After reading about the new mirrorless cameras, I got excited about buying one. I thought the Canon EOS R10 would meet my needs.
I began comparing prices. As usual, it was amazing to see that most stores were charging $1,279 for the kit with the 18-150 mm lens. I was excited about this lens after using the Canon t7i for years with a 24-55 mm lens. I didn’t always carry my telephoto lens with me, especially when traveling, and I missed out on a lot of photo opportunities.
Although the reviews said the camera is lightweight, and the lens, too, I thought I might want to have the 18-45 mm, too.
I searched the internet for a better deal. Also, a concern was the restocking fee if I didn’t like the camera. Best Buy charges 15 percent. I checked with Glazer’s Camera in Seattle several times in my research, and I thought their restocking fee was 25 percent.
Walmart looked like a good choice. They offered kits with a lot of items. After searching through their offers, I found a kit with both of the lenses that I wanted plus a camera bag, tripod, and lens filters. In addition, Walmart doesn’t have a restocking fee.
I did a search on problems with buying lower-cost cameras from Walmart. What I learned is Walmart has third-party sellers who sell gray market cameras.
A gray market product is a product that is imported and sold by any party other than the manufacturer. Most of the time, gray market products aren’t different compared to their retail counterparts – they’re genuine products made by the same manufacturer, only packaged and intended for other markets. As a result, they might have product manuals in other languages, or have chargers and accessories that only work in a specific country.
However, there are also cases where gray market products are fake, where refurbished products are resold as “new”, or even used/returned products are repackaged and resold as new at a lower gray market price.
A problem with gray market products is that you don’t get the manufacturer’s one year warranty. You’d have to pay for any repairs.
I thought that might work considering the savings on the camera.
However, my research also said you needed to check out the company selling gray market products.
I typed the name of the third-party company on the Walmart website. Big red flags. Lots of complaints. Cameras weren’t received. Items were broken. The company wouldn’t give a refund. And, on and on.
Thank goodness for research. I abandoned the Walmart plan.
I decided I’d drive up to Seattle to Glazier’s Camera. I could actually see the camera and see others if I didn’t like the feel of the Canon R10.
Two nice surprises at Glazier’s. I received a $100 discount for buying in the store. And, when I called I was told I could get a trade-in for my Canon EOS t7i.
In getting ready to go up to Seattle, I got the idea to trade in my other cameras and lenses I’m not using. I received a credit of $445.
