USA or Gray model

[whoaroo]

I'm wanting to upgrade my Canon Film SLR to a digital. Having looked alot around I like the Canon 30d. I have looked online alot and actually ordered online. When I speak with the company to confirm the order they try to push upgrades to me. Today the guy from thecamerapros.com told me the kit was gray model and had plastic mounts and I should upgrade to the metal mounts. It was the sports package so had a L series lens. I thought it sounded wierd that canon would have two versions of the L series lens. He said both the camera body and the lens were gray model. What is this?? Or was the guy trying to get me to spend more money for nothing?

Each site I have spoken to so far have had the same pushy salespeople who try to get you upgrade at an expense of $1000 or more. When you question them about the product they get all mad at you. Does anyone know a good site where they are pretty straight shooters.

[021411]

I'm wanting to upgrade my Canon Film SLR to a digital. Having looked alot around I like the Canon 30d. I have looked online alot and actually ordered online. When I speak with the company to confirm the order they try to push upgrades to me. Today the guy from thecamerapros.com told me the kit was gray model and had plastic mounts and I should upgrade to the metal mounts. It was the sports package so had a L series lens. I thought it sounded wierd that canon would have two versions of the L series lens. He said both the camera body and the lens were gray model. What is this?? Or was the guy trying to get me to spend more money for nothing?

Each site I have spoken to so far have had the same pushy salespeople who try to get you upgrade at an expense of $1000 or more. When you question them about the product they get all mad at you. Does anyone know a good site where they are pretty straight shooters.

Seriously, be warned about places that have pushy sales. There are no special packages that Canon themselves put out. I'm glad you went with your gut and didn't buy anything from those places.
If you are in the US, go for US market stuff. Warranty is what you are looking for.

Straight shootin'? Can't go wrong with BH Photo or Adorama.

[Hawg Hanner]

Plastic mounts on a L-series lens? Never heard of it.

[drparker]

Gray model or Gray Market. Means it is sold through a non authorized dealer or distribution channel and thus might not have warranty and will not qualify for any rebates. It will be the same equipment. Saying that you needed to pay more to get metal vs plastic on an L class glass is just plain wrong. Pay a few bucks more and buy US from an authorized dealer.

[021411]

Plastic mounts on a L-series lens? Never heard of it.

I'm of curious now on how many people get suckered. It's sad that people get taken advantage of. Gotta do your homework before spending hard earned money.

[drparker]

Check pricing at B&H Photo if the places your dealing with are significantly lower. Don't order a thing, check out their reseller rating first and then you'll know why they are lower and why you don't want to order from them.

[021411]

As they say, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.."

[joegolf68]

Don't be scammed, there is no Santa! Deals too good to be true are too good to be true. Used is a god way to go also.

[ScottE]

L lenses are the same world wide and all have metal lens mounts. If the salesman is saying he has an L lens with a plastic mount he is lying and I would not trust him or his company on anything they say. Cancel any deal you have made since it was misrepresented and deal with a company you can trust. If anybody is offering a price that is significantly less than B&H or Adoraman it has a 90% chance of being a scam.

[whoaroo]

thanks guys. It didn't sound right to me considering that the L series is the top of the line lens. I had looked at many websites with reviews and even the canon website and never saw mentioned such a lens. It just didn't sound right. They may have gotten me to fall for it if it was a couple of hundred more but the kit jumped from $2699 to $3799. The web site never mentioned that it was gray market or imported. They get pretty pushy and mad when it doesn't work. I would hate to think how many fall for it.

[arg245]

Its amazing how many people get suckered into these deals. They fall for the lowest price they find on-line, don't bother to check the seller's ratings, get pushed into buying extra junk, and then can't figure out what went wrong.

The old saying holds true -IF IT'S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT USUALLY IS !!!!!!!!!!!

Whoaroo; Hopefully you were able to cancel your order and not pay any money to these jerks. Don't fall for this again. Stick with buying from reputable dealers such as B&H, Adorama, Beach Camera, Roberts Imaging, etc. There are plenty of reputable dealers. But before you go shell out this kind of money online, learn how to research seller ratings. Do a search on this forum, and go to resellerratings.com.

And don't buy gray market. You wont have a proper warantee if you do.

Good Luck.

[whoaroo]

Thanks. I feel good about my decision. I cancelled the whole purchase so they got none of my money. Checking out those site's you mentioned.

[whoaroo]

how's refurbished??

[021411]

how's refurbished??

I'm not sure on the warranty status but usually if it's factory refurbished it's reconditioned pretty much to like-new condition. It's just been worked on that's all. Could of been for a number of reasons. From a scratched body to non-working parts. Main thing is that it works and that the factory checked it out and/or fixed it prior to sending it out to the vendors.

[Azzure_7]

Check resellerratings.com Check the store's reputability. Don't get scammed. . .

[joeseph]

how's refurbished??
I got a refurbished 24-70 lens from B&H - no problem at all. Don't think I'd have done it with any other seller though as there's no way I'd want the hassle of trying to return something (from this end of the world...) or get it repaired. Definately reccomend checking out what other people have to say about various vendors before buying.

[overclock]

I cancelled the whole purchase so they got none of my money.

I hope you cancelled your credit card while you were at it. Now these unscroupulous thieves have your credit card info.

How can these scammers live with themselves. Weird.

[slyone]

Beach & BUYDIG have about the best prices you're gonna find. Lots of bait n' switch scammers out there. So your best best is to just buy from a reputable store so you don't get screwed...

[kumicho]

what's f'ed up is how long these scams have been going along. when I was looking at my original digital P&S (6 or 7 years ago) these exact same scams were being run. phone calls to "verify" orders, and then the hard upsell. gray market or refurb items sold as new. check the prices on B&H and www.buydig.com (have had good experience with them and they're close to but not in NY), and if you see something significantly cheaper someplace else, RUN.

edit: huh, first post. hadn't realized I hadn't posted here before! :)

[Jon]

Right now, the "after-rebate" prices on US warrantied Canon stuff seems to be somewhat better than the "gray market" price. There's also the x2 factor if you get a lens or flash.

[bsmotril]

The only difference between Gray and US models is that the US models have entered the country via a distribution channel that pays uplift fees directly to Canon USA to support their USA warranty service network. Gray models come into the country via a distrubutor who buys product intended for the asian markets, and then brings it into the US bypassing the US uplifts for warranty support (you don't think those warranty guys work for free right?). Theoretically, gray market lenses won't be supported by Canon USA for warranty claims and you'll have to go back to whomever sold it to you originally for satisfaction.

[Jon]

Well, gray market stuff's not eligible for rebates, either.