Well I'm still searching for that right worthy VX2000 at a reasonable price and yes I know you pay what you get for. BUT!

I do have a Sony Representative that is very nice and gives me free of charge repairs.

What I was wondering is how bad can a grey market item be? Is it only called grey market becuase it was produced in another country and there is no warranty? Or is it the fact that it could be a defective item, or not made to the standards of a Japan Sony Manufactuer?

Does Sony Manufactuer Goods in Canada?

Has anyone owned a grey market item? Have you been able work the camcorder without problems?

A stock B stock?... A as in Grade A meat in for steak?

Thanx for you time!

The thing with purchasing Grey Market/B stock is you won't get any support from the manufacturer. You might have a friend who can do the repairs, but you're still going to get charged for parts unless your friend wants to loose his job.

You might score and never have problems, but then again you might get stuck with a piece of crap the isn't even good for a bookend. I don't know about you but I'm not willing, or can I afford to gamble a couple of grand that way.

Grey market and B stock are two different things. Grey market goods are items imported into a country by someone other than the authorized importer. the can be sold through the ususal distribution channels. B and H Photo sells both grey and US on many items. Grey market items carry a world wide warranty but not a US warranty. Warranty in the US would be at full retail. Free warrranty service would be provided but you have to ship your item back to Japan or some other country. Canada does not qualify. A US warranty is valid if you can provide a US warranty card and a dated sales receipt within the warranty period. Almost all electronic companies have a 1 year parts warranty and 90 day labor warranty. Canon is one of the few (only?) that provide a 1 year labor warranty in addition to the parts. Labor is by far and away the most expensive part of most warranty repairs.

B grade goods are store returns, demo items from shows or salesmen, factory repairs etc. They usually have a warranty but check carefully. The warranties will vary from none to one year. B stock should have full factory support as they are usually the originator of the item. But sometimes not the usual warranty.

Jeff Donald