Canon's Recent Refurb Sale Observation

[wsmith96]

I found that the lens selections Canon put on sale on their refurb site are very similar to the rumors we are hearing about.

Here's what they have on sale:

70-300 IS USM
24-105 IS USM
50 1.4 USM
85 1.8 USM
17-40 USM

We've been talking about an updated FF non L zoom, a lens update that might be surprising (24-105), a new 50mm on the horizon, Sigma's coming out with a new 85, and the 17-40 is a gimme since the 16-35 F/4 came out.

I'm thinking that these are your lens updates that we are going to see for the remainder of the year (other than the 17-40). But I may be smoking something too....

 

[unfocused]

These are also lenses that the refurbished store has a lot of in stock (Source: Canon Price Watch). The refurbished store periodically cuts prices significantly on cameras and lenses that they tend to have a lot of in stock. They may be just reducing inventory.

They often offer deep discounts, for example, on the 55-250 STM, even though it's not targeted for replacement. Some of these lenses might be replaced, but I wouldn't rely on refurbished sales to tell you that.

 

[Ozarker]

I don't think Sigma, Tamron, or even Nikon lens releases affect Canon lens releases at all. I don't think Canon holds back lenses just waiting for other companies to release a lens. Each company has its own schedule.

In other words: Canon doesn't say, "Oh crap, Sigma is releasing thus and such. We'd better get something out there to counter it quick."

I just don't think it happens. Lens formulas take years of development and testing. Canon isn't going to rush a new lens to market, and has no reason to do so.

That sure would be a whole lot of lens releases in the next seven months wouldn't it? Pretty exciting for some people if you are right.

 

[wsmith96]

I have a feeling that the SL1 may be discontinued for good and Canon's mirrorless offering further enhanced.

 

[dak723]

I have a feeling that the SL1 may be discontinued for good and Canon's mirrorless offering further enhanced.

Which would be unfortunate as the SL1 offers the reduced size and weight of a mirrorless, but keeps the advantage of a OVF. I would have no interest in an APS-C mirrorless, but would definitely be in the market for an SL-1 II.

The refurb store sells returned items, so I see no reason to find a connection between the lenses in the refurb store and any future offerings.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Sorry, but I can think of no link between the number of refurbished lenses in stock and a new model.

Canon puts lenses on sale when the stock builds up, or even just for advertising purposes. Asking $799 for a refurbished 24-105L makes little sense when they are available new for $620, sometimes less. So they reduce the price to $650 and sell them?? Why pay $30 more? Many jump at a "sale" though, its marketing.

http://www.canonpricewatch.com/product/00047/Canon-EF-24-105mm-f4L-IS-USM-price.html

 

[unfocused]

I have a feeling that the SL1 may be discontinued for good and Canon's mirrorless offering further enhanced.

Which would be unfortunate as the SL1 offers the reduced size and weight of a mirrorless, but keeps the advantage of a OVF. I would have no interest in an APS-C mirrorless, but would definitely be in the market for an SL-1 II.

I still believe there is real potential for the SL1, if Canon would move it upscale slightly. Give it a newer sensor (even the 70D/7D II sensor would be a big leap), better autofocus, retain the touch screen and throw in GPS and wifi and it would be the perfect camera for hiking, etc.

Small, pocketable, retains the SLR form factor, and no need for whole new set of lenses. The kind of camera you can take along when you don't want to be weighed down with a full size DSLR.

I suspect the original SL1 was intended mostly for an Asian market that Canon perceived as preferring small cameras. It might be better marketed in the Americas and Europe as a second camera for the active enthusiast.

The refurb store sells returned items, so I see no reason to find a connection between the lenses in the refurb store and any future offerings.

Not to quibble too much, but I don't think the refurb store could survive on returned items alone. I strongly suspect there is a lot of new inventory that finds its way to the refurb store. This could be something as simple as products where the original box gets dented inside a shipping container or Canon USA finds itself with excess inventory that it needs to unload and rather than undermine their MAP policies by offering discounts to retailers, they just unbox the the items, mark them with a red dot and declare them to be "refurbished."

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

Not to quibble too much, but I don't think the refurb store could survive on returned items alone. I strongly suspect there is a lot of new inventory that finds its way to the refurb store. This could be something as simple as products where the original box gets dented inside a shipping container or Canon USA finds itself with excess inventory that it needs to unload and rather than undermine their MAP policies by offering discounts to retailers, they just unbox the the items, mark them with a red dot and declare them to be "refurbished."

Yes, they say as much on the website, and also add surplus inventory.

I've bought a few refurb cameras, one had 25 clicks, bun none were totally new.

 

[joe_r]

I've bought a few refurb cameras, one had 25 clicks, bun none were totally new.

I'm looking to get a 6D, and am trying to decide between the Canon refurb, or spending $100 more for CPW's "street price." Having bought a number of refurbs, would you recommend going that route?

Thanks!

 

[unfocused]

I've bought a few refurb cameras, one had 25 clicks, bun none were totally new.

I'm looking to get a 6D, and am trying to decide between the Canon refurb, or spending $100 more for CPW's "street price." Having bought a number of refurbs, would you recommend going that route?

Thanks!

It really comes down to personal preference. There is no "wrong" decision here. Is it worth $100 to you to have a brand new camera vs. an "impossible to tell the difference" refurbished camera?

Everyone has their own standards that they have to apply. For me, personally a $100 (in this case about 10%) difference isn't enough of a savings to forgo the "new camera" joy. I expect to pay a bit of a premium for brand new and don't really mind. But, if the savings is significant I happily buy refurbished when available. I bought a new "street price" special 70-200mm because it wasn't that much more than refurbished, but got up in the middle of the night (when I got an email notification) to score a discounted 100-400 II refurbished.

I have a mix of new, refurbished and "open box" and since they are all by Canon, I love all of them.

 

[tcmatthews]

I've bought a few refurb cameras, one had 25 clicks, bun none were totally new.

I'm looking to get a 6D, and am trying to decide between the Canon refurb, or spending $100 more for CPW's "street price." Having bought a number of refurbs, would you recommend going that route?

Thanks!

I would go with the refurb. I do not know if the 7D II I bought was brand new or not. But, it had original packaging (LCD screen protector etc.) on it when I got it out of the brown box. I do no if all the accessories were the originals or new replacements but they were all unopened. When you add in the fact that you get the same first party warranty as a new Camera it is a good deal.

All but the first 40 pictures on that 7D II are accounted for but I did a burst just for the fun of it before I put a card in. So that is about right impossible to tell if it was used or not. I think Canon gets a fare number of box replacements that cannot get sold in original box. To keep the store basically stocked with new equipment.

But then again I do not trust shady E bay merchants with high dollar purchases. I do not know if I would trust a grey market or not. Before they added the same warranty as new I would have likely gone street price from a reputable merchant.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

I've bought a few refurb cameras, one had 25 clicks, bun none were totally new.

I'm looking to get a 6D, and am trying to decide between the Canon refurb, or spending $100 more for CPW's "street price." Having bought a number of refurbs, would you recommend going that route?

Thanks!

It really comes down to personal preference. There is no "wrong" decision here. Is it worth $100 to you to have a brand new camera vs. an "impossible to tell the difference" refurbished camera?

Everyone has their own standards that they have to apply. For me, personally a $100 (in this case about 10%) difference isn't enough of a savings to forgo the "new camera" joy. I expect to pay a bit of a premium for brand new and don't really mind. But, if the savings is significant I happily buy refurbished when available. I bought a new "street price" special 70-200mm because it wasn't that much more than refurbished, but got up in the middle of the night (when I got an email notification) to score a discounted 100-400 II refurbished.

I have a mix of new, refurbished and "open box" and since they are all by Canon, I love all of them.

The point was that marketing has a big impact, people are presumably snapping up the items because they are on sale without ever checking to find that its not the bargain they thought, and costs the same or more than new. My Amex card doubles the warranty of a item bought new, but not used or refurbished items, so a 2 year warranty for less makes sense to me.

 

[unfocused]

I've bought a few refurb cameras, one had 25 clicks, bun none were totally new.

I'm looking to get a 6D, and am trying to decide between the Canon refurb, or spending $100 more for CPW's "street price." Having bought a number of refurbs, would you recommend going that route?

Thanks!

It really comes down to personal preference. There is no "wrong" decision here. Is it worth $100 to you to have a brand new camera vs. an "impossible to tell the difference" refurbished camera?

Everyone has their own standards that they have to apply. For me, personally a $100 (in this case about 10%) difference isn't enough of a savings to forgo the "new camera" joy. I expect to pay a bit of a premium for brand new and don't really mind. But, if the savings is significant I happily buy refurbished when available. I bought a new "street price" special 70-200mm because it wasn't that much more than refurbished, but got up in the middle of the night (when I got an email notification) to score a discounted 100-400 II refurbished.

I have a mix of new, refurbished and "open box" and since they are all by Canon, I love all of them.

The point was that marketing has a big impact, people are presumably snapping up the items because they are on sale without ever checking to find that its not the bargain they thought, and costs the same or more than new. My Amex card doubles the warranty of a item bought new, but not used or refurbished items, so a 2 year warranty for less makes sense to me.

Yes, as I said, everyone has their own standards and conditions to consider. For example, the refurbished store also offers 12 months interest free payments, so you can use other people's money for free, as opposed to putting it on a credit card and either paying it all off up front or paying interest.

No right or wrong decisions, just need to consider your own situation and priorities.

 

[wsmith96]

I've bought a few refurb cameras, one had 25 clicks, bun none were totally new.

I'm looking to get a 6D, and am trying to decide between the Canon refurb, or spending $100 more for CPW's "street price." Having bought a number of refurbs, would you recommend going that route?

Thanks!

If you can hold out, I bought mine in late November for $899 refurb'd from Canon. I'm sure that deal will return this year. Last year I held off on making purchases until the black Friday season and came away with two steals - the 6D above and a 100-400 mkII for under $1500, refurbished as stated before. Both were in great shape upon arrival and have worked as expected so far.

Personally, I have purchased quite a few refurbs and so far I have not had a bad experience. As Mt. Spokane said, my 60D that I got had a few clicks on it, but it was < 100, so almost new. Everything works as advertised and having the same 1 year warranty is a good piece of mind too. It can be hard to find refurb sale items though as everyone is looking for them. If you wait for seasonal sales, be ready to purchase on a moments notice and do not ponder if you should make the purchase. I've lost out on a 16-35 F4 IS twice now because I hesitated.

 

[unfocused]

...It can be hard to find refurb sale items though as everyone is looking for them. If you wait for seasonal sales, be ready to purchase on a moments notice and do not ponder if you should make the purchase...

Yes. Sign up for notification at Canon Price Watch, have it sent directly to your smart phone and be prepared to pull the trigger immediately. Sometimes I think the refurb staff has a bit of a sadistic streak because some desirable items will be restocked in the middle of the night: "Hey everyone, put $5 in the pool to guess how quickly we can sell out of 70-200 mm lenses when we will put five of them up at 3 a.m."

 

[wsmith96]

...It can be hard to find refurb sale items though as everyone is looking for them. If you wait for seasonal sales, be ready to purchase on a moments notice and do not ponder if you should make the purchase...

Sometimes I think the refurb staff has a bit of a sadistic streak because some desirable items will be restocked in the middle of the night: "Hey everyone, put $5 in the pool to guess how quickly we can sell out of 70-200 mm lenses when we will put five of them up at 3 a.m."

+1

 

[Refurb7]

I have a feeling that the SL1 may be discontinued for good and Canon's mirrorless offering further enhanced.

Which would be unfortunate as the SL1 offers the reduced size and weight of a mirrorless, but keeps the advantage of a OVF. I would have no interest in an APS-C mirrorless, but would definitely be in the market for an SL-1 II.

The refurb store sells returned items, so I see no reason to find a connection between the lenses in the refurb store and any future offerings.

I used my SL1 yesterday. LOVE. So easy to use. So small & easy to carry. AF is was quick and right on (with the 24mm STM pancake). Av mode. Center-point AF. Set ISO. Shoot, shoot, shoot. LOVE.

I wouldn't use it for f/1.2 or f/1.4 shots that need to be tack sharp as it has no AF micro-adjustment. But for everything else it is a SWEET little machine.

The OVF is a distinct advantage for me. It's a bit small compared to full-frame cameras, but still easy to use. I prefer it to any EVF that I've used, and that includes Fuji, Sony and Olympus.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

...It can be hard to find refurb sale items though as everyone is looking for them. If you wait for seasonal sales, be ready to purchase on a moments notice and do not ponder if you should make the purchase...

Yes. Sign up for notification at Canon Price Watch, have it sent directly to your smart phone and be prepared to pull the trigger immediately. Sometimes I think the refurb staff has a bit of a sadistic streak because some desirable items will be restocked in the middle of the night: "Hey everyone, put $5 in the pool to guess how quickly we can sell out of 70-200 mm lenses when we will put five of them up at 3 a.m."

I think that they have set their website updates for the middle of the night. They may have to bring the site down for a few minutes while loading the updates.

 

[joe_r]

The point was that marketing has a big impact, people are presumably snapping up the items because they are on sale without ever checking to find that its not the bargain they thought, and costs the same or more than new. My Amex card doubles the warranty of a item bought new, but not used or refurbished items, so a 2 year warranty for less makes sense to me.

Thanks for the input everyone! I ended up getting a new 6D - there is currently a special where Canon is offering a year of damage protection free with purchase of a new camera, and that tipped the balance for me.

 

[unfocused]

Thanks for the input everyone! I ended up getting a new 6D - there is currently a special where Canon is offering a year of damage protection free with purchase of a new camera, and that tipped the balance for me.

Congrats. Enjoy your new camera.