Any bought a low priced XPRO1 from eBay?

<p>I see them from China and Japan all over eBay for way less than they sell for here in the U.S."If something seems too good to be true . . . " probably holds here but what's the deal with these offers?</p>

<p>For USA warranty, you are unlikely to find anything cheaper than Amazon, B&H, or Adorama that is 'true' - also the latter two, at least, sell "graymarket" cameras without a manufacturer warranty for the USA at slightly lower prices. These stores say what they are doing; elsewhere, read the fine print very carefully. Places in certain areas of NYC trying to con you will offer stripped, gray-market cameras with ambiguous phrasing about US status.</p>

<p>I have bought lenses directly from Asia from vendors with high eBay transactions and good buyer ratings. So far I've been lucky, but I very much understand that I am "assuming the risk" myself. If you aren't willing to take the risk, buy here, get the US warranty and guarantees. For lenses and cameras that I really, really need to use, I buy here, sometimes on eBay, often directly from the stores mentioned.</p>

<p>Check any and all vendors you don't know out at <a href="http://www.resellerratings.com/">Resellerratings.com</a>. Some places change their names every month or so to avoid their old ratings, so not everyone is covered. Be cautious of those that aren't.</p>

<p>Also look at used and refurbished ones -- they often will be even cheaper, and from a reliable dealer like B&H or Adorama, there will be a warranty period that will at least protect you from 'dead-on-arrival' problems.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>How much less is "way less"? Keh gets them pretty often and sells them for under $1000, and includes a 6 month warranty. New ones from Adorama with some freebies are only $1199 now.</p>

<p>"<em>For USA warranty, you are unlikely to find anything cheaper than Amazon, B&H, or Adorama that is 'true' - also the latter two, at least, sell "graymarket" cameras without a manufacturer warranty for the USA at slightly lower prices</em>."</p>

<p>For B&H, at least, I think you need an update, JDM:</p>

<p>"For film cameras, lenses and speedlights, a product with a US-warranty should be reciprocally warranted by the manufacturer's service centers worldwide. <strong>B&H Photo-Video does not sell any "grey market" still-digital cameras at this time."</strong></p>

<p>Thanks C,<br>

When I last looked at something not too long ago, there were still some gray-market <em>lenses</em> being offered, but I did note that the prices were essentially the same as the USA warranty models, so I suspect that could have played a role in the newer policy.</p>

For what it is worth: Current Tokyo street price for a xpro1 kit w 35/1.4 from authorized dealer is the equivalent of 1250 USD'ish.

You'd normally get a further 10% cash deduction on any subsequent purchase when using the megastore loyalty programme.

It reminds me that a few years back when the Panasonic Lumix GF1 was the hot new toy: It was almost impossible to get one

even at full list price in Europe, USA and elsewhere except Japan - where it was not only available, it was selling at half the price

of the rest of the world.

Only problem was that Panasonic had disabled the ability to select any other language but Japanese. When Vitaly hacked the

firmware (to improve the video capabilities) he also enabled language selection, and after that we saw a lot of cheap hacked

Japanese GF1s on ebay, mostly via Taiwan, if I remember correctly.

I have no idea if the ebay sellers you mention are legit, but just pointing out that sometimes there some global pricing

discrepancies that someone sees as a business opportunity.

Niels, from what you're saying, I can buy an xpro1 w/35mm for around $1200 from a legit Japanese dealer? That's the cost of body alone

here in the U.S. if that's the case, is there a resource of reputable Japanese Fuji dealers?

Thanks

Here's an example from one of the most popular Japanese mega stores:

http://www.biccamera.com/bicbic/jsp/w/d_camera/fujifilm/x-pro1/index.jsp (where you can normally obtain additional discounts).

Or at JP Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/FUJIFILM-デジタル一眼カメラ-X-PRO1-XF35-SET/dp/B009NOPC98/ref=sr_1_1s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1375002036&sr=1-1&keywords=xpro+1

 

But there's a reason why these are offered to the west via middlemen on eBay. If you don't know Japanese, if you don't have a

Japanese shipping address and no Japanese registered credit card you are probably out of luck.

There are english speaking middlemen in Tokyo that you can contact, but their fee structure is not intended for bargain hunters.

<p>The world does not revolve around the US market. In fact, the warranties offered to poor US consumers are inferior in every way to the international warranty that the rest of us are protected by.</p>

<p>Fuji (and Nikon, Canon etc) offer a two year international warranty and all you need is a genuine invoice to verify the sales date. And it does not matter where you buy it so long as it was from an authorised reseller anywhere in the world.</p>

<p>However, for new I still use the big three, Adorama, B&H and KEH, simply because they offer a five day door to door $30 courier delivery for overseas customers. And guess what....they ship the box with the international warranty inside.</p>

<p>All this "grey market" stuff is rubbish and demonstrates ignorance. It's a global economy and marketplace, and the majors use it and we all benefit. </p>

<p>"<em>Fuji (and Nikon, Canon etc) offer a two year international warranty and all you need is a genuine invoice to verify the sales date. <strong>And it does not matter where you buy it so long as it was from an authorised reseller anywhere in the world.</strong></em><br>

<em>However, for new I still use the big three, Adorama, B&H and KEH, simply because they offer a five day door to door $30 courier delivery for overseas customers. And guess what....they ship the box with the international warranty inside.</em><br>

<em>All this "grey market" stuff is rubbish and <strong>demonstrates ignorance</strong>. It's a global economy and marketplace, and the majors use it and we all benefit.</em>"</p>

<p>Once I stopped laughing, I decided the only ignorance here is possibly yours. I know Nikon Canada will only service products purchased through authorized Nikon Canada dealers. I'm inclined to believe Nikon USA will only service items bought from authorized dealers in N. and S. America and the Caribbean. Present them with a gray market item(that's what serial #s are for) and you're out of luck.</p>

<p>Each country-division of each of these companies has its own policies, usually with some restrictions but having to conform to the laws of that country. In some countries they're required to give a certain minimum warranty period or make warranties transferable, but you need to check the rules for the country you're in.</p>

<p>Regardless, a camera bought used from a dealer in another country is not going to have a warranty that Fuji USA will have to honor - though it may be that for some combinations of country of origin and dealer the buyer would be able to get warranty repair by sending the camera to the depot in the country the camera was sold in.</p>

<p><em><strong>+1 sentiments expressed by C Watson.</strong></em></p>

 

<blockquote>

<p><em><strong>"Canon</strong> </em>etc) offer a two year international warranty and all you need is a genuine invoice to verify the sales date. And it does not matter where you buy it so long as it was from an authorised reseller anywhere in the world."</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I don't think so - not is AUS and NZ: that is quite clearly stated in Canon Australia's & Canon Zealand's Warranties Policies, general conditions. </p>

<p>WW</p>