How much would you pay for a warranty?

[yehosaphat]

Hi guys,

We all know the presence of grey market for photographic equipments here and elsewhere. And I am sure you all have come across a situation before where you gotta decide if that warrantied set is worth the additional $$. Of course most will say just go for the warrantied set cos you will never know what will happen to your equipment. But in the case of lenses, that might still be subjective.

Hence, I would like to hear your comments to the title of this thread. How much cheaper of the grey set would be justifiable for you to forego the warranty? Difference of $100? $200? $300? etc...

Why am I asking this? because I am in this situation now ;p

Thanks in advance.

 

[daydreamz]

for 30% off the warranty set price i'd settle for a grey set.

then again, i would not use the above computation blindly. a few more factors that i will usually consider:
A) if the total cost of the item is less than $1000, then worth considering grey at 30% less price.
B) if the item is very expensive say $2-3K, then better to buy a warranty set
C) brand name - if it's brand of repute then will consider without warranty as hopefully probability of it breaking down are lower than lesser known brands
D) more inclined for grey for lenses as compared to cam body (for obvious reasons)

life is a game of risk, reward and return. hopefully you will win most of the times but if you don't play it then you wouldn't know would you...??!!

 

[yehosaphat]

Thanks for your comments!

So if you are getting a lens and if from a reputable brand, you would consider grey ya...

 

[daydreamz]

subject to some of the above factors - yes (esp if it is less than $1k).

Having said that I have even considered lenses by Sigma & Tamron from the grey market, but I classify them as good reputable brands too. do weigh your options. e.g. in the b&s many are selling older without warranty lenses at close to brand new grey lens prices...in which case i would rather buy the brand new grey set. again..do weigh all the options and consider all potential ups & downs.

 

[yehosaphat]

Thanks! Anymore comments from anyone else?

 

[OlyFlyer]

We all know the presence of grey market for photographic equipments here and elsewhere.

You mean stolen gear?

How much cheaper of the grey set would be justifiable for you to forego the warranty? Difference of $100? $200? $300? etc...

If you mean stolen property than I hope the buyer gets caught and the seller deserves a bullet in his/her head.

Why am I asking this? because I am in this situation now ;p

Thanks in advance.

My advice is not to go for it...

 

[daydreamz]

hahaha...u mean all grey stuff is mostly stolen!?!?!!?? :bsmilie: wow..i like ur radical viewpoint here but it's a bit too stiff for me to accept. stuff with a receipt can be stolen too...let's say i am walking out of CP or MS Photo or something with my new D200 and bammmmmmmm!!! there goes my cam, box, receipt et all...come on ....there are honest to goodness grey sellers here making a sincere living of this and ur labelling them as thieves!!?! :bigeyes:

You mean stolen gear?



If you mean stolen property than I hope the buyer gets caught and the seller deserves a bullet in his/her head.



My advice is not to go for it...

 

[Yatlapball]

:nono: grey market is perfectly legal. They are sets imported into the country through means other than the official distributor. Which is the reason why local distributors refuse to honour the warranty.

Stolen gear gets fenced on the black market.

 

[deckard]

grey is good. just not for extremely high end lens.
pay a little is ok. but not too much.