Strange Question - Best Gray Market?

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workaholic

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Hi. I'm going to buy an HVX in the next few months and currently I only have enough money to buy a gray market one. I know all the risks inherent with going the gray market route and I'm okay with having to ship my camera off for a month to be repaired in order to save a thousand dollars.

That being said, what gray market companies out there are SOMEWHAT reputable? I've dealt with Broadway Photo before and they were terrible. Are there ANY gray market companies that aren't scheisters?
 
<<<Vegas baby.>>>

LMAO John........

Just watch out for the gray market ones! Eeeeee!

Pappas
 
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workaholic:
With "gray market company" I am sure you mean "company that sells gray market products"; basically, if you are really set on getting this cam as a gray market product, you should look for companies that will TELL YOU that it is gray market.
B&H does sell gray market products as well (not this cam though as of yet), and they CLEARLY mark the product online as that. So, at the very least, look for companies that don't beat around the bush, and that openly tell you up-front that products are gray market.
 
John_Hudson said:
You are asking what is the best place to get screwed ?

Vegas baby.
Click to expand...

LOL,
agree with that except: there could also be "legitimate" reason to want gray market products in principle...(wait, THAT sounds like an oxymoron! :) ) such as buying a PAL cam in the USA. I reckon B&H will soon offer PAL versions of the HVX, but they will for sure be gray market.

ADDED:
to further answer your question "Are there ANY gray market companies that aren't scheisters?", this from B&H might clear things up:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=helpcenter.jsp&A=getpage&Q=HelpCenter/USGrey.jsp
So, I'd say yes, there ARE companies out there that still are reputable, DESPITE selling gray market products, but the reason for going "gray" needs to be looked at carefully. If all you want is a NTSC HVX, and you'll save $200 by buying it as a gray market camera, it would HARLDY make any sense at all.
 
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being a "work a holic" i would assume that you could just work a few more 17 hour shifts and save the few bucks more to get a camera from a reliable source.
 
or another option is of course, I'LL sell you this "camera" that i have in my garage, it's a "Looker!" it's the HVX...uuhh huuh it sure is, i'll sell it to you for only $3500...thats' right! only $3500 and i'll "ship" that baby to your front door for free! all you have to do is give me a ring at 1-800-gry-mrket for availability of the "camera" but only after you drop a 50% deposit.....i promise! no really, i will! i said i promise did'nt i?

just playing ;)
 
I bought a "grey market" camera off of ebay from a company called Enhanced View Services. They were easy to deal with (no hassles, sales pitches, or anything of that sort), and shipped my camera off very quickly. I was pleased.

The main reason I went that route is because most of the official dealers are out of stock, and while there are many places that aren't, I didn't want to spend the time and energy calling around to find one that wasn't. Besides, I wanted to pay via check, but didn't want to wait 10 days before shipment while they hold my check... By buying off of ebay I was able to use Paypal's Echeck system, which only took three days to clear. I had my camera by the end of the week.

One caveat: keep in mind that if you have any issues with your camera, it will be inconvinient and expensive to fix. I have already encountered a small issue with my camera (it won't offload via firewire for some reason), and have basically no recourse. But I knew that going in, and accepted the risk. I still don't regret my decision, for what its worth.
 
i do mean "company that sells gray market products".

i've purchased many gray market products before and have never had a problem. my DVX is gray market and i've never had one issue.

i wasn't opening this thread to get preached about the down sides to purchasing a gray market camera. i UNDERSTAND that there is risk involved. it's my decision to take that risk. my QUESTION was... for those of you that have purchased gray market, what are some reputable resellers that carry gray market HVX's? Cam-Ra, I appreciate the direct response.
 
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Buydig, Profeel, and Newegg are all non-authorized dealers who sell legit product when they have it, and all have received good reputations.

But if you're concerned about a particular company, look 'em up on resellerratings.com. And if you think you'll save $1,000 by going gray, definitely look them up on resellerratings.com to see what you're getting into.

The only way to save $1,000 on a DVX is to buy it used.
 
If you're determined to try to go this route, do some research on retail prices in Japan. When you factor in the cost of travel, it will have cost you the same or more except you'll have the memories of travel and a Japan only warranty.

For consumer electronics 95 times out of 100, grey market is poor choice. The cost savings doesn't equal the risks. The industry is ESPECIALLY bad with pro photo/video. The flip side is that items like film, paper and tape stock can be a great deal. But you've got to know up front that you're rolling the dice. Samy's sells some grey market rolls of Kodak at about 60% the cost of USA factory stock, but it hasn't been refrigerated.

I.
 
At this point in time only authorized dealers have the authorized product. Buy dig, profeel etc, if they are selling it, it is gray market. Frankly from where I sit, the hassle of exporting and importing to and from Japan your camera to get the free warranty repair will cost just about the same amount of money as what you will save but 4X the hassle. Of course you could just pay to have it fixed here, but that is the reality.

Just keep in mind that this business is not made up of one man bands and there will come a day that you will want someone other than yourself to be interested in the problems that you are having. Sometimes it can be the very dealer that you bought your camera from.

Hope this helps,

Jan
 
No ..... one man bands? none?

No ..... one man bands? none?

Jan_Crittenden said:
....

Just keep in mind that this business is not made up of one man bands ....


Hope this helps,

Jan
Click to expand...

Up front I have to say you've done a fine job for your Company Region and the dvxusers, but .... about this band issue... are you really sure about that? Who besides myself is apart of my band?[!]

To those prospective HVX buyers, get one closer to home, IF you have the cash, are short on time, or in need personal attention. Otherwise, Tokyo is a great place to get a good deal on the exact same HVX product.

____________________________________________

_____gott luv the HVX, for what does --- for MY one-man-Band... it's simply the best.
 
Actually Richard I am sure about that one man band stuff. I fully believe that if you have more people interested in your business you will go farther with it. I know that dealers refer business to their customers all the time, I see this daily, and I refer people to customers that I know about all the time. In addition I have seen dealers bail their customers out of some pretty difficult situations, like on a Friday afternoon and something isn't working, they step in and help, or give a break on the extra rental gear needed for a critical shoot.

Yes I have been in this business since 1972, and the strongest players are not one man bands. They may work independently, but they have a community to call upon when things get rough and those are the relationships that I am talking about.

Best,

Jan
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
In addition I have seen dealers bail their customers out of some pretty difficult situations, like on a Friday afternoon and something isn't working, they step in and help, or give a break on the extra rental gear needed for a critical shoot.
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So true, Jan. Several years ago we did a shoot in London (in NTSC). We brought all of our gear and the talent out from LA. The first day of the shoot a key piece of equipment died on us. Basically, it halted the shoot. The equipment was still under warranty, so we called the manufacturer's office in London (one of your competitors). After we explained the situation, we were referred to a dealer in Soho who specialized in NTSC gear. We dropped off the broken piece of equipment and we were loaned a substitute piece and the shoot went on. A week later when we finished the shoot, we returned the borrowed piece of equipment and picked-up our broken piece ... fully repaired! If you make your living with your gear, the short answer is, "in the end, you really can't afford gray market stuff, no matter how tempting the price."
 
I find it interesting that you say you are forced to do gray market because you don't have much cash. I'm low on cash as well but the idea of sending even 5k to someone who may not be a reputible dealer simply makes me feel cold inside. This is gonna be a huge chunk of money no matter where you get it and that's not a gamble I'd be willing to make. "Penny-wise, dollar-poor." I've bought crap on E-bay or throutgh gray market guys and had crappy results and all that stuff was for under $100. I'd have to kill someone if I got screwed over a matter of thousands.
 
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