Sadly, I've also just been caught out by a similar grey import [problem] ... on a Nikon camera again ... my motive being to save nearly £100 against other deals going at the time to purchase a Nikon D7000 camera at the eventual knock-down deal of £713.
A very false economy and I really should have known better!
Also, I only discovered this supplier anyway through their being listed as a 'seller' on Amazon's website and then thought that this made the deal all perfectly safe!
(Obviously that's not the case and I wonder if Amazon should also be made aware of the situation?)
After placing the order, the camera actually arrived earlier than expected (at least there's that to be thankful for) but the registration and warranty paperwork was missing from the carton. I reported this to the supplier, who replied:
For further reassurance we have attached a copy of our Warranty Terms so that you are able to see the full details of our warranty coverage. >>[/font][/color][/font][/color]
No, this was no reassurance either ... my purchase was for a camera, not a lens!!
I haven't responded to the message at all at the moment and, when considering the following, I'm unsure whether I ought or not.
Not surprisingly, there's nothing about this waranty situation mentioned at all on the supplier's website and all their documentation also omits to specify any postal address, thoughIhave since found one listed on their website.
Had any of this been clear at the time, my suspicions would have been lit up and I'd have definitely pulled out of the transaction. Otherwise, everything else led me to believe that the organisation was genuine and bone-fide. Even if their reply (above) seems to have a sniff of credibility about it (why did they bother?), it's just a bit too naive to expect anyone to be taken in easilyby such empty, worthless garbage.
At the moment, I'm unsure what to do ... or even what's really worth doing.
Right now, at least I have the camera I wanted for the £700 I initially parted with - plus it seems to work OK and I'm thankful (relieved) for that, so maybe I should write it all off against experience.
The risk in that is that if something serious does go wrong (ie: if the sensor needs replacing - £500+) in the next couple of years, then the kit becomes totally uneconomic to repair and all my money's gone down the pan.
If I fight to get the money back, I can equally forsee a long, bloody and energy-sapping legal fight and that doesn't feel too palateable either.
All like rocks and hard places again!
Does anyone have any thoughts to offer please?