I found this link for an XSi through froogle. It seems to me to be too good to be true which makes me a little skeptical, but they seemed to check out with the BBB. They have had a few complaints but they were all resolved by the company. I was just curious if anyone has done any business with them before.
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US1 Photo
- Thread starter insomniac321123
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If it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.
Resellerratings.com is your second best friend.
Resellerratings.com is your second best friend.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You should stick to reputable resellers (amazon, adorama, bhphoto, calumet, just to name a few). Also avoid `deals' on ebay that want to charge you for hardware that is included by default by the manufacturer.
Ignore these guys, they're making blanket statements. US1 is fine, you'll get your camera. They might try to upsell but they're not like the Butterfly photo/brooklyn dealers who will cancel your order or threaten you if you don't buy the accessories.
You'll get what's advertised for the price advertised. Just understand what you're buying - that is NOT a USA model, so it does not include a Canon warranty. US1 sells the USA model as well, but for more money.
You'll get what's advertised for the price advertised. Just understand what you're buying - that is NOT a USA model, so it does not include a Canon warranty. US1 sells the USA model as well, but for more money.
If that isn't a USA model for the lower price then what market model is it?
It says "Rebel XSi" on the badge and AFAIK that is the USA model name. I own one and here in Japan it is known as the Digital Kiss X2. In Europe I know it's just the 450D.
It should be impossible to buy a Canon camera without the manufacturer's one year warranty. The warranty card is packaged with all cameras at the factory. It, together with a receipt, should give you the one year of coverage. That's how it works here in Japan anyway.
They have been doing this for 30 years. Even the high end, top teir resellers do it. B&H Photo does it. What it is called is "Grey Market" or "Parallel Import" In the normal case a resellers will buy from Canon USA or Nikon USA and these companies will buy from the parent company in Japan. But they take a good size markup and this mark up pays for the warenty repairs in the USA and for marketing and advertising. But what the resellers do is buy from some third party that is NOT in the USA and not required to buy from Nikon/Canon USA. Beats me who this third party is but I suspect it's tpically a major asian or eurpean distributor. and what you will find inside the box is NOT a USA warenty card but and international warranty card. that is basically worthless. So you will notic that when B&H offers to sell you a Grey Market camera they also include there own warenty. Some times the warenty is better then Nikon's or Canon's.
Either way it's the exact same camera wha's different is the paper work and the price. You can decide.
Here it is in more detail on the B&H web site.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/USGrey.jsp
Thank you very much for the quick education on grey market goods. Yeah, they definitely don't do that over here in Japan. I guess 15 years of living here in Japan made me forget all about this practice back home in the states.
The best price I can find online for the XSi with the kit lens here in Japan is 54300 yen right now ($600 but thanks in large part to the dollar's swan dive). That, of course, is including Canon's warranty.
As good quality as Canon's (or Nikon's or Pentax's or any other maker for that matter) is I would be hard pressed to buy one with no warranty at all. Stuff happens...
The best price I can find online for the XSi with the kit lens here in Japan is 54300 yen right now ($600 but thanks in large part to the dollar's swan dive). That, of course, is including Canon's warranty.
As good quality as Canon's (or Nikon's or Pentax's or any other maker for that matter) is I would be hard pressed to buy one with no warranty at all. Stuff happens...