Fairly new to the Leica world with purchase of CL recently. Fantastic camera if a little outdated.
Thinking about a possible purchase of a Q3 43. New prices in US are close to $8k. But there is a seller on eBay All Good Friend Camera that appears to be legit that is selling grey market Q3 43 for around $6,400 brand new as grey market.
Never purchased grey market before and curious if anyone has any experience doing so and with this company. I realize that I may not get the US Leica warranty but have read that Leica may still apply the international warranty.
I have noticed that same company selling new Leica equipment at good prices on eBay. I also would be interested to learn of folks’ experiences with that seller.
It's always a risk when not buying from authorized dealers (new gear) no matter what brand. I haven't bought any new gear in a long time - even after several kit changes. Find one on FM from a member with excellent feedback, and you might find one that's like new for less than $6K and get additional accessories with it.
All Good Friend Camera is a reliable and good seller. They are an authorized Leica vendor. I have purchased from them in the past and was very happy with the experience. The item that I bought was not gray market and came with a full Leica warranty. When I purchased a lens from them, they covered the tariff, so there was no additional cost on my end.
If my understanding is correct, Leica will not repair items under warranty if they are gray market. I don't know if they would repair gray market items for a cost or now. Perhaps someone else can chime in who knows more about that.
Trapshooter wrote:
Fairly new to the Leica world with purchase of CL recently. Fantastic camera if a little outdated.
Thinking about a possible purchase of a Q3 43. New prices in US are close to $8k. But there is a seller on eBay All Good Friend Camera that appears to be legit that is selling grey market Q3 43 for around $6,400 brand new as grey market.
Never purchased grey market before and curious if anyone has any experience doing so and with this company. I realize that I may not get the US Leica warranty but have read that Leica may still apply the international warranty.
As long as you are purchasing from an Authorized Leica Dealer- The warranty is Global.
So purchase from a Authorized seller in China- if you have your recepit you can have it serviced anywhere on the globe- US, EMEA etc-
Its actually a very nice thing with Leica- Also the buy and used board here, warranties are 100% transferable so if you buy used, just make sure you have the recepit and you can have it serviced as well.
Leica warranty is global so covered no matter what Country it was bought in.
Leica warranty is transferable between private owners. If you bought a Leica from a private seller the warranty is good for its original term. The seller must unregister it on his account, and then the new buyer must register it under his account.
All Good Friend Camera appears to be an authorized dealer, so buying a new camera from him is grey market how?
Abuttolph wrote:
All Good Friend Camera is a reliable and good seller. They are an authorized Leica vendor. I have purchased from them in the past and was very happy with the experience. The item that I bought was not gray market and came with a full Leica warranty. When I purchased a lens from them, they covered the tariff, so there was no additional cost on my end.
If my understanding is correct, Leica will not repair items under warranty if they are gray market. I don't know if they would repair gray market items for a cost or now. Perhaps someone else can chime in who knows more about that. ...Show more →
This is very good information. Thank you!
Even with out of warranty repairs, my experience has been that sometimes Leica USA will do it at no charge. I don't know what reasoning they use to decide when, or if, to do so.
@Trapshooter IMO the biggest concern is how a potential return would be handled if the camera arrived DOA, or with some other problem. Alternatively, it could be shipped to Leica for servicing, but as you may know, Leica is not generally very speedy with repair turnaround times. The other concern would be tariffs and who pays them, but that appears to have been addressed in an earlier post. If they're paying the tariff for you, that's certain a win for you.
All Good friends have been around for a very long time.
I have purchased several items from them, both online and in person every time I visit Hong Kong.
Very nice folks, highly recommended
As others have said, you get the typical 2+1 years of warranty when you buy from them.
As long as you are purchasing from an Authorized Leica Dealer- The warranty is Global.
So purchase from a Authorized seller in China- if you have your recepit you can have it serviced anywhere on the globe- US, EMEA etc-
Its actually a very nice thing with Leica- Also the buy and used board here, warranties are 100% transferable so if you buy used, just make sure you have the recepit and you can have it serviced as well.
Hope this helps-
To clarify, which goes along with your statement about buying from an authorized vendor, gray market for Leica would be buying it new from an unauthorized vendor.
Leica does not restrict an authorized vendor to be a USA seller and, as stated, honors their warranty and product whether it was purchased in the US or not. This is a huge benefit.
Based on what others have said as long as I am comfortable purchasing from a HK business this seems like a no brainer if I want to save about $1,500 on a new Q3 43!
Well, it is a no brainer as long as there is nothing wrong with the camera!
If you buy ‘local’ and there is an issue, at least here in the US it is very easy to just return and get your money back.
When you buy from abroad, there may be an issue doing that. And while Leica can service it, they take their sweet sweet time.
Ask me how I know all this! ‘Cough’ film scratching M6 bought from Leica dealer in England ‘cough’…
Well, it is a no brainer as long as there is nothing wrong with the camera!
If you buy ‘local’ and there is an issue, at least here in the US it is very easy to just return and get your money back.
When you buy from abroad, there may be an issue doing that. And while Leica can service it, they take their sweet sweet time.
Ask me how I know all this! ‘Cough’ film scratching M6 bought from Leica dealer in England ‘cough’…
Ok that’s a good point. Although returned are permitted that could be a huge hassle.
I have no experience with that particular seller but have bought several lenses and cameras in HK in person from several different businesses and always had a good experience.
The prices for camera equipment (Leica and otherwise) there are among the lowest I have found anywhere (I think it has to do with taxes) and they have a very robust camera scene with lots of new and second-hand options that are hard to find anywhere else sometimes....especially for Leica.
I do live in Asia though and HK is only a short flight away from me, so that helps....
Well I decided to purchase from this HK seller on e-Bay. They have 100% satisfaction and hopefully the transaction will go smoothly! Got the last Q3 43 they had in stock for now. Thanks for the opinions.
I would say that HK has the sweetest Leica price around the world. Here are some retailers that have great credit accumulated through years.
Meteor HK, Fotopia, MK camera and the one that OP mentioned, AGF camera
I personally made few purchase with Meteor HK. Highly recommende
Trapshooter wrote:
Well I decided to purchase from this HK seller on e-Bay. They have 100% satisfaction and hopefully the transaction will go smoothly! Got the last Q3 43 they had in stock for now. Thanks for the opinions.
Congratulations. I am sure the Q3 43 will bring you many amazing years of image making!
