She who must be obeyed wants to buy me something special for my upcoming birthday. A Lotus Exige is a little beyond her budget (and mine), so we agree upon a nice new lens for my camera. Although she protests she can afford it, this is also beyond her budget, so we agree on a cost sharing arrangement and the deal is done.
Next to source the lens. My usual shop in Bangkok says they don’t have it, and it is so popular that they get very few available. My usual shop in Pattaya says they don’t have it, but could order it for delivery in 45 days. This would still mean that it arrives before my birthday (she who must be obeyed likes to plan early), but I want it NOW (no way is she going to hide it away and wrap it so I can open it on the “big day”).
So I turn to eBay and more than one shop in Hongkong is happy to sell me the lens from stock. Price including Fedex courier is 4,000 baht less than the shop in Pattaya is quoting, and with a creative valuation from customs, the tax should be minimal.
So on Wednesday evening I place the order. On Thursday lunchtime (yesteday), the parcel is picked up by Fedex and when I wake up this morning the tracking tells me it has arrived in Thailand and has cleared customs. I call Fedex who tell me the tax is 425 baht, the seller has obviously heeded my request for a low valuation on the customs form by declaring the lens “basically worthless.”
By lunchtime it is in my hands, less than 24 hours after being collected from the shop in Hong Kong. I love eBay.
And a very nice lens it is too. I look forward to thanking she who must be obeyed when she gets home. Meantime, if any of you are feeling in a generous mood…..
