Anyone bought from Global Visual Direct
 

Hi guys.

This is my first post and im seeking a little advice.
Im from australia and am looking to buy a AG-HMC 152. They retail for $6000 in australia but you can get them shipped (for free) from the uk from a company called GLOBAL VISUAL DIRECT for $3600. Now usually when a deal sounds to good to be true it is. So im just wondering has anyone bought from these guys or even there sister company PRO VISUAOL DIRECT and could you please tell of your experience. The money has to be deposited into a bank account and when making one of the bigger purchases in my life it scares me.
Anyway, would love to hear from anyone.
Thanks again
Stu

Their only payment method is by bank transfer? That's enough to make me pass on it.

Yeah it does seem quite sketchy. Ive read of people buying products from them in other forums but would love to hear from anyone here.

I'd be very cautious of any lesser known site especially from overseas. Even if this was a legit site I would stay clear for two reasons: you still have to pay GST upon import and you won't get the Australian warranty.

Thanks for the advice John.
I looked into the import duties and stuff and it still comes in under 4000 with gst, 2000 difference than buying off the shelves in Aus.
Global visual direct claim the give a 12month warranty (pretty sure you are meant to get 3year, it being tapeless and all) and i am in the process of finding out from Panasonic.au if they will honour that warranty or not.
We'll see.

Hi Stu

I have bought for years from GlobalMediaPro in New Zealand..they ship the cameras from Singapore warehouse and are fast and efficient!! I will certainly be buying my next pair of HMC82's from them as well!!

You don't pay any duty but yes, you need to pay GST and also around $100 to the courier company to act as your Customs agent. To give you an idea my HMC72's were $4400 from Sydney retail store and from NZ I paid $2300 plus GST at $230 so that came to $2530!!! For both cameras freight was $120 and Toll Priority charged me $110 agency fees. I got my cameras delivered to the door in 2 days.

Don't be over concerned about warranty!!! Firstly if the camera arrives faulty it will be replaced ..if it does fail (I have yet to claim a warranty in over 20 years of ownership) then you would STILL have to send the cameras away to the dealer who sends them to Panasonic and (guess what) they don't/can't even repair them in Australia!!!! Global Media will do exactly the same thing and they go back to Osaka for warranty repair. The chance of a cam dying a year later is very small and if you are using it commercially would you be happy to wait months for it to be repaired????

GlobalMedia has an Australian bank account and will email you a receipt when you pay for your order. Great company with great communication all the way!!

Chris

Many of us have used globalmediapro.com for cameras and equipment etc. and they are located in NZ and are very reliable to deal with. (If you really got stuck the air fare to NZ is much cheaper than UK).

I bought my 152 through electronicbazaar.com.au where you pay GST and get an Australian invoice which will allow you better tax write offs (talk to your accountant). And they have a REAL person in a Melbourne office you can deal with, either by email or phone.

Certainly they claim you can register your camera with Panasonic Australia as I did, but let's get real here, if it doesn't come in via Panasonic Australia, you won't get any warranty through them. I notice they have upgraded their website to say that. (Must have been a loop hole).

But if it's going when you get it, you should be pretty right. I just had to get mine looked at this week as the zoom rocker was squeaking, (6 months old), but it cost me $82 for the service so I'm still way ahead.

For Australian stock check out John Barry in South Melbourne, their quote was only a few hundred dollars dearer with genuine Australian stock so you may be more interested in getting a deal there.

I did end up getting all my batteries from GlobalMediaPro this time though.

Cheers,

Vaughan

WOW thanks Chris.
I never new that website existed. It is still cheaper on GLOBAL VISUAL DIRECT.COM and it has free shipping, but hearing your experience through GlobalmediaPro and being able to pay into an australian account might be worth the extra couple of hundred bucks for the peace of mind. I will definitely look into it thanks so much for your advice.


I would still love to hear from anyone who has shopped at Global Visual Direct.Thanks

Thanks Vaughan.

Interesting what you have said about the panasonic loophole. So when you got your zoom rocker fixed was that just through a private business or did that actually go to Panasonic.
Ill be sure to have a look at John Barry and ebazaar. Global Visual Direct is starting to look less and less appealing by the minute.

cheers
stu