Canon Refurbished Store Restocked — 15%-Off Lenses

The Canon Direct Store sale on refurbished lenses just restocked, about 30 minutes ago. They’re offering 15% off. See the refurbished stock tracker for all items still in stock.

It looks like many of the desirable lenses were available, but sold out within minutes! Browse the used item feed to see what sort of items were re-stocked, their price, and how quickly they sold out. This was probably the last major restock for this sale, which ends on December 20th.

If this post is the first time you’re hearing about the restock — well, you’re doing something wrong! You need to sign up for e-mail notification on a specific item, readers who did were notified within minutes when the restock happened at 12:55 PM ET. We put together a new notification management page where you can see all your active notifications (and manage them from one convenient page). It’s important to set notifications on specific items as these e-mails happen automatically when the restock happens.

If you did this and you snagged something in this incredible sale, leave a bragging comment below!


If you purchase something through a link on our site, we may get a small share of the sale (at no cost to you). Please read our disclosure for more info.

32 comments on “Canon Refurbished Store Restocked — 15%-Off Lenses

  1. t
    December 17, 2014 at 1:52 pm EDT

    finally snagged a 100 Macro L. was even able to use my canon cash!

    Also, you probably meant to say the sale ends on December 20th, not November 20th. 🙂

    1. CanonPriceWatch
      December 17, 2014 at 1:53 pm EDT

      Congrats. Thanks. Fixed. I am still living in November, the last month has been a complete blur.

  2. Larry Fernandez
    December 17, 2014 at 1:57 pm EDT

    I managed to snag the 8-15 Fisheye and 1.4 extender!!!! But the 70-200 2.8 IS remains elusive. It was in the cart but I wasted valuable time trying to apply the CHEER shipping code – which didn’t work – and the lens escaped at the last second. I will probably use the street price if Canon has no more stock for this sale. I called to request changing the standard Fed Ex shipping ($15) to the CHEER shipping (2 day for $7) but was told they would have to cancel the order to apply it – and that would have been the demise of the deal. So – my advice – If they do this again – Damn the codes! place your order! Happy Holidays and good hunting!

    1. CanonPriceWatch
      December 17, 2014 at 1:58 pm EDT

      Congrats, and agreed. Codes are a total timewaster during a sale. Just buy. (Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish!)

  3. CanonPriceWatch
    December 17, 2014 at 2:02 pm EDT

    For the geeks out there in the crowd, we actually sent out over 38K e-mails in just 7 minutes. We’ve had to do some serious mail server upgrades to get e-mails sent out in a timely fashion each and every restock. And likely more upgrades in the future at this rate!

  4. Andrea
    December 17, 2014 at 2:05 pm EDT

    Geez… I clicked the link seconds after receiving the email and they were already out of stock on the 70-200 2.8 is ii usm! I added it to my wish list in hopes that maybe Canon can notify me earlier, but there must be people just sitting their with eyes fixed on the refurbs.

    1. David
      December 17, 2014 at 2:16 pm EDT

      What time did you receive the email? I got a notice from CPW at 1:00pm. The 70-200 were still in stock until about 1:10.

      1. CanonPriceWatch
        December 17, 2014 at 2:18 pm EDT

        Yes, the e-mails were sent starting at 12:55 PM. Due to volume it just takes a few minutes to get all the notifications sent.

        I should consider setting up SMS alerts or push notifications…

        1. David
          December 17, 2014 at 2:26 pm EDT

          Even with the delay I was still able to be the first person to buy the 24-70 during the restock last week even though I kept screwing up my credit card info about 5 times. (I know because I checked the inventory tracker here after I was done.)

          There could also be variance in the times that messages are received based on what email service is being used (e.g. gmail might be faster than yahoo mail) There’s not much you can do about that though.

        2. David
          December 17, 2014 at 3:04 pm EDT

          I should mention though that I’m in the position of being able to check my email about every 30 seconds….if I wasn’t then there would definitely be a 0% chance of getting in on the sales.

          Thanks for keeping the notification system going, as you can tell I definitely benefited from it! 🙂

        3. RD
          December 17, 2014 at 7:14 pm EDT

          Thanks for the awesome service; unfortunately I was in meetings last week as well as this week so I missed out. SMS would be great. Thanks again for the excellent service you provide! Merry Christmas!

    2. CanonPriceWatch
      December 17, 2014 at 2:17 pm EDT

      I’m pretty sure the Canon store notification system doesn’t work, which is the only reason why we wrote ours.

      There are over 3,000 people signed up for notifications on the 70-200 II refurbished. There were 10 in-stock. The odds are against you. 🙂

  5. December 17, 2014 at 3:11 pm EDT

    refreshed the hell out of canon when they restocked 600ex-rt and nothing. I could add to cart but couldn’t check out. What a shitty website for such a huge behemoth.

  6. Steve Dakolios
    December 17, 2014 at 2:17 pm EDT

    I really appreciate the service you are providing! After many attempts I was able to order the 70-200 f/2.8 IS II USM! Just in time for Christmas!
    Thank you!

    1. CanonPriceWatch
      December 17, 2014 at 2:32 pm EDT

      You’re welcome.

  7. December 17, 2014 at 3:19 pm EDT

    24-70 2.8 sold out already

  8. Ken
    December 17, 2014 at 2:29 pm EDT

    Miss out on the 70-200 II again, but I got refunded the difference on the 24-70II I order last week.

  9. Fritz
    December 17, 2014 at 3:00 pm EDT

    While I know everyone loves the 70-200 f/xxxx versions, I’ve been watching for the 70-300 L for weeks ….and thanks to the updater during the last restock, I was able to get one for under $1k. Now it’s in it’s box, under the tree, waiting for Christmas.

    1. Ryan L
      December 17, 2014 at 3:33 pm EDT

      The 70-300 F4-5.6L is a helluva lens…Those that own it…appreciate it. I always find it odd when people look down on this lens compared to the F4 70-200L. Perhaps they don’t realize this lens is only 2/3 a stop slower at 200mm (and only 1/3 a stop slower from about 120mm to 160mm and has an extra 100mm to boast. To me, the F4 doesn’t make much sense…

    2. g-d
      December 17, 2014 at 3:48 pm EDT

      Is there such a difference between 70-300 f/4-5.6 is usm L and non-L? They were recently selling non-L for $200. Five times less than $1k.

      1. Fritz
        December 17, 2014 at 6:58 pm EDT

        g-d, I think it’s a personal opinion. The pixel jockeys have charts and graphs and numbers, but I just borrowed one of these lenses and thought the photos I took looked better to my eyes. I like the feel, the balance, and the overall size….none of that is scientific. Is it worth 5 times more? I don’t know — but the eBay used auctions come in between $900 and $1000 used pretty consistent, so the going rate seems to be $$$$$.

  10. t
    December 17, 2014 at 4:18 pm EDT

    if you’re a 9-5 desk jockey, why not use one of the website content change monitors (c4c, refresh monkey, page monitor … etc)

  11. aeropro
    December 17, 2014 at 4:19 pm EDT

    Thanks to your email notification system, I was able to snag 2-600 EX’s and a 70-200 II, been waiting for a very long time to purchase at such a low price, couldn’t be happier

    1. CanonPriceWatch
      December 17, 2014 at 7:30 pm EDT

      You’re welcome.

  12. Jonathan
    December 17, 2014 at 7:21 pm EDT

    Tried to snag the 100L. Couldn’t remember my username and password and by the time I did, it was removed from my cart! :-[

    1. CanonPriceWatch
      December 17, 2014 at 7:29 pm EDT

      I find it’s easier to check out as a guest!

      1. Jonathan
        December 17, 2014 at 9:44 pm EDT

        Good to know! Thanks!

  13. Suman
    December 18, 2014 at 3:57 am EDT

    Any chance that 28-300 L would be restocked?

  14. Lisa
    December 18, 2014 at 7:54 am EDT

    I went on immediately, had the 24-70 II in cart, but it was removed while I was trying to pay. I honestly don’t think I could have typed any faster, either. I went into chat for assist, and the CSR told me that it was gone before I even started typing in my information. 🙁 I really don’t understand why they don’t give 5 minutes to complete transaction. It was a very frustrating experience overall. It was also stiil showing in my cart, so I tried for an hour in order to maybe get lucky. Canon says that the stock showing was a glitch. 🙁

  15. Adam
    December 18, 2014 at 10:36 am EDT

    I was able to snag the 100L Macro used from Adorama thanks to the notification system. Was $50 more, but no tax so it ended up at the same price. It was supposed to be an E- lens, but as far as I can tell it is just a standard refurbished lens, can’t find a mark on it. thanks CPW!

  16. Paul
    December 18, 2014 at 8:16 pm EDT

    I missed the 70-200 II again. May get lucky next time, thanks CPW

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