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Warning, Fuji 50-140mm - bad deal from one of official US Fuji Dealer


yukosteel

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! UPDATE ! [Mar 28 2016] - Issue finally got resolved and that official US Fuji Dealer accepted return and sent full refund.

 

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Original post starts here [Mar 18 2016] :

 

I've recently purchased Fuji 50-140mm from one of official US Fuji Dealer.

It was good price deal on eBay for "open box" item in "truly mint" conditions, with 1 year US Fuji warranty.

Unfortunately I received different lens sample, with damages on the lens body and on the front cap, despite "truly mint" description.
But the worst thing - the lens has SN: 48A1.... , and box/receipt have SN: 55A0....

 

I've contacted store through eBay, and seller representative replied that he personally checks all SN, and the lens I received should have SN: 55A0....

 

Again, it's official US Fuji Dealer. They sent me wrong sample. And they say "Do you have more than one 50-140? Perhaps that is the source of the confusion.....".

 

I feel very upset. But I'm going to investigate this case with all the possible ways. Looks like SN: xxA.... should be prefix of US models, and I hope US Fuji Support may may tell who was original dealer of this sample. 48A1 looks like very early production.

I'm also curious where is the lens with SN: 55A0.... , and what's the point of having it without it's official warranty.

 

What would you recommend to do further in such situation?

What would you do in case SN doesn't match the item purchased from official dealer?

 

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Edited by yukosteel
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Item not as described, if you are unhappy get a refund at no cost to you. It will be as rough when you sell it even if you treat it with kit gloves so that will effect your sale too. I'd probably call them out on twitter too along with Fuji_USA

Edited by kim
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Thanks for suggestions. I've already tried to call Fuji US, but they are online on Mon-Fri, so will call them again on Monday.

Fuji Support is very responsive, I've recently called them and sent X-T1 for rubber grip replacement, and they did that very fast and for free.

 

That's main reason for me to buy 50-140mm with official warranty. I didn't expect such thing from official dealer.

 

I successfully purchased Fuji lens and cameras from other Fuji Dealers, and everything was perfect.

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I've recently purchased Fuji 50-140mm from one of official US Fuji Dealer.

It was good price deal on eBay for "open box" item in "truly mint" conditions, with 1 year US Fuji warranty.

 

Unfortunately I received different lens sample, with damages on the lens body and on the front cap, despite "truly mint" description.

But the worst thing - the lens has SN: 48A1.... , and box/receipt have SN: 55A0....

 

I've contacted store through eBay, and seller representative replied that he personally checks all SN, and the lens I received should have SN: 55A0....

 

Again, it's official US Fuji Dealer. They sent me wrong sample. And they say "Do you have more than one 50-140? Perhaps that is the source of the confusion.....".

 

They are suggesting that you are trying to a swap out a lens you already own for one in better condition? I would be pissed.

 

I would open up a ebay case immediately and return the lens. If the serial number on the lens doesn't match the receipts sn, you wouldn't have any warranty at all.

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Thank you all for comments and good words.

 

I opened eBay case right after noticed damage. And later realize SN is different.

Hope to do return and get full refund.

 

Wish you all never get into such situation. And yes, it's always good to check SN first before checking the lens itself, even if it's Fuji Dealer.

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My suggestion before going public, is to inform the seller that you're going to take this up with both Fuji and eBay. 

 

Open up a case with eBay as you've done, on the basis that the "item does not match seller's description", return the lens and request a refund. I would also be really pissed off at his suggestion that you've swapped lenses!

 

Did you pay via Paypal? If so, you also have recourse through Paypal, even though (as far as I'm aware) eBay owns Paypal....

 

My 10 cents worth of advice- for eBay purchases I always pay with my AMEX card via Paypal. This gives me double security should Paypal or eBay delay or refuse the refund. I register a dispute with AMEX who immediately reverse the charge. 

Check and see if the other card companies have a similar policy.

 

I've purchased a pile of photo equipment on eBay over the past 12 years and only had an issue once, when I received a damaged lens. I contacted the seller who tried to duck out and get clever, I had AMEX reverse the charge and returned the lens; end of story issue resolved.

 

Keep us posted, would like to hear the outcome of this story.

Good luck!

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definitely contact paypal, now the buyer’s protection is extended to 180 days and includes shipping back costs.

 

Get your money back and spend it elsewhere.

 

The fact that they shipped a different lens in a different box could be a honest mistake but they should have a record of the lens having being in their possession ( so they should know they had the lens which they have sent you!) and if you have a box with another number they should know where the other lens is. 

 

So few second on their computers will tell them 

 

1) if they have ever had the lens that you have

2) where the other one, belonging to the box is

 

I understand that the suggestion that you have swapped an old lens for theirs and now are claiming the money back is a very offensive one ( it happened to me in a shop where they sold me a car radio and when I got home I saw that the radio was not only not new but used!) but it is not unheard of that people do these things!

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Few days ago I was selling my 23mm f1.4,

 

A local prospective buyer in the NL told me that he could buy the same lens “ new” for the price that I was asking second hand ( 30% less than the price in any Dutch shop) he said that despite the shop being in a foreign country he had asked Fuji if they were official dealers.

 

They were.

 

But this says nothing about the fact that the “ new” lens might have been one used in a show or on the shelf for demonstration purposes or a “ reconditioned” repair... none of this would have been necessarily disclosed to this prospective buyer.

 

I sold my lens to some more discerning person.

 

Good luck!

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...

My 10 cents worth of advice- for eBay purchases I always pay with my AMEX card via Paypal. This gives me double security should Paypal or eBay delay or refuse the refund. I register a dispute with AMEX who immediately reverse the charge. 

Check and see if the other card companies have a similar policy.

...

 

Thank you very much! I forgot about this option. I've filed credit card claim, hope it will help to proceed with successful return and refund.

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definitely contact paypal, now the buyer’s protection is extended to 180 days and includes shipping back costs.

 

Get your money back and spend it elsewhere.

 

...

 

Very good to know about 120 days, thank you!

Unfortunately I've paid directly from credit to PayPal, so don't have this second protection. Can only file a credit claim.

 

I always pay for eBay over PayPal, but its new UI is a bit confusing. This time it happened again - I logged into PayPal, and selected credit card directly, instead of selecting top PayPal option and then choosing credit card. So now this transaction is not shown in PayPal and I can't file claim there.

 

About the SN, unfortunately box has separate SN. Seller checked it in database and confirmed they sent me the lens with such SN (like on box and in receipt). And he says that before shipping he checked lens SN as well (which is not true). These different SN - are the most tricky part here. Otherwise I'd just make simple eBay return.

 

Thanks again for help and useful suggestions.

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Just check the option for 'ebay to step in' and they will refund you your money and a return shipping label at sellers expense.

 

I'll have that option on Thursday, if not resolve with seller earlier.

 

I've called the store this morning and spoke to store owner. He promised to personally investigate the origin of the lens with SN: 48A1.... . It was very polite and friendly conversation, I explained all details and concerns. I hope they'll discover what went wrong soon.

 

I've discovered similar situations online, and looks like it's the not the worst scenario that could happen. You may see "lens imitation cups" on the market that looks close to the lens.

So one buyer returned "open box" to some store with fake lens imitation, claiming he received it instead of lens. I'm glad that I received at least real and fully functional lens : )

 

I can understand the dealer, they do many transactions each day, and may often have troubles like that. So they also have right to defend their point.

It does not sound true that they checked the SN, because if it was "cheating return" they missed that twice. That makes me worry.

However I still hope they'll find who made a mistake, or maybe cooperate with Fuji US SUpport to trace the lens to its latest owners.

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Issue finally got resolved and that official US Fuji Dealer accepted return and sent full refund.

 

They didn't discover yet what went wrong and why I received this bad sample, but I glad it's over.

 

I feel sad that my first experience with XF 50-140mm was so bad. I was inspired by it's size and build quality, silent and quick autofocus, noticeable OIS.

Only about 10 happy minutes : ) Then it converted to 10 days of nightmare.

 

I'm so tired of this case, that will skip trying to buy other XF 50-140mm. Maybe it's not a right time for that. Maybe next year.

Probably I'll buy old and used Nikkor 80-200mm 2.8 Mk-III + adapter.

 

Many thanks to everyone for your support! It really helped me to stay calm, using your wise hints and communicating to the seller in a right way.

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