Amazon.com : Pentax K-3II Pentax DSLR (Body Only) : Camera & Photo

[TroutHunterJohn]

I saw that nice price but dont know about the vendor,,, Big Box Superstore. Any info?

[The Kid]

I thought that Amazon stood behind any merchandise that was "fulfilled by Amazon".

[bladerunner6]

I thought that Amazon stood behind any merchandise that was "fulfilled by Amazon".

But it is still a grey market item without warranty.

[shardulm]

But it is still a grey market item without warranty.

So gray market means it may or may not be manufactured by Pentax? And if it is manufactured by Pentax then how should it matter and why would they honor the warranty? I know there are Authorized dealers. And this retailer may not be on their AR list. But the product is still manufactured by Pentax. I doubt if they would turn down the warranty just because you bought it from X store and not Y.

[bladerunner6]

So gray market means it may or may not be manufactured by Pentax? And if it is manufactured by Pentax then how should it matter and why would they honor the warranty? I know there are Authorized dealers. And this retailer may not be on their AR list. But the product is still manufactured by Pentax. I doubt if they would turn down the warranty just because you bought it from X store and not Y.

It is manufactured by Pentax if "gray market" but it is not sold through authorized channels. Pentax is under no legal obligation to honor a warranty on it.

I absolutely would not count on them honoring any warranty,there is no real benefit for them to do so. Terms of their warranties are pretty clear.

[mohb]

'A two-year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods everywhere in the EU. In some countries, this may be more, and some manufacturers also choose to offer a longer warranty period.'

Is there no legal protection in the US?

[bladerunner6]

'A two-year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods everywhere in the EU. In some countries, this may be more, and some manufacturers also choose to offer a longer warranty period.'

Is there no legal protection in the US?

What Is The Gray Market, And Why Should I Care? ? Consumerist

[pete-tarmigan]

'A two-year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods everywhere in the EU. In some countries, this may be more, and some manufacturers also choose to offer a longer warranty period.'

Is there no legal protection in the US?

There is no legal protection governing illegally imported items.

[Oakland Rob]

I'm attempting to get an answer about this. I dunno that you can assume it's a gray market item; in fact, I saw elsewhere that Ricoh said they'd honor a warranty claim from any product bought at Amazon (http://photo.net/pentax-camera-forum/00alep; pretty old though). Pentax doesn't help; you can't find a list of authorized dealers. Perhaps their Pentax distrib is so loosie goosie even they don't know. I'm also trying to find out what's going on with Overstock; they sell a lot of Pentax gear. Dunno if they're an authorized dealer or if the Flucard is included (it's $850 there).

And BTW, AFAIK the only place with the $200 Ricoh/Promaster rebate is Samy's. They're out online, and my local store won't answer the phone or my email, not a good sign.

---------- Post added 10-30-15 at 01:52 PM ----------

UPDATE: It DOES come ("absolutely") with a US warranty per the seller, BigBoxSuperstore. Note that the same item on Amazon may come from different sellers, and judging from the questions there have been a few. It doesn't come with a Flucarrd, however.

BigBoxSuperstore got back to me immediately (Samy's, not so much; B&H got back fast from the rep, but not his pricing people). Here's their response:

Dear Customer,
Thank you for your inquiry. In the matter of the Flucard, we regret to inform you that unfortunately this item does not come with one. It is a brand new product and it absolutely comes with a 1 year manufacturer's US warranty. Please let us know if we can give you any more information.
Regards,
BigBoxSuperstore Support Team

So, since Samy's is out of stock, currently the best deal I could find for immediate delivery.

[PenTex]

I'm attempting to get an answer about this. I dunno that you can assume it's a gray market item; in fact, I saw elsewhere that Ricoh said they'd honor a warranty claim from any product bought at Amazon (http://photo.net/pentax-camera-forum/00alep; pretty old though). Pentax doesn't help; you can't find a list of authorized dealers. Perhaps their Pentax distrib is so loosie goosie even they don't know. I'm also trying to find out what's going on with Overstock; they sell a lot of Pentax gear. Dunno if they're an authorized dealer or if the Flucard is included (it's $850 there).

And BTW, AFAIK the only place with the $200 Ricoh/Promaster rebate is Samy's. They're out online, and my local store won't answer the phone or my email, not a good sign.

---------- Post added 10-30-15 at 01:52 PM ----------

UPDATE: It DOES come ("absolutely") with a US warranty per the seller, BigBoxSuperstore. Note that the same item on Amazon may come from different sellers, and judging from the questions there have been a few. It doesn't come with a Flucarrd, however.

BigBoxSuperstore got back to me immediately (Samy's, not so much; B&H got back fast from the rep, but not his pricing people). Here's their response:



So, since Samy's is out of stock, currently the best deal I could find for immediate delivery.

The person who replied back to your inquiry is clueless and/or is intentionally feeding you misinformation to get your business. These threads come up all the time and people try to justify their purchase or convince themselves against the advice of other posters that these "good deals" include a manufacturers warranty. Yes, the majority of people who buy gray market equipment end up never having to service their gear but why risk it? There is a list of authorized dealers on Ricoh's website. If the 3rd party Amazon seller isn't listed, then it is definitely grey market. Why don't you filter by sellers and compare the price of "sold by Amazon" to one of the 3rd party sellers. There's a reason why the ones sold by Amazon directly are more expensive...

Edit: ALSO, note that not only are you not getting a manufacturers warranty with a grey market purchase but Ricoh will most likely refuse to service your camera even if you try to pay for the repair.

[EssJayEff]

I'm also trying to find out what's going on with Overstock; they sell a lot of Pentax gear. Dunno if they're an authorized dealer . . .

A couple weeks ago I asked Overstock via chat if they are an authorized Pentax dealer. The chatter checked; they are not an authorized Pentax dealer. They do some wacky things at Overstock. They still have a 645Z priced at $9,601.99, even though they have an SD card/2-battery bundle for $8,407.99. I told them MSRP was $8500—making the price $1100 over retail. The chatter check on the price and said the price was "correct." I'm told them that was crazy and they should look into. Here we are two weeks later and they have the same prices. Obviously they have not looked into it further. Buyer be wary.

[bladerunner6]

The person who replied back to your inquiry is clueless and/or is intentionally feeding you misinformation to get your business. These threads come up all the time and people try to justify their purchase or convince themselves against the advice of other posters that these "good deals" include a manufacturers warranty. Yes, the majority of people who buy gray market equipment end up never having to service their gear but why risk it? There is a list of authorized dealers on Ricoh's website. If the 3rd party Amazon seller isn't listed, then it is definitely grey market. Why don't you filter by sellers and compare the price of "sold by Amazon" to one of the 3rd party sellers. There's a reason why the ones sold by Amazon directly are more expensive...

Edit: ALSO, note that not only are you not getting a manufacturers warranty with a grey market purchase but Ricoh will most likely refuse to service your camera even if you try to pay for the repair.

These are very valid points.

Manufacturers have absolutely no obligation to repair unauthorized equipment.

And as mentioned, there is reason these things are cheaper.

[Oakland Rob]

The person who replied back to your inquiry is clueless and/or is intentionally feeding you misinformation to get your business. These threads come up all the time and people try to justify their purchase or convince themselves against the advice of other posters that these "good deals" include a manufacturers warranty. Yes, the majority of people who buy gray market equipment end up never having to service their gear but why risk it? There is a list of authorized dealers on Ricoh's website. If the 3rd party Amazon seller isn't listed, then it is definitely grey market. Why don't you filter by sellers and compare the price of "sold by Amazon" to one of the 3rd party sellers. There's a reason why the ones sold by Amazon directly are more expensive...

Edit: ALSO, note that not only are you not getting a manufacturers warranty with a grey market purchase but Ricoh will most likely refuse to service your camera even if you try to pay for the repair.

The price isn't so low that it can be considered evidence of gray market merchandise IMHO. You are calling the seller a liar, which is pretty strong. Especially considering that you open the box, see if it has a warranty, and if not get an immediate return at Amazon with no questions asked.

I'm not even sure Ricoh keeps track of this. I'd love to see that link you have on their website for authorized dealers; when I click "where to buy" I get a 404 (http://us.ricoh-imaging.com/where-to-buy/). I spent half an hour on their chat trying to get an answer, and got nothing. Tried their super-lame website: nothing, not even a search function. Emailed them; no response. At this point I really don't care if I buy gray market (although I do with more responsible manufacturers) since their customer service is obviously so crappy I'll probably be fighting with them over warranty even if I have a valid warranty. If Ricoh doesn't want people to buy grey market they've gotta make that possible. And they certainly don't make it easy, or feasible. Crap, I can't even find proof Adorama or B&H are still "authorized" dealers, although they also make that claim (except for used gear).

For giggles and kicks I checked the documentation of a couple of lenses, one bought off Amazon from a non-brick and mortar store and one from Abe's of Maine. To my surprise the warranty cards don't even have serial numbers or a description of the product. So I could literally use one with any lens I guess. Perhaps they have a master database of serials, but I'm beginning to doubt that. One had a flyer about international service and how to obtain an international warranty card; I've seen something similar with other electronics for stuff sold with the assumption you can get warranty repair anywhere, usually on add-on stuff where the manufacturer isn't controlling the add-on product channels as closely as the main product, like the camera.

When I last purchased a Pentax camera I passed on a too-good-to-be non-gray camera at Wolf camera because of this issue. But now, as I said, I don't really care if Ricoh doesn't care. And if I buy from Amazon I'll just return it if it has no North American warranty.

---------- Post added 10-31-15 at 10:18 AM ----------

These are very valid points.

Manufacturers have absolutely no obligation to repair unauthorized equipment.

And as mentioned, there is reason these things are cheaper.

And sometimes that reason is something besides a gray market product. Like the Samy's deal vs B&H. Or B&H's prices, which were $100 less than Adorama at one point.A $75 discount off $850 isn't exactly a big deal.

I never have bought gray market. But as a consumer, I'm not sure I'd gonna spend hours figuring out Ricoh's supply chain just insure my warranty is good. Aargh. Luckily, I think my local Samy's has one. I assume they're an authorized dealer since the rebate form says "Ricoh" all over it.....

Ended up buying in a real store and with rebate got a better price (Samy's). I noted the deal here is now gone. Amazon themselves is now selling one. Seems to change every day.

[George Peczeli]

Amazon.com : Pentax K-3II Pentax DSLR (Body Only) : Camera & Photo

Grey Market refers to sales not manufacturing. Quick check WICKAPEDIA