ZI Seller in Canada?

[dadsm3]

I was quoted $500CDN in Toronto for a CV 28mm F3.5, and they had them in stock......Gandy sells them for $285US, which is $330CDN.
Similarly, a Sekonic L308s goes for $350CDN from Henry's, while on Epay the ones from Hong Kong for well under half that, and KB in the US sells them for $215CDN.
Sure, buying internationally may cause some warranty issues, but hell, for half price.....I really don't know why we get ripped off so badly up here.....

 

[Mazurka]

Joseph Yao has been selling Ikons obtained through the official Zeiss distribution channels, which were Hasselblad until recently. He told me at the time that he could have offered a better price from a grey market distributor but that he wasn't interested in selling this camera as a grey market product. So, I would assume that he is still receiving his inventory through official channels, accompanied by a factory warranty. . . Unless of course, the camera & lenses are now only available directly from Zeiss & not from any retailers, which would mean the B&H, Adorama, etc. are also out of the loop. Is that your understanding?

Huck, I have no idea whether Joseph Yao or B&H, et al, are now getting the ZI from Zeiss. B&H is such a high volume dealer that I expect them to get new inventory directly from Zeiss sooner or later, although I checked yesterday and they were still selling the Limited Edition only. AFAIK they always say "import" if the item is grey market.

I wouldn't be surprised if Joseph Yao will get the official import from Zeiss also. But of course you have to check with him personally.

Anyway it's a good idea to confirm with the dealer who (i.e. Hasselblad, Zeiss or the vendor) will be handling warranty service before making a decision. OTOH, keep in mind that there is no international warranty for the ZI, official or grey. You have to send it back to the seller's country for warranty service.

 

[photogdave]

We don't get "ripped off". Americans, on average, make a lower wage than us, so their dollar has to go further, resulting in what appears to be lower prices. Also, suppliers can afford to sell slightly lower because the market is larger. I've been told that the entire Canadian market for photographic products is about the same size as the California market.
Also, shop around a bit. Henry's never has the best pricing. Most shops here in Vancouver have much better pricing on the equipment you mentioned, you save the PST and you still get the warranty! 😀

 

[Huck Finn]

keep in mind that there is no international warranty for the ZI, official or grey. You have to send it back to the seller's country for warranty service.

Mazurka, my Zeiss Ikon warranty is labeled "International Warranty" & is printed under the Zeiss corporate logo. Do we mean two different things by "international warranty"? If I understand you to mean that it will not be serviced by the distributor in another country, this is true - although it would appear that this is now irrelevant since Hasselblad is no longer the distributor. My understanding is that I have the choice of returning the camera either to my dealer or directly to Carl Zeiss in Germany under the terms of my international warranty. I think that in-house dealer warrantees are the only ones that require that you send it back to the seller for service. In that case, you're dead in the water if the seller goes out of business during the life of your warranty. A factory warranty provides you with corporate backing regardless of the fate of the seller.

It's interesting that when Mike Elek encountered an alignment with his new Zeiss Ikon, purchased from an authorized dealer in Pennsylvania, he was instructed to mail it back to the factory in Japan. It doen't seem that the extra $222 he paid for a domestic purchase from Hasselblad-USA bought him any dometic service. I think that the most important asset of a dealer in today's global village is his reputation & his trustworthiness regardless of location.

 

[Tony Rose]

Thank you, Mr. Finn.

We could not have said it better ourselves.

Customer Service is our most important product.

TR

 

[Mazurka]

Mazurka, my Zeiss Ikon warranty is labeled "International Warranty" & is printed under the Zeiss corporate logo. Do we mean two different things by "international warranty"? If I understand you to mean that it will not be serviced by the distributor in another country, this is true - although it would appear that this is now irrelevant since Hasselblad is no longer the distributor. My understanding is that I have the choice of returning the camera either to my dealer or directly to Carl Zeiss in Germany under the terms of my international warranty.

Huck, see this old thread of mine, especially Socke's, rover's and my posts: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13305

Unless the warranty certificate expressly says otherwise, I would expect Zeiss to keep the same arrangement as before, i.e. only the distributor in the seller's country will handle warranty service. This has been the predominant policy shared by most camera-makers for years. It may not be fair to consumers, but in this case the word "international" can simply mean "the same warranty applies to all countries", i.e. each country will perform its own warranty work. :bang:

Mike's experience just shows that Hasselblad USA reneged on even its own stated policy by not offering domestic service. Now that Zeiss itself is handling distribution, I would be very surprised if the local subsidiary tells its customer to do the same thing, i.e. send the camera directly to Japan.

And yes, dealer reliability is the first thing to consider in such purchases, but that doesn't mean we should overlook price or not be fully apprised of the warranty situation.

 

[Uncle Bill]

The real problem is....

The real problem is....

I was quoted $500CDN in Toronto for a CV 28mm F3.5, and they had them in stock......Gandy sells them for $285US, which is $330CDN.
Similarly, a Sekonic L308s goes for $350CDN from Henry's, while on Epay the ones from Hong Kong for well under half that, and KB in the US sells them for $215CDN.
Sure, buying internationally may cause some warranty issues, but hell, for half price.....I really don't know why we get ripped off so badly up here.....

I think the real problem is Canadiain distributors and retailers are still pricing like our dollar is still 63 cents US. I bought my CV 35 f2.5 Skopar lens from Adorama and if I ever get into ZI I would be purchasing down south. We get taken to the cleaners up here.

Bill