topic Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer in EOS DSLR & Mirrorless Cameras

Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

PEJKKJ — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 02:39:29 GMT

I'm looking at a 1DX Mk II, and Abe's of Maine has what appears to be a great deal on new ones for $4,149. In scouring their FAQ's it says that they are not an "authorized" Canon dealer. Are these international models with no US warranty, or ones that fell off the truck? Never ordered from Abe's before so not sure how to interpret them.

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

cicopo — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 03:49:01 GMT

You may want to check what's been said here. https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1579838/#14727776

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

Tim — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 04:03:35 GMT

Hello Pejkkj,

I cannot speak or attest to the quality or origin of items sold at Abes of Maine as they are, as you mentioned, not an authorized Canon dealer.

I do recommend conducting business with only those retailers Canon has designated as authorized. There is a list on our web site for your convenience.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/contactus/where-to-buy/authorized-dealers

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

wq9nsc — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 04:32:29 GMT

B&H pricing has always been very fair and I have received stellar service with no hassles. Seeing someone else offering the camera for around $1,300 less than B&H is a red flag for me. I would be extremely cautious and do a lot of research on Abe's before going down that road.

Rodger

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

PEJKKJ — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 13:56:26 GMT

Thanks everyone. I will avoid AoM. How about Adorama? Are they as good as B&H?

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

CaliforniaDream — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 14:50:19 GMT

I have use Adaroma a number of times and have been very happy with the purchases. They offer a number of "free" add ons but they are really not needed. They tend to ship via FedEx which is not as fast to California as UPS (only a couple of days slower) but still good service. They are also "Canon authorized". BTW I think you are smart for going with only authorized dealers.

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

Waddizzle — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 15:06:50 GMT

@PEJKKJ wrote:
Thanks everyone. I will avoid AoM. How about Adorama? Are they as good as B&H?

I have only used Canon USA and B&H. Adorama is supposed to be very good. I have never used them. Adorama does not have as wide a selection of products as B&H.

B&H customer Service AFTER THE SALE is excellent. Adorama tries to be as good as B&H, but they are not as large. I have heard stories about hassles returning items, but it has been a few years.

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

PEJKKJ — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 16:29:12 GMT

Thanks. Now if I only knew if the 1DX Mk III was going to come out by the end of the year and what the specs were, I’d know whether to buy the Mk II now or wait. I expect something before the next 2020 Olympics but who knows.

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

ebiggs1 — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 16:53:31 GMT

Do not buy from Abe's of Maine. Period!

B&H, Adorama, Roberts, Best Buy local camera store are you best choices. There are a lot more too that I can't think of right now but Abe's is not one of them. Personally I would avoid 42nd Street and 47th Street photo, too.

Avoid Amazon, too.

Let me say this, if you are worried or concerned about $1300 bucks when considering buying a 1DX Mk II, you are not the person that should buy one. You will be better served with a 5D Mk IV or even a 6D Mk II. A Mk IV will save you that $1300 and will do an amazing job of picture taking. Plus you can get it from Canon USA.e

As far as should you wait or buy now? Always buy what and when you need it. How many great shots are you missing by waiting for that camera to come out, that may never come out?

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

CaliforniaDream — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 19:59:57 GMT

Personally I would avoid 42nd Street and 47th Street photo, too.
Avoid Amazon, too.

Once quite a few years ago, I use 4xth Street and it was a really poor decision. I got a call about 2 days after the order and advised I should also buy a battery and charger for the camera, one did not come with the camera. They also advised that I should get an aftermarket warrantee which I decided not to do after I read through the specifications. Pay shipping both ways and a sure charge of $50 for each repair. I also had to pay extra for the camera strap. The price was still below local so I went ahead and got the battery and charger. The battery was an aftermarket as was the charger. The camera also did not come in the original box and did not have the "bayonet" cover. The battery lasted about a week and I threw it and the charger away. At least the camera worked fine, but it was grey market. Never again.

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

PEJKKJ — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 20:38:00 GMT

Thanks again, everyone. Appreciate the comments. The $1300 I was trying to save isn’t a big deal, ebiggs1. Just figured it was worth investigating. I want the DX for the 14-16 frames a second. Shooting a 7D II now at 10/sec and i’m Interested in the faster speed. Also the ability to export from 4K 60 fps video to images as well may help capture the hand & ball contact in volleyball even more than the 14-16 fps, although at a lower resolution. I don’t think the 5D mk4 has the video to image capture feature, and the 7 fps is too slow.

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

ebiggs1 — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 21:56:57 GMT

Looks like 1DX Mk II all the way. Go get it but from a good Canon USA retailer.

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

TCampbell — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 23:26:24 GMT

One motiviation for ordering online (expensive for expensive items) was to avoid sales tax. But with recent tax law changes, most states now demand that online retailers collect tax. This means your local authorized Canon dealer probably sells the camera for the same price as an online store.

An advantage of ordering local is that when you buy big ticket items, they are often happy to give you some complementary assistance with it.

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

Dantalian — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 20:21:09 GMT

DO NOT BUY FROM ABES OF MAINE!!! I recently ordered a Canon EOS D90 without researching this company, because I had bought from them in the past and not had a problem. I didn't get much of a discount on this $1,000+ product, so it didn't flag any concern. First they added $100 to the cost, and when I called they said they'd added the "Retail Package" (no definition anywhere); they did issue a credit to my credit card for that. But when I received the product it was in the "Kit" box (that originally held the kit lens), had NO USB cable at all, NO Warrantee Card, and of course no CD with the software to download your pictures. But when I tried to register the camera and download the necessary software, THE SERIAL NUMBER CAME UP AS INVALID. No software, no way to download photos. I called them back after realizing it was a GREY MARKET PRODUCT with NO warrantee at all, and no way to obtain the necessary software. They ARGUED WITH ME and of course wanted to charge a $156 "restocking fee"!!! I'm waiting for the return authorization now and we'll see if they refund my payment in full (I'm still out the cost of returning the camera by certified mail). I can't believe Canon hasn't sued this company - a camera with NO WARRANTEE at all and NO WAY TO OBTAIN SOFTWARE should be CLEARLY ADVERTISED AS SUCH.

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

ebiggs1 — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 20:30:30 GMT

" I can't believe Canon hasn't sued this company ..."

Canon has no control over a non-Canon USA store. It is, as always, buyer beware. It is usually a good idea getting some opinions before spending a lot of money from a place you really don't know.

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

wq9nsc — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 21:20:26 GMT

Dantalian,

You can file a dispute with your credit card provider when the merchant significantly misrepresents the product or associated transaction. They are better at arguing with Abes or other such places than you will be.

Rodger

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

Dantalian — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 04:42:26 GMT

As to Caveat Emptor, I got suckered in because: (1) I had bought from Abes back when they WERE an authorized dealer (they've been around forever), and (2) the price wasn't significantly discounted so I never thought it could be grey market. If the serial number had been valid & I could have got the software online, and registered for the warrantee, I may never have noticed.

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

wq9nsc — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 12:40:40 GMT

I took a quick look at their website and they do mention "some items come with international warranties" but that is under their general Q&A section. I glanced at the product description for a 90D which was the first Canon item that came up and the only thing I saw in the specific product area about warranty was the offer to sell an extended warranty.

I would dispute any RMA charge with your credit card provider. Some states, New York for example, have a requirement within state law requiring sellers to explicitly and clearly identify gray market goods as such while in other states any protection is under the general area of misleading consumers.

My doctoral dissertation was partially about gray markets and their effects upon markets and distribution systems. I have knowingly purchased a few gray market goods (because the product wasn't available through the "white"/official marketing channel) but never a Canon product until very recently. Canon is obviously getting ready to replace the 5DS R and a long time friend from another country offered me a new 5DS R at a low enough price that I decided it would be worth trying out Canon's high resolution camera and to take a risk if it dies during warranty in a way that is beyond my technical ability to repair. Given the reliability of Canon products and the low price, it was worth the risk to me but I do NOT encourage people to buy gray market goods unless they are willing to bear the risks and drawbacks that come with this type of purchase. And I wouldn't do business with retailers that don't clearly convey the nature of the gray market product prior to sale.

Rodger

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

ebiggs1 — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 14:58:39 GMT

It is not called "Honest Abe's". Hmmmm....

Re: Question about Abe's of Maine retailer

RobertTheFat — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 15:09:58 GMT

@ebiggs1 wrote:
It is not called "Honest Abe's". Hmmmm....

And it's not located in Maine. Reminds me of what's been said about the Holy Roman Empire: It wasn't holy; it wasn't Roman; and it wasn't an empire.