You might want to re-consider buying from grey imports :(

[Demon]

This is just another dumb-ass who wants something cheap, imports it, and then goes off on some idiotic conspiracy theory about fakes and demands his money back as if DR are trying to rip him off..

Ridiculous..


DR offer local or RTB warranty, the implication is that if you can't find a local repairer, then obviously you have to rely on RTB and DR have said to send it back and they will sort it out.. that's the purchaser covered (the only minor niggle is getting DR to pay all of the postage)..

The fact DR will sort it out is all the purchaser should care about, we all know that even if it was a simple grey import case, then we can't expect the local supplier service to necessarily deal with the camera, we may have to use a third party, or worse case RTB it.

Now, I think we all know that these importers work by buying on the back of regional pricing differences, and this may mean occasionally treading way past grey imports.. which can go over the line of legality, but as long as they take the responsibility for that, then again, the purchaser is 'covered' as long as they can send it back and DR sort it out.. The laws and rules of importing/exporting are very bizarre at times and highly dependant on country..

Then you have unintentional (I'd like to think) re-introduction of stolen goods (or fake ones) into the supply chain, which is more common then people think, even the best companies struggle to stop this occuring in their supply chains...
But, as long as DR accept the return of these and accept responsibility, then all is good..

I also kind of agree on always purchasing on CC, but in reality, if it was just Canon being stupid about grey imports, DR still offer an RTB service, so it's hard to imagine why a CC would jump in when the purchaser is not being exposed to anything untoward? Now, if DR sold fakes/stolen stuff and refused refund or replacement, then sure.. but this is unlikely from all accounts..


I used to be highly suspicious of DR and only recently purchased a flash from them , but only after years of good trading experiences through family and friends, and also seeing quite a majority of happy customers on TalkPhotography etc, it is only a very very very small percentage of people that get something this odd occurring, but they do seem to jump off the deep end about being ripped off etc, but the reality is, he can return it to DR for it to be sorted out, he stands to lose nothing.. Just because for some reason that one product can't be repaired in the UK because only Canon can do it and they refuse (for whatever legitimate/illegitimate reason) and he has to rely on RTB to HK, whoop-te-do.. it's the inconvenience risk you take when importing things cheaply..


If the 5D3 never had an issue and never needed service, then the purchaser would have been quids in (both financially and conveniently), it's not as if the Police would turn up on your door and take the item away and DR refuse to refund you..

 

[Columbo]

This is just another dumb-ass who wants something cheap, imports it, and then goes off on some idiotic conspiracy theory about fakes and demands his money back as if DR are trying to rip him off..

Ridiculous..

Thats clearly not the case though is it? He contacted DR about the issue who offered him 2 options:

1: Send it back them for repair at a cost of £160 although he would only get £40 back.
2: Find a local authorised dealer and claim the repair costs back from DR.

He chose No 2 rightly or wrongly and that's where the issue started.

Its hardly him starting the conspiracy theory either is it? Canon have told him directly that its a fake serial number, what else is he supposed to think?

Also DR said send it back and we'll change the serial number????
wtf is that about?

 

[jonney_joop]

Yes I can understand that they wouldn't honour a warranty but a flat out refusal to repair for a fee is something very worrying.

It's not just about the VAT. You can buy a import 600RT for £360, it's £200 more expensive in this country. That's not VAT. That's Canon UK charging re-sellers an inflated price.

And i think its cheaper to buy it from Hong kong for 360 and if it develops a fault, can fix it for 100-200(not sure how much it costs ) leading to you paying nearly the same as the UK one if it develops a fault.

if it doesn't, you just saved £200.

Dont forget, you only get free repairs in the uk for 1 year ie 1 year warranty. You still have to cough up the repair costs after 1 year so if u compare the 600RT HK vs UK versions and if both failed after a year, the HK version you would have saved whilst the UK version u would need to pay on top of the inflated price you have already payed for the item

 

[Raymond Lin]

Now a curve ball.

What if you buy something from Kerso, UK VAT invoice and ask for it to be repaired? It is clearly sourced from the US

 

[Nexus]

I also kind of agree on always purchasing on CC, but in reality, if it was just Canon being stupid about grey imports, DR still offer an RTB service, so it's hard to imagine why a CC would jump in when the purchaser is not being exposed to anything untoward? Now, if DR sold fakes/stolen stuff and refused refund or replacement, then sure.. but this is unlikely from all accounts..

Because if Canon sends your camera back to you, refusing to repair it with documentation on the grounds that the camera is a fake, you then phone up your credit card company and inform them that you purchased what you thought were genuine goods from a retailer, only for the manufacturer to tell you otherwise. Thus the likes of Digital Rev and others are now in trouble if everybody decides to do the same and go to their credit card company.

If Canon flat out refused it because it was a grey item, then the purchaser can't do anything but find somebody that can service it, or return it to the foreign retailer. By Canon saying its fake though, creates the above dilemma.

 

[niko]

it seems the exsif data and label dont match reading the op

 

[jonney_joop]

it seems the exsif data and label dont match reading the op

yea apparently so. The plot thickens. thats naughty from DR!!!

check your ones as well to see if they match

 

[londonbairn]

I still fail to see why they would fake the serial?

Only reason I suspect would be if the stock was from questionable sources, or it was actually refurbished by Canon at some point.

Just makes no sense whatsoever.

He should use http://eoscount.com/ to check also, if the actuations are in line, this also shows a serial number.

 

[niko]

yea apparently so. The plot thickens. thats naughty from DR!!!

check your ones as well to see if they match

its not necessarily dr

 

[Nexus]

I checked the serial label and the exif on my 5D mkiii from DR and they match. Can't use the eoscount thing though as I'm not on windows.

 

[D.P.]

Hi D.P

i do not like you post as you are now coming across as naive, aggressive and rude.

It is fine to disagree with me and others but can you not do so in the right appropriate manner?

i will put you on ignore list(i hope there is a option to do so) as i feel you are being rude to me and i do not wish to get into any chidish bickering and argument. i am too mature and old to go through that in a public forum..

Have a nice day

You've got some real issues....
Just testing that you put me on your ignore list!

 

[D.P.]

Yeah, I've got to agree, I can understand with what is really considered a 'grey import' ie, a camera bought from a retailer abroad and shipped to the UK. But as Ray says, in todays world, there are many reasons why somebody may purchase a camera abroad or even move country. I bought my 350D when I was living in Canada, I had no idea when I purchased it that the warranty wouldn't be valid in the UK, but I never had to make a claim. People buy stuff all the time when travelling at airports, so again it seems pretty harsh to flat out refuse to repair at all.

Perhaps this 'fake serial' number thing is just Canon blacklisting serial numbers which were allocated to Hong Kong dealers who ship abroad and then a claim is made in another country. Where as say you picked it up at an airport and had a receipt as such, maybe they would honour it, who knows.

Also as Ray has pointed out, a retailer telling you that your item is fake opens up a whole new can of worms, as credit card protection aids you with fakes. As somebody else already pointed out though, the idea of a fake Canon 5D mkiii is ridiculous!

I asked Nikon what the story is regarding warranties if I was to move. Countries, since I owned Nikon Uk gear when living in Switzerland and now have several Nikon CH gear while living in the US. They said by default the warranty won't be covered, it will be best for me to ship my Swiss lenses back to Switzerland for repair. However, they did say if I can provide proof that I lived in Switzerland, purchased the lenses in Switzerland while I lived there, that I now live in the US, that they will most likely repair it under warranty.

That is not really a big deal.

If one when on holiday to Honk Kong and picked up a camera then I am not sure they will be so lenient, perhaps because it isn't a grey import. If you show a recipe from a HK store without any shipping etc. then they may be more favorable than if you show you purchased online while living in the UK using some company like DR and thus purchased a grey import.

Also to be sure, there are other places where you can get your camera repaired other than canon/Nikon main service centers.

 

[Nexus]

Also to be sure, there are other places where you can get your camera repaired other than canon/Nikon main service centers.

While that is usually the case, as the thread on POTN has revealed, there are currently only two Canon authorised repair centres in the UK who can service the 5D mkiii and 1D X. Given that the guy in the thread clearly had a duff sensor, I doubt any other repair centre could do anything as it stands right now.

 

[Demon]

Thats clearly not the case though is it? He contacted DR about the issue who offered him 2 options:

1: Send it back them for repair at a cost of £160 although he would only get £40 back.
2: Find a local authorised dealer and claim the repair costs back from DR.

He chose No 2 rightly or wrongly and that's where the issue started.

Its hardly him starting the conspiracy theory either is it? Canon have told him directly that its a fake serial number, what else is he supposed to think?

Also DR said send it back and we'll change the serial number????
wtf is that about?

It's making a mountain out of a molehill (at this stage), and reading that thread, so many people are jumping to such negative conclusions that it's quite ridiculous..

DR have said they'll sort it out, all he has to do is return it, and let DR deal with the why..

It could be stolen, it could be fake, it could smuggled goods , it could be any number of things, all of which are well known to occur in many legitimate supply chains from time to time, when sourcing from the cheapest markets.. what's more important is that for whatever reason, DR take responsibility and sort it out, which aside from the shipping costs, they seem to be doing..

When we know exactly what the issue is, and if it's a worst case, and if it's found to be widespread at DR, then I understand it needs escalating around the web, but 1 isolated case doesn't warrant the 'quick run to the internets and tell every forum' attitude..

[edit]
Just reading the last few posts in the thread, I have zero sympathy with the guy, He's discovered the serial number on the label doesn't match his EXIF, and so he is jumping to conclusions about it being used etc.. and I believe the CC company will refund him anyway, all he has to do is return it.. I totally get the camera isn't 100%, but as I said, it seems very isolated, and both the CC and DR seem to have taken responsibility (bar shipping costs) and yet people are trying to mount a campaign against DR, despite some evidence already suggesting it's isolated (others have matching serials according to EOSCOUNT etc).. I get the anxiety having anything not 100% can bring, but jumping to wild conclusions and shouting from the tree tops doesn't seem warranted at this stage..

 

[D.P.]

While that is usually the case, as the thread on POTN has revealed, there are currently only two Canon authorised repair centres in the UK who can service the 5D mkiii and 1D X. Given that the guy in the thread clearly had a duff sensor, I doubt any other repair centre could do anything as it stands right now.

He does seem to be in a right mess. I read that Nikon is going to be restricting which repair centers can get spare parts which sucks.

TBH, Stories like this only reinforce my opinion of buying from bricks and motor high-street shops where possible or reputable online places like Warehouse express is a safer purchasing pattern and helps maintain local friendly resources. I was lucky in Switzerland as I lived near a great camera shop run by 2 old camera fanatics, prices were very reasonable, typically within a few % of the cheapest online, but occasionally they were cheaper than the cheapest online places. My GF purchased a D7K weeks before it was widely available in the rest of Europe and cheaper than any online resource including DR. They were very knowledgeable and would let you take hoem expensive gear to try out before deciding if you want to buy it. Their second hand gear came with 6-12 months warranty.


If the serial number of the camera is fake then it was likely due to the way DR sources cameras. Canon Asia (and all the others) wont be selling goods to companies that purposely sell grey imports to foreigners as their main business model. DR will be trying other back-door methods to get hold of camera, who knows how legitimate some of these sources may be- this is Hong Kong we are talking about (no offense to anyone from HK, my parents used to liv there for a few years and had a great time, purchased most of their gear on the black market).

 

[D.P.]

It's making a mountain out of a molehill (at this stage), and reading that thread, so many people are jumping to such negative conclusions that it's quite ridiculous..

DR have said they'll sort it out, all he has to do is return it, and let DR deal with the why..

It could be stolen, it could be fake, it could smuggled goods , it could be any number of things, all of which are well known to occur in many legitimate supply chains from time to time, when sourcing from the cheapest markets.. what's more important is that for whatever reason, DR take responsibility and sort it out, which aside from the shipping costs, they seem to be doing..

When we know exactly what the issue is, and if it's a worst case, and if it's found to be widespread at DR, then I understand it needs escalating around the web, but 1 isolated case doesn't warrant the 'quick run to the internets and tell every forum' attitude..

it does seem to be a mountains over a pinch of sand if DR are willing to sort it out. If you by form oversees then you have to expect that if anything goes wrong that is where you are going to be shipping it, DR state that on their site. If DR are refusing to do anything then that really sucks but AFAIK Dr say they will repair.

 

[Demon]

it does seem to be a mountains over a pinch of sand if DR are willing to sort it out. If you by form oversees then you have to expect that if anything goes wrong that is where you are going to be shipping it, DR state that on their site. If DR are refusing to do anything then that really sucks but AFAIK Dr say they will repair.

People have been checking their 5D3's on other forums and so far no other DR sourced items have any issues..

Perhaps it's not widely known, but these things happen with the most legit companies, I've been sold fake headphones from Amazon.. no big deal, returned and replaced with pukka ones..

 

[Nexus]

[edit]
Just reading the last few posts in the thread, I have zero sympathy with the guy, He's discovered the serial number on the label doesn't match his EXIF, and so he is jumping to conclusions about it being used etc.. and I believe the CC company will refund him anyway, all he has to do is return it.. I totally get the camera isn't 100%, but as I said, it seems very isolated, and both the CC and DR seem to have taken responsibility (bar shipping costs) and yet people are trying to mount a campaign against DR, despite some evidence already suggesting it's isolated (others have matching serials according to EOSCOUNT etc).. I get the anxiety having anything not 100% can bring, but jumping to wild conclusions and shouting from the tree tops doesn't seem warranted at this stage..

There is somebody who is trying to suggest launching a massive hate campaign on YouTube which is just silly when you haven't allowed them time to investigate or sort it out!

 

[londonbairn]

As I posted over there, I don't think DR knowingly done it, it's probably in the supply chain something went wrong, probably a refurb or something.

I think the email sent is a bit overly aggressive/emotional.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Taking DR's stance out of this, it seems canon's refusal to repair is due to mismatch in serial on body to EXIF data.

I am sure if it matches they wouldn't care and would fix anything as long as you pay. And to repair under warranty then UK invoice required.

Which brings us back to square one. What it was before this all started.