Gray Market G2

Hi everyone,

I got "stuck" with a gray market (japanese) G2 through the shady dealings of US1digital.com (i know, i know, i should have known better - i KNOW!). I am just wondering how "stuck" i actually am. Does anyone know if the japanese G2, or the accessories it comes with, are any different from the standard-issue USA version? They sent photocopies of the manuals, but i don't know how much else is a cheap copy of what I should have gotten. At least all the menus on the camera seem to be in English. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Peter

I bought mine from US1Digital and it wasn't gray market. Well, I guess it wasn't. It came with a US warranty card with the serial number preprinted on the card that matched the number on the camera. Did I just get lucky? I have since sent a couple of friends to US1 Digital, but they have not purchased yet.

well, maybe i paid less for mine? i think the US1digital price was around $690 - which is less than what a more reputable dealer, like B&H is offering it at ($750). i really don't know what i was thinking. the worst part is that US1digital scammed me so bad - i would NOT EVER recommend ANYONE buying stuff from them. they are total scammers:

1. they don't actually accept web-site orders until you call them to "confirm" your order. this of course turns out to be a hard up-sell on CRAP OVERPRICED accessories such as a BP-511 Power2000 battery (which they have priced at $105, compared to B&H at $40 - i found out later), a cheap case, overpriced flash memory, 3rd rate filters & adapters, etc. i had looked at their "package deals for the G2" but none of them appealed to me. i selected some things that i actually wanted but were not in any of their canned packages and submitted my order. when i talked to them to "confirm my order" the guy said, "did you get the email i sent you about our executive package?" i said, "no." (it was a LIE, they never even sent any such email.) he went on, "well, the executive package contains everything you ordered (the camera, an extra 128 MB CF card, and a USB card reader), plus a leather case, an extra battery & rapid charger kit, a UV filter and an extra 1 year warranty for the same price." i said in astonishment, "i didn't see the executive package on the web, it is really all the same things i ordered, plus what you mentioned for the same price?" "yes," he said, "for just $100 more." last time i checked 100$ more wasn't the same price!! i stupidly did it b/c i thought it would actually be a good deal - when the package arrived, it was not the same card reader i had ordered, there was no warranty as promised, no charger, a cheap, less powerful battery than i though i was getting, there was a crap lens adapter that they never mentioned, etc. (i know, i know - my fault entirely - i should have known better!) - SLEAZY!!!

2. they are RUDE. after receiving the "call us to confirm" scam email, i did as they said and called. i was told that my order wasn't in the system yet. i questioned the whole call-to-confirm BS, and the guy YELLED at me, saying LISTEN BUDDY, JUST CALL BACK LATER. what? didn't i just spend almost $1000 with you? thanks.

3. they are totally evasive & LIE about their shipping practices. the runaround i was given when i was trying to get a UPS tracking number for my order was COMICAL. "we don't have the tracking number now b/c our computers are down. call back after 5 pm." when i called at 5:20, i was told customer service was closed. a repeat call the following day resulted in me being passed on to three different people, all of which just lied and said that my order was shipped, but that the tracking number wasn't available. days later, when the camera actually did ship, i finally got an email w/ a tracking number which revealed the real shipping date.

remember folks, if the price is THAT much "better" than that of a reputable dealer, it just isn't what you think it is.

that all said, i am totally loving my powershot G2! if anyone else has had a similarly frustrating buying experience, you should post it so others don't fall prey like i did.

thanks for listening to my rant!

peter

That really sucks. I must admit I was very leery of ordering from US1Digital.com, but I went ahead and did it because I found them listed on Yahoo Shopping (there are better ways of finding things. I used many, but ended up going through there) with four out of five stars listed for service. I paid $615 for mine from US1. I saw them listed in the upper $500 from places with much fewer stars and was very worried about getting a gray market version.

I didn’t try ordering anything over the web because I was going out of town and wanted it ASAP, so I called them directly. I did ask if they had US warranties or not and was assured they did. I totally agree with the prices on their accessories; WAY too high. I checked on their 128meg CF card and they wanted $108. I told them I could get it for $40 elsewhere and they acted like they couldn’t believe it. Needless to say, I didn’t get the CF card. I too bought one of their “special one day� package deals. I knew it wasn’t really a one day deal and I knew the prices were not going to be a steal, but for what they were offering and what I had looked into, it sounded like a “good� deal. I ended up with a 1yr Mac warranty, 2x telephoto, .48x wide angle, cheap adapter ring, set of filters (UV, circular polarizer, and some funky fluorescent thing), fairly nice little case, and a couple of other things I can’t recall at the moment. The prices they listed for the individual items was hilarious; I laughed out loud when they said what the total would be separately, something like $600. I ended up paying around $350 if I remember right and I got them to next day air it for “free.� Oh yeah, their shipping prices are kind of hilarious too.

Actually, they took my order and guaranteed I would have it tomorrow. I did, early morning FedEx. After looking through all the stuff and trying to find comparable stuff on the net, I don’t think I got a steal, but I don’t feel I was ripped off either. The bag is a little small, but if I don’t carry the power adapter it is big enough to carry the lenses and everything else. The lenses seem pretty nice to me. They are even threaded for 58mm filters. The only thing that concerns me about the lenses is I cannot find the exact ones on the net anywhere. I found others by the same name, but not these. Still, I am pretty happy with them.

Actually, they ended up calling me back later in the day to tell me my credit card was declined. I called the card company and since it was from New York (I am in Atlanta) and wasn’t too long after Sept. 11th, they put a freeze on the card when they saw it used. The card company enabled the card when I told them it was a valid charge. I called US1 back on an 800 number and had the guy’s extension that I had originally talked to. They rang it again and it was off and running. Went very smoothly and everyone was nice enough. Of course the original sales guy was very pushy, but what do you expect.

Has anyone else had problems, or success with US1Digital.com? Now I am not real sure what to tell those friends of mine that are wanting to buy.

Oh well, fingers are tired.

Happy shooting,
Michael

I had an interesting experience with us1digital.com. I ordered from them over the internet and, per their website instructions, attempted to call them the next day to confirm my order. All I got were busy signals, for hours and hours. (I believe this was because they had been closed the prior two days for religious holidays and were swamped with "confirmation calls.") I was anxious to get the camera and feared that if I ordered from someone else, I'd get stuck with two cameras. So I went to the Network Solutions web site to look up who owned the us1digital website. There I found a name, an e-mail address and a different telephone number. I decided to give the guy a break at first and sent him a couple of e-mails. When there was still no reply, I called the number I had located. Eureka! I got a person. In fact, I got the owner, and he wanted to know how I had gotten his number; it was his cell phone. Anyway, he handed his cellphone to a salesman, who promised to get back to me. They did not. I gave them two hours and called the owner back; this time you can bet I got action. They took care of me and I got my camera quickly.

I ended up getting a cheap bag, a zio compact flash card reader, and a UV filter with adaptor. Including shipping, everything came to just under $900. Even though I hadn't asked for it, because I was too focused on getting through to them and wasn't thinking clearly, they included a US warranty. It might well have been because I had the owner's phone number.

I told a friend about my experience, and when he called them, he was told I was given the US warranty because I had ordered the extra stuff. There is no question that is where the profit is, and I believe some online retailers with competitive prices may play games with customers about whether they really have the camera in stock unless the customers are willing to buy high priced accessories.

Anyway, for anyone who is interested, the phone number is still available and can be used when appropriate. I don't think we should harass the guy, but if you can't get through otherwise...

Add one more victim to US1Digitals hit list. I to was lured in by the cheap price advertised on a yahoo search. When I called to confirm my order for $649.00 plus shipping a con artist salesman talked me into the "Presidents Day Sale". He told me the web price was for an import model and he would upgrade me to the US model in a package. When he was done with me I was in for $1099.00 plus shipping for a Canon G2, a couple of lenses, a cheap case, and a UV filter.

After I hung up I realized what I just did. I immediately called my credit card company "MBNA" to make sure they denied that charge and they informed me that it had already been sent through and they couldn’t stop it. I was told to call back and dispute the charge on my card. I then called US1Digital and spoke to a salesman who disconnected me as soon as I mentioned the words "cancel my order". I called back three more times with the same result until I finally got jag who stated he was canceling the order as we spoke. After hanging up I received a call from an account investigator from my credit card company "MBNA" inquiring about the charge from US1digital. I again told them that it was to be denied because I just cancelled the order and after explaining my eventful day with US1Digital they assured me that it would be denied.

Everything's taken care of I thought. I don't have to worry about explaining to my wife why I spent $500.00 more than I told her it would cost when I sold her on the digital camera. Well I was wrong. I received a package today from UPS which I stupidly signed for thinking it was something else I order three days ago but to me dismal surprise it was the US1Digital order which I had canceled and was assured by my credit card company "MBNA" would not be authorized. So I called "MBNA" and pitched a **** about the whole deal. They told me to right a letter explaining the whole ordeal on paper, I was to call US1Digital and request a return and ship the item back UPS at my expense. The best part was when the "MBNA" employee to me if the company has any kind of restocking or return fee that I would still be responsible to pay it. Well I figured that the restocking fee would cost me close to $180.00 at 15% so what's the use.

The camera appears to be O.K. from the looks of it even though it came in an unsealed Canon G2 box. I guess I learned a valuable lesson. Tomorrow I'm going to cancel my credit card with "MBNA" and file a complaint with yahoo and the Better Business Bureau. I stronlgy advise against doing business with US1Digital and "MBNA". I just hope this helps someone avoid being taken by the crooks at US1Digital.

Hi Everyone,

When I was looking for my camera I found I was just as tempted to buy it from the cheaper places too. But somwhere on this board some good soul posted about american express blue card purchase gauruntee program.

Basically it works like this, you buy you camera, if within 60 days you see it advertised for less they pay you the difference up to 250 dollars per purchase, 1000 per year. So .... buy the camera at a reputable place and do the purchase gauruntee on the grey market cameras.

Grasshopper