New Pentax = Two problems

Lev · 08-30-2015, 09:28 AM

After year of thinking what kind of dslr I really want, I made decision. I bought brand new Pentax K3 II from amazon.

Just right after I opened the box, I've discovered that Pentax announced recall of their products with some serial numbers. Of course my device was in this list.

Device is working, shutting down correctly and so on, but besides this problem the LCD panel has a little dust particle, under the covering glass on top of it.

Weather Proof, cold proof, dust proof, wind proof and anything you might imagine proof camera.

I'm just very dissapointed.

VisualDarkness · 08-30-2015, 11:08 AM

Better a recall than a no-call. Sounds like Amazon got some old stock still in there.

Not a Number · 08-30-2015, 11:29 AM

I think it has been established from other posts that Amazon has not pulled the affected stock. It's altogether possible they have no idea where inventory is by serial number which could be scattered across the US. It may well be cheaper for them to handle each on an individual basis knowing full well a certain number of the purchases do not know about the service advisory.

Even in a clean room environment you can still get some dust. The dust probably got there during assembly. So maybe one of the workers didn't put their hair cap on properly or scratched their nose. QC is probably done on a sampling basis and the spec of dust passed.

Sent it back to Amazon - the serial number issue is sufficient to return it with Amazon paying for the shipping. And hope the replacement is outside the "recall" serial number range. I'd say you likely have a better chance of getting another "bad" serial number than one with visible dust in it.

Lev · 08-30-2015, 11:39 AM

what if i'll just return it and buy from say b&h

Fenwoodian · 08-30-2015, 11:50 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Lev

what if i'll just return it and buy from say b&h

Amen to that...

B&H has wonderful customer service! I have purchased new photography equipment from all of the major vendors, and B&H's service is better then others by a long shot. KEH is also exceptional, however they sell mostly used equipment.

I had a K3II with one of the bad serial numbers. I purchased it from B&H. I contacted them "after" the 30 day return period had officially expired. To my surprise they said to send it back at their expense for either a replacement or a refund.

B&H stopped selling K3II's until they had cleared out their inventory of the "bad" serial numbers. Expensive certainly, but clearly the right thing to do. I've read that Amazon chose to keep selling the bad K3II serial numbers - obviously hoping that most buyers would not even notice. Shame on Amazon. I'll never buy from you again.

Oldbayrunner · 08-30-2015, 12:05 PM

Some things you buy from Amazon, others are best to purchase from known reputable sources. Still and all Amazon does back their purchases so if it is within the accepted return policy simply return it.

**UncleVanya** · 08-30-2015, 12:13 PM

If you buy from b&h use the marketplace forum links to help support this place.

Al_Kahollick · 08-30-2015, 12:14 PM

Originally posted by Fenwoodian

Shame on Amazon. I'll never buy from you again.

As mentioned earlier, they likely have no idea where or how much "bad" inventory they have on hand. They contract with other distributors across the country, and thus do not control their inventories. "Fulfilled" by Amazon doesn't necessarily mean it comes from one of their own warehouses, but rather from a contracted source.

There's no reason to believe they are purposely trying to mislead or dupe customers, especially considering their fairly liberal return policy. I'm sure if the O.P. contacted them about receiving an item in the "recall range", they'll certainly do all they can to make it right!

Not a Number · 08-30-2015, 02:51 PM

I believe Amazon is an authorized Pentax dealer as well as selling Pentax from other vendors as "fulfilled" through Amazon. As I recall from other threads it has been established that K3iis bought directly from Amazon are still in the recall range. Why Amazon hasn't pulled the bad inventory is anybody's guess. It could be they share inventory with the "fulfilled" by sellers and thus have no idea of the serial numbers of inventory is. Or they've just gotten too big to care and just take the losses as they come along as I suggested earlier. I just hope if some product is recalled for health or safety reasons they handle it differently.

Returning it and buying from B&H is definitely an option. As noted above B&H has gone through the effort to purge the bad inventory. At their return policy is about as hassle free as Amazon's.

fwcetus · 08-30-2015, 04:15 PM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by Lev

what if i'll just return it and buy from say b&h

... or Adorama, also very good ...

stevebrot · 08-30-2015, 04:30 PM

Originally posted by Not a Number

It could be they share inventory with the "fulfilled" by sellers

Not directly. The "Fulfilled By Amazon" service involves dedicated shelving and works the same as any other fulfillment service. It may be that Amazon has a wholesale purchase arrangement to fulfill from its customer's stock, but that I don't believe that is generally part of the program.

Steve

stevebrot · 08-30-2015, 04:33 PM

Originally posted by fwcetus

... or Adorama, also very good ...

Or local brick and mortar.

On a recent thread, one of our PF users had been through multiple exchanges on Amazon only to find there was a brick 'n mortar store with Pentax stock less than 20 miles away.

Steve

Al_Kahollick · 08-30-2015, 07:43 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by stevebrot

Not directly. The "Fulfilled By Amazon" service involves dedicated shelving and works the same as any other fulfillment service. It may be that Amazon has a wholesale purchase arrangement to fulfill from its customer's stock, but that I don't believe that is generally part of the program.

Steve

I work for a nationwide distributer of various products (not electronics). We ship items for Amazon, as well as other national retailers, from our own stock, those items are then paid for by Amazon or who ever it was we shipped them for. Our company name never appears on the packaging (the sellers name is on shipping labels), and all orders we ship for Amazon are indeed considered "fulfilled by Amazon", even though the only connection we have to them is a contract to ship things on their behalf. They have absolutely no control or say over our inventory.

Our core business is serving regional "brick and mortar" retailers, but do serve quite a few on-line retailers as well.

Lev · 08-31-2015, 01:55 AM

Thank you all, looks like amazon will get return. Does anybody know how long it takes?

Al_Kahollick · 08-31-2015, 04:31 AM

Originally posted by Lev

Thank you all, looks like amazon will get return. Does anybody know how long it takes?

Go to the "Your Orders" section of your account and click "return item". You can print your return label after you fill out the return info. Once you drop the pkg. off at UPS / USPS, Amazon will issue the refund as soon as the package is scanned into their system. When it shows on your credit card depends on when they download transactions, could be a week or so, but usually within a couple / three days.

Be sure to let them know on the return form that there's something wrong with the item and you won't be charged a shipping fee.

08-30-2015, 09:28 AM	#1
Lev Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia Posts: 1,197	New Pentax = Two problems After year of thinking what kind of dslr I really want, I made decision. I bought brand new Pentax K3 II from amazon. Just right after I opened the box, I've discovered that Pentax announced recall of their products with some serial numbers. Of course my device was in this list. Device is working, shutting down correctly and so on, but besides this problem the LCD panel has a little dust particle, under the covering glass on top of it. Weather Proof, cold proof, dust proof, wind proof and anything you might imagine proof camera. I'm just very dissapointed.

08-30-2015, 11:50 AM - 1 Like	#5
Fenwoodian Pentaxian Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,874	Amen Originally posted by Lev what if i'll just return it and buy from say b&h Amen to that... B&H has wonderful customer service! I have purchased new photography equipment from all of the major vendors, and B&H's service is better then others by a long shot. KEH is also exceptional, however they sell mostly used equipment. I had a K3II with one of the bad serial numbers. I purchased it from B&H. I contacted them "after" the 30 day return period had officially expired. To my surprise they said to send it back at their expense for either a replacement or a refund. B&H stopped selling K3II's until they had cleared out their inventory of the "bad" serial numbers. Expensive certainly, but clearly the right thing to do. I've read that Amazon chose to keep selling the bad K3II serial numbers - obviously hoping that most buyers would not even notice. Shame on Amazon. I'll never buy from you again.

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08-30-2015, 11:08 AM	#2
VisualDarkness Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Uppsala, Sweden Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,439	Better a recall than a no-call. Sounds like Amazon got some old stock still in there.

08-30-2015, 11:29 AM	#3
Not a Number Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 10,525	I think it has been established from other posts that Amazon has not pulled the affected stock. It's altogether possible they have no idea where inventory is by serial number which could be scattered across the US. It may well be cheaper for them to handle each on an individual basis knowing full well a certain number of the purchases do not know about the service advisory. Even in a clean room environment you can still get some dust. The dust probably got there during assembly. So maybe one of the workers didn't put their hair cap on properly or scratched their nose. QC is probably done on a sampling basis and the spec of dust passed. Sent it back to Amazon - the serial number issue is sufficient to return it with Amazon paying for the shipping. And hope the replacement is outside the "recall" serial number range. I'd say you likely have a better chance of getting another "bad" serial number than one with visible dust in it.

08-30-2015, 11:39 AM	#4
Lev Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia Posts: 1,197 Original Poster	what if i'll just return it and buy from say b&h

08-30-2015, 12:05 PM	#6
Oldbayrunner Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 1,665	Some things you buy from Amazon, others are best to purchase from known reputable sources. Still and all Amazon does back their purchases so if it is within the accepted return policy simply return it.

08-30-2015, 12:13 PM	#7
UncleVanya Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2014 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 28,385	If you buy from b&h use the marketplace forum links to help support this place.

08-30-2015, 12:14 PM	#8
Al_Kahollick Banned Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 390	Originally posted by Fenwoodian Shame on Amazon. I'll never buy from you again. As mentioned earlier, they likely have no idea where or how much "bad" inventory they have on hand. They contract with other distributors across the country, and thus do not control their inventories. "Fulfilled" by Amazon doesn't necessarily mean it comes from one of their own warehouses, but rather from a contracted source. There's no reason to believe they are purposely trying to mislead or dupe customers, especially considering their fairly liberal return policy. I'm sure if the O.P. contacted them about receiving an item in the "recall range", they'll certainly do all they can to make it right!

08-30-2015, 02:51 PM	#9
Not a Number Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 10,525	I believe Amazon is an authorized Pentax dealer as well as selling Pentax from other vendors as "fulfilled" through Amazon. As I recall from other threads it has been established that K3iis bought directly from Amazon are still in the recall range. Why Amazon hasn't pulled the bad inventory is anybody's guess. It could be they share inventory with the "fulfilled" by sellers and thus have no idea of the serial numbers of inventory is. Or they've just gotten too big to care and just take the losses as they come along as I suggested earlier. I just hope if some product is recalled for health or safety reasons they handle it differently. Returning it and buying from B&H is definitely an option. As noted above B&H has gone through the effort to purge the bad inventory. At their return policy is about as hassle free as Amazon's.

08-30-2015, 04:15 PM - 2 Likes	#10
fwcetus Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: New England Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,286	Originally posted by Lev what if i'll just return it and buy from say b&h ... or Adorama, also very good ...

08-30-2015, 04:30 PM	#11
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by Not a Number It could be they share inventory with the "fulfilled" by sellers Not directly. The "Fulfilled By Amazon" service involves dedicated shelving and works the same as any other fulfillment service. It may be that Amazon has a wholesale purchase arrangement to fulfill from its customer's stock, but that I don't believe that is generally part of the program. Steve

08-30-2015, 04:33 PM	#12
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by fwcetus ... or Adorama, also very good ... Or local brick and mortar. On a recent thread, one of our PF users had been through multiple exchanges on Amazon only to find there was a brick 'n mortar store with Pentax stock less than 20 miles away. Steve

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08-30-2015, 07:43 PM - 1 Like	#13
Al_Kahollick Banned Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 390	Originally posted by stevebrot Not directly. The "Fulfilled By Amazon" service involves dedicated shelving and works the same as any other fulfillment service. It may be that Amazon has a wholesale purchase arrangement to fulfill from its customer's stock, but that I don't believe that is generally part of the program. Steve I work for a nationwide distributer of various products (not electronics). We ship items for Amazon, as well as other national retailers, from our own stock, those items are then paid for by Amazon or who ever it was we shipped them for. Our company name never appears on the packaging (the sellers name is on shipping labels), and all orders we ship for Amazon are indeed considered "fulfilled by Amazon", even though the only connection we have to them is a contract to ship things on their behalf. They have absolutely no control or say over our inventory. Our core business is serving regional "brick and mortar" retailers, but do serve quite a few on-line retailers as well.

08-31-2015, 01:55 AM	#14
Lev Veteran Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Tbilisi, Georgia Posts: 1,197 Original Poster	Thank you all, looks like amazon will get return. Does anybody know how long it takes?

08-31-2015, 04:31 AM	#15
Al_Kahollick Banned Join Date: Feb 2013 Posts: 390	Originally posted by Lev Thank you all, looks like amazon will get return. Does anybody know how long it takes? Go to the "Your Orders" section of your account and click "return item". You can print your return label after you fill out the return info. Once you drop the pkg. off at UPS / USPS, Amazon will issue the refund as soon as the package is scanned into their system. When it shows on your credit card depends on when they download transactions, could be a week or so, but usually within a couple / three days. Be sure to let them know on the return form that there's something wrong with the item and you won't be charged a shipping fee.