Just my very limited experience: I saw them advertise the camera I bought for $200 dollars cheaper than anywhere else. I was very excited! I checked all the Abe’s of Maine reviews noting the “bait and switch” about grey market cameras and then the call to the potential customer about paying extra for the USA model. So, I made a list of questions to ask and called them. The sales rep said that for the model with the USA charger would in fact cost an additional $100 dollars. This was still $100 dollars cheaper than anywhere else. I was disappointed and decided the ads were somewhat misleading so I thanked the sales rep and hung up.
I called B&H, got my camera free shipping no sales tax, got a free SD card, and the camera arrived ahead of schedule.
So now, I stick to B&H, Adorama or KEH. I despise paying the governor so try to avoid Amazon, which now charges sales tax. YMMV.
I personally would stick with ABC, KEH, or any other the local brick and mortar stores that may be near you. Abe's of Maine has always had a reputation of doing bait and switch, trying to pass off grey market cameras by saying they have a US warranty (but not manufacturer) and when there is a problem, when then "good luck".
I actually went to their store in NJ to look at a Nikon to upgrade my D5000. Getting clear information from them was a problem (again, around warranty, grey vs. US, etc.) and then they tried to push their bundle for extras on me. They also tried to sell items normally included (battery, charger in this case) as extras which I turned down. I did not purchase from them however when I went online to check their BBB and Yelp profiles, both are pretty bad.
We all want to find a good deal and this time of year, all the manufacturers are offering rebates galore. I would suggest sticking with a reputable store and if it costs me a few $ more, at least I'll have the peace of mind to know I won't get burned down the road.
PhotoKurtz wrote:
Looking at new Canon 5d Mark IV. Abes of main
www.abesofmain.com shows $2749.
Any experience with them?
Canon told me they can do $3039.05
Best Buy $3199
Avoid Abe's like the plague. Their high-end Canon cameras that they offer at lower prices than other retail businesses are grey market items. They remove the standard accessories (charger, cables, etc.) from the retail box (which most legit sellers will deliver sealed, complete, and unopened) and attempt to sell them and other "junk" accessories back to you at inflated prices. They are essentially a "bait and switch" operation. There are many previous unfavorable remarks about them in other UHH threads; I recommend that you do a brief search in UHH topics about them. I agree with "Pixelstan" that you should stick with B&H and Adorama vis-à-vis Abe's.
Also, you can probably save some money by buying used or refurbished. In addition to B&H and Adorama, you can buy used with confidence at KEH. And refurbished cameras from Canon Refurbished are considered by many to be better than new because they have been fully inspected and tested by Canon techs (more in depth than the standard quality control inspection for items coming off the assembly line) before being offered for sale through Canon Refurbished.
As of the date and time of this post, I see that Canon Refurbished is offering a 5D mark iv body for $2,599.00. Even if you have to pay state sales taxes on that amount--as would be the case for me here in Tennessee--it would still seem to be a good deal over Best Buy or a "new" purchase from Canon. And Canon Refurbished includes a full one year Canon manufacturer's warranty just like that on their new cameras.
Best regards,
I have always used Cametta Camera....you can call and talk to some real savvy sales guys...no commission!
rehess
Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA
Linda From Maine wrote:
That's pretty funny that they actually have a url with the misspelled word, Maine
Reminds of when realtor.com first came into being and some enterprising small, private company in Florida created a url with the common mispronunciation: realAtor.com
Smart!
So we have Linda-no-longer-from-Maine commenting on Abe-no-longer-of-Maine - why is everyone leaving Maine??
Problem solved. Canon corp dropped the price to $2599 w 32 G Flash card, free shipping, one year warranty.
Thanks for all the feedback!
Jeff
And now I'm getting Abe's of Maine popups... oh well.
The last time I ordered anything from them was in 1998. It still has not been delivered.
Linda From Maine wrote:
Reminds of when realtor.com first came into being and some enterprising small, private company in Florida created a url with the common mispronunciation: realAtor.com
Smart!
In this case, Linda, it probably was not a misspelling, but was a play on "gator" as in alligator or Florida Gators.
mrtaxi
Loc: Old Westbury NY, Fort Lauderdale, FL
I used to buy from them about 10 years ago or so and they were fine. The delivered to NY price from NJ was cheaper than the NY stores and UPS standard delivery was just 1 day. My experiences with many purchases with both B&H and Adorama have been far superior. They are helpful, honorable and go the extra mile so other than finding refurbished deals directly thru Canon I go only to these stores.
Bear123
Loc: Wild & Wonderful West Virginia
PhotoKurtz wrote:
And now I'm getting Abe's of Maine popups... oh well.
download a pop-up blocker
Nice to be able to check in with knowledgable peeps on these things. ( Spell checker pls...)
PhotoKurtz wrote:
Looking at new Canon 5d Mark IV. Abes of main
www.abesofmain.com shows $2749.
Any experience with them?
Canon told me they can do $3039.05
Best Buy $3199
If you're still in the market here's a great buy at this time .... Canon is having a refurbed sale with a full 1 yr. warranty ...
" EOS 5D Mark IV is now $2599.20 "
-FYI
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