Can you negotiate new camera price at Canadian camera stores?

Hi there,

I’m in British Columbia and planning to buy a Sony A7C. It’a a huge investment for me and I’m wondering if it’s possible to save a couple hundred bucks somehow.



Does anyone know if new camera prices in Canadian stores are negotiable or are they set in stone? Can you recommend any particular stores?
Any advice on how I can save some money would be greatly appreciated.

P.S: I’m not a student anymore and can’t use the student discount unfortunately.

Thanks!

Good chance they are set in stone.
very little mark up for the retailer and Sony often control prices .
If your willing to take a chance then buying grey market camera from China based companies might save you a few bucks .

TheWintermute said:

Hi there,

I’m in British Columbia and planning to buy a Sony A7C. It’a a huge investment for me and I’m wondering if it’s possible to save a couple hundred bucks somehow.

Does anyone know if new camera prices in Canadian stores are negotiable or are they set in stone? Can you recommend any particular stores?
Any advice on how I can save some money would be greatly appreciated.

P.S: I’m not a student anymore and can’t use the student discount unfortunately.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Find one used or look at a different model used. It is expensive for what it is...

TheWintermute said:

Hi there,

I’m in British Columbia and planning to buy a Sony A7C. It’a a huge investment for me and I’m wondering if it’s possible to save a couple hundred bucks somehow.

Does anyone know if new camera prices in Canadian stores are negotiable or are they set in stone? Can you recommend any particular stores?
Any advice on how I can save some money would be greatly appreciated.

P.S: I’m not a student anymore and can’t use the student discount unfortunately.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Sony controls their own pricing. Dealers must follow or lose the ability to sell sony .

Some stores might negotiate a little bit on a really big sale -- say a couple of bodies and three or four lenses -- or for a known regular customer. But probably not for a walk-in customer buying one body.

And, as others have said, there may be rules in place that limit discounts.

It is very unlikely you'll do better than the advertised price from the big online sellers like Henry's. Even being in Texas I've bought from Henry's a couple of times when they had better prices than US dealers.

Gato

Does Greentoe operate in Canada? Or it is up to the store that accepted your price to ship or not to Canada?

Anyway, this is a way to name your own price (within reason, say, 10% off), and have it accepted by a store.

I would think that camera stores are under MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) directives from the manufacturers. Will they negotiate? Probably not, but the worst they can do is say 'no' if you try.

David

You can certainly ask but I really doubt it. If you were buying three or four items totaling over $10000 CDN then they may be more open to discussion.

I started buying used in 1988 and have only bought 2 items out of at least 40 since. You can likely save 30% with 2 year old items, and over 50% with items over 4 years old. If you buy used items privately you then also save the tax. Something to at least consider.

You can also consider buying from manufacturers refurbished sites. They are usually good for 10-15%. So, at least pay for the tax.

P.S. You can bargain in a retail store for used items, since their margins are higher. 5% maybe.

TheWintermute said:

Hi there,

I’m in British Columbia and planning to buy a Sony A7C. It’a a huge investment for me and I’m wondering if it’s possible to save a couple hundred bucks somehow.

Does anyone know if new camera prices in Canadian stores are negotiable or are they set in stone? Can you recommend any particular stores?
Any advice on how I can save some money would be greatly appreciated.

P.S: I’m not a student anymore and can’t use the student discount unfortunately.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Not in my experience. Used might be a good option to consider. I've bought used from Henry's and B&H before. 8+ ratings on the products and I couldn't tell them from new. An A7C might be hard to find used at this point. Kerrisdale Cameras in BC gave me excellent service when I was trying to track down a specific used camera to purchase. They took my name and number and actually followed up when one became available.

TheWintermute said:

Hi there,

I’m in British Columbia and planning to buy a Sony A7C. It’a a huge investment for me and I’m wondering if it’s possible to save a couple hundred bucks somehow.

Does anyone know if new camera prices in Canadian stores are negotiable or are they set in stone? Can you recommend any particular stores?
Any advice on how I can save some money would be greatly appreciated.

P.S: I’m not a student anymore and can’t use the student discount unfortunately.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Best way to get a good price is buy used. I've bought lots of new and used gear have had little problem with used gear. My D500 is used for example. Would have cost 1K CAN more if I got it new. My lightly used copy had only ~15K on the shutter.

B&H sells used products to Canada (unlike new Nikon products, which don't ship to Canada). Unlike Henrys, B&H actually has a pretty great selection of relatively recent gear with good prices. You can even test the heck out of it and return it if it doesn't meet your expectations (did that once).

The A7C is relatively new, so you may not be able to find used prices for it (however, I have seen a few on Fred Miranda...). Would you be willing to make a concession on the model and get an A7III instead (more used copies)?

ZodiacPhoto said:

Does Greentoe operate in Canada? Or it is up to the store that accepted your price to ship or not to Canada?

Anyway, this is a way to name your own price (within reason, say, 10% off), and have it accepted by a store.

Click to expand...

Originally, I was a big fan of Greentoe and got some good deals. So I recommended it to my friends.

I don't any more.

I found out via Greentoe that depending on your offer not all of their merchants will see it. So if you offer 60% then two merchants will see your offer, but if you offer 80% then four merchants will see your offer. I don't know the exact data so that's just an example. But the best way to succeed is to offer 100% of retail, which defeats the whole purpose of using the site.

The little meter that shows your likelihood of success does not match my experience either.

Greentoe does not collect sales tax, so you are obligated to report that when you do your taxes. If you hire someone that could mean paying more than you supposedly save.

It's also been my experience that merchants don't prioritize Greentoe sales, as in customer service.

I'd suggest approaching any merchant with an offer if you are bundling some items. You can and should walk away if you're not happy.

I would not suggest grey market on electronics. Avoid any extended warranty offers. Retailers do go out of business.

Buying a new camera is not a necessity.

--
Satan loves the shadows - and the highlights.

TheWintermute said:

Hi there,

I’m in British Columbia and planning to buy a Sony A7C. It’a a huge investment for me and I’m wondering if it’s possible to save a couple hundred bucks somehow.

Does anyone know if new camera prices in Canadian stores are negotiable or are they set in stone? Can you recommend any particular stores?
Any advice on how I can save some money would be greatly appreciated.

P.S: I’m not a student anymore and can’t use the student discount unfortunately.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

There are a variety of ways, but you will have to find out for yourself. I'm not at liberty to say on these forums.

-Martin P

TheWintermute said:

Hi there,

I’m in British Columbia and planning to buy a Sony A7C. It’a a huge investment for me and I’m wondering if it’s possible to save a couple hundred bucks somehow.

Does anyone know if new camera prices in Canadian stores are negotiable or are they set in stone? Can you recommend any particular stores?
Any advice on how I can save some money would be greatly appreciated.

P.S: I’m not a student anymore and can’t use the student discount unfortunately.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

You want to haggle? Go to ebay and bid.

David Pavlich said:

I would think that camera stores are under MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) directives from the manufacturers. Will they negotiate? Probably not, but the worst they can do is say 'no' if you try.

Click to expand...

MAP sets the lowest permitted advertised price, but has no impact on the selling price. Another program imposed on retailers by authorize distributors is "unilateral pricing," which in the USA sets the lowest permitted selling price. I do not know if Canadian retailers have to abide by unilateral pricing.

henryp said:

David Pavlich said:

I would think that camera stores are under MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) directives from the manufacturers. Will they negotiate? Probably not, but the worst they can do is say 'no' if you try.

Click to expand...

MAP sets the lowest permitted advertised price, but has no impact on the selling price. Another program imposed on retailers by authorize distributors is "unilateral pricing," which in the USA sets the lowest permitted selling price. I do not know if Canadian retailers have to abide by unilateral pricing.

Click to expand...

True or not true? I have reason to say 'true' here. The only excuse I've ever been given at Henry's is that Sony sets their prices and they have to follow as a condition of being a sony dealer.

.. so if you see it advertised at another (legitimate) store they will sell for that price.

The only real haggling might be over used gear.

Some stores get around the manufacturers set price by adding in a few freebies - like a memory card or some such, but haven't even really seen that at any stores in Canada.

Dr_Love said:

henryp said:

David Pavlich said:

I would think that camera stores are under MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) directives from the manufacturers. Will they negotiate? Probably not, but the worst they can do is say 'no' if you try.

Click to expand...

MAP sets the lowest permitted advertised price, but has no impact on the selling price. Another program imposed on retailers by authorize distributors is "unilateral pricing," which in the USA sets the lowest permitted selling price. I do not know if Canadian retailers have to abide by unilateral pricing.

Click to expand...

True or not true? I have reason to say 'true' here. The only excuse I've ever been given at Henry's is that Sony sets their prices and they have to follow as a condition of being a sony dealer.

Click to expand...

But do OEMs have any control of "free" items some stores offer with cameras and lenses (spare batteries, filters, cleaning kits, bags, mini-tripods, memory cards, etc.)? Are they counted against the unilateral price?

Thanks for all your replies, this is very very helpful!
I will try to find a used one but it's hard because the camera is so new and not a very popular model.
Unfortunately a A7III is not an option for me because both unlimited record time and fully-articulated screen are requirements for me.

I know 2 stores in Montreal, Quebec that sell for little less than minimum advertised price. They need to show the minimum price but can sell bodies and lenses in store for little less.

Photo Service (they have map policy explained on their site) and Camtec, try contacting them for in store price but yeah if you are in BC not sure it works with shipping.

I found this by asking alot of stores directly , if anyone know other authorized dealers like this let us know!