Quote: Of course claims must be made through the maker...in Japan.
Of course, but it would cost Ricoh a lot more to have to ship back a product from Japan to, let's say, Brazil. Would it not be easier and cheaper for Ricoh to have it just fixed in Brazil?
Quote: Grey market often = smuggle
Sure, but then it could be just that it was brought in another country while the person was on holiday, or away on an extended work assignment, or sent as a gift. Either way, the proof of purchase would not be local to the country and it would be deemed 'grey market'. With the case of the US and Canada, since there are no consumer cameras or lenses manufactured in either country there are no duties to be paid.
It happened to me a few years ago when was living temporarily in the US, I bought a Tokina lens there. One of the barrels came loose within the warranty period but I was back in Canada when that happened. THK Canada would not honor the warranty, even though they were just a contracted satellite of THK in the US. I did send it back to the US an they fixed it, but what a huge waste of time and effort. In that particular case, this was a one off situation where a screw came loose because it was not installed properly.
In our case here it's a widespread problem. I am just saying it would be cheaper and easier for Ricoh Japan to just admit the fault and authorize and pay for the repair locally. It would be easier and cheaper for them too.
Anyway, I don't want to get into another brawl over this You are all quite welcome to disagree with me. I just think in some cases where a company has made a large error they should be a little less petty about fixing it and take responsibility for there mistake rather than putting the onus on their faithful customers. Receipts get lost or destroyed all the time, If there any Candians on this forum, you all know what Canadian Tire receipts are like. They are intenionally designed to fade to unrecognizable in about 3 months.
Not that I have to worry about it. I bought mine at Canada's largest Pentax dealer, and unless they stiffed me with an illegal product I should be golden. That's if our designated repair center ever gets up and running. I just hope there are not too many folks left holding a useless camera after parting with their hard earned money.
Have a great father's day all you daddy's out there and may your K-3 behave!
---------- Post added 06-15-14 at 10:59 AM ----------
Originally posted by awaldram Pentax UK are a little less demanding and providing you cam prove you 'personally' puchased item and have an international warranty card will handle imported items.
I have to hand it to them. They are going by the spirit rather than the letter of the rules. Kudos to them and I'll admit I'm a little jealous. It's nice to hear that in some small corners of the world there are companies that appreciate and respect their customers.
It's seen less and less these day's.