I was researching the purchase of my first interchangeable lens camera and was circling the Canon SL2 with 18-135 USM and the Nikon D5600 with the 18-140. Then last Wednesday (September 20th) I happened to stumble on the 4K4Less website, which had the Canon 77D bundled with the following items, all new:
4K4Less had the same bundle but with the T7i (a normally cheaper camera than the 77D) for $999. The grey market SL2/18-135 or D5600/18-140 would have cost me around $900 or $1000, and the 77D is two steps up from the SL2. Anyway, the deal was so good that I couldn’t ignore it.
I called 4K4Less and was able to speak to someone from their sales department right away. They’re located in New York and New Jersey. He confirmed the price, free shipping, that no tax would be charged, and that everything would be brand new. The website listing didn’t say anything about warranties, so I asked the guy and he said all the Canon stuff would come with manufacturer warranties. Knowing how authorized retailers and the grey market work, I pushed back on this, but he maintained that everything would be covered by the manufacturer warranty, but that if for some reason Canon didn’t honor it, 4K4Less would cover everything for a year under the same terms as Canon’s warranty.
I had my doubts about the manufacturer warranty, but I was willing to buy grey market anyway, so I placed the order online with PayPal. The company is fairly new, there isn’t much information available about it, and it has very few reviews, but I figured it was worth the risk since if it turned out to be some sort of scam I could just dispute the charge with my credit card company. I placed the order and received an order confirmation email.
The company was closed the following Thursday and Friday for Rosh Hashana. I called their Customer Service department on Monday and spoke to a woman who informed me it hadn’t shipped yet. I took the opportunity to ask her about the warranty again, and she repeated what the other guy from Sales had said: it comes with the manufacturer warranty, plus they cover it with their own warranty. I asked her to email me their warranty in writing (since I couldn’t find it anywhere on their website) and she said she would. She also said it should be shipping that day and that I’d receive an email confirmation with tracking number when it did.
Tuesday morning I still hadn’t received any of the promised emails, so I called Customer Service again and spoke to a woman named Angela, who said she’s also a manager. She said it still hadn’t shipped, so she put me on hold, walked over to shipping or something, and put my package in the front of the line. I asked her about the warranty and she said it’s the international versions of the camera and lenses (AKA grey), and that Canon might not honor the manufacturer warranties. She asked for the names of the previous people I spoke to, presumably to educate/reprimand them, since they gave me incorrect information. She emailed me their own warranty. I emailed back and forth with her a few times that day and she was very helpful. It shipped later that day and I received the tracking number.
The camera was delivered the next day (they’re located close to where I live). Everything was there. The camera was in an unsealed 18-55 kit box with a white “Body” sticker on it. I don’t know for sure that Canon doesn’t sell them that way, but I suspect they don’t, so they probably pulled the lens out of the kit. The box looked new, other than not being sealed, and the camera and accessories were all in there wrapped and in perfect condition. It didn’t have a warranty card. The 18-135 USM lens came in a white box, probably pulled from an 80D kit. The 75-300 lens was in its original Canon box. It did have a warranty card, but the sections the retailer is supposed to fill out were blank. I was able to register the camera and lenses on the Canon website without a problem, but I don’t know if that means anything. Hopefully there won't be any problems so I don’t have to actually test the Canon or 4K4Less warranties. Everything works nicely and I’ve been enjoying the camera. The rest of the bundle was all cheap stuff from brands I never heard of, as expected. The memory card was labeled as Class 10 and I successfully tested recording 1080p60 video to it.
The only problem was that the tripod was missing its detachable mounting plate, so I had no way to attach the camera to it. I called 4K4Less today and they said they’re mailing me a whole new tripod, even though I only asked for the missing piece, and they didn’t ask me to mail them back the tripod I already have, so I can’t complain about that.
Overall, despite the misinformation about the warranties and the delay in shipping, I’m happy with the company. They’re pretty easy to get on the phone. You usually have to wait on hold for a while to talk to someone in Customer Service, but Sales picks up almost immediately. The deal was excellent, even beyond normal grey market deals. I suspect they may be offering stuff at close to cost to try to build a reputation and grow the company. The deal is actually still available.
https://4k4less.com/cameras/canon-eos-77d-dslr-camera-with-deluxe-dual-lens-bundle/
It has said “Sale Ends Midnight” since I bought it over a week ago, so I don’t know how long it will last. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from them again. If you’re okay with buying grey market, I’d recommend them.
- Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens
- Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Lens
- 64GB SD Card
- 6-Foot Tripod
- Monopod, Card Reader, Card Wallet, Filter Kit, Macro Lens Adapter, Telephoto Lens Adapter, LED Video Light Kit, Remote, Cleaning Kit, Backpack
4K4Less had the same bundle but with the T7i (a normally cheaper camera than the 77D) for $999. The grey market SL2/18-135 or D5600/18-140 would have cost me around $900 or $1000, and the 77D is two steps up from the SL2. Anyway, the deal was so good that I couldn’t ignore it.
I called 4K4Less and was able to speak to someone from their sales department right away. They’re located in New York and New Jersey. He confirmed the price, free shipping, that no tax would be charged, and that everything would be brand new. The website listing didn’t say anything about warranties, so I asked the guy and he said all the Canon stuff would come with manufacturer warranties. Knowing how authorized retailers and the grey market work, I pushed back on this, but he maintained that everything would be covered by the manufacturer warranty, but that if for some reason Canon didn’t honor it, 4K4Less would cover everything for a year under the same terms as Canon’s warranty.
I had my doubts about the manufacturer warranty, but I was willing to buy grey market anyway, so I placed the order online with PayPal. The company is fairly new, there isn’t much information available about it, and it has very few reviews, but I figured it was worth the risk since if it turned out to be some sort of scam I could just dispute the charge with my credit card company. I placed the order and received an order confirmation email.
The company was closed the following Thursday and Friday for Rosh Hashana. I called their Customer Service department on Monday and spoke to a woman who informed me it hadn’t shipped yet. I took the opportunity to ask her about the warranty again, and she repeated what the other guy from Sales had said: it comes with the manufacturer warranty, plus they cover it with their own warranty. I asked her to email me their warranty in writing (since I couldn’t find it anywhere on their website) and she said she would. She also said it should be shipping that day and that I’d receive an email confirmation with tracking number when it did.
Tuesday morning I still hadn’t received any of the promised emails, so I called Customer Service again and spoke to a woman named Angela, who said she’s also a manager. She said it still hadn’t shipped, so she put me on hold, walked over to shipping or something, and put my package in the front of the line. I asked her about the warranty and she said it’s the international versions of the camera and lenses (AKA grey), and that Canon might not honor the manufacturer warranties. She asked for the names of the previous people I spoke to, presumably to educate/reprimand them, since they gave me incorrect information. She emailed me their own warranty. I emailed back and forth with her a few times that day and she was very helpful. It shipped later that day and I received the tracking number.
The camera was delivered the next day (they’re located close to where I live). Everything was there. The camera was in an unsealed 18-55 kit box with a white “Body” sticker on it. I don’t know for sure that Canon doesn’t sell them that way, but I suspect they don’t, so they probably pulled the lens out of the kit. The box looked new, other than not being sealed, and the camera and accessories were all in there wrapped and in perfect condition. It didn’t have a warranty card. The 18-135 USM lens came in a white box, probably pulled from an 80D kit. The 75-300 lens was in its original Canon box. It did have a warranty card, but the sections the retailer is supposed to fill out were blank. I was able to register the camera and lenses on the Canon website without a problem, but I don’t know if that means anything. Hopefully there won't be any problems so I don’t have to actually test the Canon or 4K4Less warranties. Everything works nicely and I’ve been enjoying the camera. The rest of the bundle was all cheap stuff from brands I never heard of, as expected. The memory card was labeled as Class 10 and I successfully tested recording 1080p60 video to it.
The only problem was that the tripod was missing its detachable mounting plate, so I had no way to attach the camera to it. I called 4K4Less today and they said they’re mailing me a whole new tripod, even though I only asked for the missing piece, and they didn’t ask me to mail them back the tripod I already have, so I can’t complain about that.
Overall, despite the misinformation about the warranties and the delay in shipping, I’m happy with the company. They’re pretty easy to get on the phone. You usually have to wait on hold for a while to talk to someone in Customer Service, but Sales picks up almost immediately. The deal was excellent, even beyond normal grey market deals. I suspect they may be offering stuff at close to cost to try to build a reputation and grow the company. The deal is actually still available.
https://4k4less.com/cameras/canon-eos-77d-dslr-camera-with-deluxe-dual-lens-bundle/
It has said “Sale Ends Midnight” since I bought it over a week ago, so I don’t know how long it will last. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy from them again. If you’re okay with buying grey market, I’d recommend them.
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