So are cameras sold at momo, PC home, Friday etc have manufacturer’s warranty. Or if I go to a physical store is there a way to tell?
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All cameras have to be listed clearly either as white or gray market. The Chinese will say 公司貨 or 水貨. For gray market you generally get a one year warranty which means only local repair, white market the full two years manufacturer warranty so a Fuji camera will go back to Fuji for replacement or repair.
PC home etc. sell both kinds. Same with Camera King, they’ll list both so a 38k white market camera might be 30k gray market and they’ll be side by side on the website.
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Thanks for the reply. 公司貨 or 水貨 is very usefull.
But what does local repair mean? Does the store do the repair.
No there’s a couple of repair companies that do all the repairs for all the brands for the gray market goods. They aren’t very good at it either.
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Thanks. I was able buy my camera at PC Home. It came with two year warranty. Only negative was the user manual was in Chinese.
Buy at a real camera shop if you want to avoid grey market. It’s an issue if you want warranty. Yes it will probably be a bit more expensive compared to Amazon but Amazon is effectively grey market, you will not get warranty support if you ever need it.
Not true, even they sell grey market imports. Last camera I got was a grey import over the counter (didn’t matter at the time if grey or not as I had world wide equipment cover).
I think they tell you if it’s grey market.
Yes they do and you can see the reduction in price, in my case saved me around 25%.
This! Some are outright scams and just fuck people left right and center.
I now only buy from the brand itself. It may be a couple thousand more on sticker price, but their warranty is actually honored, not like the local third party BS. Pretty much every camera I have bought in Taiwan, and Canada (all canon) have been honored.
The third party bs I have had literally 0 success rate, and even a few coming back more damaged or broken (Canon, fuji, Sony and nikon).
For me, if a store says they sell it cheaper and have 3 year warranty, I literally just walk out. Not worth my time, nor money, dealing with the pricks.
Most often it means third party, but within Taiwan.
If cameras brake down it’s mostly after warranty expired already, I don’t care if gray or white.
Should be. But many of my equipment has failed in year 1 (edit. Camera bodies have failed in year 1). A proper warranty is worth its weight. A Taiwanese 3rd party warranty will probably just break your camera even more 
With proper warranties from the manufacturer, I have had refunds of cameras fixed overseas with receipt every time (canon). As much as I despise canons
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Not a good advert for Canon, I normally used Nikon and recently Fuji only had 1 Nikon fail and that was after about 4 years. I did have a Linhof Technika 4x5 that was about 40 years out of warranty when it developed a fault and I had to fix it myself, terrible service 
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Ya haha, that’s the feeling I have had as well. I have had 3 boards give out and 2 sensors, 1 was scratched at purchase inside the glass lol.
Once fixed, no issues. I guess that speaks more to taiwans Canon shop than Japan’s factory
I had a LUMIX that died on me and the third party repair outfit pissed around with it for so long by the time I got the boss to look at it he told me the motherboard was rusty. It was a new camera ffs.
I’m the resident expert on this brah, no need to reply to my post. Camera shops will offer you white or gray market goods, totally consumer choice. And if it’s gray market you know because there’s no fapiao. The transaction is unofficial.
You need to know the right repair company.
There can be a receipt but they don’t accept CC.
When paying out of pocket outside warranty, I agree. Know the right one. I made a thread last year searching for such a unicorn, and so far have still not found it. The real question is, which one? If you know a good one, I bet loads of people would be ecstatic to hear about them. I would be, at least 
More importantly, the stores buying products from distributors (be them official or not) are signed onto a single warranty company most of the time. In terms of say cameras, the consumer basically only has the choice (from the vendor) of a single option third party (almost always complete dog shit/borderline criminals) and the manufacturers warranty. Over the years, I take the more expensive manufacturers warranty over the pretty much guaranteed will fuck you guarantee. In the end, it’s often cheaper if someone is using the equipment daily for work to take the manufacturers warranty. I am always open, and searching, for this ever elusive amazing thelird party option. But I have not found it in 20 years of searching. Cell phones and computers seem easy. Cameras, I have not heard of such basic professionalism.
I get the sense from those far more avid than I, that the top end stuff does have real good services. But the mid range folks like me, never heard of it. More elusive than real ghosts in August.