Has anyone bought a DVX100B from Beach Camera.com??

so if i got a DVX from an unauthorized dealer, but it came with the US warranty info, Barry's awesome book, the DVD and the software...is it an "authorized unit"??
 
More than likely yes but the only people who can verify that would be panasonic. If panasonic says it's good then it's good.
 
I'll borrow a line from Porsche's old ad campaign and modify it. "EVS (or B&H). Accept no substitutes".:)
 
OregonDank said:
so if i got a DVX from an unauthorized dealer, but it came with the US warranty info, Barry's awesome book, the DVD and the software...is it an "authorized unit"??
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If it has that stuff in the box, then yes it's an official Panasonic USA unit. It means that whoever you bought it from originally got it from an authorized dealer.
 
OregonDank said:
so if i got a DVX from an unauthorized dealer, but it came with the US warranty info, Barry's awesome book, the DVD and the software...is it an "authorized unit"??
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If the outside of the box says it came from Panasonic, or Norvanco in Sumner, WA (who I think packages the extras with the cameras and ships for Panasonic), then it is likely an authorized unit.
 
"But what if their source dries up? What if they can't buy authorized units anymore? Well then they'll have to import them from overseas, and whoops -- now you just lost your warranty, your rebate, your DVX Book/DVD, and your Magic Bullet software."

Regardless. My assertion that a reputable dealer is a reputable dealer, whether "authorized" or not still stands.

When I bought my 100B, I looked for verbiage (and found it) on the website that stated what was included in the purchase. If they are reputable, they will tell you what's included either on the phone if you ask, or up front on their website I'd expect. If they are reputable, you will get all the goods as promised.

Really, there should be no guesswork if dealing with a reputable dealer.

I think most consumers care far less about the behind the scenes mechinations of how product is shuffled around and far more about not having to pay up to $500. more for the exact same product that just so happens to come from the venerable "authorized dealer."
 
How do you know who is a reputable dealer or not ? By asking them ? Hey mister crook who is going to cheat me out of my money, should I trust you ? The best way to know if someone is on the up and up is to know if they are authorized to sell the product from the manufacturer. Now can an authorized dealer cheat you ? Yes they can , but as Barry stated earlier. The dealer has entered into an agreement with the manufacturer to uphold and follow a specific set of rules and obligations in order to sell that product.
 
Barry_Green said:
So where do they get their product? Who knows? Overseas? Imported? Buying it under-the-table from an authorized dealer? You don't know, and I don't know, and wherever they're getting it from the one thing we can be sure of is that they're not getting it from the manufacturer.
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Hey that's pretty funny saying the cameras don't come from the manufacturer...
 
Barry_Green said:
If it has that stuff in the box, then yes it's an official Panasonic USA unit. It means that whoever you bought it from originally got it from an authorized dealer.
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*sigh*
Barry, i love you man....my hero
 
Chris Santucci said:
Hey that's pretty funny saying the cameras don't come from the manufacturer...
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Is that what I said?

Obviously they come from the manufacturer, but if you don't know how the distribution channel works then I can't help you much there.

There's the manufacturer, which is the factory in Japan. Then there's the regional sales companies: Panasonic US, Panasonic Canada, Panasonic Puerto Rico, Panasonic UK, Panasonic NZ, and on and on and on. Probably several dozen divisions.

Each division is responsible for importing the product into their territories, and for assigning dealerships, and for managing the flow of product, and for providing warranty service.

Gray-marketers cheat around that system -- they go buy cameras from a different territory, taking advantage of lower exchange rates etc. What this means is if you're a US customer, your gray-market importer might be getting his units from Japan or Canada or Mexico.

Well, if there are US-specific programs in place (such as, oh, let's say, a $400 rebate, or a free DVX Book/DVD, or a free Magic Bullet Editors program) YOU WON'T GET IT. Because you got a unit from Canada. Or Mexico. Or Japan. Or who knows where?

And, when it comes time to get it fixed under warrantly, guess what? YOU WON'T GET WARRANTY SERVICE. Because the unit you got was destined for Canada. Or Mexico. Or Japan. Or wherever. And that's where the warranty is honored. Panasonic USA will not honor a Mexico or Japan or Canada warranty. That's just the way it is. Each territory gets allocated service dollars based on each camera they sell, to provide and staff for warranty service. So if Canada gray-markets a thousand units to the USA, they'll get paid a certain allocation by the factory to cover potential warranty issues for those products. But the products were brought into the US, where Panasonic USA was *not* paid the allocation for warranty service. So guess what? Panasonic US won't honor that Canadian warranty. If you want warranty service, you'll have to ship it back to the country it came from (if you can even identify which country it came from).

A reputable dealer is a reputable dealer, whether they're authorized or not. I will agree with you on that. And some people have reported good dealings from Buydig and Profeel, neither of which are authorized. But what if someone does get a Canadian import? Now what? No warranty, no rebate... sure they may have paid $150 less or whatever, but now they miss out on a $400 rebate? Could it happen? YES it could happen. Will it? Maybe, maybe not. That's all I'm saying.

With an authorized dealer, you have a huge amount of leverage over the company -- if something goes wrong in your transaction, you can call Jan and she can bring the weight of the manufacturer down on that reseller and ensure that they fulfill all their obligations. But if you buy it from an unauthorized dealer, you're on your own. Sorry, too bad, so sad.

So whether you like it or not, there is some additional level of risk when going with an unauthorized dealer. That is simply the way the cookie crumbles. Unauthorized dealers cannot buy USA units directly from the manufacturer. They can buy 'em under the table, or over the counter in another country, but they cannot buy 'em from Panasonic USA.

That doesn't make them "bad people", but it does make a difference to some of us.
 
Barry_Green said:
Well, if there are US-specific programs in place (such as, oh, let's say, a $400 rebate, or a free DVX Book/DVD, or a free Magic Bullet Editors program) YOU WON'T GET IT. Because you got a unit from Canada. Or Mexico. Or Japan. Or who knows where?

And, when it comes time to get it fixed under warrantly, guess what? YOU WON'T GET WARRANTY SERVICE. Because the unit you got was destined for Canada. Or Mexico. Or Japan. Or wherever. And that's where the warranty is honored. Panasonic USA will not honor a Mexico or Japan or Canada warranty.
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I'm not encouraging anyone to buy from a shady dealer or unauthorized source, however, I heard this same comment back before I bought my 100A last March from ProFeel..

..and I did receive the $400 rebate, the book, the DVD, and MB , and I got it for a price that was a lot lower than what was listed as the lowest available prices listed,

..and I got it in writing from ProFeel that my camera was under the same warranty as any other dealer. Go figure.
 
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The "figuring" means that Profeel sold you an authorized unit. Which is good for you.

As long as you're buying from a reputable dealer, and they guarantee you that that's what you'll receive, then go ahead. But the guarantee is only as good as the dealer that stands behind it. I've said repeatedly that buydig and profeel seem like the best of the unauthorized dealers.

Buying from an unauthorized dealer does not guarantee you to get gray-market. But buying from an authorized dealer does guarantee you that you'll get US product. Buying from an unauthorized dealer means you get what they have, and they may have bought some authorized product, or they may have imported some gray-market. If you're going unauthorized you had better check on it and you'd better be sure of what you're getting, and you better be sure that the dealer will "make good" in case you don't get what you thought you should.
 
To Barry's point:

I almost bought my camera from a different dealer other than ProFeel, and I ended up having to force them to cancel the sale and reimburse my credit card as they were being way too vague about whether or not the DVD/book/MB/discount/warranty were available. I asked the guy to look in the box and tell me what was there (or not there and something wasn't right!).

The moral of the story is that it was not fun haggling with them and literally having to call them several times a day for several days just to get the order canceled. It was a huge waste of time, and I certainly spent as much time (see: money) as I ended up saving in the end from ProFeel doing all my research!

I buy everything now from EVS, B&H, and occasionally Filmtools, eBay, and from DVXUSERS :-)

*by the way, what did you mean by "figuring" Barry?
 
I would recommend buying the camera from an authorized US dealer. My friend once bought a piece of Yamaha electronics in Japan, and saved a few hundred dollars (he hand carried it over). But after a few months, it broke and Yamaha USA wouldn't honor his warranty. He had to ship it back to Japan and spent $900 to repair it. So, be careful about being "penny-wise, pound-follish."
 
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