Why you want to be sure your camera is from authorized dealer

C

cbln

Well-known member
For anyone who wonders why some stores can sell a new HVX for a ridiculously low price, it's because they're not authorized Panasonic dealers. And when problems arise, it's not fun.

I was at a Panasonic service center this week and saw this first hand. Someone brought in their camera bought from a store selling on Ebay. It was not an authorized dealer and the P2 functions had gone bad (even though it appeared to be under a year old). The service center suggested he contact the store, as Panasonic would not repair it under warranty, since it was a gray-market camera.

I felt for the guy because I can only imagine how much assistance he's going to get from the non-authorized seller.

Even when you buy used, make sure your camera was first sold by an authorized dealer. Ask to see the receipt.
 
No, it's NOT true that you don't get a U.S. warranty with a camera purchased from a non-authorized dealer.

If you buy a U.S. model (200P or 200AP), you get the normal U.S. warranty regardless of where you bought the camera. There are plenty of non-authorized dealers selling U.S. models.

And you don't need to verify where a used camera was purchased from initially. All you have to do is check the tag under the viewfinder. If it says AG-HVX200AP or AG-HVX200P, it's the U.S. model.

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The issue is that you cannot know if you are getting a US model camera from a non-authorized dealer if they aren't local. If you order it and have it shipped, you might discover this issue too late. No returns, no refunds. You might end up with a camera that was meant for Japan, and then when you register it, "Thank you for registering your camera, your warranty center is in Osaka."
 
Yes, that's true Shane, that's the bottom line. Chris is technically right. I heard the Panasonic Service Manager mention the serial number, but he may well have said something about the model number under the viewfinder because I came upon this discussion after it started. He then did ask where the guy had purchased the camera. The buyer couldn't remember the name of the Ebay store.

Bottom line, he had to walk out of the service center with his broken camera and he didn't seem very optimistic about getting help from the Ebay store.
 
Shane Ross said:
The issue is that you cannot know if you are getting a US model camera from a non-authorized dealer if they aren't local. If you order it and have it shipped, you might discover this issue too late. No returns, no refunds.
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Every camcorder I ever purchased (a half-dozen in the past 6 or 7 years) was purchased from non-authorized dealers and they all advertised U.S. cameras with U.S. warranties which is exactly what I received. If people can't figure out how to buy a camera without getting shafted or without paying 20-30% more than they should, that's a bummer.

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Chris:

Are you advancing that a HVX200 purchased from a non authorized company but with a US Warranty must be serviced by Panasonic in the US during the warranty period?
 
David S. said:
Chris:

Are you advancing that a HVX200 purchased from a non authorized company but with a US Warranty must be serviced by Panasonic in the US during the warranty period?
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I have no reason to believe otherwise. A U.S. model with a U.S. warranty should be serviced by Panasonic as far as I know.

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Chris,
I believe that you are correct, so long as it is a US model within the warranty period and has the SN has not been tagged as stolen then there should be no problem.

The problem with non authorized resellers is the following: if Panasonic only offers authorized resellers the lower price which allows them to sell the camera at a competitive price, how are these non authorized resellers who must presumably purchase the camera from a reseller able to make these deals for hundreds, sometimes thousands less than any authorized reseller AND still have them be a US Model under warranty?

Either you're paying more for this camera, they're losing money on the camera in order to get you to purchase other items, its a grey market camera, or they are magically bypassing Panasonic and its dealers and getting the camera at bellow what everyone else buys them at.

Are you getting that great of a deal that you're willing to take that risk?
Almost any legitimate non-authorized reseller that I have seen has the cameras at a higher or equal cost to that of the authorized resellers (90% of the time higher)

To me the risk is not justified.

For the benefit of full disclosure, I currently work for EVS (Express Video Supply) who is a Panasonic (among others) authorized reseller. I work for their rental department and have been an advocate of purchasing from authorized resellers long before working for them. I purchased my HVX from SpecComm before working at EVS.
 
My first HVX I bought grey-market off of eBay, brand new. It worked fine and I never had a single problem with it, but my warranty was in Japan. I knew this going in, so it wasn't a big deal for me.

That said, I realized after doing some research that I ended up overpaying. Since then, all of my cameras have been purchased through Spec-Comm. I can't speak highly enough of my experiences with them. :)

If all the authorized dealers were overpriced and crappy, I'd say go grey market. But with places like Spec-Comm, why bother?
 
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VenezuelanD said:
Chris,
... how are these non authorized resellers who must presumably purchase the camera from a reseller able to make these deals for hundreds, sometimes thousands less than any authorized reseller AND still have them be a US Model under warranty?
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I don't really care how they do it. All I know is, I've never purchased a grey market camera and I generally (not always) find non-authorized dealers selling for less than the authorized dealers.

VenezuelanD said:
Almost any legitimate non-authorized reseller that I have seen has the cameras at a higher or equal cost to that of the authorized resellers (90% of the time higher)
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I purchased two HVX200's in the past 9 months from a non-authorized dealer and paid $4800. for one and $4600. for the other (both sans P2 card and book.)

I just checked, and B&H is selling the HVX200A for $5199., while the same camera is being sold by a reputable non-authorized dealer for $4349. who mention on their website "All products we carry are factory sealed, complete with all factory supplied accessories, and a full manufacturers USA warranty."

If I could get the same camera for even just a few hundred less from a reputable non-authorized dealer and it was the same camera, I'd take the savings without batting an eye.

VenezuelanD said:
To me the risk is not justified.
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What risk? If it's a reputable dealer and they say it's a U.S. model with a U.S. warranty, where's the risk? It's not rocket science:

http://cameras.pricegrabber.com/camcorders/m/77395223/

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just a quick question, where is the sn on the hvx200, is there a sn built into the programing that can be accessed in the menu?

Jason
 
Chris Santucci said:
I just checked, and B&H is selling the HVX200A for $5199., while the same camera is being sold by a reputable non-authorized dealer for $4349. .
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But when you factor in the free 16 GB P2 card in the box, you end up saving about $50. Even if you don't need the card, you can sell it for nearly its full value.
 
Chris,

You are correct that if you don't want a 16gb card these resellers might save you a buck. But even at $4400 and factoring in the cheapest cost for a 16gb card $849 you wont actually save money compared to buying from a certified reseller. And this is not even factoring in the Barry Green book, which has been a life saver to me in many occasions.

So I guess my point is to say that I disagree with your view of seeing it as a $4400 camera vs a $5200 camera since the bundled items have value that cannot simply be ignored just because you're not interested in P2 cards.

At $4800 counting a 16gb P2 card at simply $700 (a price that wouldn't even let you finish your post before the card sold in e-bay or this forum) your camera actually cost $5500, the $4600 camera cost you $5300.

Also remember that $5200 is the Panasonic Minimum Advertised Price that resellers must adhere to. Showing up to your local Panasonic reseller and speaking to a sales agent will often result in lowering of that price, specially if you offer payment via cash or certified check.
 
VenezuelanD said:
So I guess my point is to say that I disagree with your view of seeing it as a $4400 camera vs a $5200 camera since the bundled items have value that cannot simply be ignored just because you're not interested in P2 cards.


Also remember that $5200 is the Panasonic Minimum Advertised Price that resellers must adhere to. Showing up to your local Panasonic reseller and speaking to a sales agent will often result in lowering of that price, specially if you offer payment via cash or certified check.
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As far as I know, the $4400. HVX200 I mentioned IS a factory sealed camera WITH everything included that Panasonic put in the box. I could be wrong, but they indicate on their website that they only sell factory sealed cameras. I suppose it's possible that some authorized dealers might sell some units to non-authorized dealers so they can meet the quantity requirements more easily.

If I had an authorized dealer in my area that I could walk into and ask for a better price, I'd probably do it if I thought it could benefit me in any way. As it is, mail order levels the playing field and I can look for the best price easily without wasting much time.

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