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Would you return this Canon refurb?

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m_a_schuster

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SX330HS factory refurb just purchased from a third party.

Came in the usual brown Canon box with authentic Canon sticker and warranty, all parts in sealed baggies. On first inspection the camera looked OK ... then I noticed all the dust under the port cover and around front lens element. Finally I caught a reflection ... there is a lot of whitish splatter which appears to be on the rear side of the front lens element; i.e. inside the lens.

I've bought Canon refurbs before and they usually appear new new new. This isn't.

I know small amounts of dirt, etc on the front lens element shouldn't affect lens quality, but this is A LOT. What would you do?





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I would return it myself. I've bought multiple refurbished Canon cameras, like you, with similar positive experience in the past. The point of a manufacturer-refurbished product is that the manufacturer has taken whatever steps are necessary to clean, condition, and repair the product to a like-new condition. That obviously did not happen in this case. I'm guessing they would readily replace it with a proper refurbished camera, and would likely cross-ship to minimize your wait time.

Dan
 
Purchased from a third party???? Hmmm....
 
DonA2 said:
Purchased from a third party???? Hmmm....
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It was from an Amazon dealer, and was fulfilled and shipped by them. Since the supply of refurbs on the Canon online store is drying up, I occasionally check elsewhere for things on my "want list", I suspect they had just bought a bunch of these from Canon in the past.

I have gotten factory refurbs from dealers before, and have no reason to suspect deception here. The box was sealed with the usual white Canon sticker, and its contents had a complete set of new documents and accessories including warranty.

I'm just going to initiate a return thru Amazon, which is a pretty low-stress and foolproof process, and be done with it.

Thanks for the comments!
 
There are some sellers on Amazon and eBay that sell "genuine factory refurbished" pick your company and they are in fact not. Contact Canon and give them the serial number to see if indeed it was refurbished by them. I've purchased 5-6 refurbished cameras from them and all appeared as brand new. Regarding stickers..simple to supplicate. This problem is very prevalent with used and refurbished iPhone sales.
 
Sactojim said:
There are some sellers on Amazon and eBay that sell "genuine factory refurbished" pick your company and they are in fact not. Contact Canon and give them the serial number to see if indeed it was refurbished by them. I've purchased 5-6 refurbished cameras from them and all appeared as brand new. Regarding stickers..simple to supplicate. This problem is very prevalent with used and refurbished iPhone sales.
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Thanks - will see if Canon can verify the SN - but as a back-burner issue.

In the meantime I'm sending it back, and will reserve the content of Canon's response for my feedback on the dealer.
 
It looks as though it was refurbed in a factory that doubles as a flour mill. Does not give the feel of a camera well kept or worked on in a clean room.

Wise to have sent it back.
 
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That is unacceptable. These lens do fill with dust over time, but I would expect a refurb to be better than that. Wise to return
 
Let us know how it comes out. Personally? I think you're screwed! Hope I'm wrong!!
 
panamforeman said:
Let us know how it comes out. Personally? I think you're screwed! Hope I'm wrong!!
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Not so with Amazon. Amazon Returns are easily and readily accepted for a full credit.
 
Sactojim said:
There are some sellers on Amazon and eBay that sell "genuine factory refurbished" pick your company and they are in fact not. Contact Canon and give them the serial number to see if indeed it was refurbished by them. I've purchased 5-6 refurbished cameras from them and all appeared as brand new. Regarding stickers..simple to supplicate. This problem is very prevalent with used and refurbished iPhone sales.
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Camera is on its way back.

I contacted Canon through their web-based customer support, and received the following response:



04ad9f41404d4e4d9fd2dad3e52829ff.jpg.png
 
Well? Did they repair it? Was there a charge?

Their response sounds innocuous!
 
panamforeman said:
Well? Did they repair it? Was there a charge?

Their response sounds innocuous!
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No repair at Amazon or an Amazon Seller. An Amazon Return is for exchange or for credit; and a full credit, including shipping, is given.
 
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DUTCH van Atlanta said:
panamforeman said:
Well? Did they repair it? Was there a charge?

Their response sounds innocuous!
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No repair at Amazon or an Amazon Seller. An Amazon Return is for exchange or for credit; and a full credit, including shipping, is given.
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There seems to be some confusion here as some have the impression that I returned the camera to Canon...

To summarize:
  1. The camera is on the way back to the Amazon Marketplace seller. Amazon has already issued me a refund based upon my customer status and tracking of the incoming package.
  2. I contacted Canon to see if they could confirm whether or not said camera was refurbished by them. They responded that they have no way of verifying that by S/N. (Had they been able to verify that it was a fake, it would further enhance the trashing of the vendor that I am planning to post).
 
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Fantastic!! I'm gonna write that down for future reference. Never bought anything on Amazon except books.
 
Wow, that thing looks nasty! I've bought a couple of refurbished cameras from Canon and they were spotless!
 
Followup from the dealer:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your recent purchase. We regret to know that you encountered a problem with the camera you purchased and feel sorry for not being able to assist you before you left a negative feedback against our account.

We are currently investigating this issue more so that this won't happen again. From our initial investigation we found out that some items in Amazon warehouse gets mixed in with some sellers. This would caused inventory mixed up and this item you might receive would have not been from us. The item we sent to Amazon came directly from Canon and the merchandise was not altered or opened.

To mitigate this issue we wish to offer additional $20 refund as an apology. Please do reply to this email so we can process it.

Have a happy holiday and merry Christmas! Hoping to hear from you soon.

Regards, Electromart Deals

My response:

Hi.

My feedback was entered as an assessment of the fulfillment process which, for whatever reason, clearly did not function as I expected. If it's because Amazon screwed up, that's unfortunate; but as a customer it is not my responsibility to determine why. If this is a systemic issue then customers should be warned - that is the function of the feedback process in the first place.

I have reviewed your dealer feedback file and there do seem to be some scattered complaints which Amazon revised with strike-through and assumed responsibility for the customer dissatisfaction. If an investigation shows that to be the case for my order, I would expect that they would do the same for you.

As indicated in my feedback, I have purchased Canon USA refurbs directly from their online store and know very well how they are packaged and what, exactly, to expect upon opening the box. The item I received did not meet that standard. I even shot an email to Canon CS containing the serial number of the camera I received, to see if they could verify if it was refurbed by them; but they claimed to be unable to do such a lookup. The SX330HS was on my "want list" for a while but has long since disappeared from the Canon online store, so I gave it a shot and lost. Still looking.

By the way, your advertising claim that refurbs are covered by Canon USA warranty is incorrect. They will only warrant refurbs to the original customer (not a reseller) purchased directly through their online store.

Thanks for the followup.
 
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m_a_schuster said:
Followup from the dealer:

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your recent purchase. We regret to know that you encountered a problem with the camera you purchased and feel sorry for not being able to assist you before you left a negative feedback against our account.

We are currently investigating this issue more so that this won't happen again. From our initial investigation we found out that some items in Amazon warehouse gets mixed in with some sellers. This would caused inventory mixed up and this item you might receive would have not been from us. The item we sent to Amazon came directly from Canon and the merchandise was not altered or opened.

To mitigate this issue we wish to offer additional $20 refund as an apology. Please do reply to this email so we can process it.

Have a happy holiday and merry Christmas! Hoping to hear from you soon.

Regards, Electromart Deals

My response:

Hi.

My feedback was entered as an assessment of the fulfillment process which, for whatever reason, clearly did not function as I expected. If it's because Amazon screwed up, that's unfortunate; but as a customer it is not my responsibility to determine why. If this is a systemic issue then customers should be warned - that is the function of the feedback process in the first place.

I have reviewed your dealer feedback file and there do seem to be some scattered complaints which Amazon revised with strike-through and assumed responsibility for the customer dissatisfaction. If an investigation shows that to be the case for my order, I would expect that they would do the same for you.

As indicated in my feedback, I have purchased Canon USA refurbs directly from their online store and know very well how they are packaged and what, exactly, to expect upon opening the box. The item I received did not meet that standard. I even shot an email to Canon CS containing the serial number of the camera I received, to see if they could verify if it was refurbed by them; but they claimed to be unable to do such a lookup. The SX330HS was on my "want list" for a while but has long since disappeared from the Canon online store, so I gave it a shot and lost. Still looking.

By the way, your advertising claim that refurbs are covered by Canon USA warranty is incorrect. They will only warrant refurbs to the original customer (not a reseller) purchased directly through their online store.

Thanks for the followup.
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So did you get a refund and take the $20. the seller offered? Seems to me the seller was making a good attempt to fix the situation.
 
Sactojim said:
So did you get a refund and take the $20. the seller offered? Seems to me the seller was making a good attempt to fix the situation.
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Got refund immediately as Amazon was the fullfillment agent.

Awaiting the $20 refund from the actual seller.
 
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