Sony RX100 iii on mass drop – $574!

That is a cracking price. However it states that the warranty is covered my massdrop rather than Sony, which makes me wonder if it’s a US model or a grey import that typically sells for much less. Third party warranties on digital cameras are questionable in my mind.

You are right Stuart they finally said that is not a US model and is not covered, that’s why they can bring the price down so low, to bad I was considering it.

Eagle-eyed as always Link. The whole US vs grey import model is so outdated in this day and age, but it is a reality and buyers need to be aware of what comeback they will receive in the event that the camera develops a fault. In my experience, Massdrop aren’t always upfront about what they are selling, so I’m glad they were called out to clarify it on this one.

I appreciate your original post about the US grey market issue, it is what caused me to contact them when I became interested. The person answering my question by email said that if I had read the discussion page and looked back to a 2 month old post I would have seen a post about it being a US  spec camera and was covered by a Sony warranty. I then wrote back that yes I saw that 2 month old post and that was a different camera on a different drop that ended 2 months prior and had nothing to do with the current offering which does not have a Sony warranty but a MassDrop one, she wrote back and said oh ya that was a different deal and that is was not a Sony backed US spec camera after all.  They later posted on the discussion page

It looks as though I should have made it clearer but the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III from the last drop was the US spec version. Sorry about that.

And

We are trying to bring more US spec cameras to the community but the price difference is hard to justify for most members

So I appreciate your heads up on the issue Stuart.

I’m glad I could alert at least one person, Link. I see the details have been updated on the drop to say it’s an international model, but I bet the uninitiated will see a great price and not think things through.

After sales support is as important as the product itself. “Sorry about that” says it all about massdrop, IMO.

Thanks for the legwork Link and sharp eyes Stuart!

sorry guys – I didn’t even notice all of this.

But…it IS a great price if you don’t mind grey market stuff, eh?

“After sales support is as important as the product itself.”

Only if you have a problem with the camera.
Most of my electronic devices never have a warranty problem.
In fact, I can’t remember using a warranty in the last 10 or more years.

billy

I had bought  a camera a few years ago that was bad and luckily had a warranty, if I am going to spend $600 on a camera(that is a lot of money to me)I want to know it will be covered if it is defective.

I feel the same. But. If I were to add up all the money I have spend on extended warranties over the past 10 or 20 years, it would buy several of Sony RX100iii cameras. And I haven’t used any of the manufacturer warranties that I can recall.

So I am tempted to buy one of the 550 or 600 Rx100iii cameras. The 250 or 300 savings over standard 800 price may be worth the gamble. And if there is a problem that money saved can be put toward the repair.

I think my bigger worry about gray market is if the RX100iii offered in these deals might be a copy and not an actual Sony product.

A word of thanks to Link for drilling down through the details, and clarifying.  We all have our experiences, and risk tolerance…but thanks to Link for fact-finding the grey market spec.

“I think my bigger worry about gray market is if the RX100iii offered in these deals might be a copy and not an actual Sony product.”
I have never seen a copy of a known camera* made in any numbers that looked anywhere close to the original and particularly with something like this Sony would be far too expensive to make one.
*The exceptions are a few collectable cameras such as Leica copies made by doctoring another brand look alike camera (for example the Fed 2 changed into a Leica III)
Even those were one at a time not multiples.

The concern about a US warranty is real. I have had both a Nikon 800 and Canon S camera develop problems, even with very careful use. It usually happens within the first year. This is a different issue than extended warranties about which I agree are not a good deal.

Good work everyone. Sometimes if a price is too good to be true, it is. Most people wouldn’t know to ask about the warranty, we just assume it’s there and it works. When you get something as complicated as the RX100 with all the moving parts, etc. a warranty is critical, especially when you pay hundreds of dollars for it.

I have never been on the website in question, but it seems to me that the first sentence in the description should inform potential buyers about the warranty.

Regarding extended warranties, which is a different subject, we usually don’t buy them but there are exceptions. When we got the RX100i Joyce bought a Sony extended warranty, as the camera cost close to $1K when taxes were added. In retrospect, a Square Trade warranty might have been cheaper, but I would need to do a little research on how well the warranty works.