>Marko Vrabec wrote:
>
>>It was mentioned several times on this list that Tel Aviv is a source of
>>grey-market OM items and consequently also a place where NY shops get
>>most of their stuff from.
>
>This is a persistent urban legend that was repeated here once or twice,
>but each time I made an attempt to pin down its origin(s), nothing of
>substance came out of it. Moreover, on my last trip to Israel (in
>Spring 1998), I inquired about it with several big photogear dealers.
>Invariably, the idea was met with utter disbelief, and was denied by
>anyone in the industry as lacking any business sense, or common sense.
>Nor have I seen any U.S.-bound photo merchandise in the local stores.
>
>Indeed, shipping ANYTHING from Japan/Southeast Asia to North America
>through Israel is economically non-viable. No offense, but unless
>someone can explain what economic mechanism is responsible for cheaper
>Japanese-made grey market products that involves NYC camera stores and
>Israel, I'll have to treat it as pure bunk. Note that the conspiracy
>theories of Jewish world domination are getting really old. Besides,
>there are very few Jews in Japan (uhm, any credence to the rumor that
>Maitani is/might be Jewish? :-)).
>
>I regret sounding so harsh on the subject. However, a week spent
>in fly-over country (aka as Middle America), ruthlessly exposed to
>Radio Free America, where one gets to listen to incredulous theorizing
>that Janet Reno is really Jewish (isn't that a hoot?), as well as to
>"serious" discussions on how and why Jews, such a tiny minority, have
>become so prominent (talent and hard work are no excuse; the only
>"credible" explanation: satanic/diabolical forces at play) -- has had
>its impact on me.
>
>P.S. Janet Reno is the U.S. Attorney General.
>
>Winsor Crosby wrote:
>
>>With the current economic troubles in Asia, you are probably getting
>>Japanese bound Oly merchandise on the gray market now.
>
>I'm not sure I understand this sentence, esp. wrt OLY goodies.
>
>Cheers,
>
>
>/Gary Schloss.
>Studio City, CA
>schloss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
Gary,
Since I am quoted, sorry about the garbled sentence. What I was trying to
say is that with the current drop in Oly prices in Japan as reported by
people on the list who have been there, and without a corresponding drop in
prices in here, it is not inconceivable that some of the gray market
cameras being sold in NY could have been intended for the Japanese domestic
market.
Just for the record, I have no patience with anti-semitism or any other
kind of bigotry either.
I think I referred to the middle east which is not code for anything else,
a collection of countries in a certain part of the world, because that was
mentioned in the article about the computer gray market I had seen.
I don't think the gray market requires that you ship things around, just
that you convince the manufacturer that you are shipping to a cheap market
and that you deserve the low price for that market. Then you divert the
goods to a higher priced market like the US.
The gray market is a fact. Apple computer is currently threatening legal
action against sellers of gray market Macs. Several have stopped selling
Macs at all because of the pressure.
The photo magazines periodically warn mail order camera buyers to make sure
they are getting merchandise with the U.S. warranty. If you enquire at B&H
you can, on some items, get two prices. The cheaper price is for an item in
stock with no U. S . warranty, or you can pay a higher price for an item
with no U. S. warranty that must be special ordered.
Winsor
Winsor Crosby
Long Beach, California
mailto:wincros@xxxxxxxxxxx
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