E20N/Grey Market

In shopping for the E20N I see there is as much as $400 savings by purchasing from a grey mkt. supplier. I've bought mail order but not grey

mkt. and I wonder if some of you have and what your experience has been? If you buy grey mkt. and the camera needs repairs; what are your
options, if any?
Worth the big savings? Bad way to go or ????
Thanks for any advice!
Tom

Not grey, but the real usa version is available from digital liquidators for 1349. I just got one. Nice camera, but I get better results from my cheaper Sony 707 or my e100.

Gary

Tom Garrett said:

In shopping for the E20N I see there is as much as $400 savings by
purchasing from a grey mkt. supplier. I've bought mail order but
not grey
mkt. and I wonder if some of you have and what your experience has
been? If you buy grey mkt. and the camera needs repairs; what are
your
options, if any?
Worth the big savings? Bad way to go or ????
Thanks for any advice!
Tom

Click to expand...

Tom,

A better option is using Office Max's price match policy. I recently purchased an E-20 from Officemax.com, then submitted an internet price from A&M Photo World. A&M sells the E-20 for $1109, and charges $93.68 for next day shipping (they have to get you somewhere, but this is required by Office Max). Using this approach, I received a USA E-20 for $1202.68 total, and have the backing of a national chain. The camera was shipped to my door, next day delivery, to boot. The only kicker is that you must first order the camera at full list price, then submit a price match. They responded to mine within 24 hours and subsequently refunded the difference without any fanfare.

For $2000, the E20 is a very good camera with some flaws. For $1200, it has precious little competition.

Good luck,

Matt

If you buy gray market Olympus will not provide either in or out warranty service. That is the big difference between the models.

Tom Garrett said:

In shopping for the E20N I see there is as much as $400 savings by
purchasing from a grey mkt. supplier. I've bought mail order but
not grey
mkt. and I wonder if some of you have and what your experience has
been? If you buy grey mkt. and the camera needs repairs; what are
your
options, if any?
Worth the big savings? Bad way to go or ????
Thanks for any advice!
Tom

Click to expand...

Glad it worked out for you Matt. Though it amazes me that a retailer is willing to sell something at below cost. I work for a dealer and I can say the Office Max was the finacial loser on that transaction. But they were the winner on customer satisfaction. Congrats. Wish we had the margins to be able to do that ourselves. Those folders and pens must have a heck of a margin to do what they did.

Matt Dolich said:

Tom,

A better option is using Office Max's price match policy. I
recently purchased an E-20 from Officemax.com, then submitted an
internet price from A&M Photo World. A&M sells the E-20 for $1109,
and charges $93.68 for next day shipping (they have to get you
somewhere, but this is required by Office Max). Using this
approach, I received a USA E-20 for $1202.68 total, and have the
backing of a national chain. The camera was shipped to my door,
next day delivery, to boot. The only kicker is that you must first
order the camera at full list price, then submit a price match.
They responded to mine within 24 hours and subsequently refunded
the difference without any fanfare.
For $2000, the E20 is a very good camera with some flaws. For
$1200, it has precious little competition.

Good luck,

Matt

Click to expand...

Tom Garrett said:

In shopping for the E20N I see there is as much as $400 savings by
purchasing from a grey mkt. supplier. I've bought mail order but
not grey
mkt. and I wonder if some of you have and what your experience has
been? If you buy grey mkt. and the camera needs repairs; what are
your
options, if any?
Worth the big savings? Bad way to go or ????
Thanks for any advice!
Tom

Click to expand...

I thought a gray market model would, by definition, be an E-20P. Not so?

Doesn't the "N" meant NTSC video out, and doesn't that mean it was targeted for the USA? So how is it considered gray market?
--Dave

Unlike Nikon Oly catches people out - the N is for the states and P europe where we use PAL. As prices are cheaper in the States than UK I don't think you have a problem - no one in their right mind would by from the UK for shipment to USA.

Richard
DKinneer wrote:
->

DaveKinneer said:

Tom Garrett said:

In shopping for the E20N I see there is as much as $400 savings by
purchasing from a grey mkt. supplier. I've bought mail order but
not grey
mkt. and I wonder if some of you have and what your experience has
been? If you buy grey mkt. and the camera needs repairs; what are
your
options, if any?
Worth the big savings? Bad way to go or ????
Thanks for any advice!
Tom

Click to expand...

I thought a gray market model would, by definition, be an E-20P.
Not so?

Doesn't the "N" meant NTSC video out, and doesn't that mean it was
targeted for the USA? So how is it considered gray market?

--
Dave

Click to expand...

--Richard HuntUK

Matt, how long did it take to get your refund?

I'm still waiting for some rebates I submitted during the first Bush administration.

Regards,

Glenn

Matt Dolich said:

A better option is using Office Max's price match policy...and subsequently refunded the difference without any fanfare...

Click to expand...

Tom Garrett said:

In shopping for the E20N I see there is as much as $400 savings by
purchasing from a grey mkt. supplier. I've bought mail order but
not grey
mkt. and I wonder if some of you have and what your experience has
been? If you buy grey mkt. and the camera needs repairs; what are
your
options, if any?
Worth the big savings? Bad way to go or ????
Thanks for any advice!
Tom

Click to expand...

Tom,

If you're getting the "N", I don't think you're getting grey market!!!!!

George

Glenn,

Office Max issued the credit in less than 1 week. I don't profess to understand why they'd let an E-20 go for less than cost, but I'm not complaining either. I am also happy that this company honors their price match policy without a lot of teeth gnashing. I guess they must use a "car dealer" paradigm - sell plenty of merchandise at MSRP, and you can afford an occasional low ball price to keep customers happy.

I should confess that I'm not the first to do this; there are posts on another forum with similar results. Office Max has definitely earned a new customer!

Best of luck,

Matt

P.S. I don't think they'll be stocking the Canon D-60!!!

You got a great price. I own a retail store, and in a store you service your customer first. Most of the time you maker money, sometimes you loose a little. No business makes money on every deal. However, when you make money on most every deal, business works. Most people never try to price match. I do, but I did not know office max did price matching nor did I know they had two of the cameras I just pirchased, an e20 and a Sony 707. I got the 707 with a price match at Sears for 499 plus extended warranty and the shipping loupole they all seem to use to boost the price just a little, I was in at just over $600 including tax, not bad for a grand camera with an no excuses over the counter exchange warranty! I paid 1349 plus warranty plus junk at Digital liquidators totaling 2075 including next day air as I wanted it for a babe shutter session the next day. I wish I had known about office max. I will use them next time. I spend about 4 grand in their store every year so they can afford to cater to me a little.

Gary

Hi Matt,

I tried to do the same thing as you with different results, unfortunately. I placed an order on line with Office Max for the E-10 for $1,998 and got an order number. I then filled out a "price match" form and submitted it online with the A&M price of $1,109 plus overnight shipping. I included the link to the page that showed the E10, in stock, and the price. I got a response back from Office Max that they called the store and got a price of $1,800 + $125.00 shipping for the " E20 N ". They said that the "N" model designation is what they show on thier Office Max on line catalog, and that's the version they had to get the price match on. I know the differnces between the "N", "P", and no designation and what's included.

If possible, and you would be so kind, would you be able to e-mail me with any specifics at [email protected]. Or anyone else that has had success doing this. I'll, no doubt, just cancel the order with Office Max, since it is definitely available elsewhere for less than $1925 with Olympus USA Warrantee, etc. The E-20 is on back order with Office Max now. Probably be going for the E-10 if nothing pans out with this.

Thanks very much.
Bob Vacca

Matt Dolich said:

Tom,

A better option is using Office Max's price match policy. I
recently purchased an E-20 from Officemax.com, then submitted an
internet price from A&M Photo World. A&M sells the E-20 for $1109,
and charges $93.68 for next day shipping (they have to get you
somewhere, but this is required by Office Max). Using this
approach, I received a USA E-20 for $1202.68 total, and have the
backing of a national chain. The camera was shipped to my door,
next day delivery, to boot. The only kicker is that you must first
order the camera at full list price, then submit a price match.
They responded to mine within 24 hours and subsequently refunded
the difference without any fanfare.
For $2000, the E20 is a very good camera with some flaws. For
$1200, it has precious little competition.

Good luck,

Matt

Click to expand...

I put "E-10" in the first two sentences instead of "E-20" edited them.

Robert Vacca said:

I tried to do the same thing as you with different results,
unfortunately. I placed an order on line with Office Max for the
E-20 for $1,998 and got an order number. I then filled out a
"price match" form and submitted it online with the A&M price of
$1,109 plus overnight shipping. I included the link to the page
that showed the E20, in stock, and the price. I got a response back
from Office Max that they called the store and got a price of
$1,800 + $125.00 shipping for the " E20 N ". They said that the
"N" model designation is what they show on thier Office Max on line
catalog, and that's the version they had to get the price match on.
I know the differnces between the "N", "P", and no designation and
what's included.

If possible, and you would be so kind, would you be able to e-mail
me with any specifics at [email protected]. Or anyone else that
has had success doing this. I'll, no doubt, just cancel the order
with Office Max, since it is definitely available elsewhere for
less than $1925 with Olympus USA Warrantee, etc. The E-20 is on
back order with Office Max now. Probably be going for the E-10 if
nothing pans out with this.

Thanks very much.
Bob Vacca

Matt Dolich said:

Tom,

A better option is using Office Max's price match policy. I
recently purchased an E-20 from Officemax.com, then submitted an
internet price from A&M Photo World. A&M sells the E-20 for $1109,
and charges $93.68 for next day shipping (they have to get you
somewhere, but this is required by Office Max). Using this
approach, I received a USA E-20 for $1202.68 total, and have the
backing of a national chain. The camera was shipped to my door,
next day delivery, to boot. The only kicker is that you must first
order the camera at full list price, then submit a price match.
They responded to mine within 24 hours and subsequently refunded
the difference without any fanfare.
For $2000, the E20 is a very good camera with some flaws. For
$1200, it has precious little competition.

Good luck,

Matt

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

George Law said:

If you're getting the "N", I don't think you're getting grey
market!!!!!

George

Click to expand...

I am going to buy a [e20] no N or P while I am in Japan for around 1198.00 USD. THe video out is NTSC though. The manual will be in Japanese, and any warranty service will have to be done in Japan, I can ship it to family if anything big comes up.

http://www.mapgroup.co.jp/mapcamera/digitalcamera/olympus/e_20.html----Jeffrey Lazo http://www.reeflovers.org/~jlazo--Maxxum 7, 50mm f1.7, 105mm f2.8, 20mm f1.7, 28-80mm, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 f5.6, press t, ef500 flash

Matt may have gotten "lucky". It's not normal policy to price match a grey market offering. A manager probably discovered the order processor's "mistake" and issued a memo to the staff not to repeat it.

John W.

Robert Vacca said:

I tried to do the same thing as you with different results,
unfortunately. I placed an order on line with Office Max for the
E-10 for $1,998 and got an order number. I then filled out a
"price match" form and submitted it online with the A&M price of
$1,109 plus overnight shipping. I included the link to the page
that showed the E10, in stock, and the price. I got a response back
from Office Max that they called the store and got a price of
$1,800 + $125.00 shipping for the " E20 N ". They said that the
"N" model designation is what they show on thier Office Max on line
catalog, and that's the version they had to get the price match on.
I know the differnces between the "N", "P", and no designation and
what's included.

If possible, and you would be so kind, would you be able to e-mail
me with any specifics at [email protected]. Or anyone else that
has had success doing this. I'll, no doubt, just cancel the order
with Office Max, since it is definitely available elsewhere for
less than $1925 with Olympus USA Warrantee, etc. The E-20 is on
back order with Office Max now. Probably be going for the E-10 if
nothing pans out with this.

Thanks very much.
Bob Vacca

Matt Dolich said:

Tom,

A better option is using Office Max's price match policy. I
recently purchased an E-20 from Officemax.com, then submitted an
internet price from A&M Photo World. A&M sells the E-20 for $1109,
and charges $93.68 for next day shipping (they have to get you
somewhere, but this is required by Office Max). Using this
approach, I received a USA E-20 for $1202.68 total, and have the
backing of a national chain. The camera was shipped to my door,
next day delivery, to boot. The only kicker is that you must first
order the camera at full list price, then submit a price match.
They responded to mine within 24 hours and subsequently refunded
the difference without any fanfare.
For $2000, the E20 is a very good camera with some flaws. For
$1200, it has precious little competition.

Good luck,

Matt

Click to expand...

Click to expand...

Robert Vacca said:

Hi Matt,

I tried to do the same thing as you with different results,
unfortunately. I placed an order on line with Office Max for the
E-10 for $1,998 and got an order number. I then filled out a
"price match" form and submitted it online with the A&M price of
$1,109 plus overnight shipping. I included the link to the page
that showed the E10, in stock, and the price. I got a response back
from Office Max that they called the store and got a price of
$1,800 + $125.00 shipping for the " E20 N ". They said that the
"N" model designation is what they show on thier Office Max on line
catalog, and that's the version they had to get the price match on.
I know the differnces between the "N", "P", and no designation and
what's included.

Click to expand...

I used the OfficeMax price match for an E-10. There are two things I did differently from you:

1) I filled out the price match at OfficeMax.com BEFORE I bought from OfficeMax.com (simply omitting the order number on the form since I didn't yet have an order number, not having bought yet). A day later, I received a rebate "coupon" in e-mail from OfficeMax.com that was good for a $672.00 rebate on the item if I purchased within the following 14 days. After I had made the purchase from OfficeMax.com, I submitted the rebate coupon they'd sent me; credit card records show that the credit was given on the same day. I wouldn't have risked it if I didn't have the rebate in writing before I bought.

2) I didn't use A&M because they didn't guarantee a US camera (the OfficeMax price match page specifically says that the item must be identical). But there are a million "iffy" camera stores online... I used the bizrate.com and shopping.yahoo.com price engines and called multiple "lowball" vendors until I found one who would promise a brand new US version camera at their listed lowball price -- less than $800.00 in my case -- and then submitted that price to the OfficeMax.com price match (again, this is before I actually bought the camera). Presumably when the OfficeMax price match rep called the vendor, they promised the OfficeMax.com rep the same thing, because OfficeMax gave me the rebate coupon. I don't know if the shop in question would actually have delivered a US cam at that price without hassles (probably not), but that's not my worry -- it's OfficeMax.com's business since they offered me a matching deal.

So it can work... You just have to be a little more aggressive about making it work.

-Aron

I would be careful about this.

If they find out that the price is for a grey market camera, they could say "no deal." Remember, the OfficeMax is for the same camera with the same shipping (overnight). Still, I considered using this with a low priced US model (bwayphoto.com, I think), but two things kept me from taking the plunge. First, the E20 was out of stock at OfficeMax. Second, I didn't want to risk getting stuck with a $2000 camera if they decided not to honor the price for some reason. I just didn't feel lucky that day.

Evans

It's interesting that Office Max seems to vary in their response to price matching. I originally tried Aron's tactic, omitting the order number to see if they would "pre-match." I received a curt e-mail response stating that once I had placed an order, I could submit a price for them to match. It was at that time that I found someone else had received a refund AFTER a price match - see following thread:
http://www.photo-forums.com/[email protected] ^[email protected]

I figured that, in the worst case scenario, I could always return the camera for a full refund.

I think it's worth persisting, maybe not with a total low ball figure from A&M, but perhaps with another, more "legitimate" vendor. There seem to be a bunch in the $1400 range out there; I think Office Max could be convinced to take one of these.

I agree with Chip; I don't think grey market is worth it. If you have any warranty-related issues, you are really left out in the breeze.

Bob - I'm e-mailing you a copy of the price match form they sent me; maybe it'll help in some way

Matt

Matt,

Thanks very much. I got your e-mail.

Bob

Matt Dolich said:

It's interesting that Office Max seems to vary in their response to
price matching. I originally tried Aron's tactic, omitting the
order number to see if they would "pre-match." I received a curt
e-mail response stating that once I had placed an order, I could
submit a price for them to match. It was at that time that I found
someone else had received a refund AFTER a price match - see
following thread:
http://www.photo-forums.com/[email protected] ^[email protected]
I figured that, in the worst case scenario, I could always return
the camera for a full refund.

I think it's worth persisting, maybe not with a total low ball
figure from A&M, but perhaps with another, more "legitimate"
vendor. There seem to be a bunch in the $1400 range out there; I
think Office Max could be convinced to take one of these.

I agree with Chip; I don't think grey market is worth it. If you
have any warranty-related issues, you are really left out in the
breeze.

Bob - I'm e-mailing you a copy of the price match form they sent
me; maybe it'll help in some way

Matt

Click to expand...