Exactly what is the difference between "international" (grey market) and "USA" warranties?
The following info was obtained from a number of Canon sources, but is not, repeat not an official quote or statement from Canon or Canon USA. You can use this information as a guide, but if warranty repair status is very important to you, you should check with Canon directly to find their current policy. If in doubt, get the USA warranty and pay the extra few dollars.
There are basically two kinds of dealers who sell Canon photographic products in the USA. Authorized and non-authorized. Authorized dealers buy at least some of their Canon merchandise from Canon USA, non-authorized dealers do not. Theoretically at least, any USA dealer can obtain gray-market merchandise; in reality, both kinds of dealers do.
No matter what a salesdroid may tell you, all Canon equipment passes the same quality control. There is no such thing as a substandard Canon camera, made in Korea, and imported as "grey market". Grey Market Canon equipment is just as good as "USA" equipment. However, there are (or can be) warranty differences and it is possible that manuals might not be in English (though they usually are). There may be additional problems with equipment never intended for sale in the USA, like the EOS 10QD, since replacement parts might not be available here very easily.
If a customer purchases grey-market Canon merchandise in the United States from a non-authorized Canon dealer, Canon USA has no obligation to provide that customer with warranty service. (But they might, see below).
If a customer purchases grey-market Canon merchandise in the United States from an AUTHORIZED Canon USA dealer, Canon USA will usually provide warranty service on that item, even without a legitimate Canon USA warranty, as long as the customer can produce a legitimate bill of sale showing the description and serial number of the merchandise.
If a customer purchases grey-market Canon merchandise purchased OUTSIDE the USA or Canada, then once again CANON USA has no obligation to provide warranty service.
On the other hand, Canon merchandise purchased outside the USA or Canada, but WITH A LEGITIMATE CANON WORLDWIDE WARRANTY is different. In this case Canon USA Factory Service will honor warranty repairs on such merchandise.
Note that Canon USA warranties are issued by Canon USA, Inc., an independent sales subsidiary of Canon Inc., the manufacturer of Canon products. Canon Inc. issues no warranties. If a gray-market item is repaired at no charge by Canon USA, Canon USA loses money on the deal. They are probably not pleased to pay their technicians to repair gray-market goods sold by authorized Canon USA dealers, but in the long run, it seems that they think that it is better to honor the warranty than to lose the dealer or customer, so repairs are usually performed at no charge to the customer. With a non-authorized dealer, there's nothing to lose as far as Canon USA are concerned, except for the possibility of future customer sales through an authorized dealer. Again it seems that even with grey market equipment bought from non- authorized dealers, warranty repair may be performed at no charge - just don't bet on it. It doesn't seem to be a legal obligation on Canon's part and they do it just to be nice to customers. This could change at any time, so be warned. There are no reports on rec.photo of Canon refusing to repair grey market goods under warranty at this time (09/93), but things could change. Again, if you are worried about such things it might make sense to pay the extra few dollars and get the USA warranty version of whatever you are buying. Typically, USA warrantied items are about 10% more than "grey market" equivalents, but it all depends on the store.
Extended warranties are available on all Canon EOS bodies for about $40 (discount). This extended warranty is offered by Canon (not by the camera store or any 3rd party) and is only available on Canon USA products (i.e. not on grey market goods). Whether or not it is a good idea depends on you. It will certainly be cheaper than any out of warranty repair. It adds 4 years to the existing Canon 1 year warranty, so you are covered for 5 years. It's like any form of insurance - a gamble. If your camera breaks, it's worth it, if it doesn't, it isn't. Presumably Canon do not lose money on the deal, so they are betting the cameras will not break .
RMA
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