[jpzk]

Soon enough, I will have to seriously consider upgrading my old K5 for a newer body ... it has now reached near 90,000 clicks.
So I am watching prices for the still available K5IIs and/or K3 and I see that the best deals are still in the USA.

I was wondering if Canadian buyers of those cameras got theirs from the USA and what sort of service/warranty in applicable.
In case of a glitch/failure, what happens: do you have to send the camera where you bought it or will it be convered under some sort of USA-Canada "agreement" for servicing?

Does it cause a problem to buy abroad?
Perhaps I should also look for a "very slightly used" camera from within Canada? Is the warranty transferable?

Thanks !!

JP

[jbinpg]

I still buy from brick and mortar stores. There is a London Drugs in town with a Pentax-friendly photo section manager so I buy from them whenever I can.

[jacamar]

If you are looking for a deal in Canada on the K3 Aden Camera is the best I have seen:


SLR Digital Camera, DLSR, Digital SLR Cameras : Aden Camera, Toronto Canada Digital Camera Store

[panoguy]

JP, the exchange rate is a deal-killer these days! Buy Canadian stock (like that one at Aden) that was purchased on a weak yen, ignoring the current weak state of the CAD. Even if you go to the US and buy there, avoiding import tax and duty, those $700 deals will set you back $1000 CAD once the US state sales tax (8% in NYC) and exchange is computed.

Also, the Pentax Warranty is non-transferrable (you need to show a receipt with your name and the product's serial # on it), and in Canada is still 2 years (while the US/International is 1 year, I think).

These things combine to direct your money to the pockets of Ricoh Imaging Canada...

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Last edited by panoguy; 03-18-2015 at 09:40 AM.

[audiobomber]

Haven't you heard of Photoprice.ca? It will show you the real costs of camera gear by province, including currency conversion, duties, taxes and shipping.

Lately the lowest prices by far are in Canada. I selected Quebec for this comparison:
Pentax K-3 - Canada and Cross-Border Price Comparison - photoprice.ca

Some more options to look into:
Photography, Digital Camera, Lens Price Comparisons for Canada - photoprice.ca

Then of course there's eBay.ca, which includes Prodigital2000, and Amazon.ca, which has pricing from easyship123. Both Prodigital2000 and easyship123 are approved Pentax (and Tamron) dealers. I believe they are online entities of Carmen's Foto, a respectable brick and mortar dealer. Be sure to read their return policies though.

I try to buy from the local Henry's when I can. I'll even pay a bit extra, but some deals they won't or can't match, so I've purchased throughout the US and Canada.

[RGlasel]

I see that the best deals are still in the USA

Even at $0.78 to the American dollar? If you buy it from outside Quebec, you don't have to pay HST, just the GST portion (which you will also likely have to pay if you buy from a recognized retailer in the U.S.), so perhaps the problem is the expense of buying a K-3 in Quebec?

will it be convered under some sort of USA-Canada "agreement" for servicing?

The warranty information for my K-30 says it has to go to Pentax's Canadian service depot; if you buy a camera from the U.S. and you need warranty service, you will have to send it to the authorized service depot in the U.S.

Is the warranty transferable?

Not according to Pentax's warranty policy. Legally, manufacturers have to provide warranty service for defects within a "reasonable" amount of time, even if it is sold or given away by the original purchaser, but the defect has to be clearly the result of deficiencies in manufacturing and/or materials, not caused by how the product was handled, and for consumer electronic goods, a legally "reasonable" amount of time is probably 90 days. Basically, if the failure is a result of a manufacturing defect, it should become evident in a short period of time, and failures after that amount of time could be attributed to use. The 2 year warranty offered by Pentax in Canada is longer than the warranty offered in the U.S.

[CarlJF]

Have you considered that the canadian dollar exchange rate is actually quite low ? When you add this in the equation, canadian prices are quite competitive. The actual price for a K3 at B&H is 800$US, which roughly translates to 1000$CAN. Since you're in Québec (city or the province?), Gosselin Photo sells it for 900$CAN (about 720$US). And you don't have to worry about shipping or service. Unless you can find a K3 for significantly less than 720$US in the US, I'm not sure at all it's worth the extra trouble of ordering internationally. BTW, Gosselin also list the K5-II at 700$CAN on their website...

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Last edited by CarlJF; 03-18-2015 at 10:15 AM.

[normhead]

I buy from Canada. I've had too many bad experiences with customs brokers to be bothered buying anything in the US. Once they get your product they can bill you whatever they please. One once tried to charge me $15 for a $$35 set of prints, that I'd ordered from Kodak Canada, but they'd farmed them out to a company in St. Louis. I think there's a black mark on my credit rating over that one. I just prefer to know what I'm paying up front.

[stevebrot]

A few weeks ago there were some questions regarding warranty for a Canadian eBay seller. The gist as gleaned from Ricoh's U.S. and Canadian Web sites goes like this:

• Ricoh/Pentax Canada will provide warranty service for Pentax cameras physically located in Canada (ship-from and ship-to address) at the service center in Ontario
• For cameras purchased through an authorized Canadian Pentax dealer, the warranty is two years. The rule above applies.
• For cameras purchased outside Canada, a validated international warranty card is required. The first rule applies. It is unclear whether the international warranty card is required for purchases from an authorized U.S. Pentax dealer. Ricoh/Pentax USA will provide a validated international warranty card on request.
• The extended Pentax warranty sold by B&H and others applies to U.S.-purchased cameras only

Steve

[stevebrot]

I've had too many bad experiences with customs brokers

This is a good point and one reason to not buy from any U.S. seller that uses UPS for cross-border shipments. The UPS customs broker will not gouge you (no duty for cameras/lenses), but the shipping costs are inflated up front due to the broker fees.


Steve

[UncleVanya]

I have to relate that I purchased my k50 from a Canadian dealer via Amazon. When I needed warranty work a simple copy of my receipt was all that was required to get warranty work and the USA service provider Precision in CT did the work without any complications.

[GPZ]

Lozeau in Montreal is selling it for $880 CAD. This is $675 US at today's exchange rate. Not sure you'll find a new one for this price in the USA.

[pete-tarmigan]

In case of a glitch/failure, what happens: do you have to send the camera where you bought it or will it be convered under some sort of USA-Canada "agreement" for servicing?

I've heard from many sources that a claim on a US warranty means you have to send the item back to the US. In contrast, an international warranty from Pentax should be honoured by any repair outlet authorized by Pentax. If you purchase grey market you may only receive the vendor's warranty, which means that replacement or repair is the vendor's responsibility and discretion. Since Ricoh/Pentax no longer sells parts to non-authorized repair outlets, you won't be able to get your gear fixed. They may choose not to replace the item either.

I bought my K-3 body here in St. John's from a vendor who advertises price-matching with "big box" stores. I brought in a print-out of prices available through Amazon.ca. I asked them to match the lowest price, which was from 123EasyShip, which also runs a bricks-and-mortar store in Stratford, Ontario. They refused at first, saying that would mean selling the body at below cost. However, they relented if I agreed to buy it for cash but or via credit card I covered the cost of their credit card fee so they could break even. From that experience I came away with the impression that independent mom-and-pop stores can't afford to match the big chains' prices. Henry's rarely has Pentax gear on sale, and when they do the discounts are small. I get the impression that the Canadian arm of Ricoh does not offer factory rebates in Canada like those that B&H and Adorama frequently pass on to customers in the US.

I'm not looking forward to buying new gear manufactured since the Canadian dollar's drop in value against the US dollar. I'm assuming that the Canadian dollar's value against the yen has dropped by a percentage similar to that against the US dollar.

[redrockcoulee]

The four Pentax dslr we have bought have come from 1) local shop 2) Canadian mail order 3) local London Drugs 4) NY big store.

The last one I bought was the K5iis from Adormara as it was by far the best deal considering all the costs involved. If I was going to buy a K50 instead it was actually only a loonie and a toonie more in Canada which meant with the exchange the camera was cheaper in Canada (the Camerastore as one example) than from B&H or Adorama. We bought a K5 at London Drugs as it was cheaper than mail order at the time.

I think one really needs to look at the total costs for the item you are interested in rather than a generalization. I sometimes go to the States to pick up a mail order shipment as there are some things that are difficult to find here and cannot be shipped accross the border such as alternative processes chemicals. When doing so I order other things such as film as the brand I use is the cheapest of the brand names in the US and the most expensive in CAnada (thinking it is the manufacuter's pricing).

In the 40 plus years of photography I have never had to send in a camera for warranty work.

[fwwidall]

I bought my K3 as a package deal, with D-BG4 and 16Gb Flucard, from B&H. back in October 2014. Total cost was CA$1325 delivered.

The breakdown in USD was

Price: $ 996.95
Shipping: $ 15.40
Sales Tax: $ 0.00
Duties & VAT: $ 140.85
Total $1,153.20

This was just before the K3 price, and the Canadian dollar, plunged.

Another concern is that the USPS will no longer ship lithium batteries, so you're now restricted to using either UPS or FedEx to ship cameras across the border which will probably increase your shipping costs.

Fred.