Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
12-05-2012, 03:07 PM   #1
Veteran Member
Docrwm's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Somewhere in the Southern US
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 12,285
Where are all the Pentax refurbished lenses?

Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here.


In another thread someone was complaining about possibly getting a recycled Pentax item as brand new. That has sparked a lot of comments about retail practices, different company's policies, and other issues as spin offs.

One issue that was raised was, if Pentax lenses are somehow not right out of the box and are returned - what happens to them? If they are fixed somehow they ought to show up as refurbished. Sigma has a separate section for refurbished items in their own website. We see refurbished camera gear from other makers online - I bought a refurbished Nikon dSLR for my sister a year or more ago.

I have never seen anything like this ad that popped up on a WSJ page for Pentax. Where are all the refurbished Pentax cameras and lenses?

Attached Images
 
12-05-2012, 03:20 PM   #2
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
jatrax's Avatar

Join Date: May 2010
Location: Washington Cascades
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 12,991
Doesn't Amazon have a 'warehouse' site that sells things that were returned? I assumed that was how they got 'open box' deals. If something is returned does anyone check it when it gets back to see if it is defective? Possibly not.

When I worked retail we always asked customers returning things if it was defective or salable. Defectives went back to manufacturer for credit. Salables were checked for contents and put back on the shelf, @100% if everything looked new, at a discount if packaging was not 100%.
12-05-2012, 03:25 PM   #3
Veteran Member
Docrwm's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Somewhere in the Southern US
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 12,285
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by jatrax Quote
Doesn't Amazon have a 'warehouse' site that sells things that were returned? I assumed that was how they got 'open box' deals. If something is returned does anyone check it when it gets back to see if it is defective? Possibly not.

When I worked retail we always asked customers returning things if it was defective or salable. Defectives went back to manufacturer for credit. Salables were checked for contents and put back on the shelf, @100% if everything looked new, at a discount if packaging was not 100%.
Amazon does indeed occasionally recycle their own returns. However, what about the lenses that have some defect? What happens to them? Amazon may well lower the price and sell them, but what if an item is returned to Pentax? What happens to those items? We know that Nikon, Canon, and Sigma for that matter fix some items and then clearly mark them as refurbished and sell them at a lower price with a 90 day warranty. Where are those lenses and cameras from Pentax?
12-05-2012, 03:54 PM   #4
Site Supporter
Deimos's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Kingdom of Wonder
Posts: 1,777
I have seen refurbished Pentax lenses for sale

12-05-2012, 04:00 PM   #5
Administrator
Site Webmaster
Adam's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Arizona
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 51,584
QuoteOriginally posted by Docrwm Quote
In another thread someone was complaining about possibly getting a recycled Pentax item as brand new. That has sparked a lot of comments about retail practices, different company's policies, and other issues as spin offs.

One issue that was raised was, if Pentax lenses are somehow not right out of the box and are returned - what happens to them? If they are fixed somehow they ought to show up as refurbished. Sigma has a separate section for refurbished items in their own website. We see refurbished camera gear from other makers online - I bought a refurbished Nikon dSLR for my sister a year or more ago.

I have never seen anything like this ad that popped up on a WSJ page for Pentax. Where are all the refurbished Pentax cameras and lenses?
Perhaps Maximum Assured Pricing also dictates that refurb discounts can't be offered? tongue

Adam
PentaxForums.com Webmaster (Site Usage Guide | Site Help | My Photography)



PentaxForums.com server and development costs are user-supported. You can help cover these costs by donating or purchasing one of our Pentax eBooks. Or, buy your photo gear from our affiliates, Adorama, B&H Photo, KEH, or Topaz Labs, and get FREE Marketplace access - click here to see how! Trusted Pentax retailers:
12-05-2012, 04:04 PM   #6
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
jatrax's Avatar

Join Date: May 2010
Location: Washington Cascades
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 12,991
Here is a link to Amazon 'refurbished Pentax lenses' but everything is 3rd party no Pentax. Amazon.com: Pentax - Refurbished / Digital Camera Lenses / Lenses: Electronics

So that is curious. Ok, I checked Adorama, Beach Camera and Overstock. com, they all have a refurbished section and they have no Pentax refurbished lenses listed.

Maybe Pentax never have defective lenses?
12-05-2012, 04:07 PM   #7
Loyal Site Supporter
Loyal Site Supporter
THoog's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: North Carolina
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,685
Perhaps, like the different colored K-30s and DA 35 lenses, they are only sold in Japan?

12-05-2012, 04:08 PM   #8
Veteran Member
oxidized's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: USA - Delaware
Photos: Albums
Posts: 435
I have seen couple of years back the K20D pop up refurbished on Woot.com. But I have never seen refurbished lens... Maybe they somehow end up on the grey market?
12-05-2012, 04:28 PM   #9
Site Supporter
Deimos's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Kingdom of Wonder
Posts: 1,777
REFURBISHED PENTAX Wide Angle smc FA 31mm f/1.8 Lens - BLACK | eBay
12-05-2012, 04:37 PM   #10
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
LaurenOE's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Back in Florida, but worldwide gigs!
Photos: Albums
Posts: 3,690
I don't think there is enough volume for Pentax refurbs.
I'm sure there are returns and the occasional refurb sale, but I don't think there is the heavy manufacturing that exists for other brands. Pentax has never churned out product. It's never been that way.
I think Pentax makes things the old way, in batches, on limited assembly lines.
I would not be surprised if they destroyed returned product much the way Cannondale did with their bicycles.

edit: I remember the day, when my 2nd generation Cannondale Raven (that I was racing on) was recalled by Cannondale. Since I was semi-sponsored, as they were handing me a new Jekyll frame, they took a ball peen hammer and smashed the Raven to bits. I cried a bit seeing that happen.
12-05-2012, 04:42 PM   #11
Senior Member




Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Oshawa, Ontario
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 154
Pentax in Canada at least sends Prodigital 2000 on Ebay (Carmen cameras) refurb. products (see link). Not sure if I've seen anything stateside.

REFURBISHED smc Pentax DA* 60-250mm F4 ED SDM LENS K20D/K-7/K-5 | eBay
12-05-2012, 04:52 PM   #12
Site Supporter
Site Supporter
mattt's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Niagara
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 3,905
Before the handover last year, all my local fotosource store could procure was refurb lenses...
12-05-2012, 11:12 PM   #13
Pentaxian
reeftool's Avatar

Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Upstate New York
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 9,543
I have seen refurbished Pentax gear on Best Buy's website from time to time.
12-06-2012, 12:15 AM   #14
Veteran Member




Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 11,913
In Australia the local Pentax (and Sigma) distributor does sometimes offer refurbished stock via eBay.

The local Tamron distributor does the same. It's a funny process - I once saw a Tamron 17-50 that I had returned due to quite bad decentering show up shortly afterwards on eBay (serial number was visible). I hope they did truly re-furbish it and bring it back to spec, rather than just offload it to some sucker.
12-06-2012, 05:53 AM   #15
Veteran Member
Docrwm's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Somewhere in the Southern US
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 12,285
Original Poster
QuoteOriginally posted by jatrax Quote
Here is a link to Amazon 'refurbished Pentax lenses' but everything is 3rd party no Pentax. Amazon.com: Pentax - Refurbished / Digital Camera Lenses / Lenses: Electronics

So that is curious. Ok, I checked Adorama, Beach Camera and Overstock. com, they all have a refurbished section and they have no Pentax refurbished lenses listed.

Maybe Pentax never have defective lenses?
Thanks for the leg work. The link is great but as you said - it's all 3rd party lenses.

Open Box is NOT refurbished. I'm talking about lenses and cameras that were returned or identified as defective and were brought back/up to factory standards and then sold by Pentax or a 3rd party as Refurbished. Perhaps there are too few of them to be regular items anywhere. But so far I've only seen Canadian Refurbs pointed to anywhere.
Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
k-mount, lenses, pentax, pentax lens, slr lens
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Where are the FA 31mm lenses? mtngal Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 14 05-05-2010 04:07 AM
Are all pentax 50/1.7 lenses the same? John Araki Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 8 12-30-2009 01:31 AM
Pentax - where are the fast lenses?! Spock Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 94 11-04-2009 08:09 PM
Where are all the K7 videos at? c.r.brown Pentax DSLR Discussion 3 10-02-2009 03:01 PM
used Pentax Lenses - where are they?? kmanlaker Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 28 06-12-2009 02:05 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 12:03 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top