insman1132 Loc: Southwest Florida

Actually guys, I have purchase two Grey Market cameras though Amazon. In both cases they were clearly marked "International Version, No Warranty" in the large print line at the top of the sales page. So Amazon does sell Grey Market and it does mark the ad clearly.

In both cases, my Nikon B700 was registered on the Nikon Warranty Page of the Nikon USA site, and my Canon SX60 was similarly registered on the Canon USA Website. Both sites took the registration with no rejection. Don't know what this means, as both cameras are now over 1 year old so no warranty applies any more, but I am now getting both Nikon and Canon email advertising on a regular basis.

Charles 46277 Loc: Fulton County, KY

I would say it means that Canon has an agreement with the American distributor to sell only through them, but under law cannot penalize other customers regarding warranty.

henryp Loc: New York, NY

it is? It forces a retailer like B&H to adhere to the US distributor's min selling price even if the retailer would otherwise be willing to offer a lower price to the customer.

henryp Loc: New York, NY

I'm not sure what era this took place in but I've been at B&H for 20+ years and was a full-time professional photographer for 20 years before that. Many US distributors attach MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price) values to products, and they've been a fiction as long as I can remember. The Canon USA press release for the EOS 5D Mk IV (http://bitly.com/2LiwOzQ) for example says, "The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR is currently scheduled to be available in early September 2016 for an estimated retail price of $3,499.00 for the body only." That could be the MSRP or the MAP (minimum advertised price) value or the "unilateral price" (min selling price) value. Cagey of them isn't it?

You said you broke the power of manufacturers to set prices for retailers. But unilateral pricing, legal since the Supreme Court's Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. v. PSKS, Inc., 551 U.S. 877 (2007) decision (http://bitly.com/2MABDJN), does exactly that. Unilateral pricing sets the minimum price an authorized retailer may sell a covered product for. The programs are enforced strictly and penalties for violations can be severe. Retailers MAY NOT sell at any price of the item is included in the US distributor's unilateral price roster. OTOH if it is not, a retailer can sell at any price including far below cost.

kaitoo212 Loc: From CA living in NYC

Thank you for this simply yet informative answer!
kaitoo/daniel

kaitoo212 Loc: From CA living in NYC

Thank you Ralph for the warning of lots of reading and endless discussions!
kaitoo/daniel