USA/Gray Market???

[LittleMan]

OK, I was looking around on Adorama and I saw that for each item you can either buy it USA or Gray Market...
What is the difference? Is it bad to buy from the Gray Market? Can I tell just by looking at the camera if it's gray or USA?

Thanks!
-Chris

 

[danalec99]

From the B&H site:

About USA and GREY MARKET (DIRECT IMPORT)

USA or Imported Film

What are the differences as far as a customer is concerned?

Primarily, how much the item costs, and where you'd send it for warranty service. Generally, "direct import" items cost less than their "USA" counterparts.

A "USA" warrantied item is a manufacture's warranty that would be repaired by any manufacturer's authorized service facility worldwide if the item required in-warranty service. A "direct import" item would have to be returned to B&H Photo-Video Corp. in New York City if it required in-warranty attention. A resident of the USA may wish to make the buying decision based on price, since the cost of shipping to an American service center or to us should be about equal. A non-USA resident may want to consider the cost of returning the "direct import" item to us for warranty service, compared to the expense of buying the "USA warrantied" item and having warranty service available locally.

Another difference is how much the item costs, and where you'd send it for warranty service.

Simply put, "grey market" means that the item is not covered by the manufacturer's warranty, because the manufacturer's licensed or authorized agent or representative did not import that item into the USA and did not sell it to the retailer to sell it to you. We import the product directly from the overseas manufacturer or distributor, bypassing additional distribution levels. Many manufacturers and distributors therefore coined the negative sounding term, "grey market", for this perfectly legal money-saving activity, namely "direct import".

What kind of warranty is available?

Any "grey market" item B&H Photo-Video sells includes a B&H warranty which covers the same particulars the USA warranty would cover for a period of one year. The only difference is that you would ship the item to B&H for warranty service. All you need is your B&H Photo-Video invoice instead of a warranty certificate.

Why offer "Direct Import"?

To give you the option of buying what you want, based on your priorities and budget. Often a "direct import" item is less expensive; sometimes there may be subtle feature or cosmetic differences (examples of which are below). Occasionally, as with some unusual or discontinued items, it is the only way to obtain the item for stock.

So, how did it get into the USA for B&H to sell to you?

Quite simply, B&H bought it from another source, and either they imported it for us, or we arranged to import it directly into the USA. In most cases, there is no difference between the "directly imported" item and its USA counterpart. They have the same specifications, same number of elements in the same number of groups. They were manufactured side-by-side on the same assembly line, by the same workers, to the same tolerances, using the same raw materials. They look, feel and perform the same because they are the same.

Are there ever differences?

Sometimes - and when there are we'll say so. For many Nikon, Canon, or Minolta cameras, there are name differences. The Nikon N90s in the USA is marketed as the F90x in Europe and Asia; Minolta's Maxxum line in the USA is their Dynax line overseas; and Canon's EOS Elan IIE in the USA is their EOS 50E elsewhere. Occasionally, there are more substantial differences. Two examples:

• The (now discontinued) Canon 430 EZ flash was available with USA warranty and had a distance scale in feet; in a "grey market" version its distance scale was in meters.
• Canon's EOS A2E in the USA has a "grey" counterpart in their EOS 5. The EOS 5 includes a date back, while the EOS A2E has none, and Canon does not offer one as an add-on. Also, while they share the same exposure circuitry and software, they offer different ways of showing that data in the camera viewfinder to the photographer.

What happens after the warranty expires?

Any customer, no matter where he or she lives, would take an item requiring service to any repair shop that is convenient, and pay for the repair.

Which will B&H sell?

B&H will sell whichever you prefer. In the B&H store and on the phone, if both types are available, a sales associate will advise you of this and give you the choice. If only "direct import" is available, we will inform you of that, as well. No mention of an option is an indication that only USA is available.



What about film?

In general, the same applies as far as price and availability goes. Of course, there's no repair issue for film, but we recognize that there is an important issue regarding the handling and storage of the film during transit.

We advertise Kodak film in three types:

• IMPORTED - Film made outside the USA and imported for us. This may also be referred to as "GREY".
• USAW - Film manufactured in the USA for Worldwide distribution.
• USA - Film manufactured in the USA for domestic distribution.

Agfa, Fuji, and Ilford film are made outside the USA. While we offer many of these in "grey” (direct import) and "USA" the primary difference is not where the film came from, but who brought the film into this country.

B&H Photo recognizes that for many professionals, the method of handling the film and its storage conditions during transport are factors of vital importance. Optimum performance is essential for any professional, whether shooting food, fashion or portraits. We know that you need contrast, tonal range, color rendition and saturation to be accurate, reliable and repeatable. We are also aware of the fact that many of our amateur customers devote the same care and consideration to their photography and deserve the same quality.

Note to buyers of Kodak USA film:

If the film you are buying is eligible for Kodak's current promotion you DO NOT need each roll's individual box or UPC code. Kodak will accept a copy of your B&H invoice (which shows the date, film type, quantity, and whether it is USA or otherwise). B&H periodically ships unboxed individual rolls and this arrangement with Kodak permits you to buy from us with confidence.

Please feel free to contact us [email protected] if you have additional questions.

 

[vonDrehle]

I didn't read all of that but I know from ebay when you purchase gray market goods sometimes the manual may not be in english.