Black Friday is coming up very soon! This post summarizes all the (known) Canon deals on Black Friday, and gives a bit of the history so you know what you might be able to expect.
Note, we are focusing on the higher-end Canon items. Most of the traditional discounts on Black Friday are on consumer-grade bodies and lenses — there will be too many Rebel kit deals to track. For the purpose of this post we’ll focus on the higher end lenses and prosumer/professional grade bodies.
2013 Confirmed
- EOS 5D Mark III for $2445 at eBay
- Likely from unauthorized dealer BigValueInc.
- Set a notification to be e-mailed when this deal is live.
- This deal sold out in 4 hours from 3 AM to 7 AM last year!
- EOS 6D for $1400 at eBay
- Likely from unauthorized dealer BigValueInc.
- Set a notification to be e-mailed when this deal is live.
- The Canon Direct Store has a refurbished sale from November 24th through December 2nd: 15% off lenses and up to 25% off select bodies. This sale covers Black Friday and we’re not expecting to see any additional sales at this time.
- We’ll update this post as more deals are known.
2012 History
- EOS 5D Mark III for $2499 at BigValue Inc via eBay
- This deal started at 3 AM ET and sold out by 7 AM ET. 500 were sold; this was (and still is!) the lowest price for this body-only new, although this was an unauthorized dealer.
- A Canon refurbished sale (25%-30% off) on select EOS bodies started on Black Friday.
- The best deals (at the time) were the EOS 5D Mark II refurbished for $1319.40, or the EOS 60D refurbished for $599.99.
- A Canon refurbished sale (20% off) on refurbished lenses started on Cyber Monday.
- The site was overwhelmed and crashed all day, the first day of the sale — but those who got through got a great deal.
- Some L-lens sales in the first week of December — but nothing compared the double-dip deals we’ve already seen in 2013.
2011 History
- Canon started a three-day Thanksgiving instant rebate on lenses, featuring up to $200 off.
- Most notable was a $200 rebate on the one year old 70-200 II.
- These rebates were doubled with the purchase of a 5D2, 7D, or 60D.
- The three-day rebate was extended to cover the entire Holiday season.
- B&H cleared out the 24-70mm f/2.8L (mark I) for $1199.
- On Cyber Monday the price for the 70-200 II was $2074 at B&H or Amazon.
- This was the lowest price that we’d seen, and remained the lowest until December 2012.
Did we miss a deal? Let us know!
25-30% off the refurbished 6D and 5D3 would make my BF 2013.
Anyone have any issues with 5Diii s from BigValueInc.?
Buying from Big Value is like rolling dice…some times you lose, some times you win, but mostly you lose. Check the ratings….YOU WILL BE ONE OF THOSE!
I’ve ordered the 24-105L from BigValueInc. and it came with the warranty card in a white box. Works great, looked brand new, with all the accessories.
No issues at all, overall I think I made a good buy. It did come in a box that said mk iii and kit lens (and obviously no kit lens because I only ordered body), that was the only thing that was weird but when I called they explained why. My camera though, no complaints.
Chi Linh… What will you do with the 5d mark 2 lolz
Same here, got 5dm3 lens kit box but odviously no lens. They sell lens separately. I have no problems with camera, sealed manuals, etc. I did not get warranty card. I did get an original invoice if I needed to file warranty claim for Canon. Heard that’s all you need even though not from a authorized dealer. Sure, you can research this some more before you buy but it’ll drive you crazy. Canon doesn’t ask for warranty card when doing a claim. They ask for receipt/invoice
” Canon doesn’t ask for warranty card when doing a claim. They ask for receipt/invoice”
That’s true. However if the serial number comes up as a Grey market item you don’t have a USA Warranty and will have to pay for all repairs.
I’m going with a trusted vendor. With an item that cost this much I would rather pay a little more and know I’m covered.
We did a poll recently and asked people about their experience in sending in non-authorized dealer items for warranty service in the US. We got 27 responses and no one ever had any issue getting warranty service on a US model item.
Here are the results of the poll here: http://www.canonpricewatch.com/warranty-poll/
Thanks for the responses. It seems that the main potential issue is whether or not the item will be grey market, and therefore potentially not serviceable by the Canon U.S.A. facility under warranty (or not).
Has anyone who bought a camera through BigValueInc called Canon USA to check their serial number?
This should be a way to tell if it is grey market or not. Ken Rockwell has an informative piece on all of this online.
Also, for those that received a warranty card, does it say U.S.A., with U.S. addresses of service facilities?
What about firmware updates? Has anyone had any issues updating firmware for a camera bought by BigValueInc?
Thanks!
Just wondering if you have heard any good deals on high speed SD cards? I know not normal things you cover but they go together figures it doesn’t hurt to ask.
So I called Canon and asked about the 5dm3 I got from ebay Bigvalueinc. Canon rep said they cannot look up by serial number to see, as expected. He asked a couple of clues which may indicate it being Grey market. What language is the manual in, did it come with usa warranty card, the seller would likely know if grey market, and does the serial number match the box’s bar code. My answers were I have both english and spanish manuals sealed, I do not have a warranty card, I did request a USA model in my comments box during checkout on ebay, serial number does match the box (after the 21 number as expected). I just went online to Canon and updated my firmware version from 1.2.1 to 1.2.3 with no problems. When I first got it, I also registered it online on Canon website.
I have no definitive answer that my 5dm3 camera is a grey market one.
Rep did say you just need a receipt/invoice with your camera for a warranty claim.
I have a same case as Alex. I was able to register this camera and check for Firmware and it was already upto date.
I had also brougth a 7D about an year ago from them and had no issues with that too. The customer care rep from bigvalue inc mentioned that they provide 1 yr warranty to their products.
You say it starts at 3am – is that EST or PST?
Last year it started at 3 AM ET, but we have no idea what will happen this year.
so when this deal come out?
is it after nov 28 24:00 ?
i can’t wait!
Just sharing the wealth will all you guys. RIGHT now you can find 5D mkiii for $1900 !! They’re listed under “Used” but description says New” “never used” you’re welcome 🙂
Where? Beware of scams, that price is too good to be true.