gray market CANON 7D

i bought a canon 7d (new in box) for $1,250 on craigslist, just found out it was gray market...

i called canon to update firmware and the utility disk was for asia, firmware is now current ....

then I noticed the battery charger and battery was digital concept, not a canon

i'm happy about my purchase but should i be concerned?

price at store $1,699 + 170 tax= $1870 - $1,250= $620 in savings...

is it worth the risk?

If you figure that there is less than about 1 chance in 3 of it needing major servicing within a year, yes.

Welcome aboard.

Too late to be concerned...

Just enjoy the thing.


Jason C

hope it'll last longer

I called Canon about this before I bought one because of the price. I was told the difference is in the charger and that the US is the only place the gets a warranty. So, you have the same camera just no backing from Canon....... I was also told by someone outside of Canon that they would cover a manufacturer defect if pushed so who knows!! Good luck it's a great camera!

All gray market cameras, should come with the genuine charger and battery and other canon accessories, it's only the US warranty that is missing. Did you check to see if anything else was different.

The fact yours doesn't seems a bit strange, why would they just leave out the charger and battery, and substitute an unknown brand ? The original Canon LC-E6 and LP-e6 are worth about 60 and 75 dollars respectively, so you have lost out a bit here but have made other savings.

I would ask about the genuine charger and battery, always nice to have when reselling

lannes wrote in post #10592764
The fact yours doesn't seems a bit strange, why would they just leave out the charger and battery, and substitute an unknown brand ?

Probably because the charger that came with the camera wouldn't fit in American outlets....

feltch1024 wrote in post #10592954
Probably because the charger that came with the camera wouldn't fit in American outlets....

As the Canon charger is international voltage rated, I think all you would need is a 2 dollar plug adaptor. With a lot of ebay gray market stuff they just chuck in the relevant adaptor for the country the item is going to.

I just think it was the seller trying make some extra bucks off the sale, with a view to selling the genuine stuff later or using it for another camera.

lannes wrote in post #10593186
As the Canon charger international voltage rated, I think all you would need is a 2 dollar plug adaptor. With a lot of ebay gray market stuff they just chuck in the relevant adaptor for the country the item is going to.

I just think it was the seller trying make some extra bucks off the sale, with a view to selling the genuine stuff later or using it for another camera.

he's 35 years nikon user..i didn't get that vibe from him, besides ...the box was sealed

photoro wrote in post #10593654
he's 35 years nikon user..i didn't get that vibe from him, besides ...the box was sealed

Uh... okay. 7D boxes (as far as I'm aware) aren't sealed. Mine wasn't, and I bought from an authorized retailer. My t2i and t1i's definitely weren't either. Anyone can take a piece of packing tape and "seal" the box to fool a buyer.

Any unit you buy without a receipt is gray market. Canon simply will not honor the warranty unless you can provide authorized proof of purchase.

I'd honestly say your purchase wasn't worth it. On ebay, asavings is selling for $1420 shipped--minus ebay bucks, mrrebates, and bing cashback, and you're looking at $1270 flat. Pay with a visa or AMEX card, and your 1-year manufacturer warranty is extended to 2-years for free.

It's simply too late for you to be worried about it now. It wasn't a BAD purchase, but you could have done better. Good luck with the 7d--great piece of hardware!!

photoro wrote in post #10593654
he's 35 years nikon user..i didn't get that vibe from him, besides ...the box was sealed

There is probably more of the issue with the box being sealed, as Canon would never send out a camera with a third party charger and battery.

If you want to, I'd ask the seller about the original genuine charger and battery, as all the boxed canon cameras always come with the original kit. If he doesn't have them, you might be able to get a bigger discount, did the ad state that the genuine charger and battery was not included ?

If not, then you are entitled to them.

lannes wrote in post #10593884
If you want to, I'd ask the seller about the original genuine charger and battery, as all the boxed canon cameras always comes with the original kit. If he doesn't have them, you might be able to get a bigger discount, did the ad state that the genuine charger and battery was not included ?

If not, then you are entitled to them.

If I read the post correctly, he's already made the purchase, my guess is its probably too late to start asking for the OEM charger or any extra discounts.

The OP is simply going to have to cross his fingers and hope the camera survives its first year without needing factory warranty service. That's the downside of buying gray market gear.

DennisW1 wrote in post #10593889
If I read the post correctly, he's already made the purchase, my guess is its probably too late to start asking for the OEM charger or any extra discounts.

The OP is simply going to have to cross his fingers and hope the camera survives its first year without needing factory warranty service. That's the downside of buying gray market gear.

I agree it's a bit late, but the camera was sold as "brand new in box" sealed, it was not sold as secondhand, so by default it should have all the original accessories in the first place.

lannes wrote in post #10596992
I agree it's a bit late, but the camera was sold as "brand new in box" sealed, it was not sold as secondhand, so by default it should have all the original accessories in the first place.

As you have already guessed, it's likely he was "taken" with the sealed gimmick. Has anyone received a sealed-box 7d (that wasn't from a retailer like BestBuy that seals goods themselves)? It seems more like the seller cannibalized the parts for his own 7d or 5dmarkii and threw in a $15 power2000 variant. That's a great way to cheat buyers, especially if they're meeting in person via craigslist.

MOkoFOko wrote in post #10597032
As you have already guessed, it's likely he was "taken" with the sealed gimmick. Has anyone received a sealed-box 7d (that wasn't from a retailer like BestBuy that seals goods themselves)? It seems more like the seller cannibalized the parts for his own 7d or 5dmarkii and threw in a $15 power2000 variant. That's a great way to cheat buyers, especially if they're meeting in person via craigslist.

It could even have 20-30k on the shutter, how would you know