Is the dealer Provision direct know to you guys?
Provision Direct - Professional Video and Audio Equipment (http://www.provisiondirect.co.uk)

stelios

Not one I had heard of, I must admit, but their website looks genuine enough.

Just for fun I looked up their address in Google maps. The image is dated Sept 2009 and the building was empty then, but if this is a fairly new company that would fit in. Hope it's OK to upload it here.

I visited their operation about 2 years ago. They operated in a couple of rented offices in a small business centre and although they said that they had been there over 6 months, their company name did not appear on the board in reception.
They (a guy called Jeremy) admitted that all the goods were grey imports and they were offering a locally sourced warranty as there was no Prime Support available on the items on offer. This suggests that they were sourced from outside Europe. I was not sure how Sony UK/Europe might support such hardware.
The name 'Provision Direct' is coincidentally similar to 'Proactive UK Ltd.' which is a Sony listed dealership and located only a couple of miles away.
I decided to give Provision a miss, a decision that it would seem to be appropriate from unsolicited comments received from others since my visit. It is listed on the UK Companies House website, but accounts and returns are shown as overdue. I was able to visit the operation as it is quite local. I would be very wary of making purchases remotely, especially internationally.

Steve

To add to what Steve says...

As far as I'm concerned, the "Big three" in the UK are:

Pro AV (http://www.proav.co.uk)
CVP (http://www.cvp.co.uk)
H Preston (http://www.videokit.co.uk)

Their prices are generally pretty similar to each other, and anything offering prices much lower are likely to be grey imports or with some other catch.

The above three companies are the ones I would actually trust with large sums of money, with excellent service and they're all official dealiers for Sony, Panasonic etc.

Typically, posts like this one appear because someone has found a retailer that is cheaper than the main ones, and a bargain from them is tempting, to save a few hundred quid/dollars, but they're worried that it isn't quite legit.

There's always a reason why things are cheaper, and it's never because someone is a philanthropist and is discounting just because they are generous.

I agree with the comments above. I would also add Jigsaw24 to the list of trusted suppliers (since I've successfully spent large sums of money with them - well over £15,000 or so in the past 3 years - and have been very satisfied with their service).

The UK's number 1 Apple Mac & Adobe Dealer ? Jigsaw Systems Ltd (http://www.jigsaw24.com/)

I ...They (a guy called Jeremy) admitted that all the goods were grey imports and they were offering a locally sourced warranty as there was no Prime Support available on the items on offer. This suggests that they were sourced from outside Europe...Steve

Steve
what do you mean by "grey imports"? Does it mean the they are not manufactured by SONY? or are they demo units? If say he sources them from Japan or Hong Kong, does it mean that there are no Sony warranties?

stelios

The price difference is nearly Euro 600 (on the Sony HXR-NX5E) from all the others! I suppose this is suspicious.
Also most well know dealers are out of stock.

What about this WTS and Prokit shops?

WTS Broadcast (http://www.wtsbroadcast.com/)

http://www.prokit.co.uk/

stelios

Steve
what do you mean by "grey imports"? Does it mean the they are not manufactured by SONY? or are they demo units? If say he sources them from Japan or Hong Kong, does it mean that there are no Sony warranties?

stelios

Hi Stelios,

In the UK, 'grey imports' are items that have been procured from the cheapest sources globally and offered for sale. The Far East and the US are common sources, and sometimes bankrupt stock maybe on offer as fresh new kit. They are the genuine article, but will not have any UK or European localisation and have not been handled by the manufacturer's European operation. Although in hardware terms this may only amount to the wrong ac power connectors on the power adaptor, (on pro HD gear the NTSC/PAL issue is not normally an issue), it is the warranty/repair/update issue that is of greatest concern.
Take Sony kit for instance, all items purchased from an authorised Sony source within the EU will be supported by the Sony operation local to the owner's location. This is part of EU consumer protection law anyway.
Grey imports will not have any warranty support from Sony Europe, and they may even refuse to provide paid for service and insist that it is returned to the US or Far East (i.e. wherever it was delivered for sale). Some vendors of grey imports provide a third party warranty, but the company providing this service may not be around when you need it!
If your living or even your reputation depends on reliable kit, I would suggest that grey imports are not the way to go, even to save a few hundred Euros. Mike and Andy have identified genuine Sony approved dealers in the UK who can deliver and support Europe wide.

Steve

Thank you Steve for the clarifications.
Taking all into consideration here and based on everybody's advise I finally went with WTS, an authorised Sony Dealer.

stelios