies that set prices for countries in their regions. As to how those prices are set, we don't know. Are their hidden taxes like B&O taxes that the regional distributors pay, what is their cost for wages for repair facilities, what do they pay for rent, for insurance, for transportation, and for fringe benefits for their employees? How much fraud loss is there? There can be a lot of hidden costs. Some companies in the US can negotiate long term tax exemptions if they locate in certain states or cities. The costs or savings from those hidden items can be very substantial. Big companies are not stupid, they get the best deals they can but they also include the hidden costs in their prices.

Its not the simple task that some think it is.

 

[maulanawale]

Not that I think it is a factor taken into account for pricing, but I would also factor in, when judging how fair or unfair, cheap or expensive an item is, how many working hours at minimum salary would take for an average person to be able to afford said item.
As an example, I live in the UK although I'm Spanish. Comparing myself with my University friends, all working in similar (if not identical) roles in the aeronautical/aerospace/IT field, my net salary is up to 40% higher that some of theirs while the cost of living is perhaps 5 or 10% higher here.
As I said, I don't think Canon (nor anyone for that matter) factors this in when setting prices, but I think makes the comparison a bit more apples to apples when it is considered. Of course there's always overall "winners" and "losers" having countries with higher salaries, lower taxes and cheaper prices as well as the opposite. But still, in "me tiny head", it makes some sense.

Side note, as mentioned by some, Panamoz is highly recommended. Bought some of my Sony gear from them and never had a problem

 

[David - Sydney]

A 5 year warranty is a pretty good deal, I don’t know anywhere else where you can get that.

I guess the logic is that if a camera is going to fail it will usually happen within the first few weeks or months, so a 5 year warranty will probably create not many more claims than a shorter one.

The 5 year warranty nevertheless will give purchasers much greater confidence than the one year warranty that’s more commonplace in many parts of the world.

True... I did buy my RF70-200mm 3 months before my R5 arrived because it was discounted by 20%. Losing the 3 months warranty vs 5 years was a reasonable exchange for the discount.
The initial batch of local R5's also had a custom strap (which I sold) and a spare battery which was good.

So far I have only had one minor repair needed in 10+ years for my old 7D which is promising. No problems with lenses. That said, the R5 Shooters facebook group has had are a bunch of people that have needed to send their R5 back for repair.

 

[Emyr Evans]

This is where I shop from the UK: https://www.e-infin.com/uk/item/4158/canon_eos_r5_mirrorless_digital_camera_(body_only)

R5 is £2899 body which at today's currency rate is $3960, almost the same as the US pice.

Never had a problem with them.

 

[Chig]

New Zealand also has the unlimited 5 year warranty on all Canon camera gear and 15% gst here which is higher than Australia.
If I go on a holiday overseas I can order a camera at a local shop and they send it to the airport for me to collect which means I buy it duty free and if you subtract the gst from the price then an R3 would only cost me $6,871 which isn't too bad.
Edit: the actual duty free price currently here is NZD9552.17 which is USD6,851.92 which is only $163 more than in the USA which has a Limited 1 year warranty .
If you're a professional (which I'm not) you don't pay gst either.

Edit : I've checked with a local camera shop and you can indeed buy a camera from them which they send to the airport when you go for an overseas trip and you don't have to pay the gst

Some Canon gear like the RF100-500 lens are really overpriced here , it's nearly twice the price of the EF100-400ii which I already have so I'm not in a hurry to upgrade to the RF version.

We have free healthcare too (which is great and a normal part of life in any civilised country) but not sure what that has to do with the price of cameras

 

[PerKr]

why do people bring up healthcare? I mean, it is what it is and when it's "free" we pay quite a lot to have that anyway (in Sweden you're looking at tax levels at over 50% as there is not just the tax that is obviously declared as a tax but also employer fees which are in fact salary based taxes).

Anyway, this list is pointless without comparisons. We need to at the very least add the Sony A1 and Nikon Z9 to the list. And note that if you live in a high-tax location and try to import from abroad, you are likely to be struck with import duties and VAT to a degree that you basically save just pennies but might still be giving up warranties in the process.

 

[mpmark]

Should I mention that in the UK they have free healthcare in comparison to the US? I would gladly pay $3000 more for a camera than being bankrupted by major health issues. This price list is a joke.

I’ll take that one step further, In Canada I pay even less then you and I still have free healthcare ;-)

 

[mpmark]

So do we and the R3 is $500 cheaper here in Denmark than in the UK :|

It's much more about what the (local) market are willing to pay. Inside the EU, am I willing to accept the hazzle iof returns etc to save $570 on a $7500 item?
Possibly not.

willing to pay? That has absolutely zero to do with the pricing. Pricing is set by different factors that all add up. Volume is one of them, more units will move in the US then in the UK.
Tax is a major one, it’s already included 20% in the price of the unit, the US price is before tax.
Lastly, companies have to protect themselves from the fluctuating in the exchange rate movement, the pound has been seen as a weak unstable currency in the past few years. The add a cushion due to this.

 

[Ozarker]

Should I mention that in the UK they have free healthcare in comparison to the US? I would gladly pay $3000 more for a camera than being bankrupted by major health issues. This price list is a joke.

$3k more for your camera isn't going to cover much for you. Basically, nothing. So you're going to need to add 20-30% to everything... your whole lifetime... and then some thrown in by others.

 

[entoman]

Wait till you want/need Canon to do any repair or maintenance on it. Your UK address, your HK purchase and service in the UK: you're very likely to get refused service.

Canon CPS members can register any item of Canon gear, new or secondhand, bought anywhere in the world, and gain access to priority repair services carried out either by Canon or authorised independent repairers.

I don’t know what the situation is with other grey importers, but a friend of mine had an issue with his 5DMkiv while under warranty with Panamoz. He just got a quote from an authorised Canon repairer, had the camera fixed by them, and was reimbursed by Panamoz.

 

[Ozarker]

Must remember to put my prices up

Viagrasoft has some code that'll help you find way to raise the bottom line in stressful economic times.

 

[USMarineCorpsVet]

There are still some well established authorized dealers in the US besides BH and Adorama that ship anywhere in the US and do not conduct themselves as tax collectors for every US state. Free shipping and no sales tax is a win/win for the consumer. (Of course, most states require you to declare these purchases and pay them for your out of state purchase.)

 

[Sporgon]

Viagrasoft has some code that'll help you find way to raise the bottom line in stressful economic times.

@CanonFanBoy you have a one track mind !

 

[Ozarker]

@CanonFanBoy you have a one track mind !

The only track I have left.

 

[AlanF]

willing to pay? That has absolutely zero to do with the pricing. Pricing is set by different factors that all add up. Volume is one of them, more units will move in the US then in the UK.
Tax is a major one, it’s already included 20% in the price of the unit, the US price is before tax.
Lastly, companies have to protect themselves from the fluctuating in the exchange rate movement, the pound has been seen as a weak unstable currency in the past few years. The add a cushion due to this.

It was pointed out in earlier posts that the price differentials exist before tax is applied. And other Japanese manufacturers like Nikon and Sony don't have the high differentials against the UK.

 

[Talys]

I'm (happily) surprised that Australia's price is competitive. So often they get the short end of the stick for many consumer goods.

 

[Nick L]

I also could not deal with Canon UK's prices and bought my R5 from Panamoz with no issues at all, registered with CPS which states I cannot get warranty repair but who cares with a three year warranty. I was also on a number of lists for an RF 100-500L but after being told by a large dealer that it was unlikely I would see one this side of Christmas I ordered the 100-500L from Panamoz it took 6 days to arrive and was tracked the whole way with UPS. If Canon UK do not understand that having no stock does not allow them to charge stupid prices then more fool them, I have cancelled all the UK potential orders but will wait for Canon UK to realise the error of their ways

Just a point the UK price vs the US price (with the highest state tax - Louisiana) still makes the UK RF 100-500L price difference $1036.74 or £751.26 dearer.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

They'll also protect themselves against currency exchange rate instabilities in one way or another in order to not have to change to list price too often.

Yes, they often mention their currency hedges in financial reports. A lot of it has been in US dollars so that is another reason why they can price Cameras lower in the US.