There’s been a lot of attention given to the fact that DJI has yet to officially launch its Osmo Pocket 4 and Osmo Pocket 4P gimbal cameras in the United States. However, that isn’t stopping Americans from getting them anyway.

As Sean Hollister at The Verge explains , getting the Osmo Pocket 4P in the US was “cheap and easy,” even if DJI and most of its authorized retailers aren’t selling them.

Over on DJI’s US website , the Osmo Pocket 4 and 4P aren’t even mentioned anywhere. It’s like they don’t even exist at all.

When the company announced the cameras earlier this year, the official word was: “The Osmo Pocket 4 will not be available in the US market as the application for authorization is still pending.”

That hasn’t changed. The Osmo Pocket 4 cameras have not been authorized for sale in the United States, and thus cannot be sold in the country.

Or so it would seem.

The effective ban means customers can’t pop onto DJI’s own store and grab an Osmo Pocket 4 in the United States. It means Best Buy is only stocking the Osmo Pocket 3. B&H doesn’t list the Osmo Pocket 4 or Osmo Pocket 4P, and neither do Adorama or Target.

But as Hollister points out, there are some places where American customers can exchange their hard-earned cash for a “banned” DJI Osmo Pocket 4 or Osmo Pocket 4P gimbal camera, and it’s not quite as shady as one might think the black market would be.

“As a kid, I always imagined the ‘black market’ would be like the movies: Shady vendors hawking illicit goods along dusty streets. But if you want a banned DJI Osmo Pocket 4 or Pocket 4 Pro camera in the US, you can just reach for your phone,” Hollister writes.

In his case, he went on Temu and immediately bought an Osmo Pocket 4P for an all-too-reasonable price of $659.28. Just like that. It shipped in a FedEx bag from a warehouse in Oregon, and that’s it. Success.

As for DJI’s thoughts on Hollister’s success, the company says it has fully complied with the FCC’s ruling.

“Osmo Pocket 4P and Osmo Pocket 4 were not released in the United States when the products were launched globally,” DJI told The Verge . “DJI does not offer or sell these products through its official U.S. channels and did not distribute these products in the U.S. market. Any products that may be offered by independent third-party sellers are not products sold or distributed by DJI in the U.S. DJI has no involvement in those third-party sales.”

There is no reason to doubt DJI’s claims here. The Osmo Pocket 4 series cameras are available in many places worldwide, and it’s not difficult to buy them in one place and sell them somewhere else. Companies, particularly those who don’t care to follow local rules and regulations, do it all the time. Even on Amazon, third-party resellers operate largely unchecked, and some are selling the Osmo Pocket 4 and 4P right now.

As easy as it is to purchase a DJI Osmo Pocket 4 or 4P in the US, receiving service if something malfunctions or breaks is another matter altogether. This is important to consider before spending the better part of $1,000 on a new camera and accessories. As far as DJI is concerned, Americans aren’t supposed to have the Osmo Pocket 4 cameras, and they remain entirely unsupported. Americans who buy them are very much on their own, at least for now.

Image credits DJI