Authorized dealer, (when) is it important?

[igmolinav]

Hi,

I opened an e-bay account some thirteen years ago.
I have not used it, nor I have never bought from a
seller or store on e-bay. I have recently spotted a
camera from two different merchants. One is a store,
the other one is a seller. Both of them are not
authorized sony sellers but they offer a one year
warranty with the camera they sell. The camera is
listed as new.

Is it possible for a merchant to offer warranty for a
product even if he/she is not an 'official' or 'autho-
rized' sony dealer.

As opposed to these two, there is only a merchant in
the long list of people offering the camera I want,
who has a badge that reads: 'Sony Retailer Network'.
Is the warranty void in the two merchants I felt at
first attracted to buy from, how would I be able to
get the camera serviced by sony in case of any
problem?

Thank you, kind regards,

igmolinav : ) !!!

 

[MCAsan]

What does Sony say when you ask them?

 

[fieldsphotos]

Odds are the cameras are what they call "grey" market. Meaning they were meant for sale in another country and were imported into the US. It depends on the camera manufacturer as to what sort of warranty work you may be able to get. Traditionally Canon has been pretty loose with grey market cameras and Canon USA will do repair work for them, however Nikon takes a much harder line. I do not know what Sony does for their grey market stuff.

The warranties the ebay sellers are offering are most likely their own warranties vs Sony's, and probably not worth a whole lot.

So, you are welcome to buy one of the cameras, however I would not expect to be able to get any warranty work from Sony. So you have to decide if the discount is sufficient to overcome the added risk.

 

[Apple fanboy]

How much are you saving from not buying through the authorised channel?
If it arrives not as described, you can always get your money back with eBay as they always support the buyer.
If the money you saved is enough to get it repaired if it goes wrong and the company fail to fix it, go for it.
If not then maybe just pay the extra. Camera stores will sometimes throw in little extras if you tell them your thinking of buying elsewhere.
In the UK you get a three year warranty with Nikon, so it's a no brainier to go with an authorised dealer.

 

[kenoh]

How much are you saving from not buying through the authorised channel?
If it arrives not as described, you can always get your money back with eBay as they always support the buyer.
If the money you saved is enough to get it repaired if it goes wrong and the company fail to fix it, go for it.
If not then maybe just pay the extra. Camera stores will sometimes throw in little extras if you tell them your thinking of buying elsewhere.
In the UK you get a three year warranty with Nikon, so it's a no brainier to go with an authorised dealer.

+1 on this. Non-authorized will usually affect warranty so AFB above is spot on...

 

[igmolinav]

Hi,

Thank you for your messages : ) !!!
Good point! I'll think about it!

Very kind regards,

igmolinav : ) !!!

 

[cbrand493]

Chances are the "warranty" these stores are describing is with the store themselves and not with Sony. So if something goes wrong with the camera, you have to contact the store and hopefully they'll replace/fix it.

Odds are the cameras are what they call "grey" market. Meaning they were meant for sale in another country and were imported into the US. It depends on the camera manufacturer as to what sort of warranty work you may be able to get. Traditionally Canon has been pretty loose with grey market cameras and Canon USA will do repair work for them, however Nikon takes a much harder line. I do not know what Sony does for their grey market stuff.

The warranties the ebay sellers are offering are most likely their own warranties vs Sony's, and probably not worth a whole lot.

So, you are welcome to buy one of the cameras, however I would not expect to be able to get any warranty work from Sony. So you have to decide if the discount is sufficient to overcome the added risk.

Don't know about America, but Canon have had a smackdown on grey imports in Australia. They won't touch anything that's grey here.

 

[robgendreau]

Some manufacturers are pretty strict about penalizing you, the consumer, if you buy a gray market product, even though it can be virtually impossible to figure out what is gray and what isn't. I just went through this with Ricoh/Pentax, and you can't even figure out who is authorized and who isn't. Keh's has a good description of the problem: http://www.kehblog.com/2011/11/gray-market-equipment.html

Gray isn't counterfeit, BTW. Nothing wrong with a consumer buying such goods. Indeed, sometimes it might be preferable, especially if you need warranty service in a country different from where you buy, or if you have another means of getting warranty repair, or if the manufacturer's warranty really isn't worth spit. As Keh's notes a reputable seller will ID the product so that this is known to those who buy; any seller hiding the ball is suspect.

In today's interconnected international markets, you gotta wonder why they, the manufacturers, choose to punish their consumers for the fact that the manufacturers can't keep their distribution in check. Probably cuz they're greedy jerks who will do most anything to jack you out of your warranty claim. And it begs the question of why if you're on vacation in another country you suddenly have a warranty that's worthless if the thing breaks while you're away.

 

[igmolinav]

Hi,

Thank you for your messages : ) !!!

Yes, one should have a right to have
the camera repaired anywhere!

Kind regards,

igmolinav : ) !!!