Shopping for cameras

[kittenaround]

I read in one of the threads that a lot of people bought cameras in St. Thomas. My husband has been wanting to buy a new SLR camera and I have been putting him off as I find our digital one is fine (being the great photographer that I am). But given these posts, are the prices for these cameras a lot cheaper in St. Thomas and is this something we should consider looking for? Any advice/suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

[The Islander]

There are two electronics/camera stores: Boolchands and Royal Caribbean. Best bet is to know what you are looking for and know the rates in the stores near you and online to see if you are getting a better rate. Sometimes its the same price but you get things thrown in for free like memory cards etc. and that becomes the incentive.

 

--Islander

[Nukesailor]

Last time I was looking at a new lens for my Canon SLR, the lowest price I could get at Havensite (Boolchands, I think) in St. Thomas was still higher than the internet price from a US distributor.

One thing you need to consider is that many of the camera deals outside the US do not include a US warranty. They are international warranties, also known as "gray market". What this means to you is that effectively you would have no warranty in the US - none of the distributors would touch it. You would have to ship the camera to Japan for any repairs. If you do look at cameras in St. Thomas, make sure the price quoted includes a US warranty.

 

Art

[Gator83]

I read in one of the threads that a lot of people bought cameras in St. Thomas. My husband has been wanting to buy a new SLR camera and I have been putting him off as I find our digital one is fine (being the great photographer that I am). But given these posts, are the prices for these cameras a lot cheaper in St. Thomas and is this something we should consider looking for? Any advice/suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

The best place to buy photo equipment is onlinee at bhphoto.com. I have been buying there since the 70s and you will get the US warranty.

[Lsimon]

Personally, I'd shop the US distributors like Amazon, BH Photo and Adorama and have the camera in hand before we left the house for the cruise. Taking photos of our cruises are my second favorite thing to take pictures of (#1 is our Grandson!).

[m steve]

so you can compare. I buy from J&R online and no shipping or tax charged(unless NY) and they have everything. Then you can shop the islands and see if there really is a savings.

[Southpawlady]

We bought our camera at the Royal Carribean store on St Thomas in April 2008. I did all the pre shopping at home and took a print out of what I wanted. At home $699.00 was the best on-line, and in-store was $750.00. We paid $450.00 in St. Thomas and that was with a battery, camera bag and the memory chip which we upgraded for $10.00. We bought an Olympus E-510 SLR and love it! RCL told us on the ship that their store would have the best price and that they back it with a 1 yr guarantee. We have not had any problems with it.

[laser110]

We bought our camera at the Royal Carribean store on St Thomas in April 2008. I did all the pre shopping at home and took a print out of what I wanted. At home $699.00 was the best on-line, and in-store was $750.00. We paid $450.00 in St. Thomas and that was with a battery, camera bag and the memory chip which we upgraded for $10.00. We bought an Olympus E-510 SLR and love it! RCL told us on the ship that their store would have the best price and that they back it with a 1 yr guarantee. We have not had any problems with it.

 

 

Royal Caribbean on St. Thomas is not affliated with the cruise line.The Royal Caribbean store has been on Main Street for as long as I can remember.

 

My last trip to St. Thomas, this past June, my camera I brought from home broke the night I got there. It was a Kodak, slightly over a year old and given to me as a gift for the Holidays. When I say broke, I don't mean something minor, the entire lens section just fell off the camera rendering it useless. I knew we were going into town on Monday, so I took some time to look at various styles I saw in magazines and find something I liked. I really wanted an EOS Sport, but after starting to compare prices at Boolchands, Royal Caribbean and a few other stores, I realized it was out of my price range. I eventually settled on a Canon Powershot A2100. The salesman was offering an upgraded memory card, which I didn't need since it uses the same SB card my Kodak did, already at 4mg. Instead, I was able to negotiate for a carrying bag, and I am really pleased with the pictures it takes.

 

Did I get a deal? I did some research when I got back home and it looks like I saved about $30-$45 on the camera vs the price here minus the taxes, so overall about a $60- $75 savings. Not bad for no research. I went having no intentions of buying a new camera so I didn't do an research prior, my suggestion is do the research ahead of time and you can find some good deals.

 

A side note to the story: When I got home I called Kodak about the camera I brought with me that just broke. After spending literally an hour and half on hold, I was connected to someone in the Phillipines with terrible English skills. I could bearly understand her and eventaully got to a "supervisor". He told me I could have the camera fixed at a reduced rate or they would offer 25% off the purchase of a new one. I didn't need a new camera or repaired camera, having had to buy a new one. This went around and around and I eventually hung up and found the number pnline for the main office in Rochester, NY. I called there asking to speak to someone who could help me and the guy on the phone told me he was just a security guard and had no clue who to connect me to.

 

Finally, I sent a letter to the President of Kodak, explained the situation and the trouble I had even trying to get to someone to talk to. I got a letter back about 3 weeks later from an assistant of some sort, he offered the same thing the "supervisor" in the Phillipines did and was happy to fix their faulty product at my cost, or offer to sell me a new camera. He said since the camera was a just out of warrenty that's all he could do. The camera was purchased directly off the Kodak website as a gift for me. It had been used less than 10 times and was clearly not abused. The lens peice fell out, as a situation of bad/poor workmanship. I offered to send pictures of the camera to Kodak (taken with my new camera) and they refused. They continually made it sounds like I abused the product, and the possibility that I had a Lemon was not possible. Absolutely the WORST customer service ever! I'll never buy a Kodak camera, printer or any other peice of equipment again. I tell this story to make others aware and beware that they DON'T stand behind their product. In my opinion, the hallmark of a company soon to be history.

 

Scott

[Southpawlady]

I may very well be wrong, but on our ship with RCL they told us it was their store. So that is why we went there, and both the service and our camera was excellent.

[laser110]

Southpawlady- it may have been said "tongue in cheek" that it was said that was their store. I believe Royal Caribbean is also one of the stores alot of the cruise lines recommend on their shopping talks and if you purchase at these stores, the cruise line will offer a 30 day gurantee on the product.

 

When we were on Carnival and Princess, both stopped at St. Thomas and we watched as the other passengers ran to the "recommened stores" since they didn't know any better. I get a little kick when walking around downtown and they ask "what ship are you on" and I can proudly say "none." :)

 

Scott

[lovemylab]

The OP is from Canada so having a US warranty is completely useless.

 

Furthermore, if the OP orders online from a US retailer they will have to pay shipping and duty on their purchase. When you factor in these things, it would actually be more expensive to order online compared to just buying the camera from a local store.

 

I bought a Nikon lens for my SLR last month in St. Thomas. Due to the current exchange rate, I got that lens for a considerably lower price than what retailers in my area were selling it for. I bought it at Boolchands in Charlotte Amalie. I also went to Royal Caribbean but I found Boolchands offered more selection.

 

My advice to the OP is to research prices before you leave (don't forget to factor in the taxes you would pay in Ontario). When you get to St. Thomas go to both Boolchands and Royal Caribbean to see what price they are willing to give you. The stores are close to each other so you can easily go to both before making a decision.

[MDSue]

I purchased a digital camera at Boolchands in St. Martin and am very satisfied with my purchase. It came with a one year US warranty but luckily I have not needed to use it. I've had the camera for two years now and it is still as good as new.

I bought this camera to replace an identical one I bought the year before in the US for $300. My daughter dropped and broke it right before my trip. I hadn't planned on buying another one, but when I saw the store on the pier I decided to check the price. The lowest price I could find the camera for online and locally was $249. At Boolchand, I paid $185 and got a free memory card [worth about $60 at the time] and a carrying case. I also saved on taxes.

I'm going back this spring and may buy a nice SLR this time. I am a bit worried about any warranty problems, but I had good luck with my first purchase. It was definitely not a gray market camera.

I would recommend checking them out and seeing what kind of deals are available.