POLL: Would you buy a grey market body ??

[bigdazzler]

Well .. I started this thread so ill give you my current situation. The body im looking at has just been released in OZ and is retailing at $3499 .. I can buy it from a grey importer (which i have used several times before for less expensive items without a problem in the world .. admittedly though, nothing has broken thus far for me to test their servicing/warranty conditions) for $2250 delivered. Thats a saving of $1250 or over 30% in my pocket .. I can almost buy a CZ prime to go on it with that. So yea, its worth the warranty risk for mine.

[Steve Axford]

Is $3499 the best price available in Oz?

[bigdazzler]

Is $3499 the best price available in Oz?

i think i saw one for $3200 but thats the best ive seen ..

[Steve Axford]

That's a little surprising noways. Usually if you really look hard you can get the price down quite a lot, but if it was that much saving, then go for it. A saving of 25% is well worth having and more than compensate for any loss of warranty.

[bigdazzler]

Yea Steve .. I guess the cameras only been out for a week or two now in OZ so advertised prices are still pretty close to RRP. Im sure if I walk into my local store with a wad full of hundreds I will get a much better cash price, but I doubt they could match an over 30% discount. And then you have to ask yourself, can you be bothered trolling the camera stores around Sydney looking for discounts when I can click away on my mouse and have it in my hands in 3 days at the lowest possible price ..

Im dying to buy it .. but my head is telling me to wait and get some hand on feedback and review before jumping in .. plus my missus might murder me if I do

[Steve Axford]

I see your point Daz. Delivery can be a problem in the early days too. I tend to wait a little now to let the prices stabilize.

[bigdazzler]

My predicament is that with these paid wedding gigs coming up, i need to get my hands on a second body and quick. I was dead set on buying an A700 and had all but decided to stick with crop for a while, but then Sony went and confused me by releasing this A850 FF at a very tempting price point ..

I figure if im going to buy a second body for insurance and back up purposes i may as well make it a good upgrade .. cause i wont be buying another one for a long while after this, god knows ive spent enough money this year

[arthurking83]

....

I figure if im going to buy a second body for insurance and back up purposes i may as well make it a good upgrade .. cause i wont be buying another one for a long while after this, god knows ive spent enough money this year

You're name is Yogi by chance??
(smarter than the average bear.... )

good plan, and stick with it.

.. and besides, ther's no problem if you're missues goes all Charles Manson on 'ya, if she murders you give her my contact details

NO!... no silly, not for her purpose... For your now redundant gear... well, you aren't going to be needing it... and it's got to go to a good home don't it?

Stick with it, wait it out as long as possible, Aussie dollar is rising, and me thinks will continue against the US peso for a while yet and be back into the 90's sooner rather than later.

[bigdazzler]

youre right AK .. i got till mid November before i absolutely NEED the second body .. so a few weeks up my sleeve yet

[mongo]

Purchased new gear from Adorama that way and would again.

[Aussieroo]

Parallel importers can import anything intot he country since the government deregulated the import restrictions. If you wanted to se up your own Honda dealership in Australia and found a supplier in Japan prepared to sell you stock cheaper than you can get through Honda Australia and you can sell them cheaper retail and still make good money then you are allowed to. Doesn't make that product any better or worse. Just arrived via a different importer.

GREY market is a different thing. These people buy goods that may or may not have a problem. If on a production line an item is discovered faulty, they may isolate 10 before and 10 after that product and "Grey market them" rather than test all of them and repair them. These are usually sold without normal warranty and can be a great bargain or a pain in the rear end.

As far as warranty goes, my 100-400mm needed some repair and was only a couple of months outside of warranty and even though it is a high end item, Canon would have nothing to do with offering warranty assistance. I paid for the lot, ( well my insurance did in the end) Most parallel importers will replace a DOA item to keep their reputations in tact, The internet these days can make or break a business very quickly, so it doesn't pay them to P... off to many people.

[Bails55]

Portagadgets has it for $2194 and it looks like you can buy an extended international warranty as well. Dunno how useful that actually is though...

http://www.portagadgets.com/australi...roductid=36394

[HelenOster]

Parallel importers can import anything intot he country since the government deregulated the import restrictions. If you wanted to se up your own Honda dealership in Australia and found a supplier in Japan prepared to sell you stock cheaper than you can get through Honda Australia and you can sell them cheaper retail and still make good money then you are allowed to. Doesn't make that product any better or worse. Just arrived via a different importer.

GREY market is a different thing. These people buy goods that may or may not have a problem. If on a production line an item is discovered faulty, they may isolate 10 before and 10 after that product and "Grey market them" rather than test all of them and repair them. These are usually sold without normal warranty and can be a great bargain or a pain in the rear end.

I just came across this thread, and wanted to clarify some of the points that you made - at least as far as Adorama is concerned.

"Grey market" refers to products imported directly into the US, rather than through the manufacturer's authorized agents / distributors. It is perfectly legal to directly import & sell these products in the US; the term "grey market" was coined by manufacturer's authorized distributors who wanted to discourage consumers from buying these (less costly) goods.

With no factory authorized middle-man involved in the import of these products, costs are lower, so the price is lower to our customers. Many items which are in short supply or not imported at all by the manufacturer's authorized distributors are available in direct import.

Any of our products which are being sold as such will be clearly marked, and you are more than welcome to contact me directly should you have any concerns regarding a specific listing.

There is no difference in the actual products. Occasionally manufacturers will name them differently for example the Olympus USA Digital Stylus Cameras are called Olympus MJU Cameras in Europe
On direct import products purchased from Adorama, we offer the same warranty as the USA warranted products carry for a period of one year. The only difference is that you would need to ship it to Adorama for warranty service.

BTW, I have no personal experience of the following, however I've been advised by customers who have tried, that Canon will service under warranty any item purchased from an authorized Canon reseller, whether direct import or not. They will service any Canon item with a fee if it is otherwise not under warranty, but Nikon USA will not service a direct import item at all, whether the customer is willing to pay or not.

I hope this helps.

If you have any further queries regarding any aspect of Adorama Camera, or AdoramaPix, please do not hesitate to contact me directly:


Sincerely

Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador

helen.oster@adoramacamera.com
www.adorama.com

[I @ M]

Thanks for the very concise reply regarding Adorama's stock Helen, with the exchange rate of the AUD to the USD looking healthier all the time all the overseas retailers are back on many peoples shopping lists.

Now all you have to do is talk the freight companies on your side of the world into giving discounts to Aussies.

[HelenOster]

Thanks for the very concise reply regarding Adorama's stock Helen, with the exchange rate of the AUD to the USD looking healthier all the time all the overseas retailers are back on many peoples shopping lists.

Now all you have to do is talk the freight companies on your side of the world into giving discounts to Aussies.

Some items, depending upon value / fragility / weight, can be sent US mail - which can be less expensive. It is always worth contacting me before placing an order to check it out.

[Aussieroo]

I think we are in agreement here just the terminology varies between countries. I prefer the term parallel importer actually as "Grey" has a "dark side" connotation. I have been happy to buy this way for years both camera gear and computers.

[bigdazzler]

Some items, depending upon value / fragility / weight, can be sent US mail - which can be less expensive. It is always worth contacting me before placing an order to check it out.

OK then ...

Hi Helen, i just posted a separate thread about your services but i may as well enquire here.
Im interested in buying a Sony A850 body. Do you have them in stock ready to go ?? What is the best price you can do for me including shipping for the body ?? If youd prefer to keep that bit private, please PM me with the info. Thanks

[Aussieroo]

Just to quash the "To the back of the queue" theory in regards to Canon.

I had the misfortune of dropping my 100-400mm lens and sent it in for repairs.
Within 8 days I had a phone call from them and a letter acknowledging the receipt of the lens.
When I agreed to proceed with the repairs at my expense as it was 2 months out of warranty and I DID drop it it was only another week till I received another call to pay for the repairs and a further 24 hours before the lens landed back here. This on a lens that is a parallel imported lens and not a hint of any discrimination because of that. I have tested the lens and compared t to another 100-400mm lens and have to say I am more than happy with the repair. I am pleased I had it insured as it would have cost me about $590 otherwise. So while it is easy to criticise the "Big boys" sometimes in my case I am very happy with their service.

[Pedro]

Voted Yes. I would have to be saving heaps to go for a body but I've bought a number of L lenses on the grey market and had good experiences. Even did an exchange on a bad copy of a lens that actually wasn't really bad. I ended up having the lens/camera re-calibrated by Canon (luckily camera was bought from an official supplier and the L lenses are all covered by a worldwide Canon warranty).
These days with a camera that has inbuilt calibration abilities and if the savings were substantial I'd buy grey. It's not to be feared if you buy from a decent supplier and can have warranty services performed locally. Wouldn't like the hassle of sending it OS.
As an aside, My future target body, the 7D, is presently more expensive through Discount Digital grey than through other suppliers with Canon Aust warranty!!

[MATT]

I will vote yes.. I have bought grey before, and had no trouble..

With my D700 it had a focus problem and the focus confirm beeper failed. So I sent it off to the Nikon Authorised repair agent in Brisbane.

3 months later it returned and was not working.. A quick phone call and return, another 2 weeks it was back in my hands. Nearly 4 months is a long time to wait.. They said they were waiting on parts.. Oh and could not find a problem with the focus..

Back in my hands for 1 1/2 months it is now sent off to Nikon in Sydney for repair still not happy with the focus , my D70 out focuses it.. However I wonder how long it will take this time.. may have been quicker to send back to HK.


I am not happy with the camera but communication has been good. Would I get that from a Import supplier?? may be depends on who I guess.

The camera was bought from my local camera shop as they have an affiliation with Teds and gave me a very competitive price at the time. Recently I went to PC in Brisbane and was discussing my D700 with them, the sales man said if I would have bought it from them, he would have swapped it over for a new one straight away...Could have been jsut talk..

MATT