How is Canon going to compete with the grey market in Australia?

[Mt Spokane Photography]

honestly I'm a bit confused about this grey market thing. these products are sold by well known companies so I suppose they're not illegal, we also get the same product as being sold by local big retailers with the same 1 year warranty and I believe these products are from the same manufacturer which is CANON, so what's the difference?

Canon has separate divisions setup around the world. Each division operates like a separate company, and has to comply with local laws, etc. They only provide warranties for the cameras they actually sell.

I'm not defending this, but mentioned it to explain why things are so stupid.

Long ago, he US government used to enforce Canon, Nikon, and Pentax gray market rules and customs would seize any gray market imports. This was happening until at least the late 1960's.

In order to buy a gray market camera from Hong Kong (at a much lower price), we could order it from the dealer, and they would remove the logo if possible, or paint it out with black or matching paint to get it past customs.

Then they would send you the logo and lens cap, manuals, etc by separate mail so you could glue the logo back on and get the manuals and accessories. finally, someone passed a law telling customs to stop it, and US prices dropped.

I still remember that we bought all brands of cameras from TK Wood in Hong Kong. I don't find a record of them on the internet now.

 

[nighstar]

Absolute total rubbish.

They don't "like" the price? If they don't like the price, why are they selling it? IT'S BECAUSE SOMEONE'S BUYING. Profit is profit. Save the retailer whinging BS. Tell them to go whine and complain to the distributor or ****** off. Close the shop. Go out of business. They can go bankrupt all day for all I care, I don't give a flying ******.

They even actually have the audacity to come out and spew their BS about online prices ruining business.

They even asked the government to put tax on items less than $1000 from oversea AT THE EXPENSE OF THE TAX PAYERS, so that they can continue their disgusting profiteering behaviour. It cost government more to administrate and tax on items less than $1000 than what the government get in return.

Local overpriced retailers gets no sympathy from me. They are just as guilty as distributor.


JB Hi-Fi is a good example. They acutally have some business sense and sells grey import. This forced Nikon to actually lower the price. They have my support. Ted, Paxton, and others are just whinging cry babies. ****** off.

? i think you missed something from what i said as i wasn't even referring to chain stores like JB Hi-Fi, Ted's, Camerahouse, etc. i completely agree with you regarding them.

the stores that i was referring to are smaller, privately and Australian owned/run stores, such as the two stores i link to above. in fact those stores are pre-ordering the Mark III for cheaper than Ted's, JB Hi-Fi etc and it's because they are trying to be competitive.

 

[melbournite]

maybe a letter, as dilbert suggested, would be the way to go, but i really can't see it accomplishing anything. :'(

It forces Canon Australia to acknowledge and respond to the issue.

You may get a letter back from Canon that is just rubbish (they ignore the issue or pretend that nothing is wrong) but if you do, that's the kind of letter you photograph and upload to your blog/facebook/canon rumors. That can bring about change.

Of course, they may just ignore you, but companies very rarely ignore written letters to their CEO if the letter is well constructed and is intelligent (i.e. it doesn't rant.) Why do they take them seriously? Because very few people make an effort to actually do so.

maybe we can send that sort of letter with all our signatures on it

Good idea. In fact perhaps we should start up a dedicated thread 'Letter to Australian Canon CEO - Please explain Australian prices' and all add our voices to it? Who's good at writing letters?

 

[melbournite]

honestly I'm a bit confused about this grey market thing. these products are sold by well known companies so I suppose they're not illegal, we also get the same product as being sold by local big retailers with the same 1 year warranty and I believe these products are from the same manufacturer which is CANON, so what's the difference?

in addition to what 4thchicken said, i see it this way:

local stores bring products like the 5D Mark III to a store near you. support them in this effort. they don't like the ridiculous prices that Canon puts out anymore than customers do, so don't punish them by withholding your business because they aren't the ones who set the prices.

just my opinion on the whole "let's go gray!" thing.

You do have a point!
But my nearest camera store is Ted's :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

I agree. In fact I just placed my order with http://www.leedervillecameras.com.au/ (which was recommended by simonxu11 - thanks) for the 5DIII at $AU3599 (inc GST) which I think is reasonable compared to RRP's we're seeing. I ordered via telephone, spoke to a friendly staff member and left a $400 deposit. They expect to have stock by the end of the month. They also offer the 24-70II kit for an extra $2200 (if I remember correctly) and I was very tempted but I think I'll wait. They also offered an extended Canon warranty (extra 2 years) for $199.

Edit: I've bought grey before but if I can help it I'd rather buy local. It's no good for anyone for local businesses to go down.

 

[wickidwombat]

Awesome just rang them and ordered one too i'm in the first shipment $3599

they are doing kits with the 24-70 mk2 at$5899 too

camera electronic prices are $4299 and $6799 respectivley

Leederville made a point of saying they are making it this price to send a message to canon that the price gouging is unacceptable and that they want to try to compete with the online pricing.

I have some loyalty to camera electronic however 2 local stores that close to me with such a price difference it's accademic really. i hope they are still doing the 24-70 kit deals after i've had a chance to test the lens out

 

[Pyrenees]

Thanks to all those people who have posted comments in regard to this interesting topic.

It's by making noise on 'significant' websites such as this that can make Canon (and other big Corp.) execs take notice. I'm really glad to see the momentum that is building.

Rest assured: the execs of such companies listen - they have paid teams keeping an eye on these more 'notable' sites, checking on how things are panning out. Yes, that's right, I know you're here. No, I don't give a proverbial about the negative Karma that you'll pile-on after this post :-D

So, keep it up! Emailing them and letting them know that you'll be bringing it up with your local federal member in Australia can be particularly useful ;-)

Can I add: it's a little hypocritical that these big companies are quick to point out about the "global economy" when it comes to cutting local jobs and hiring overseas, yet they are so keen to maintain their (grossly inflated, totally unjustifiable) regional pricing schemes in various countries.

 

[AG]

Ok heres my 2c on the whole "grey" thing.

Issue 1

If its a "grey" import that has no warranty then its a bad thing.
If on the other hand the company imports it with warranty (even if limited) then move on to the next issue..

Issue 2

The company is based on eBay or the internet and do not sell their "greys" via a local base.

This is the reason why people like Kogen and JB are doing so well in the "grey" market. They are buying in bulk, getting through customs with little GST hike and then selling from a bricks and mortar base on the mainland. Even if a majority of their sales are done through their web site.

I for one am waiting to see what Kogen are selling the 5D3 for in the next few months. If its anything like their 5D2 discounts* i know where my money will be going.

*yes the internet prices like B&H or DWI may be slightly cheaper but you will get hit with import Taxes and GST due to it being over $1000 don't forget.

 

[wickidwombat]

*yes the internet prices like B&H or DWI may be slightly cheaper but you will get hit with import Taxes and GST due to it being over $1000 don't forget.

this is a very valid point as you not only get hit for the 10% GSt but also 5% duty

so for example a 5Dmk2 that costs you $2050 from ebay
you will get $205 in GST and a further $102.50 in duty piled on top
bringing the total up to $2357.50

if it gets picked up at customs of course it might not too so its a gamble but at $2357.50 I would rather get it local.

 

[Pyrenees]

*yes the internet prices like B&H or DWI may be slightly cheaper but you will get hit with import Taxes and GST due to it being over $1000 don't forget.

this is a very valid point as you not only get hit for the 10% GSt but also 5% duty

Yeah, totally forgot about the 5% customs fee on top of 10% GST. It makes it difficult to justify getting most gear worth > $1000 from overseas :'(

 

[rmhowie]

DigitalRev will handle all import hassle for you and their prices are still pretty good! They have the 5D Mark III up for AU$ 3,590.00(http://www.digitalrev.com/product/canon-eos-5d-mark-iii/MTAwMDQwNQ_A_A), and they have free shipping.

They say offer a local warranty by paying for any repairs that would be covered by warranty or you can send it back to them: http://www.digitalrev.com/help/worldwide-local-warranty/NDMzNTc5MQ_A_A.

I've bought from them before and I do recommend them to friends. Their shipping is also very fast. I recently ordered my 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro on Friday the 24th of Feb and I recieved it on Monday the 27th.

 

[te4o]

Good points for DigitalRev and leederville. Bravo I didn't know about leederville but I hope they ship across the continent... How can they actually get the price so low and the others don't? This is making them good business and very soon mine too! I like the website of leederville.
Any means to get the import product prices to match the strong Aussie are good means. We don't have the dollar at 40 UScents any more! And AFAIK Australia does not produce DSLR... Why do we have to pay GST at all - in New Zealand car imports are GST free because the country doesn't have any car industry.

 

[wickidwombat]

Good points for DigitalRev and leederville. Bravo I didn't know about leederville but I hope they ship across the continent... How can they actually get the price so low and the others don't? This is making them good business and very soon mine too! I like the website of leederville.
Any means to get the import product prices to match the strong Aussie are good means. We don't have the dollar at 40 UScents any more! And AFAIK Australia does not produce DSLR... Why do we have to pay GST at all - in New Zealand car imports are GST free because the country doesn't have any car industry.

leederville do ship to major capitals. 1 thing with digital rev. I do rate them highly and service is great, super fast shipping and they have a good warranty. the issue is the cost to ship something back to hong kong it really isnt cheap. it might cost you $100 to send it back for warranty where as to send something like this within aus is only maybe $15 plus if you purchase from leederville its an aus warranty which any canon service dealer will honour within australia.

Gotta give a company like leederville credit for standing up for us consumers to canon who after all are their bread and butter. I would say this price means they are selling at little or no profit on the new stuff just to send a message.

 

[rmhowie]

Their warranty page states that they will send a courier to pick it up if you want to return it to them, but yes, they don't explicitly state who would pay for it.

I would pay an extra $200-300 to get it here in AUS, but after that I would go straight to DigitalRev, B&H or Adorama.

 

[scottsdaleriots]

I don't think Canon can compete. EVen though the aussie dollar is higher than the US, we still have to paid a significant price for the product (same with apple products). It's stupid, all they want is money, money and more money.

I would buy everything grey market/import but the only two things that I worry about is 1) warranty and 2) the shipping and GST prices on stuff over $1000. someone kick julia gillard outta office now! shouldn't have voted for her, she's such a s$&t PM no joke

 

[rambarra]

thats just ridiculous... you are asking canon to compete against whom.. themselves?
The so-called "HK low prices" are supported by canon only, and it's only canon to be held responsible for any pricing discrepancy in different world markets. It's canon only that when needs to get rid of some overstock sells merchandise below official price listing to HK brokers. Where do you think these guys get their merchandise from?
We are grey market importers in our country. I do buy regularly from HK and my broker there always alerts me when there is some kind of "special offer" with some kind of "minimum order quantity" attached to it. Where do these offers come from?

 

[gmrza]

Good points for DigitalRev and leederville. Bravo I didn't know about leederville but I hope they ship across the continent... How can they actually get the price so low and the others don't? This is making them good business and very soon mine too! I like the website of leederville.
Any means to get the import product prices to match the strong Aussie are good means. We don't have the dollar at 40 UScents any more! And AFAIK Australia does not produce DSLR... Why do we have to pay GST at all - in New Zealand car imports are GST free because the country doesn't have any car industry.

leederville do ship to major capitals. 1 thing with digital rev. I do rate them highly and service is great, super fast shipping and they have a good warranty. the issue is the cost to ship something back to hong kong it really isnt cheap. it might cost you $100 to send it back for warranty where as to send something like this within aus is only maybe $15 plus if you purchase from leederville its an aus warranty which any canon service dealer will honour within australia.

Gotta give a company like leederville credit for standing up for us consumers to canon who after all are their bread and butter. I would say this price means they are selling at little or no profit on the new stuff just to send a message.

While my wife and I are not quite ready to pull the trigger on the 5DIII, I will certainly be finding out more about Leederville's warranty - if it is backed by any Canon service dealer, that takes most of the risk out of buying a parallel import. (I don't like the term "grey market".)

One of the considerations is whether or not having a CPS membership makes any sense - but that means that you need to buy each and every item you want covered by CPS from a Canon professional dealer in Australia. Assuming you buy at least one item of equipment each year, there just seems to be no way that the CPS benefits cover the premium you pay. Has anyone else looked at the numbers in that respect?

If I look at the gear we still want to get this year (5DIII, 24-70 f/2.8 II, BG-E11, a couple more LP-E6 batteries, maybe a 600-EX RT) and you look at the savings on parallel imports, it just doesn't make sense to buy Canon-imported gear.

I'll be interested to hear of experiences as well once a couple of people have bought from Leederville.

 

[wickidwombat]

Good points for DigitalRev and leederville. Bravo I didn't know about leederville but I hope they ship across the continent... How can they actually get the price so low and the others don't? This is making them good business and very soon mine too! I like the website of leederville.
Any means to get the import product prices to match the strong Aussie are good means. We don't have the dollar at 40 UScents any more! And AFAIK Australia does not produce DSLR... Why do we have to pay GST at all - in New Zealand car imports are GST free because the country doesn't have any car industry.

leederville do ship to major capitals. 1 thing with digital rev. I do rate them highly and service is great, super fast shipping and they have a good warranty. the issue is the cost to ship something back to hong kong it really isnt cheap. it might cost you $100 to send it back for warranty where as to send something like this within aus is only maybe $15 plus if you purchase from leederville its an aus warranty which any canon service dealer will honour within australia.

Gotta give a company like leederville credit for standing up for us consumers to canon who after all are their bread and butter. I would say this price means they are selling at little or no profit on the new stuff just to send a message.

While my wife and I are not quite ready to pull the trigger on the 5DIII, I will certainly be finding out more about Leederville's warranty - if it is backed by any Canon service dealer, that takes most of the risk out of buying a parallel import. (I don't like the term "grey market".)

One of the considerations is whether or not having a CPS membership makes any sense - but that means that you need to buy each and every item you want covered by CPS from a Canon professional dealer in Australia. Assuming you buy at least one item of equipment each year, there just seems to be no way that the CPS benefits cover the premium you pay. Has anyone else looked at the numbers in that respect?

If I look at the gear we still want to get this year (5DIII, 24-70 f/2.8 II, BG-E11, a couple more LP-E6 batteries, maybe a 600-EX RT) and you look at the savings on parallel imports, it just doesn't make sense to buy Canon-imported gear.

I'll be interested to hear of experiences as well once a couple of people have bought from Leederville.

This is my first time dealling with leederville camera however since they are local in perth it's fine as I can go in
they have been in business a long time 27 years i think so not fly by nighters

as for CPS I have been looking into it and half my gear has been purchased overseas and half here so i qualify on local purchases but I would like to have ALL my gear covered its something I need to look into more

 

[april]

I agree. In fact I just placed my order with http://www.leedervillecameras.com.au/ (which was recommended by simonxu11 - thanks) for the 5DIII at $AU3599 (inc GST) which I think is reasonable compared to RRP's we're seeing. I ordered via telephone, spoke to a friendly staff member and left a $400 deposit. They expect to have stock by the end of the month. They also offer the 24-70II kit for an extra $2200 (if I remember correctly) and I was very tempted but I think I'll wait. They also offered an extended Canon warranty (extra 2 years) for $199.

Edit: I've bought grey before but if I can help it I'd rather buy local. It's no good for anyone for local businesses to go down.
[/quote]

Canon warranty? is it canon australia? My problem is I am buying a 5DIII which is just new and have never been used by anyone among us on a daily basis so I need to be sure where to buy it from due to warranty issue furthermore, once I get my new 5dIII, I may need to send my other camera and my lenses to the service center for a bit of cleaning and calibration

 

[wickidwombat]

I try to buy local for the following reasons
- It supports local businesses who are often small businesses fighting to survive and our retarded governement seem to actively try and destroy small businesses when they are in reality the life blood of our country (dont really want to digress into politics though )
- Many of these local camera stores provide sponsorship of prize money vouchers or the like to many local art awards, yes it is promotion of their business but it also helps to give some momentum to developing artists who are most likely also not in the greatest financial position.
- For a body I see there being more potential things to go wrong so prefer having the store close by just in case something goes wrong.
- I wont choose to buy online over local for a small price difference but when the difference is as much as 50%
you have to look at the.

I do like digital rev in particular as an ebay vendor and canon lenses flashes etc that are under $1000 I usually buy from them.
another issue that makes grey market items attractive is the fact that canon only give you 1 year warranty anyway. typically stuff is either DoA and can be sent back straight away and continues to work well past warranty expirey, I find very rarely does something fail after say 9 months if its worked fine from day 1.

 

[blackwind]

This is the best price i have seen so far... My local teds, which i buy most of my DSLR gears from, i get pretty good price from them. Couldnt even give any good price yet. because they dont have the stock to priced.

I will keep this watch, i am interested in buying local (warranty and no funny business)

I will watch this leedervillecamers.com.au closely.

April do you remember the guy name the one on the phone? Just a quote might be helpful if we know his name.,

Cheers

I agree. In fact I just placed my order with http://www.leedervillecameras.com.au/ (which was recommended by simonxu11 - thanks) for the 5DIII at $AU3599 (inc GST) which I think is reasonable compared to RRP's we're seeing. I ordered via telephone, spoke to a friendly staff member and left a $400 deposit. They expect to have stock by the end of the month. They also offer the 24-70II kit for an extra $2200 (if I remember correctly) and I was very tempted but I think I'll wait. They also offered an extended Canon warranty (extra 2 years) for $199.

Edit: I've bought grey before but if I can help it I'd rather buy local. It's no good for anyone for local businesses to go down.

Canon warranty? is it canon australia? My problem is I am buying a 5DIII which is just new and have never been used by anyone among us on a daily basis so I need to be sure where to buy it from due to warranty issue furthermore, once I get my new 5dIII, I may need to send my other camera and my lenses to the service center for a bit of cleaning and calibration