Upgrade time - where to buy?

[loveclose]

Hi gang!!

It's upgrade time, and I've a small quandary which may have been discussed by others previously, but this one's quite specific.

Mrs Loveclose has given me the go-ahead to upgrade my D200.  I'm upgrading to a D7100 body.  Thought very hard about full frame, but am not able to budget as yet for an FX body plus new lens as yet, still quite pricey.  So a D7100 it is.

Now, the crux is where to buy.......

I'm all set to go with a branch of Camera Exchange.  Price of cam is £799.  Been offered £100trade in for D200 body.....price now £699.

In addition, there's a promotion......free battery grip claimed from Nikon for D7100.  Worth around £260 odd, claimed for in the same way you claim a cash-back offer.

Now that seems like a good deal.

Until I see the cam price from places like Digital Rev and Portus.

£509 from Portus.......

Now I suspect these folk, like HDew, buy in from outside the EU.  The warranty from Portus is a two year one, similar to the three year one offered by HDew who provide the warranty work from a third party.

I've never bought a cam from any shop like this.....am I taking any risk in buying from any of these aforementioned places?  Only £509 is somewhat cheaper than £799 or £699 with trade in......

And the battery grip is around £150, so I'd be quids in buying D7100 + battery grip from either of the two online retailers.  HDew are well known to me but are more expensive than the other two.

The leading question really is along the lines of 'where's the catch', or 'what have I missed?'......

Any advice gratefully received!!

Cheers!

Peter

[DigiDiva]

Do you think its an imported one? If so your warranty maynot be valid

[Alfonso_Frisk]

I have just upgraded last week from a D200 to a D7100 body. They had a deal on last week for £540
I ordered from HDew on the Friday and took delivery on the Tuesday.
No hassle service and I am so far pleased with my purchase

[loveclose]

Do you think its an imported one? If so your warranty maynot be valid

Pretty sure it is imported.  There will be no Nikon Warranty, but like HDew they will be offering a third party UK warranty.

Bit torn over this, cos the folk in LCE were very helpful indeed and I'd like to support them.

It's just that without a camera trade in, the price difference is around £200, and that is significant!!

[loveclose]

I have just upgraded last week from a D200 to a D7100 body. They had a deal on last week for £540
I ordered from HDew on the Friday and took delivery on the Tuesday.
No hassle service and I am so far pleased with my purchase

Missed that deal....!

They have the 7100 on their site for £649 this morning, with the battery grip in at £175 odd.  If I trade my D200 in at LCE, I'll get a battery grip for free from Nikon and will have spent less dosh .

I know of HDew's reputation, so I might just ring them and see if they can extend the deal you spoke of......

[Alfonso_Frisk]

I have just upgraded last week from a D200 to a D7100 body. They had a deal on last week for £540
I ordered from HDew on the Friday and took delivery on the Tuesday.
No hassle service and I am so far pleased with my purchase

Missed that deal....!

They have the 7100 on their site for £649 this morning, with the battery grip in at £175 odd.  If I trade my D200 in at LCE, I'll get a battery grip for free from Nikon and will have spent less dosh .

I know of HDew's reputation, so I might just ring them and see if they can extend the deal you spoke of......

Well worth giving them a call, especially when you mention you are also thinking of getting the grip and another battery.