Abes of maine legit for us dvx100b? and rebate?

[zipper1022]

their site says stuff about the 500 rebate but their price seems to be the lowest of all competetors...

after rebate its only 2500....

are they legit?

other people get this from them?

[Mark Harris]

no. They are a creep-shop in bklyn. Search for that thread about bad shops...

[crazyhamster411]

Don't listen to Mark Harris (no offense man). I bought my DVX100B from Abe's of Maine and it arrived on time, no hassle at all, rebate worked, and im not the only one.

Check out this thread: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=89718


I bought mine at the same place last summer got the rebate got the warranty never any problems with them. I was asked the same questions I said no they shipped I was happy.


Best,

Rob


I have bought from Abes before and got the rebate. They are ligit.


I brought a JVC deck from them. I walked in the brooklyn store and purchased it. I had no problems with it. I will visit the edison store to see if anything has changed....

[tucker07205]

They just opened a store in Jersey. I brought a JVC deck from them and one of my dvx's. No problem

[JY_Blue]

i'm sure there will be some good stories and some bad stories. simple truth is that if they can significantly beat the price, there will most likely be a catch. kind of doesn't make sense, but simple price comparison shopping is no way to get a dvx. if you are going for a deal, get it used and be 100% able to verify the source.

[cecil995]

When I bought my DVX 2 years ago, I was looking at them but decided against them simply because they were not an authorized dealer, meaning you would not get the panasonic warranty coverage.

[zipper1022]

well they muyst be authorized if they give u the rebate, i just ordered, the guy was nice but a bit pushy on the warranty.

he assured me that the warrant was mack and the best he coudl do was 125 for hthe 3 year so i just gave in and took it. worst comes to worst he said i could return it becasue im buying it seperate
and he assured me of teh rebate.

[Barry_Green]

They are definitely not authorized. You may or may not be eligible for the rebate. He may have just lied to you, for all you know. It depends on where he bought the camera from; if he bought it from an authorized dealer, you are probably eligible for the rebate, but if it's gray-market then you most definitely wouldn't qualify.

[John Scott]

Let us know how it turns out, I am interested in finding out..

[zipper1022]

They are definitely not authorized. You may or may not be eligible for the rebate. He may have just lied to you, for all you know. It depends on where he bought the camera from; if he bought it from an authorized dealer, you are probably eligible for the rebate, but if it's gray-market then you most definitely wouldn't qualify.


well if the book and the software comes in teh box and i get the rebate card i would assume it would work correct?

[Barry_Green]

No books or software come in the box anymore; but if you got those in the box that you bought, that means that yes you did get an authorized unit. Sometimes gray-market dealers (like Abe's) get ahold of US-authorized product, and in those cases the customers are entitled to the rebates. But frequently they can't get authorized stuff, so they sell gray-market imports, and those are not eligible for any US rebates or US warranty work.

[Mark Harris]

I got a grey camera from them, which they promised was all legit. At the time, several years ago I did not know better. And then there was something wrong with the camera. I would stick to the usual suspects. Abel is great, and Specc-Comm RULES.

[zipper1022]

okay guys, im in a jam i guess

i got the camera and it seems 100% LEGIT,
it came with literature for a us warranty and all the mfg supplied accesories....

i called the rebate center to make sure it was eligable for the rebate and i got no answer. they dont have any hors listes anywhere so i dont know when to call back...

i got anxious and called the regular panasonic support center and asked them. the man i spoke to was not very helpful and told me that i needed to make a decision on wether or not to register the camera. Abes does not take back registered cameras. i asked him to check the seriel and when he did he said the seriel seems fine but the list of seriels he had didnt go as high as the number i had....

im gonna keep callin the rebate center till i get them becasue i NEED to know if im getting my 500 dollars back...

could it be a grey market cam? it DID come with evyerhtign lited on teh panasonic website sealed it what appears to be a us box and it has papers talking about a us warranty for 1 year parts and labor....

im really nervous...

[DerrickTempleton]

zipper that sounds more like the rebate center being slow than it being grey market. rebates are designed to make the customer frustrated and give up. just check your Ps and Qs with filing all the rebate forms, a minor hiccup in my paperwork resulted in waiting 8 months before I got mine.

[zipper1022]

well
im hoping that tommorow when i call th em they can verify that the camera qualifies for teh reabte...

i spent alot fo time today thinking about the chances of it being grey... i cant imagine...

it came with papers detailing the US warranty and it wasnt even that in expensive...

i just hope the dvx book doesnt take too long to arrive because i dont know a damn thing about this camera...

[zipper1022]

OKay not im really pissed
i just got off the phone witht eh rebate place and they say that my camera is grey market and not eligable.... AHHHHH

how can abes have this on their site:
http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=PSAGDVX100B

and sell a grey market?

AND i thought grey makret didnt come with a US warranty?? why did mine???

IM A SO PISSED!

[cecil995]

did it come with a panasonic warranty or a mac warranty.......cause the mac is just some general warranty that they offer at a high price and the panasonic warranty is free and is valid for one year after your purchase.

I would call up abes again and see what they do for you, but it doesn't sound good.

[scotman]

no offense zipper, but when you first started the post. some people warned you of the possibilty. when you spend that kind of money you dont want to take chances with POSSIBLY getting a us cam or POSSIBLY getting a grey market. you could try to sue them, take them to court, or just live with the price. its still cheaper than you can find at other places... call your credit card company and see what you can do..

[zipper1022]

fuck them,
excuse my language

i had the guy from abes and the woman from panasonic rebate on the conference call

the guy was so stumped when i told him teh warranty said canada on it and the woman said its not eligabel

he offered me half the 500 rebate to keep it i said no way and he told me the was "very sorry and would take it back with no questions asked"

i just finished boxing it back up

AHHH

Now to move forward....
wheres the least expensive LEGIT place to get a dvx100b???

[scotman]

go with bhphoto. they always been quick and reliable. wait till the end of the month, i heard the rebate is going to 900 bucks

[bustak]

I ordered my DVX100b from Abes of Maine in July & got it within a week. I also was able to get the rebate check from Panasonic w/ no problem (I think it was $250 @ the time).

They did call me 2-3 hours after ordering it trying to get me to buy some extras from them, which creeped me out, but they took "no" for an answer & shipped me my good w/ no problem!

Before I ordered from the I went the Bettter Business Burea's website & they had a good record w/ them. I just went on there & their file is being updated, not sure why, here's the link:
http://www.newyork.bbb.org/reports/businessreports.aspx?pid=44&page=1&id=1050

So bottom line, 8 months ago they were square w/ me. Hope this helps & good luck!

[zipper1022]

i want to wait but the problem is if panasonic doenst continue with any sort of rebate then im totally screwed haha

plus b and h will be out of stock for 3 weeks suposevly

[Captain Pierce]

Not to rub it in, Zipper, butonce again, this is the problem with buying from an unauthorized dealer no matter how many people have had good experiences with them. There's nothing stopping an unauthorized dealer from buying their cameras wherever they can find them cheapest; if they can't find a good grey market deal, then they just buy some US cameras to hold them over until the grey market ones become available again. So there's always a chance that an unauthorized dealer may have US cameras at some point (unless they're an out-and-out scam shop, which just for the record I'm not accusing Abe's of being, I have no experience with them at all), but there's also always a chance that they don't.

As for where to buy, there's a sticky thread at the top of this subforum listing many authorized dealers, including four that offer discounts to members of these forums. :)

[Will Pound]

fyi, i noticed amazon has the dvx
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-AG-DVX100B-Proline-Camcorder-Optical/dp/B000BYJFYW/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-8554798-6603914?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1175105132&sr=1-1

Shipping is free and not shipped from some crooklyn store, which means at least if it is not to you liking, you can ship it back no hassle, amazon is great for that. Of course they are not authorized, so you may or may not get a grey market cam. But willoughby's has it for a little less then bh, but it is a preorder also. I think if you purchase it now, even that it's on preorder, as long as your invoice is predated 3.31.2007, you should be fine. I've purchased backordered items from bh, and they charged my card the day i ordered. I would think that when they charge your card, that would count as the purchase date.

[cecil995]

willoughby's had the best price for the dvx when I got mine, but their customer service is awfull, so I doubt that I will do business with them again even though they are alittle cheaper.

[dvxguy13]

I have just called Panasonic, and they have just confirmed that my camera is grey market material. I've called Abe's of Maine back, and they have acknowledged that at least 2 other people have had a similar case. The representative at Panasonic rebate has told me three this morning has experienced a similar issue. All of them have purchased cameras at Abe's of Maine. I would prefer not to take legal action, but if it comes down to it I will. If anything, I would want to spread my experience so that customers everywhere can learn from experience, whether they are dealing with companies like Abe's of Maine or other online retailors. The customer service manager, Jason, at Abe's of Maine has told me that he will hopefully resolve the issue by the end of the week. The deadline for the postmarked date is tomorrow, the 30th of May, and I don't think I will be eligible for the rebate anymore, considering the circumstances. I've told them that I would like to return my camera because of these reasons, but Jason steadfastly refused to return the camera, saying that they are working on the issue.

I'm sure many of you know the situation already, otherwise you wouldn't be reading this forum, so I have recorded by conversation on speaker phone and I intend on posting this on youtube if the matter is not resolved in a justified manner.

For those who don't understand the situation, here is a short explanation. I purchased a camera online at the Abe's of Maine website for 3059.99. With the purchase, they have posted an official Panasonic rebate form that can be used for $500 off the purchase. However, when I verified the eligibility of my camera (through the serial code) the representatives at Panasonic (866.339.4296) has told me that the camera was an unauthorized gray market camera, and that it was most likely imported. So therefore, I will no longer be eligible for the $500 rebate.

I would like to see how Abe's of Maine handles my situation, and hopefully this experience will help others to learn how to deal with such companies, so that they are not victims to such fradulaunt practices.

[jefft99]

I have often made bulk purchases from Abesofmaine.com - some of which needed to be returned after the 30 day mark and they readily accepted it. I am sure they will resolve the issue...Looking forward to hear how this turns out.

[zipper1022]

okay, excuse my language, jason is an asshole.

i had to trick him into talking to the lady at teh reabte center, hes liek well im telling you its 100% legit, and im trying to tell him it wasnt, so i asked him to hold, i called the rebate center, then patched him through, she told him, probbaly 5 times, it wasnt legit, then he offered me HALF of the 500 rebate, if i kept hte cam. I told him the only way i would keep the camera is if he credited me for the entire $900 that panasonic values teh rebate at, he said that that was impossible. i told him that i expected him to take the camera back and pay for my shippiing charges, and i told him i was reporting abes to american express. He folded and took it back with no other problems....

i wish i recorded the conversation becasue it was so funny to hear him arguing with the woman at panasonic rebates. literally

woman- "Sir this camera, based on the seriel number, is a grey market non US camera and is not eligable, im sorry"

Jason - "Well i was told by my supplier that it was legit US camera, you must be wrong"

Woman - "Sir, i am looking at the list of seriel numbers, this is NOT a legit US model camera, Chris i recommend you demand a refund"

Me(chris) - "Well jason, its not a US camera, what do i do now?!"

Jason - "Umm, please hold"

whata jerk......

[Alan Bradley]

Thanks for the info. It is both informative and humorous. Only wish you had the secret tapes available. That conversation would be hilarious!

[MelvinsDad]

http://www.dishonestabes.com (http://www.dishonestabes.com/)