A couple weeks ago I bought a DVX100b on ebay. I was uncertain about the seller, a place called digitalgoodys.com, which I couldn't find in the reseller ratings, but after getting them to confirm in writing that I would be getting a new USA model with a USA warranty, I went ahead and bought it, because the deal was a good one ($2100), and because I had a good credit card that will back me up if I have to dispute the purchase. It should be no surprise that, despite having confirmation in writing, the camera that arrived last week is not the DVX100bps that is the designated USA model number, but instead a DVX100bp, which looks to be the North American model instead (for instance, the one you would purchase in Canada.) After some back and forth with the company, again, all in writing (promises made over the phone are worthless with these guys), I have two options, I can send the camera back, at their expense, and get a full refund, or I can keep the camera and they will send me a two year warranty which, they claim, exceeds the standard Panasonic USA warranty.

I've asked them to send me the details of the warranty, and obviously I am not going to keep the camera unless the warranty information they send me checks out as legitimate and reputable, but if it does check out, then the decision is tougher... I purchased a Nikon D80 while traveling in Croatia last year, and I have no problem with a camera manufactured for the European or Canadian markets as Nikon or Panasonic or any large company would be foolish to offer substandard goods to either of those markets, and this one seems to check out (serial number, model number, accessories) as the real thing, so fundamentally I think this is no different than one with the bps model number for the USA, with the exception of the warranty.

My questions for those of you on this board are, 1. Am I missing something about cameras packaged for sale in other countries? Aren't these cameras manufactured in the same places? Is there anything that would make them inherently less reliable than one packaged for sale in the USA? and 2. Does anyone have experience with any of these extended service companies? I have heard of Mack, and they seem to be given mixed reviews that I would expect from any of these places, but have been around for long enough to be considered reliable, if slow, as long as you read the fine print. I know there are a couple other companies, and any references or experiences with them would be helpful as well.

I know there are a lot of opinions on this subject, but I'm really only interested in facts. Yes, a USA model would be preferable, but there is no denying that a brand new 100b with a two year warranty for $2100 is an excellent deal, and on limited resources, that several hundred dollars difference is enough to let me buy the other equipment I need (mics, batteries, tripod, etc) now versus piecing them together over the next several months.

So... does anyone have experience with these service companies, or any actual negative experiences with non-USA packages? I'm curious to hear from the extensive knowledge of the forum members.

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

Stephen

I got word from them this morning, the company the service contract would be with is Repairtech, who I have at least heard of, though they do not seem to be as popular as Mack. They have several different types of contracts, so I have asked DigitalGoodys to tell me which one they are offering.

Sounds like your opening a can of worms with this one. Who knows if you got a refurbished model. Honestly thats a killer deal but like everything, what you pay for is what you get. If your not happy or feel its not legit, send the camcorder back and get your money. You'll have to pay more but things like a tripod, lens and filter generally carry over from camcorder to camcorder. Pay more, and get reassurance.

Thanks for the reply, but I already made the decision on this one. I called Panasonic and checked out the camera, and was told by their service department that they consider the BP models legit and that even though the warranty is through Canada and Puerto Rico, there won't be any issues with getting it fixed if I have problems.

The repairtech warranty on top of that information made it seem like a solid enough deal, so I decided to keep it. As long as I can get it fixed if anything goes wrong, it doesn't really matter to me that the model number is BP instead of BPS.

Thanks,

ps- I was surprised by the lack of response on this forum... judging from the number of views and lack of responses, there doesn't appear to be much of a DVX community here...