Canon Price Watch and recommended retailers

I'm in the market for a new 6D, and occasionally some really good deals pop up on canonpricewatch.

Unfortunately, some of the retailers that Canon price watch says "we would recommend to our own family and friends" seem to gather about thirty strong negative feedbacks per month. Yes, their positive feedback far outweighs the negative, but thirty negatives a month is a lot (plus, the customers are using very strong language in condemning the sellers).

6th Avenue, Big Value, Get it digital and a few others have low prices, and it seems they deliver the product at said price frequently, but according to the negative feedback they are also pulling bait and switch (not my words) or selling products that don't match the description.

Any thoughts on all this?

From what I hear B&H and Adorama are golden, and I've had nothing but good experiences from Beach Camera. My only gripe with those companies is the funky holiday shutdowns (which is really none of my business. I just find it annoying), but those three seem as legit as Amazon (but I have to now pay sales tax through Amazon, so on a new 6D outfit that will be a couple hundred extra dollars.

Nevertheless, some of the deals on the other retailers look tempting.

What's your take?

If you don't like dealing with chances, go for the best, in this case Adorama, BH and Amazon. PMI digital on EBay is also great but of course the prices are higher.

I like to save every dollar if possible and have dealt with Buydig, Beach and Big Value Inc and have never been disappointed, so far.

I'm in the same boat and it seems as if the 6d deals have greatly slowed since the beginning of the new year, with most of the reputable places such as B&H, adorama etc.

Yeah, I had to wait until I had the funds, and now that I'm ready to get the 6D most deals have evaporated.

Plus, there's always my personal struggle over the decision to get the whole kit or body only and lair a different lens to it.

I've always bought from the major players, too timid to spend that kind of money with the lesser rated ones.

Another thing to consider is a factory refurb unit direct from Canon. They now have the same one year warranty as new ones. I bought my 40D, 50D and 100-400L that way and never had issues. You couldn't tell the product was ever opened before. Don't remember the shutter counts, but very low.

Also, I've never tried it, but I am reading good things about greentoe.com the reverse auction site (see thread here in Market Watch) and am considering giving that a try on my next L lens purchase.

EOS-Mike wrote in post #16635976
I'm in the market for a new 6D, and occasionally some really good deals pop up on canonpricewatch.

Unfortunately, some of the retailers that Canon price watch says "we would recommend to our own family and friends" seem to gather about thirty strong negative feedbacks per month. Yes, their positive feedback far outweighs the negative, but thirty negatives a month is a lot (plus, the customers are using very strong language in condemning the sellers).

6th Avenue, Big Value, Get it digital and a few others have low prices, and it seems they deliver the product at said price frequently, but according to the negative feedback they are also pulling bait and switch (not my words) or selling products that don't match the description.

Any thoughts on all this?

From what I hear B&H and Adorama are golden, and I've had nothing but good experiences from Beach Camera. My only gripe with those companies is the funky holiday shutdowns (which is really none of my business. I just find it annoying), but those three seem as legit as Amazon (but I have to now pay sales tax through Amazon, so on a new 6D outfit that will be a couple hundred extra dollars.

Nevertheless, some of the deals on the other retailers look tempting.

What's your take?

Am looking to buy a second 6D body and agree 100% with your assessment of the various suppliers. Just stick with Adorama (which unfortunately seems to be falling to the Nikon/Sony fanboy club) or B&H Photo. For one thing, I don't want to shell out big bucks and get a non US version of the 6D. Or get the body with no accessories, or find out it is a refurb.

A few comments from Canon Price Watch:

Yes, we do list both very reputable authorized dealers (such as B&H, Adorama, and Amazon) along side some unauthorized dealers (notably the eBay based stores). The reason we do so is price, as we're aware some people are happy to save a few hundred dollars, where as others want the peace of mind.

Most of the eBay retailers we list have 99%+ positive feedback. When you're doing several thousand transactions a month that still means a few dozen unhappy customers. We read and check on them regularly. The most common complaint is that these stores don't do a good job of clearly marking what is grey market and what are split kits. We try to help here by explaining as best we can, and we clearly mark stores as "authorized dealer" or not on our site and posts. The good thing about eBay is the buyer protection, so in the unlikely event something goes wrong with your transaction there is always recourse. Again if you want absolute peace of mind, there's always the big three.

We spend a lot of time researching our retailers and we still stand by our statement that every store we list is one we wouldn't hesitate to recommend to friends and family. Just pick the one that matches your risk tolerance and budget.

Just stay away from all of the real scam, upsell, and bait&switch stores -- there are plenty, and they're constantly asking us to list them, under a different name every month. They are the ones not on eBay, as crooked eBay sellers don't last long with the public feedback system.

PhotoPrice,

YEAH BUT, those same internet price hawks are adept at manipulating their feedback ratings.

I was in a similar boat, I wanted a 6D and couldnt pull the trigger on such a purchase for myself over the holidays, so I waited and shopped around... then I always call Best Buy and have them price match.. this ensures 2 things. 1.) I'm getting a non-grey market body from an authorized retailer and 2.) I have a local brick and mortar store to deal with in the event of DOA hardware/shipping issue etc.

I definitely did not get the same deal that I could have gotten if I bought during the holidays, but a hundred bucks won't break the bank.

PhotoPrice wrote in post #16636333
A few comments from Canon Price Watch:

Yes, we do list both very reputable authorized dealers (such as B&H, Adorama, and Amazon) along side some unauthorized dealers (notably the eBay based stores). The reason we do so is price, as we're aware some people are happy to save a few hundred dollars, where as others want the peace of mind.

Most of the eBay retailers we list have 99%+ positive feedback. When you're doing several thousand transactions a month that still means a few dozen unhappy customers. We read and check on them regularly. The most common complaint is that these stores don't do a good job of clearly marking what is grey market and what are split kits. We try to help here by explaining as best we can, and we clearly mark stores as "authorized dealer" or not on our site and posts. The good thing about eBay is the buyer protection, so in the unlikely event something goes wrong with your transaction there is always recourse. Again if you want absolute peace of mind, there's always the big three.

We spend a lot of time researching our retailers and we still stand by our statement that every store we list is one we wouldn't hesitate to recommend to friends and family. Just pick the one that matches your risk tolerance and budget.

Just stay away from all of the real scam, upsell, and bait&switch stores -- there are plenty, and they're constantly asking us to list them, under a different name every month. They are the ones not on eBay, as crooked eBay sellers don't last long with the public feedback system.

Ok. So if we buy from an unauthorized seller that you recommend, and there is a need of repair in the first year of ownership - warranty period. What do we do?

ptcanon3ti wrote in post #16637956
Ok. So if we buy from an unauthorized seller that you recommend, and there is a need of repair in the first year of ownership - warranty period. What do we do?

If it's a US model item, then you still get Canon USA warranty service. We did a warranty survey just over a year ago, and we found that buying from an authorized or unauthorized dealer didn't affect your ability to get Canon USA warranty service (they only ask for a dated receipt, never the warranty card).

If it's a non-US model item, I'd still recommend trying to send it in for Canon USA warranty service. I've never had a reader tell me their US-bought camera was rejected for warranty service. Note, the above statement doesn't apply to clearly imported versions (i.e. different camera name (650D vs. T4i), tampered serial number, etc). Canon repair centers have stated they can't figure out what's import vs not based on serial number. I've had a few readers tell me sending a non-US version body for warranty repair was successful, but not enough overwhelming evidence for me to really write and post loudly about it.

Alternatively, for a non-US model item, you can contact the retailer and ask them to honor their 1-year store warranty, or whatever period was stated on the original product listing on eBay. One reader who did this reported that the store asked them to send it to Canon anyway, and told him that "Canon won't, but if they charge you, we'll pay the bill." Well, as expected, Canon fixed it under warranty and didn't charge her (see paragraph above).

Finally, you can double your warranty if you purchase using credit cards that offer that feature. I recommend that as well. The basic idea is: if you experience a repair in the 2nd year you get to give the credit card company the bill (you may need to contact them first).

I invite anyone to e-mail me (contact form on my site) their warranty repair stories, good or bad -- we're trying our best to figure out what the "real" Canon warranty repair policy is. Based on what we've seen at this point, we think Canon pretty much accepts anything bought state-side, within the last year, for warranty. However, they're not going to come out and state this currently unwritten policy: they want the flexibility to change this policy if necessary; also their sales channel benefits greatly from perpetuating a myth that a Canon warranty is an exclusive thing.

Now that being said, if any of the above scares you in any way, I would recommend buying new from an authorized dealer. I completely understand that everyone has different preferences -- but we're lucky we get a choice! Look at Nikon: they don't let their retailers set their own pricing (everything is a fixed uniform price), they don't let their retailers resell their overstock to unauthorized dealers, and also their US repair centers refuse to touch any import-version body, even if you offer to pay for the repair!

Thank you. This is an EXTREMELY helpful and important reply. It should be a sticky somewhere.
Thanks again.