What is the Grey Market

[larrywen]

I am very new in this filed, so many thing is not clear to me.

I've heard about gray market, but not sure what they are.

When I goto getprice.com.au and search for Cameras, I find a shop called eGlobal which sells cameras much cheaper than the local shop. Is eGlobal a gray market provider?

Thank you.

[ricktas]

Gray Market is where an item is either brought into Australia or sourced from overseas via a non-official channel. So Canon Australia are the official suppliers of Canon gear to all the retail outlets around Aus. Nikon Aus is the same for Nikon gear. So when you go and buy from most camera stores or say your Harvey Norman's etc, their stock is sourced from the afformentioned suppliers.

Now say there is an online store, that doesn't buy its stock from Canon Aus, but rather imports it from Hong Kong. So they get a supplier in Hong Kong, do a deal and buy all their stock form the Hong Kong supplier and the supplier ships it direct to their store. That is Gray Market. Often this results in a cheaper price, but you also might lose out on certain things, like an Australian Warranty, so say your camera breaks down after 3 months, there is a chance that you would have to pay for the repair, where if you bought via the local official supply chain, the camera might get fixed for nothing under warranty.

[Bercy]

Rick has I hope made this clear. It sounds like being "grey" makes it sound shady, or less reputable. This very untrue. There are some "Authorised retailers" who do not give good service, and some "grey importers" who are very interested in photography and maintaining a good reputation. Some E-bay sellers are probably photo-fanatics. What you might be surprised about is how close the dollar difference is for some items. In many cases, once you have talked to a pro-camera store sales person, if you are buying, they will often discount anyway and you have the benefits of a proper warrantee, as rick mentioned. Gery does not mean scratched dented factory second or used, by the way. One point - not matter where you buy, if it looks too good to be true ...it probably is. Happy shopping.

berni

[larrywen]

Thank you rick and Bercy. I am afraid that I am in a terrible situation that a little bit out of control. Everyday spent hours in the Internet and try to compare and eventally become more confused. Maybe I should cool down and don't buy any camera untile next year.:)

[Kym]

Think!

Ideally... (this will ensure you get a good start)
1. Decide what sort of photography you want to do (People, landscape, wildlife etc.)
2. Set a budget
3. Choose lenses to suit
4. Then choose a camera system
5. Then discuss it here on AP, when you know why you are buying what get the best deal you can

Have a good read of the New to Photography section - several times because it takes a while for it all to sink in.

[infl3xion]

Something to keep in mind if you do end up purchasing grey Canon stock:


Canon offers an international warranty on non-digital Canon compact cameras, non-digital Canon SLR camera bodies, Canon lenses for all SLR cameras, Canon Speedlites and Canon photographic accessories only.
http://www.canon.com.au/en-AU/Support-Services/Warranty/Warranty-Terms

[twister]

From a somewhat formal definition of "grey importing" which my sister told me, "Grey-Market" products are simply any product that is sourced through a legal import channel, but outside of the channel of distribution of the manufacturer. Rick has very nicely illustrated it with examples...

[SteveK]

Hi Larrywen,

Please re-read Kim's 5 point's, he has given you the best advice that anybody can.

I'm a Canon man myself, but work out the best system that suits your needs. Go and try various camera at lots of shops and then make a decision on what model/type you want and then find the best deal you can that.
Buy then best glass that you can afford and then stretch the budget somemore to the max, good glass is important. Cheap glass will only get replaced later on.

Steve

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day Larry

Lots of useful advice above - both Ricki & Kym especially

My experiences with both 'grey' and 'white' purchases over the past 40+ years are mixed

My first Tamron zoom lens [back in the mid 60s] was a 'grey' lens, and I never had one problem nor was it in any way a 'factory second' quality lens.
A Canon I purchased 2 yrs ago was quite okay - tho it had a photocopied English-language manual inside the box.

3-4 years ago, my 'white' sourced digital camera was playing up, the local aussie official-channel people [name with-held here as it's not relevent] did a poor job of repair/recalibration, and had declined to review their work, so I emailed Japan to seek an okay for it to be airfreighted to Japan for recalibration. Within 12 hours I got 4 replies, both from Japan & Sydney, and the Sydney people were falling over themselves to fix it. I am unable to say whether the same would have occurred if it had been a 'grey' item where the work had not been 100%

These days I find the 'grey' imports from o'seas to be of variable quality - big name items [cameras & lenses] are mostly okay, small items [flashguns etc] are a 'take it or chuck it away' sort of thing ... reliability / quality is poor

So as Kym says above - think about it and bounce your thoughts to the forum, and we'll try to help you before you spend your hard-earned dollars :th3: :th3:
Regards, Phil

[Bercy]

Dear larrywen,

I do not think the grey market is right for you at this time. Be prepared to spend and little bit more time and money with a proper camera salesperson. Take Kym's advice and have it tattooed on your forearm (its that good). Go to the shop. Touch feel adn play with the cameras. Tell them to leave you alone for a bit so you can really get a feel for kits and work out what feels best to you. Avoid reading list of numbers and facts. This is stuff generated to make perception shifts in your thinking. Touch feel hold look - this is a tood your care going to use a lot and so you want to make sure it suits you. If the numbers are great and the price is good, all on paper, and then it gives you the *&%$,s, its hardly worth the savings is it.

[Wayne]

The grey market is a fantastic place where you can say "UP Yours!" to the thieving, gouging Australian retailers and distributors and get some bargain equipment, especially with the AUD$ at its current point.

[OzzieTraveller]

G'day Larry

Bercy's advice is spot on ...
" Go to the shop. Touch feel and play with the cameras. Tell them to leave you alone for a bit so you can really get a feel for kits and work out what feels best to you. "

Unless you are quite knowledgable and experienced you are likely to find grey market stuff a bit of a worry - "are you doing the right thing etc etc???"
Buying a camera is like buying a pair of shoes - you need to try it for size and fit, and if it doesn't fit [hand/eye/weight etc] then it isn't for you, despite how many other 'togs around you reckon you 'should' buy the same as they have got

A camera shop is there to provide you with knowledge and expert advice, and follow up assistance if/when needed - the price reflects 'service = time: time = money'
A discount franchise shop that sells cameras (as an extra to other stuff) will sell you a cardboard box containing a camera - staff often know very little about the camera's workings
A grey market dealer is similar to a discount franchise shop - only you can't talk to the person selling you the stuff, and arguably, they don't care either- they're just selling as cheaply as possible

Regards, Phil