My SAB repair story(good ending!)

My x-100 SAB repair story finally came to a good ending. A while back I posted  about Fuji wanting to charge for the repair and was quite shocked at the polarizing (and in some cases quite hostile) responses the post caused. Here’s what happened.

I decided to buy a used x100 off ebay. I researched various sellers (feedback etc) and decided on one with a lightly used x100 just under three months old for $900. After about a month of use, the camera stopped working properly, wild exposure issues. I sent it to Fuji for repair, not expecting any warranty as I purchased the camera used. Fuji called and said the repair would be $700. My jaw dropped and I told the repair manager I would think about it.

That night I got online and found out about the SAB issue, which really changed the situation. Called back Fuji and they said typically they would warranty this issue (even second owner) but because the camera’s serial number was an Australia origin, they would not cover it. The manager was very apologetic about this, said he had been repairing cameras with similar serial number origin(even without receipts), but recently stopped due to pressure from his superiors. I had him send the camera back.

Not having any good options, I posted my experience on a few camera forums hoping for some feedback. This would be the first time I heard the term “gray market” and many on the thread made mention of “you should have known” or “get what you pay for” responses. Gray market really didn’t mean anything to me here, I simply bought a used camera, then found out later that it had a factory defect. It apparently did mean something to Fuji as they denied the repair because of it.

I then received some advice on my thread (and private messages) to call the original ebay retailer, act as if I was the original purchaser and see how they might handle it. I called back the Fuji repair manager and he actually suggested I do the same thing.

So I called the retailer (as the original purchaser), they said to send it in, they would warranty the parts but not the labor. Hmmm... Well since I knew from Fuji the parts were nearly $500 and the labor was just under $200 I figured it was worth a shot and sent it in.

Called about two weeks later (I had not heard from them) and they told me they did not yet receive the camera. Called the next day with my delivery confirmation number and this time told me not only did they have the camera, but it was “unrepairable” and they were sending me a new one. Hmmm again...

A week later a new x100 was delivered. No charge. Would have been an awesome ending, but this one also had the SAB issue...sent it back

Another call. This time they said they were “out of stock” and the only option was a refund. Great! Except I wasn’t the original purchaser. So I reached out to him and explained the situation. He agreed to forward me the refund once he received it. A month and a half later I get the email he received the refund and he forwarded it to me.

In the meantime, B&H and Amazon had sale prices on the x100 for $999. I decided to jump the gun before I got a refund and buy another. My refund was for $200 more than the new one I just purchased.

So, thanks to people on several forums I posted on, there is a good ending. I can’t give any real praise to Fuji on this as they didn’t really step up directly. I will however give kudos to the repair manager who spoke to me very candidly in a situation he clearly did not agree with.

I also want to make it clear that I did not set out to bash Fuji with the original thread as some had indicated. I wanted to share my experience and perhaps find some other options. I did. Thanks for the helpful information!