Hi All,
I've posted this on the US Board, but thought I would put it here as well, in the hope of picking up Australians or visitors to Australia who might not check that Board and may have some experience they could pass on

I'm going to NY in August and would like to buy a new digital camera. Pricewise, should I buy here (assuming Duty Free) or there?

Re: Locked Luggage - I don't travel with unlocked bags,and am extremely chary of doing so. Especially with some of our charming BH's & their a'hem, Associates.(LOL). But have heard that the US customs/ baggage handlers can & often do break off locks & damage bags.

What do/can you do? What about Tampertells?
I've heard that there is some special lock to which the US Customs people have a master key. I don't really want to go trotting through Syd-Lax-JFK and back with open bags, nor do I want to incur damage/delays.

And, good backer though I am, I don't think I can fit everything in my carry-on. At least not on the way back ... am looking forward to some Summer Sale splurges

Any advice you can give on either or both of these queries would be very much appreciated.

We bought a camera in Australia years ago only to find the same camera much cheaper in the US upon our return. It's been my experience that durable goods are generally more expensive in Australia than in the US.

We always lock our bags, regardless of our destination. When you arrive at LAX customs and claim your bags, you'll probably have the opportunity to unlock them for inpsection before the bags are moved to your connecting flight. You may also have the chance to relock them before they're sent on their way.

When you leave the US, you'll want to keep your bags unlocked, but you are often given the chance to lock them after they are screened, and before they're sent on their way. If you have a combination lock on your luggage, the inspectors will usually spin the lock to secure it after they've done their screening.

Caveat - each airport is different. I've not travelled from NY, but I've always been given the opportunity to lock my bags after inspection when leaving other airports in the US.

Once or twice we found that our bags had been opened at some point. The locks were never broken, but a notice advising us that the bags had been inspected (after the initial inspection at check in) was left inside.

Definitely buy in the US. If you're in the states long enough, ordering online is great too. I had to buy a camera battery charger in NZ and it was $110 NZD and I know it's only $35 USD.

I highly recommend B&H Photo (online). Since you'll be in NY, J&R is a huge discounted electronics store in lower Manhattan, right near city hall.

As for luggage, I've never locked mine, never put anything "valuable" in them and always travel with enough in my carry on in case my luggage gets lost for a day or two.

In relation to locking your luggage it depends on the airport you are travelling through.

Last January we went through several US airports. At one we allowed to have our luggage locked but were required to stay in the security area until after our bags had been checked in case the staff wanted us to unlock our bags. At the second and third airports we were not given an option. When we got to check-in they simply made us take the locks off and were not allowed to reattach them. This also included our final flight back to Oz from Hawaii.

On a holiday in the US two years ago, we had 13 flights all together and didn't lock our bags at all. We were told that the TSA (customs) would break the locks if necessary and possibly wreck your bag. We didn't pack anything valuable in our checked bags and were lucky nothing went missing (or was put in our bags). It is a real concern. The TSA have a website that I remember reading with all the do's and dont's. There is a lock I have seen in the shops like Snowgum/Kathmandu that can only be opened by the TSA - or anyone else with a key that fits
Kay

They sell locks that the TSA have masterkeys to. I know they have them at www.brookstone.com. I've never used them, but it might be worth looking into if you have security concerns.

I carry anything of any value as carry on baggage, and never lock anything.

As for the camera, buy it in the US. I live in Canada, and will be travelling to Australia in two weeks. I wanted to buy a new camcorder for the trip. After checking out Canadian prices (which are quite high), and duty free Australian prices through a couple of stores with websites(also high), I realized that the prices aren't even close. I saved about 40% by buying it through a US website and shipping it to a friend in the US we are stopping over to see.

If you know the model number of the camera you are interested in, check out some of the bigger US electronic chain stores online prices to comparison shop. Check ebay too, as there are many smaller stores that operate online. At least you will know if the price difference is worth it. It was for me.

I've noticed that memory cards/sticks also seem to be a great deal cheaper in the US - might be worth stocking up on them too (especially if you camera like mine uses the expensive xD type).

It's been a while, but my impression was that not only most durable goods but most consumables are cheaper in America - understandable given the size of the North American market and relative labour cost structures. We found many services about on par or higher, though.

Wow, thanks everyone, that's great. Neil, hadn't even thought of all the "other " stuff like memory sticks etc. Will get some computer gear as well.
Really appreciate your responses.

Hi Bokhara,

As I am an American currently in Sydney, and have an interest in photography, I've been checking prices here in Sydney as opposed to the US. Buy your camera in New York. I can recommend a place there called Adorama. Check their website for prices. They have a very wide selection of everything photo related. They are closed on Saturday's, open every other day. Have fun.

Bokhara,

I would also agree with most other posts here not to lock your bags at all. Put anything valuable in a carry on bag. I have to say, I can't remember a single time when I've been given the opportunity to remain with my bags as they've been screened, then lock them afterwards. I would also echo the suggestions to purchase memory cards, and any other accessories.

Since 911 I have not locked my checked in luggage. I do not put anything in my checked in luggage that is of importance however. My checked in luggage has clothes, shoes etc. and that is it. I put everything else in my carryon and I do tend to pack very light. I truly understand anyones concern about "someone" putting something in ones checked in luggage (drugs) etc. after the horrific story that the world read about the Australian girls experience but I think the chances of that is so very minor I just don't worry about it.

Travelling has certainly got more confusing so I just try to make it as simple as possible.

One thing my family has been doing and you might consider re locking luggage is to use the plastic ties that can be purchased at hardware stores. I'm not sure what they are really called, but they are the plastic strips with little "teeth" that have a gripping mechanism and one end. You thread them through the holes in the zipper tabs and while they can be cut off with ordinary scissors they can't be pulled off. I have used them to travel throughout the US and Europe and the one time one was cut off, TSA replaced it with a blue one of their own. Just remember to pack a small pair of scissors in an outside pocket on your bag so you can take them off yourself.

Thanks very much everyone. Will use the cable ties - at least then I'll know if anyone has been fooling around with my bags!

There are several things that should be cleared up here -

Someone seemed to say that things are different from airport to airport. There are some minor differences, but ever since the federal government took over airport security all the rules and regulations are exactly the same everywhere. The only differences are ones in procedure due to where the scanners and other equipment is located.

You must either have TSA approved locks that they can undo, or they will remove them. You will always know that your luggage has been inspected - they are require to place stickers on the tags. Some luggage is simply sent through scanners, others are actually opened.

Some said the TSA is Customs. This is incorrect. TSA is scritcly involved in security. Customs is only for incoming passengers and the potentially taxable goods they have. Immigration and Agriculture are also totally separate government departments.

HTH

PS - J&R is a big store in NYC, but don't buy there. They have a reputation for being much more expensive than other places. Shop around a bit. View some websites to get an idea of typical prices.

To Poutine:

You don't have to go to all that trouble of sending it to a US friend. While most websites are US-based and that problem with shipping comes up again and again, I found a Canadian based site called www.sweetdeal.ca that sells digital camera and other travel stuff and you can get it easily in Canada. I've only dealt with them once so far, but they seem pretty dependable.

I just flew Sydney - LAX-JFK with cable ties on my bag. No probs - ties intact on arrival. In LA we have to claim & re-check our baggage as customs are done there instead of JFK, which makes for a much quicker end-of-journey exit.

As far as locking your bags, in the US it's best not to. Our best friends travel all over the world and NEVER lock bags. We went to Ireland with them 2 years ago, left from Kansas City. They asked me to remove the locks, but I just unlocked them and askeD them to lock them back up and give the combination part a spin when finished with the inspection. They said they would, my firend said they wouldn't. I watched from a distance, I didn't think they did it. I was right, when we got to Ireland, the locks were completely gone. Since then, we never use locks. Like someone else said, just don't put anything valuable in them and don't worry, things can be replaced and hopefully you'll have travel insurance when it does come time to have to replace anything.