We purchased a Canon EOS 1D digital camera kit with EF 16-35 f2.8L lens from the EDC Group. Overall, the EDC Group was very good seller. The EDC Group provided excellent communications and prompt replies to all questions. And overall, we saved several hundred dollars on this purchase and received an item that many United States professionals are on waiting lists for from US retailers. The price was excellent and the service was excellent, and shipping from their end was quickly made.


However, I must list a few problems encountered in the buying process. Our package was valued at over $6000 in US currency, and was therefore subject to US Customs import restrictions. Apparently, any package valued at over $2000 is subject to these restrictions (according to the documentation sent to us by the US Customs Service). Thus, US Customs intercepted the package and would not allow delivery until we had arranged with a Customhouse Broker to make formal entry for the package on our behalf into the United States. Since the package was valued at over $2000, we were viewed as “importers” in the eyes of the US Customs Service. Because we were unfamiliar with formal entry process, there was a delay of approximately two weeks before delivery of the items could be completed. The package was in California and we had to deal with it via a Houston, Texas, Customs Broker who could handle details on our behalf. Total additional costs of approximately $250 were added to our package by virtue of paying the Customhouse Broker's fees and US Customs duties. However, even after paying these fees, our overall package price for the items purchased was still several hundred dollars less than we would have paid if using a US retailer. Again, this overall formal entry process added about two extra weeks to the overall delivery time required. It could have been completed more quickly, but we were not at all familiar with the process to expedite the formal entry (as most standard buyers would probably also not be familiar).


One shortcoming of this item once delivered (the EOS 1D camera) was that all hardcopy literature was in Japanese (the user's manual and all additional paperwork). The EDC group courteously provided us with a compact disk (CD) containing the English versions of the manuals, but as many users know, it can be very difficult to learn how to use such a complex camera without hardcopy manuals on hand to use for reference. We were, of course, able to print out the User’s Manual and Software Manual (each book more than 150 pages), but pages printed from a printer are not anywhere near as convenient as the original manuals.


I wish to reiterate that the experience dealing with the EDC Group was overall very good, but the glitches introduced in having to deal with the US Customs Service (brought on by the overall value of the package) were a real pain. All this being said, I would (and most likely will) use the EDC group again in the future.