Looks like a sale on L lenses might be on the horizon after all. We’re seeing a massive price drop at Best Buy with savings from $100 to $300 off L lenses, which undoes the price increase seen last month (and in some cases, goes even lower).
UPDATE: It looks like Canon just started a mail-in rebate for this time period, and Best Buy may have accidentally applied the prices as if it were an instant rebate. So this is a price mistake that might be fixed shortly. This might be an opportunity to see if you can double-dip the rebate — buy at the lower price — if Best Buy will fill your order — and still get the rebate. Example: buy 24-70 II for $1999, mail-in for the $300 rebate, net price: $1699.
UPDATE 2: Despite comments to the contrary, this deal is still live as of 6:30 PM ET. Best Buy is still showing the lower prices during checkout. Best Buy is an authorized dealer and thus the mail-in rebate should be valid for them. If you read the fine print on the Canon rebate form there aren’t any clauses that would exclude Best Buy or invalidate the rebate claim. (It’s Canon, not Best Buy, that is paying the rebate and they probably don’t care what the purchase price was.) That being said, please do try this at your own risk. 
UPDATE 3: 11 PM ET: 24-70 II out of stock.
UPDATE 4: I (and several others) called the Canon Rebates hotline (1-866-668-9861) and asked about the Best Buy eligibility. According to the agent I spoke to, the list was not published yet but she felt that Best Buy would not be a valid retailer for this rebate (even though they are an authorized dealer). Shame on Canon for not being transparent about this on their mail-in rebate form.
UPDATE 5: The list is published and I’m getting conflicting information: according to the official rebate site, BEST BUY COMPANY INC. is on the list of participating retailers for this rebate. Here’s a link to the list. I’ve also included a screenshot just in case:
I called them again and they said the list was the official list and will not be changed, and if Best Buy is on the list, they are eligible. I recommend calling yourself to confirm: 1-866-668-9861.
Here are some of the drops we saw:
- EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM for $1999.99
- EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II for $2199.99
- EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM for $899.99 (down from $1049.00)
- TS-E 17mm f/4L for $2299.99 (down from $2499.00)
- TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II for $1999.99 (down from $2199.00)
- TS-E 45mm f/2.8 for $1299.99 (down from $1399.00)
- TS-E 90mm f/2.8 for $1219.99 (down from $1399.00)
- EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM for $1999.99 (down from $2199.00)
- EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM for $1549.99 (down from $1749.00)
- EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM for $1499.99 (down from $1699.00)
- EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM for $1499.99 (down from $1699.00)
- EF 50mm f/1.2L USM for $1439.99 (down from $1619.00)
- EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM for $1399.99 (down from $1599.00)
- EF 35mm f/1.4L USM for $1329.99 (down from $1479.00)
- EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM for $1319.99 (down from $1499.00)
- EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM for $1199.99 (down from $1499.00)
- EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM for $1149.99 (down from $1349.00)
- EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM for $769.99 (down from $819.00)
- EF 70-200mm f/4L USM for $629.99 (down from $709.00)
Nic Smith
That lens is way overpriced especially with no IS.
I don’t disagree, especially since you can get the Tamron 24-70 VC for $999. At least the Canon has come down from the $2499 it was introduced at.
when sigma comes out with the new 24-70 f2 then we can expect another drop from canon haha.
It looks like Canon just started a mail-in rebate for this time period, and Best Buy may have accidentally applied the prices as if it were an instant rebate. So this is a price mistake that might be fixed shortly. This might be an opportunity to see if you can double-dip the rebate — buy at the lower price and still get the mail-in rebate.
this looks super attractive~ but current price is still not as low as last thanksgiving, so i am wondering if it is possible to wait for the price to get even lower and then request for the rebate? after that the price would be, eg 70-200mm ($1999 last thanksgiving – $300 rebate=$1699?) compared to current $1899? thanks
There’s a chance that prices can continue go down. However, your best bet is probably the current Best Buy prices (likely a price error); they’re selling for $1999 before rebate right now, which becomes $1699 after rebate.
thanks for your reply. i need one more answer from you guys to make my decision. btw, i am talking about 70-200mm is ii, not 24-70mm ii. current best buy price is $1899 and the lowest price from last year is roughly $1999 (from your price history chart). since there is a yellow marked region indicating there was a rebate during this period (last year), i want to know if the price of $1999 is before rebate or after rebate. if it was before rebate, then i’d like wait for the price to decrease even lower; but if it was after rebate, then the current best buy price would be really good. thanks for you guys ahead of time!
Tony: the prices on our price graphs are always after rebate. The cheapest that we’ve seen the 70-200 II (after rebate) was $1940 — I know because that’s when I bought mine.
Could only find 3 L lens on Best Buy site
Our blog has the links to all about 20 of them.
Just ordered from Best Buy….now to get the rebate too
Nice. Which lens?
Yeah, it looks like this was short lived and the prices are back up to normal. Sad day.
I’m still seeing the prices at the lower price — note that Best Buy will show you the pre-rebate price, then you need to mail-in for the rebate (and additional) savings.
just got the 24-70 ii from bb, actual savings is about $123 because of the $177 tax. now to sell the original 24-70.
Ouch on the tax — wait until they fill your order for sure before selling the 24-70 mk I
I remember seeing your suggestion of opting for in store pick up to increase the chance of bb fulfilling my order, but I don’t see that comment anymore? Also, since shipping option is OOS now, would bb even still fulfill my order or any new orders of in store pick up?
What I’ve done in the past at BB when I think the price may get cancelled is use the “reserve for store pickup” when the store has stock of an item. Next best is shipping directly to your house as it’s doubtful they’ll recall it when shipped. Third best is shipping to a store, as it’s in their hands and they can cancel it until you pick it up.
Shipping is OOS so you can only find it in-stock at existing stores. I deleted the comment I had previously after doing a bit more legwork and realizing that for most lenses on that list stores didn’t have any local stock. The exception of course is some of the really popular ones (the line of 70-200s, for example.)
After this leaked to some deal forums this evening (Hello if you’re visiting from there!) the 24-70 II sold out pretty quickly.
man i opted for in-store pickup instead of shipping after reading your recommended comment, now the status is still showing in process, i have a great feeling bb will cancel my order based on previous experiences. it’s ok if they do cancel it, i’ll just buy from the other guys that would guarantee the rebate instead of the questionable one from bb.
so i’ve just canceled my order with BB cuz i wanna take another chance and wait until tomorrow to order again, my discover card has a 5% cashback with all purchases shopped through online starting Oct 1st, so that’s 2×5% ($200 total bonus) going through shopdiscover. hopefully bb would still have the 24-70 listed as $1999.
Ooo~drool~? $300 Rebate?
Is the Best Buy price really a mistake? As I read the rebate rules, it is for lenses purchased through Canon authorized retailers, and I don’t see Best Buy on the list. I don’t know whether to rush to purchase or not.
Best Buy is an authorized dealer. Their official name is “Best Buy Company Inc.” on page 3 of the dealer list. http://www.usa.canon.com/app/pdf/dealer/CanonAuthorizedDealers.pdf
Also, the rebate website (rebates.usa.canon.com) accepts Best Buy as one of the retailers when you presubmit your rebate.
Just picked up the 70-200 f/4 IS. $1149 + NJ sales tax. should be $1030 after mail in rebate. Thanks for the great catch!
Don’t forget to use your credit card rewards program, i.e.: Discover credit card offers 5% cash back for Best Buy purchases made online
The MIR from adorama is a bit different from the one from BH. It says “Limit 1 Claim per lens per household – Claim form may include separate purchases of different lenses.” Not sure what it means. Can only get 1 lens with rebate?
I believe it means that you can buy only one of each lens. You may want to contact Canon / the rebate processor through the phone number at the bottom of the form to clarify.
Too bad the 2x Extender is not included.
There’s a $50 instant rebate that just started on the 2X extender. It’s $449 now.
I called Canon’s rebate processor support hotline, for extra confirmation that Best Buy is valid for rebate. Apparently they have not received (from Canon) detailed information about the lens rebate yet, other than knowing it exists — they’ll need 5 business days before they even know the details about the rebate.
Just got a call from BestBuy to verify my order. I guess they will fill it.
My order with Best Buy is shipped today.
I ordered mine yesterday and it said that it is on its way to the store. That was fast.
For those wondering, I just received a rebate – $300 AmEx card, after purchasing the 24-70mm 2.8 at Best Buy.
Thank you for posting this deal!