What Exactly Is The Grey Market?

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Hi

I'm thinking of buying an m6 0.72. I have been reading previous posts from people who are also deabting buying a new m6 from an authorizd dealer or for a lower price from the grey market. Could somebody tell me what does buying from the grey market mean; and in addition what possible pitfalls could occur for buying an m6 on the grey market (i.e. does grey market mean possibly stolen?). Thank you in advance for answering my newbie question.

-- Erik Loponen (eloponen@hotmail.com), October 16, 2001

Answers

It means it was imported by an individual or shop and not the authorized leica importer for that country. The warranty is usually not in effect becasue of this. Often more expensive gray market equipment (like Leica and medium format) can be much less expensive, but you risk not having a propper warranty if something goes wrong. Some places offer their own warranty, which can be of dubious quality.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), October 16, 2001.

See also the detailed entry I have on Grey Market Leicas in the FAQ I maintain at: nemeng.com/leica/#016e

-- Andrew Nemeth (azn@nemeng.com), October 16, 2001.

Copy of a message from Leica-Users:

----------------- Recently, much had been said, about gray market buying and warranties.... Well, I ran in to Ray Tomaselli, VP of Leica Camera Inc., who oversees the repair department, at an opening at the Leica Gallery in New York City and I asked how they handled these matters. He said when they receive a piece of equipment which was NOT imported into the USA by them, but arrives with a properly stamped international warranty card. They e-mail the Leica franchise holder in the country of origin to check if it is valid, and if it is, they repair the item for the customer without charge. Just, as Ray said, he would expect them to warranty repair an properly registered piece of their Leica/ Minox gear. This equipment, he doesn't consider "gray." Anything purchased from an authorized Leica dealer with the Leica worldwide system is NOT gray.

If, however, something comes in without proper documentation, and is truly "gray," the customer is charged the normal repair rates. I mentioned some USA dealers, also, sell gray. Ray said all Leica products imported by Leica Camera Inc. carry a mylar sticker on the box saying "Officially Distributed by Leica Camera Inc."

Please note, they will repair gray equipment, unlike Nikon USA who simply refuse to handle gray market stuff. I hope this clears up some of the confusion. -------------------

Cheers,

-- John Collier (jbcollier@powersurfr.com), October 17, 2001.


The responses above have pretty much answered your question. I would only add that I have had excellent experiences dealing with a gray market re-seller here in NYC, Delta International.

http://www.deltainternational.com

Prompt delivery, good customer service, and a third-party warranty. Considering the savings, I think that the risk is worth it on things like lenses, filters, flash, etc. For bodies, I think the additional money to get full U.S. passport protection is worth the difference.

-- Rolfe Tessem (rolfe@ldp.com), October 18, 2001.


Who is Delta using for its 3rd party warranty, not MAC camera I hope? They have compiled quite a list of complaints over at the photo.net neighbor to neighbor postings.

-- Andrew Schank (aschank@flash.net), October 21, 2001.


I thought 'grey market' referred to those of us born before 1951.

-- Jeff Stuart (jstuart1@tampabay.rr.com), October 21, 2001.

Delta uses MACK corporation for their warranties.

-- Wendy Rubin (joe@joesgrille.com), December 28, 2001.

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