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Is it legal and/or ethical to buy parts from marketplace
- Thread starter idzniz
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Smaug01
Veteran Member
You have several choices, and the manufacturer's option is just one of them.
The nice thing about the manufacturer's option is that you can assume the lens will work for your $200 investment. You're paying partly for the technician's training and skill, partly for the warranty and partly for the parts.
With your other option, you'd be betting that your skills and tools are good enough to get the same result. (albeit without warranty) It only comes down to whether that's a good bet or not.
Canon would be perfectly happy to let you take that bet and they would probably wish you the best of luck, but of course will not support you with warranty later. ;-)
The nice thing about the manufacturer's option is that you can assume the lens will work for your $200 investment. You're paying partly for the technician's training and skill, partly for the warranty and partly for the parts.
With your other option, you'd be betting that your skills and tools are good enough to get the same result. (albeit without warranty) It only comes down to whether that's a good bet or not.
Canon would be perfectly happy to let you take that bet and they would probably wish you the best of luck, but of course will not support you with warranty later. ;-)
sybersitizen
Forum Pro
Buying aftermarket camera parts has always been legal and ethical unless they're stolen.
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Sue Anne Rush
Veteran Member
The manufacturer's repair is covered by warranty, they get to collect experience on what fails in their product, they have whatever tools are needed to verify the result of the repair, they have a reputation to protect, and the money going in supports their presence and availability for after market service.
As long as most of us couldn't be bothered with such DYI jobs, it probably has no significant effect, but if half of all owners took that path, the rest of us might not be able to have our stuff repaired at all.
You get what you pay for.
As long as most of us couldn't be bothered with such DYI jobs, it probably has no significant effect, but if half of all owners took that path, the rest of us might not be able to have our stuff repaired at all.
You get what you pay for.
Legal but I can't imagine trying to replace things in today's electronic equipment, Can't imagine the tools and other equipment to adjust everything and make it work. Hopefully you are aware of all the electrical connections involved and the precision alignment required.
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Rambow
Senior Member
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That's scaremongering 101.
There is no link between how many people repair their stuff on their own and other people's option of paying the factory to fix it for them. Corporations don't rely on this income to stay afloat, for them is more or less free money, but even they would rather see consumers replace rather than repair, it's one of the reasons why OEM repairs are so expensive to begin with, they try to discourage you from repairing so they could simply sell you another unit.
It's unlikely the manufacturer would stop providing repairs in this unrealistic scenario, who would do the necessary repairs for the remaining 50%? It's more likely the manufacturer would scale their service delivery resources to meet the need.
Cheers,
Doug
I shared my personal view on the matter. I'm all for doing repair jobs in the home and with things I know how to do. I'm not ashamed to admit that camera repairs are way beyond my skill level, and with experience, I have learnt when to rely on skilled craftsmen.
You see people here constantly fuzzing "is my lens decentered?" or "did I cause a scratch on my sensor?" while others apparently will engage in repair jobs that even the lensrentals repair shop would be reluctant to undertake.
You may call i scaremongering (wouldn't that be "fearmongering" BTW?), I'd call it acautious voice of reason. Sometimes there has to be a grown up in the room. To each his own.
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Why don't you tell that to the next elevator operator that you see?
sybersitizen
Forum Pro
A badly serviced elevator can kill people. A badly serviced RX100M5 used by an Open Talk poster is not likely to do that.
You don't seem to be very good at analogies:
https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65759660
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Of course there is a link.
The more people send in their camera to one place , the more and better trained repairpeople they can have.
The converse is also true.
Fancy Termite
Well-known member
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It's YOUR OWN GEAR. You the one who owns the camera. You can do whatever you want with it. If youw ant to use cheaper third-party parts - that's your right to do so.
Michael Benveniste
Veteran Member
Disclaimer — This is not a legal opinion.
if the part is a genuine Sony part there is no legal issue. Issues can arise if, as is often the case with “stuff” from aliexpress, you end up with a counterfeit or knockoff. A counterfeit bears spurious trademarks; a knockoff does not.
The US justice department has stated “it is not a crime under this act for an individual knowingly to purchase goods bearing counterfeit marks, if the purchase is for the individual's personal use.” It is, however, illegal to import counterfeit goods into the US under 19 USC 1526. So you run some risk of your part being seized in customs.
If it’s a knockoff instead of a counterfeit, there could still be similar issues under patent law. While I doubt an individual lens element would be protected by a patent, a lens assembly might well be.
The odds of your package being seized or other legal action against you are quite small. As for ethics, when you buy an infringing product, you are buying stolen intellectual property. How that fits into your own ethical framework I can’t say.
Why would fixing my own property illegal?
Fixing your own property is legal of course, but where do you source the parts might not be.
Case in point, Apple does not make iphone parts available to consumers. Foxconn (contract manufacturer for Apple) is not allowed to sell original parts out in the open market. The only legal way to fix your iphone is through authorized service center, hence the 'Right to Repair' movement. At least that is what I am aware of.
I don't know about camera industry and Sony in particular. The shop I'm planning to get the lens said it is new original part.
Thank you all for your responses.
Fixing your own property is legal of course, but where do you source the parts might not be.
Case in point, Apple does not make iphone parts available to consumers. Foxconn (contract manufacturer for Apple) is not allowed to sell original parts out in the open market. The only legal way to fix your iphone is through authorized service center, hence the 'Right to Repair' movement. At least that is what I am aware of.
I don't know about camera industry and Sony in particular. The shop I'm planning to get the lens said it is new original part.
Thank you all for your responses.
There is nothing generally illegal or unethical in this. There is a risk that the seller is offering a sub-quality part illegally marked as an OEM part, and when applicable, illegally marked as meeting safety/regulatory standards. Camera batteries come to mind - there are good quality, branded 3rd party batteries and those that are counterfeit and shouldn't be used.
Consider other industries in which 3rd parties routinely manufacture replacement parts that are legally sold through normal distribution channels.
Cheers,
Doug
The right to repair is gaining momentum. Apple recently announced it will enable customers to buy parts and make their own repairs. To fully enable this, future devices will need to be designed so at least the common repairs can be made more easily.
Nov 17, 2021
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced Self Service Repair, which will allow customers who are comfortable with completing their own repairs access to Apple genuine parts and tools. Available first for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups, and soon to be followed by Mac computers featuring M1 chips, Self Service Repair will be available early next year in the US and expand to additional countries throughout 2022. Customers join more than 5,000 Apple Authorized Service Providers (AASPs) and 2,800 Independent Repair Providers who have access to these parts, tools, and manuals.
The initial phase of the program will focus on the most commonly serviced modules, such as the iPhone display, battery, and camera. The ability for additional repairs will be available later next year.
https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2021/11/apple-announces-self-service-repair/
It's probably an OEM part.
Cheers,
Doug
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