[odie91]

I just wanted to bring something to light for some of you selling/buying stuff on the marketplace. I'm not trying to threadcrap, but just feel that everyone (especially the buyer) is entitled to know...

Pentax does not honor warranties for anyone except the original purchaser. If you have a receipt of sale that you can provide with an item you sell to someone, I suppose they can claim to be the original purchaser as long as your name and address or not shown on it. The other issue to know is just because you have not mailed in your warranty card yet, doesn't mean you can mail it in at anytime and thus begin your 1 year warranty from the date you mail it in. It just doesn't make sense, yet I see sellers stating that they will provide the unmailed warranty card with the purchase -- it does NO GOOD unless you can provide the sales receipt, and on top of that, the warranty is good until 1 year from the date of sale, not the date you mail in the card.

This information was all given to me over the phone (and also verified by email) by a USA warranty rep. I do not know if this applies to other countries as well. Furthermore, I do not know the warranty policy/length of Pentax lenses (just camera bodies).

Again, I repeat, I am not trying to ruin anyone's sale. I'm just trying to do what I believe is a service by bringing this to light for some of you who are buying/selling used equipment here.

[SpecialK]

...does not honor warranties for anyone except the original purchaser...

...warranty card with the purchase -- it does NO GOOD unless you can provide the sales receipt, and on top of that, the warranty is good until 1 year from the date of sale, not the date you mail in the card.

This is standard policy with everything I've ever bought...

[Harald]

You are now speaking about your local laws... here where I live, warranties are never bound to the original buyer.

And many cases the makers responsibility do not end after the first year. Product should be able to use tru all its supposed lifespan, taking into accout the product, its supposed user group and price.

So if your cameras shutter lasts only 5000 shots and you have bought it 16 months ago, manufactures responsibilities have not been ended. These cases you can turn to consumer ombudsman. Usually you have to, because authorized services dont fix these without resistance, but in the end they have to.

[ftpaddict]

I've talked to Pentax reps. here in Romania, and all I need is proof of purchase and the warranty card that comes with the camera. And the camera itself (of course).

[SpecialK]

You are now speaking about your local laws... here where I live, warranties are never bound to the original buyer.

And many cases the makers responsibility do not end after the first year. Product should be able to use tru all its supposed lifespan, taking into accout the product, its supposed user group and price.

So if your cameras shutter lasts only 5000 shots and you have bought it 16 months ago, manufactures responsibilities have not been ended. These cases you can turn to consumer ombudsman. Usually you have to, because authorized services dont fix these without resistance, but in the end they have to.

Yes, things are different around the world. In the USA, some products only have a 30- or 90-day warranty.

[bobjames]

I don't know by what miracle a camera undergoes a physical transformation merely by a change in ownership.

I hereby ask all of you to write to your Congressman and demand the passage of a law prohibiting the expiration of warranties as a result of a change in ownership.

Shame on Pentax and all the rest!

[slomojoe]

The way I always understood this works in the US is that a manufacturer is bound to abide the warranty conditions on a product regardless of transfer of ownership, but it is the consumer's responsibility to provide the necessary information that the product is still under warranty, i.e. some proof of the original purchase (even if ownership has changed). This is easy for some products, that are individually identified by law and more complicated for others that aren't.

So, if you buy a car second hand, it is easy for the manufacturer to find out the exact time of original sale from the VIN, and hence you'll be covered by warranty just as much as the original owner. If you buy a camera second-hand and the original buyer registered it and gives you a copy of the registration and /or proof of purchase, and you are within the limits of the original warranty, I would also be surprised if a manufacturer refused to service it (and I think you'd have a legitimate beef against it). On the other hand, you can't expect a manufacturer to service a camera purely on the consumer's word that it is still covered, and even less that it would extend the warranty by another term if the product is purchased second-hand.

[Kguru]

I bought an Acer laptop in Australia for my niece in Vietnam, feeling pleased with its international warranty. One day when she needed it the warranty wasn't honoured because ... original receipt was in my name (we simply overlooked this trap). Despite us showing proof that she was the original owner/user Acer Vietnam steadfastly refused. Talk about technicality !!

I just wanted to bring something to light for some of you selling/buying stuff on the marketplace. I'm not trying to threadcrap, but just feel that everyone (especially the buyer) is entitled to know...

Pentax does not honor warranties for anyone except the original purchaser. If you have a receipt of sale that you can provide with an item you sell to someone, I suppose they can claim to be the original purchaser as long as your name and address or not shown on it. The other issue to know is just because you have not mailed in your warranty card yet, doesn't mean you can mail it in at anytime and thus begin your 1 year warranty from the date you mail it in. It just doesn't make sense, yet I see sellers stating that they will provide the unmailed warranty card with the purchase -- it does NO GOOD unless you can provide the sales receipt, and on top of that, the warranty is good until 1 year from the date of sale, not the date you mail in the card.

This information was all given to me over the phone (and also verified by email) by a USA warranty rep. I do not know if this applies to other countries as well. Furthermore, I do not know the warranty policy/length of Pentax lenses (just camera bodies).

Again, I repeat, I am not trying to ruin anyone's sale. I'm just trying to do what I believe is a service by bringing this to light for some of you who are buying/selling used equipment here.

This issue came up with a lens that I had sold to someone here on the forum. An FA 50mm f/1.4 had backfocus issues. I simply sent the buyer a copy of the sales receipt and he presented it to Pentax as a lens received as a gift. Pentax honored the warranty.

Had they not, I would simply have had him mail it back to me and I would have submitted it for repair.

IMO, if we take care of one another on this forum as regards warranties, it make it a much more viable place to trade.

YMMV

[PaulAndAPentax]

Companies do not like to honor warranties after an item has been sold because it takes $ out of their pocket. If you could go save $ and still get a warranty, then you have less incentive to buy new. Many states have laws though which make manufacturers honor warranties regardless.