i've been reading abt ppl selling their items (cameras and lenses) in LYN with unfilled warranty but no receipts. i'm confused, don't we need to furnish our receipt to proof date of purchase at the time when making a warranty claim? pls help. i'm interested in getting some items soon but no clear on this issue. tks in advance.

This post has been edited by syd04: Aug 8 2007, 04:55 PM

im wondering about that too....

Sometimes u buy stuffs and the shop just give a blank waranty card without retail shop chop..

Not only cameras but handphones and other stuffs.

The only way to find out whether the camera or accessory you bought is original is by registering its warranty. I know many people will not agree with me, but I'm just a little picky over warranty issues. Better safe than sorry.

Back to your question whether receipt is needed, I'll rather ask, without the receipt, how would you prove that you bought it, and not stole it?

This post has been edited by civic98: Aug 8 2007, 04:59 PM

i forgot to mention that the warranty cards hv the shop stamp. would that make a different?

Well u wouldnt know whether your warranty is accepted or not by the company...
Sure u can send back the card to the manufacturer/company but do they accept?
They wont call u up to say your item is non-ori and warranty not accepted...am i rite?

I believe on every warranty card its stated must have shop stamp only will be considered as legal...
Coz they dont want non official shop to sell thier things...i guess

i once heard them explain saying that they don fill in the card first...then when got problem then you bring back to them then only they fill in...which means the warranty starts from the time they fill in the card and send in...

Well for one I know Canon is checking cameras sent in for repairs, got to know a case where Canon rejected a camera cause it is recorded as stolen unit. Not sure if they reported it.

Becareful with warranty cards though, loads of fake ones out there.

Yeah some retailers would say tat to u...

But think again....when your item is faulty, and u send the card back it needs atealst 7 days to be verified/recorded...

Then lets say u wait until 1 month and send for claim, but your item have scratches like used for 2 years...
Would they believe?

In my case, for Fujifilm, they manage to check even with an unfilled warranty card.

then u pandai pandai fill in 9months + date lo.....

I think in most cases, manufacturers are moving towards using serial numbers for tracking. Warranty cards or receipts are secondary verifications. If the serial number had been registered for warranty when purchased, there shouldn't be any issue.

And with serial number as well manufacturers can track units that are not imported by them, reported stolen or whether it is not even released to the market yet.

so what we need is them to just chop or have to fill in some other part?

Actually, when you have unfilled warranty card also no point.

If you really do register your warranty at the shop, usually there is 2 portions, one customer copy and another to send to distributor.

For shops to register your warranty they would need a completed card so that they can send in.

If they send in empty card, no purpose. I doubt they will send in empty card.

So, it's no point even if you're customer copy is unfilled. The portion which had been sent in has your details.

Warranty card usually mean nothing. Keep the receipt if you want to send your item back to the shop for warranty claim. Or just send the item back to the manufacturer. They usually track the age via serial number.

Beware of receipts that are printed on thermal fax paper!
The one for my DSLR body has already faded 50% just a month after issuance, and the freakin' shop is ignoring my requests to reissue a new receipt!

Some of my colleagues also kena from this sort of receipts. Took taxis for work-related reasons but couldn't claim back the money because they waited too long (a few months) before submitting their claims and the original receipts have faded away.

Thermal fax paper as receipts should be banned!
Also scan your receipts as soon as you get them.

scanning is not as good as taking a picture, a picture with untouch exif is more accountable.

got such thing one kah? all my hdd and stuff all using fax receipt de wor...but until now still ok ler...or is it only on some type of printers?

Warranty card is virtually useless nowadays even though it is still stated in many manufacturers warranty disclaimer that you will need to provide the warranty card and produce a proof of purchase. Most of the time when you call in to get an RMA or request for warranty repair, all they need is a proof of purchase. They can easily track if the dealer you bought from is an authorized dealer, and the purchase date is listed on the receipt. You won't even need the original receipt nowadays, just a photocopy will do. If they do ask you for an original receipt, tell them that it has faded and shove it up their ass.

Serial number is only secondary verification if the unit is theirs (local), and serial is usually mainly the main verification tool for dealers to identify if the unit is what they sold, and if you are returning what they sold to you. Besides that, most serial # doesn't have any tracking purpose on when the unit was sold, only when it was manufacturered.

lolz...what if we bought online? if they found out is not authorized dealer? do we still get the repair?

lolz...what if we bought online? if they found out is not authorized dealer? do we still get the repair?

You do get a printable receipt when you purchase things online, and yeah, they are not going to honor the warranty if it is not from an authorized dealer/local unit. I don't think the market is as "complicated" and funky in malaysia yet. Look around the states, they have shit loads of sellers, some carry "local usa warranty" units but are not authorized dealer, some are authorized dealer but also sells grey market units, and etc. If you are not "careful", you can easily be a victim of grey market stuff.

I have read some articles about grey market stuff in US. And some people claimed to be cheated. Somehow I think that people refuse to make a second thought when they are seeing great bargains. Just like AP handset in Malaysia. You don't expect cheap Nokia handset from Avaxx when it's cheaper than what it suppose to be.

Cantonese says: Mou Gem Dai Zack Gap La Chou Gai Tiew

This post has been edited by kelvinyam: Aug 11 2007, 11:48 PM

Cantonese says: Mou Gem Dai Zack Gap La Chou Gai Tiew

Translated to English: the deal is too good to be true

I almost got pwned when i was hunting for my sigma. Many companies on pricegrabber list prices cheaper than others, but when you call and ask them, they'd tell you that those are "imported aka grey market" models, they do have USA models, but you need to pay extra for it. Some more reputable sellers will state explicitly on their site that they only sell full usa warranty models and that they are authorized dealer, no grey market at all.

i.e. 17stphoto, 47stphoto, beachcamera, buydig, and etc.
grey market sellers: tristate photo (or was it camera?), sigma4less, and many many many more.

If the shop has good reputation in warranty, if it's even grey market item where the price is much more cheaper, I don't see what's the problem of getting it. Furthermore, if it's only one year warranty, one year is no longer than a few blinks of an eye (exaggerates a little lah )

Just like buying hand phones. I doubt many people will by from "original" dealer.

you said fe blinks... haha...in chinese we at school write later goes like this :" yi zha yan yi jing 3 nian le" thats call exaggerate...

I guess the main concern is not really price, but rather the item itself, how to verify it is an original item. Imitations are getting so good at it that it is almost impossible to tell the difference for some products.

You are right about the one year warranty, it is almost useless to most people, 3 years warranty is slowly becoming the standard now.

No, don't get confused between grey market and imitation. Grey market lens are just like AP h/phone. Those are from Canon Japan (or what ever place it's manufactured), just that those lens are not brought in by the Sole Distributor. This doesn't happen in Malaysia because no duty is imposed on photography equipment. But in US, it does. Grey market is also known as parallel import. For some reason (that I'm not aware), grey market lens is not illegal in US.