grey market?

What does grey market mean? Is it worth the discount? Has anyone had problems with them? would it be better to buy used or grey market? Thanks

Grey market lenses simply have a different warranty, what kind of warranty you get with a grey market lens will depend on the manufacturer. Whether or not it is worth the discount is up to the buyer.

would you buy one?

formula4speed wrote in post #3102009
Grey market lenses simply have a different warranty, what kind of warranty you get with a grey market lens will depend on the manufacturer. Whether or not it is worth the discount is up to the buyer.

I think you meant to say the warranty depends on the seller.

I buy gray market lenses sometimes. I always buy my stuff through adorama and they warranty the lens for the same amount of time that Canon would have warrantied it if it were a manufacturer's warranty. I trust adorama to stand behind the grey market lens. Actually, I'd rather send it to them than a canon service center.

I've purchased "grey market" lenses from B&H before - the difference being, B&H handles the 1yr warranty (with Canon handling the 1yr warranty for USA versions). However the difference in 3rd party lenses can be much greater. Sigma for example gives you 1yr worldwide plus another 3yr for USA versions (a loss if you get grey market). Tamron gives you a 6yr if you buy USA, only 1yr for imports I believe - 5 years of protection gone. So the converage time lossed have to be worth the savings...
(of course no rebates on imports/grey market either).

You can read this as well: http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Canon-Lenses/Gray-Market.aspx

Thanks Adorama is where I was going to buy. It is good to get a vote of confidence about them. I thought they were reputable.

About 1/2 my lens inventory was bought grey market (those from B&H). I've never had to use the warranty, so it's never been a concern for me.

Mark

Thanks so much you guys! I was only slightly nervous, but now I feel pretty confident! If I can't find a used one pretty quickly, I think I will go ahead with it. Thanks again!!!