Canon USA's 15% off refurbished sale

Actually that tells you a couple of things

1) Canon does a good job on their refurbishing, i.e. people will buy them.

2) Canon generally does a good job on their quality, a lot of times an item will stay out of stock for a LOOOOONG time in terms of refurbs.

as an example, there were 600EX-RT refurb flashes, and almost 2 dozen of them, but they were gone extremely quickly.

Canon Refurb WITH the 15% off sale is one of the best bargains around. You get a great price which is generally a little below the used market, and your item comes with Warranty, has been cleaned, serviced and checked. I know a few photogs that prefer to get their bodies as refurbs because they feel that the refurbs go through better QC
 
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Refurbs sell out very fast for the higher end gear...often in a matter of minutes. If you want something, set up a notification with canonpricewatch.com, and buy it the moment you get the email.
 
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Thank you, all. I had no idea of the pent-up demand! Especially after several persons casually recommended that I get a 300/2.8 for BIF. At that point, it seemed that most forumers (??) just went ahead and bought whatever they wanted.

And all I really want is a 1.4X T/C and another 430 II... Well, that's a lie - I do want a 300/2.8.
 
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chrysoberyl said:
Thank you, all. I had no idea of the pent-up demand! Especially after several persons casually recommended that I get a 300/2.8 for BIF. At that point, it seemed that most forumers (??) just went ahead and bought whatever they wanted.

And all I really want is a 1.4X T/C and another 430 II... Well, that's a lie - I do want a 300/2.8.

I have rented, but do not own the 300/2.8 It is an AWESOME lens. love it deeply. at $4500 the refurb 300/F2.8 IS II is a great deal and even the 300 F/4 IS, though aging an a little long in the tooth, for a cleaned, checked and warranty glass at under $1K, that is a great bang for buck with just a little less light and Bokeh
 
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I bought the 16-35mm f/2.8L II when the Halloween sale was going on. It took diligence and a couple of tries to get the checkout complete before the VERY low-quantity stock disappeared. It ended up being about $1080 US.

I'm pretty sure CPW will be your most valuable asset, since it seems to me that Canon launches those refurb sales at times when the desirable pro lenses are out of stock (as they usually are, really), but often restocks in VERY small numbers while the sale is in progress. That is what happened with the 16-35 and 70-200mm f/2.8L II at least. If you jumped on it at just the right time you got an unbeatable deal.
 
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chrysoberyl said:
Thank you, all. I had no idea of the pent-up demand! Especially after several persons casually recommended that I get a 300/2.8 for BIF. At that point, it seemed that most forumers (??) just went ahead and bought whatever they wanted.

And all I really want is a 1.4X T/C and another 430 II... Well, that's a lie - I do want a 300/2.8.

I think the TC's were already sold out. I spent 6 months on the CPW list trying to snag a 1.4X MK III TC. They were gone every time I tried to get one. Finally, one time worked, so I still have it.

The reason to sign up with CPW is that Canon often restocks during the sales, so lenses that were out may suddenly appear with no advanced notice. Not all products are restocked, sometimes just a few, and sometimes its a extensive list. I suppose that they may not restock either, but know what you want, create your buyer account in advance so you won't have to fool around entering addresses, credit card numbers, etc, and be quick to jump on it if it appears.
 
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SPL said:
crap!...I always miss this. Have been waiting to pick up a 24-70 II and I'm always minutes too late!

There are smart phone apps that notify you when a product is in stock, and, if you have your Canon account all setup and ready, you have a pretty good chance. But, those 24-70's that were restocked today sold out in minutes.
 
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Mt Spokane Photography said:
SPL said:
crap!...I always miss this. Have been waiting to pick up a 24-70 II and I'm always minutes too late!

There are smart phone apps that notify you when a product is in stock, and, if you have your Canon account all setup and ready, you have a pretty good chance. But, those 24-70's that were restocked today sold out in minutes.
Cool!, any you recommend for iPhone? that would be great!
 
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