Sharing some recent experiences purchasing direct from Canon- hopefully it will be helpful (FYI, I have purchased 9 lenses and 3 SLR bodies so far):
- Condition of lenses and bodies: All but 1 of the lenses I purchased from Canon have been spotless cosmetically, and all of them have been perfect optically. The one with cosmetic flaws was the TS-E 17mm, with slight paint flakes around the barrel. Most of them didn't need AFMA, the one that did was consistent after AFMA (24-70 II). The T2i and 7D I purchased were perfect with extremely low shutter count, but the T3i was DOA. I only found that out AFTER my 90 days period was over (at the time Canon refurb warranty was 90 days), totally my fault, and yet Canon replaced the camera.
- Accessories: They come with all regular accessories. The only exception was that the TS-E didn't come with the larger spare knob.
- Customer service: This has been generally great. I mentioned the out-of-warranty replacement above, and the knob mentioned above is also on the way- a representative listened to the problem and promised to Fedex the item. I was purchasing an extender and the 40mm last week, a very small buy, and just decided to ask the Chat rep if I can get free shipping. For no reason whatsoever- I just asked "I was wondering if I can get free shipping". He gave me a code for that. So, it doesn't hurt to ask.
On the other hand, during a recent 20% off sale, I tried to purchase the 135L (like so many others) and couldn't because of a bug in the website. I asked Canon via email and phone, and they gave various reasons like "the lens is sold out", "it was never in stock", and "the lens isn't even available refurbished and I was accessing an old cached page". A fellow CR user described a workaround which I followed and put the order through. Sure enough, I received the lens which clearly was in stock. So double check if something like this happens to you, and don't just go by the sales rep's words.