# Canon USA Changes the CPS Program



## Canon Rumors Guy (Sep 11, 2013)

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<p><strong>From Canon USA</strong>

The staff of CPS strives to provide imaging professionals like you with comprehensive service and support benefits. And we are always looking for opportunities to make the CPS program even better. After careful study and consideration, and with your valuable feedback, we are planning to roll out a number of enhancements and updates to the CPS program. The purpose of this email is to give you a summary of these enhancements and updates, which we anticipate will be effective for all members in two phases: the 4th quarter of 2013 and early 2014 with the introduction of a new CPS Cinema level. Details will be available on the CPS website as these enhancements and updates become available.</p>
<p><!--more--></p>
<p>The program updates and enhancements are as follows:</p>
<p>We are renaming the Clean & Check process to Canon Maintenance Service (CMS) and eliminating the paper voucher. The number of items that may be sent in for CMS is being increased for eligible CPS members. Platinum members will be able to send 10 eligible items and Gold members will be able to send 5 eligible items, during each membership year. The number of items sent in for CMS will be tracked by Canon internally.</p>
<p>Based on your feedback, we are shortening the period for each evaluation loan from two weeks to one week. This will also have the effect of increasing the total amount of equipment available for evaluation loans to eligible members.</p>
<p>In an effort to concentrate our efforts on our core professional members, we will no longer include the EOS 60D camera and future successor model cameras as qualifying equipment for any level. However, owners of such equipment will still be eligible to receive repair benefits covered by the program.</p>
<p>In early 2014, the Cinema EOS C100 camera and all Cinema Prime Lenses will be added as qualifying equipment to the CPS Gold and Platinum membership levels. And we are planning to launch a new CPS Cinema level tailored to owners of other Cinema EOS cameras and lenses.</p>
<p>In an effort to balance program benefits, we are adjusting the repair discounts from their current levels. Therefore, repair discounts are being changed to 30% for Platinum level members and 20% for Gold level members. Also, there will be a cap on the number of annual repairs to which the discount can be applied, Gold level members can receive the repair discount on a maximum of 10 eligible items and Platinum level members can receive the repair discount on a maximum of 15 eligible items.</p>
<p>The annual fee for Platinum membership will be reduced from $500 to $300. All current Platinum members will automatically receive a free six-month membership extension compliments of Canon (eligible members will be contacted with further details separately at a later date). The annual fee for the Gold membership level will remain at $100, and the Silver membership level will remain free to qualified professionals.</p>
<p>For organizations with large amounts of eligible Canon equipment and/or large photography staff, we are launching Enterprise CPS, which is designed to suit the needs of medium to large size organizations like newspapers, photo studios, rental houses, etc. In addition to some of the traditional CPS benefits, Enterprise CPS clients can receive benefits like on-site equipment maintenance, higher repair caps and streamlined billing. The details of this new program will be provided at a later date.</p>
<p>We have also increased our support of the professional imaging market in less direct, but significant ways. For example, you may have noticed that, during 2013, CPS increased the number of major sporting events, training workshops, and trade shows where on-site support is provided to eligible CPS members. These events are an important way for us to support and communicate with our members.</p>
<p>We recently opened two new service facilities, one in Hollywood, CA and another in Ridgefield Park, NJ just outside of New York City. These two new facilities are available to CPS Gold and Platinum level members (as well as our broadcast/cinema professionals). An advance reservation is required for all service and support requests handled by the Hollywood and Ridgefield Park facilities. CPS Gold and Platinum members requesting support should call the CPS hotline at 1 (888) CPS-4540 to make a reservation. And we are currently planning to open a third service facility that will support the Chicago market later this year. All with the goal of bringing Canon’s award-winning repair and maintenance services closer to our CPS members.</p>
<p>Although the CPS program is changing in some significant ways, some aspects of CPS member support are not going to change: our unwavering commitment to speed and quality, as well as acting on your repair and maintenance requests with repair turnaround times of two business days for Platinum members and three business days for Gold members, as more fully described in the program terms and conditions. Temporary loaners while products are in for repair will continue to be available per the terms and conditions of the various membership levels. And dedicated, priority support will still be available for CPS members via phone or email, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.</p>
<p>These enhancements will be rolled out via e-mail communications to our members, detailing the specific changes by membership level, effective date and describing new programs like Enterprise CPS and CPS Cinema. Ensuring your smooth transition to these new benefits is very important so we want to hear from you if you have any questions.</p>
<p>We are honored to have the opportunity to help you achieve success in your imaging pursuits and to support your passion for image-making. Thank you again for trusting Canon with supporting your business.</p>
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## awinphoto (Sep 11, 2013)

As a gold CPS member, I do love that they included extra cleanings to my membership free of charge, but I am weary on the reduction of time with evaluations... So, we borrow a lens, they ship it on a 2 day ship, we ship back to them on a 2 day. So that leave us with 1 business day to really evaluate the lens, or 2 days if we want to overnight it. Kinda sucks on that regards. Also I was going to pick up a 70D for our studio, now with their policies I am second guessing that right now. hmmmm


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## Pixel (Sep 11, 2013)

Do we know for sure the week doesn't begin on arrival of the item?


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## awinphoto (Sep 11, 2013)

Pixel said:


> Do we know for sure the week doesn't begin on arrival of the item?



The way it was (as of todays date), the 2 weeks STARTS when they ship the lens to when they get it back in their hands... Granted that usually gave you a little over a week to evaluate a lens... They haven't mentioned one way or the other about this new policy, and I have emailed them asking for clarification.


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## RGF (Sep 11, 2013)

Extra cleaning are very nice, but reduction in repair discount hurts. I don't eval equipment often, but when I do I will take it on a short trip so 1 week is just too short. I suspect a lot of people used equip eval in lieu of short term rental


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## gferdinandsen (Sep 11, 2013)

Pixel said:


> Do we know for sure the week doesn't begin on arrival of the item?



I suspect it's a week from when you get it; but with 3 day shipping that only gives you four days to evaluate the product. That to me is gravely insufficient, I would like at least 7 days.


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## Jim O (Sep 11, 2013)

awinphoto said:


> As a gold CPS member, I do love that they included extra cleanings to my membership free of charge, but I am weary on the reduction of time with evaluations... So, we borrow a lens, they ship it on a 2 day ship, we ship back to them on a 2 day. So that leave us with 1 business day to really evaluate the lens, or 2 days if we want to overnight it. Kinda sucks on that regards. Also I was going to pick up a 70D for our studio, now with their policies I am second guessing that right now. hmmmm



My reading indicates that the 70D would still be eligible for the benefits. just not for the points needed to get a particular membership level. The gear in your sig more than gets you to the Gold level where your 70D would indeed be covered for cleanings and repair discounts, at least for now...


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## awinphoto (Sep 11, 2013)

I just got a response back from CPS... Basically, the 70D (or 60D's) would be eligible for cleanings/service BUT, they would not count towards points. NOW, in the past, you had to register you gear with canon CPS and only registered gear gets service, but this kinda goes against that, so I wonder how that will work. They also confirmed the 1 week starts from day they mail it to day they get it back. I reiterated it really gives us less than 24 hours, may be even a few hours... If they mail a lens on monday 2 day shipping to us, we get the lens on wednesday. UPS doesn't ship on the weekends so for them to get the lens back in their hands by the following monday, it would need to be in the mail by thursday 2 days to get there, or friday on overnight. The majority of your week is stuck in the mail... kinda makes it not worth it if you ask me. Hopefully they will extend it to maybe 7 business days or something like that...


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## YuengLinger (Sep 11, 2013)

Guess we have to wait to find out when changes go into effect. I renewed Gold about two months ago--will my repairs be discounted the old rate or the new rate during the balance of my subscription period? Bait and switch if changed in mid-stream.


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## neuroanatomist (Sep 11, 2013)

awinphoto said:


> I reiterated it really gives us less than 24 hours... The majority of your week is stuck in the mail... kinda makes it not worth it if you ask me.



Yes, that doesn't make a lot of sense.

[quote author=Canon USA CPS]
Based on your feedback, we are shortening the period for each evaluation loan from two weeks to one week. This will also have the effect of increasing the total amount of equipment available for evaluation loans to eligible members.
[/quote]

Who's feedback, I wonder?

I can take a guess - the actual feedback was, "We have to wait too long to get our evaluation loan requests fulfilled." Given a fixed pool of loaners, reducing the evaluation period was the response.


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## gferdinandsen (Sep 11, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> awinphoto said:
> 
> 
> > I reiterated it really gives us less than 24 hours... The majority of your week is stuck in the mail... kinda makes it not worth it if you ask me.
> ...



Who's feedback, I wonder?

I can take a guess - the actual feedback was, "We have to wait too long to get our evaluation loan requests fulfilled." Given a fixed pool of loaners, reducing the evaluation period was the response. 
[/quote]

I would rather wait two weeks go get eval equipment than I would to have 3 days to evaluate it, but to get it quicker. Hopefully they will get plenty of negative feedback regarding the new evaluation policy.


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## RGF (Sep 11, 2013)

Extra cleaning are very nice, but reduction in repair discount hurts. I don't eval equipment often, but when I do I will take it on a short trip so 1 week is just too short. I suspect a lot of people used equip eval in lieu of short term rental


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## RGF (Sep 11, 2013)

A benefit i find lacking is priority purchasing for new equipment - especially hard to get equipment (such as the 200-400 or the 1Dx). Also would be nice if there priority purchases of refurb equipment


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## awinphoto (Sep 11, 2013)

For what it's worth, my second response from CPS about the loans when i reiterated that I, as a member in the west coast, would have just about 24 hours with a loan before I have to ship it back, they responded saying that was the best solution they can find. They said if anyone wants to complain or such, they should email [email protected] So if any of you guys have any issues with the 1 week rule, email them in mass... =)


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## RLPhoto (Sep 11, 2013)

Not bad. I will miss the two week test periods though and I won't have to be hobbling those Clean and check vouchers in the safe anymore. ;D


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## dstppy (Sep 11, 2013)

awinphoto said:


> For what it's worth, my second response from CPS about the loans when i reiterated that I, as a member in the west coast, would have just about 24 hours with a loan before I have to ship it back, they responded saying that was the best solution they can find. They said if anyone wants to complain or such, they should email [email protected] So if any of you guys have any issues with the 1 week rule, email them in mass... =)



It would be nice if an admin could sticky this . . .


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## keithfullermusic (Sep 11, 2013)

this is nuts to me. canon sent me this email the other day listing all the things they are taking away and made it seem like they are doing me a favor.

the only reasons why i got cps gold was for the big repair discount and equipment loans. so now, they reduce the service discount and essentially eliminate loans?

nikon is sounding better every single day...


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## keithfullermusic (Sep 11, 2013)

I just sent an email to Canon stating how disgusted I am with their recent policy change, and I encourage others to do the same if they feel the same.


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## RGomezPhotos (Sep 11, 2013)

Not a member yet. But the Gold level sounds pretty good. The ONLY thing that sucks is the eval period. 24 hours? You're joking... I think 3 days would be a minimum. You're not supposed to be using them to take on vacation or instead of renting them. So to test and play: 3-day of in-hand use would be fine. 5 days better.


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## steve126a (Sep 11, 2013)

So instead of pulling in a few more units out of the refurb bin, or out of some reps demo kit, their answer is to shorten the evaluation period to an almost useless period. Awesome logic!


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## keithfullermusic (Sep 11, 2013)

RGomezPhotos said:


> Not a member yet. But the Gold level sounds pretty good. The ONLY thing that sucks is the eval period. 24 hours? You're joking... I think 3 days would be a minimum. You're not supposed to be using them to take on vacation or instead of renting them. So to test and play: 3-day of in-hand use would be fine. 5 days better.




So this is another that gets me - Canon's CPS thing initially stated that they want you to have a decent amount of time with loaners, so you can get a "real feel" for the items, and that's why they let you keep them for 2 weeks.

To me, it sounds like the big wigs at CPS said - "Wait, loaners don't make us money. Repairs make us money. So let's reduce the repair discount and essentially eliminate the loaner program. Also, let's act like we're doing our customers a favor with this new policy and tell them that it means they can get loaners quicker."


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## awinphoto (Sep 11, 2013)

RGomezPhotos said:


> Not a member yet. But the Gold level sounds pretty good. The ONLY thing that sucks is the eval period. 24 hours? You're joking... I think 3 days would be a minimum. You're not supposed to be using them to take on vacation or instead of renting them. So to test and play: 3-day of in-hand use would be fine. 5 days better.



If your on the east coast and get shipments from canon in 1 day, then you can have 3 or so days to play with the gear, but if your on the west coast or even mid-west, you get the shaft. They have a facility in Irvine CA, i think they should open that up for west coast eval so we can have a better chance at testing the new gear.


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## neuroanatomist (Sep 11, 2013)

awinphoto said:


> If your on the east coast and get shipments from canon in 1 day, then you can have 3 or so days to play with the gear, but if your on the west coast or even mid-west, you get the shaft. They have a facility in Irvine CA, i think they should open that up for west coast eval so we can have a better chance at testing the new gear.



So, loaners come only from NJ or VA? I know NJ is overnight for me via UPS Ground, not sure about VA. But that would make the 1-wk period tolerable for me, thanks for the info. 

Definitely would be good for them to stock loaners at Irvine, too...except that means they'd need a bigger pool - and unfortunately, I suspect that's not their intent.


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## RGF (Sep 11, 2013)

Sent the following (slightly editted to CPS)

I received the notice about the changes in the CPS Program. As a CPS member I have mixed reaction to the changes.

First of CMS is a great service and I am glad to hear it is being expanded.

More trade shows, events, etc does not impact me, as I shoot wildlife and nature. You are unlikely to have an event in Botswana or coastal area of Alaska where there is high density of grizzly bears 

The reduced discount on repairs is probably offset by the reduced membership cost so I will call this a wash.

And the reduced time to evaluate equipment greatly reduces the utility of this service. To full evaluate equipment I need to try the equipment in the field, under real world use. That means a trip, general 7-10 days in length. With a 2 week evaluation period, I could do this. One week make evaluation much harder. I would like to see longer evaluation periods with a modest fee charged for anything over a week.

Lacking from the program is priority purchasing. When the 200-400 was released, I had very hard time finding one; as a Platinum CPS member it would have been great if I could requested that an extra lens be shipped to my dealer with “my name on it”. Also it would be great if we had priority access to refurbished equipment – perhaps identify equipment desired and when an items comes available it is held for us for 48-72 hours.

Thanks for listening. CPS is a great program but not all CPS need the same service. For me priority access to new equipment and time to evaluate equipment in the field are of paramount importance.


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## Jim O (Sep 11, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> awinphoto said:
> 
> 
> > If your on the east coast and get shipments from canon in 1 day, then you can have 3 or so days to play with the gear, but if your on the west coast or even mid-west, you get the shaft. They have a facility in Irvine CA, i think they should open that up for west coast eval so we can have a better chance at testing the new gear.
> ...



Newport News is overnight for me and I can return in person so I'd be in good shape I suppose.

I think they send them two day no matter where they're sending them. Otherwise VA to Los Angeles would be four business days by ground, and five to Northern California and the Pacific northwest.

Anyway, these are FedEx outgoing ground maps for 23606 (Newport News) and 08831 (Jamesburg).


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## RunAndGun (Sep 11, 2013)

Regarding the evaluation period, as someone else mentioned, it may be, at least partially, in response to people essentially using the evaluation as a free rental for paying jobs. On the Cinema side, evaluations for Canon lenses are even more limited to curtail "free rentals": My rep told me the lenses arrive to you the morning of your scheduled eval and MUST be shipped back at the end of same day, so you literally only get a few hours with them depending on your location/proximity to FedEx/UPS. I have a FedEx and a UPS distribution centers literally less than 10 mins from my house and a FedEx airport location 30 mins from me that you can ship from till 9:30pm, so even a best case scenario for someone in my situation would have probably less than 12 hours. Most people, a lot less. Good thing I have a few friends that have pulled the trigger on the cine primes and I can just call them if I really want a good demo.


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## awinphoto (Sep 11, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> awinphoto said:
> 
> 
> > If your on the east coast and get shipments from canon in 1 day, then you can have 3 or so days to play with the gear, but if your on the west coast or even mid-west, you get the shaft. They have a facility in Irvine CA, i think they should open that up for west coast eval so we can have a better chance at testing the new gear.
> ...



Yes, so far all the loaners I've ever had go and from NJ. so 2 days here, 2 days back, or overnight if i want to double the price for whatever reason =)


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## neuroanatomist (Sep 11, 2013)

Thanks for the confirmation, awinphoto!


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## Drizzt321 (Sep 11, 2013)

RunAndGun said:


> Regarding the evaluation period, as someone else mentioned, it may be, at least partially, in response to people essentially using the evaluation as a free rental for paying jobs. On the Cinema side, evaluations for Canon lenses are even more limited to curtail "free rentals": My rep told me the lenses arrive to you the morning of your scheduled eval and MUST be shipped back at the end of same day, so you literally only get a few hours with them depending on your location/proximity to FedEx/UPS. I have a FedEx and a UPS distribution centers literally less than 10 mins from my house and a FedEx airport location 30 mins from me that you can ship from till 9:30pm, so even a best case scenario for someone in my situation would have probably less than 12 hours. Most people, a lot less. Good thing I have a few friends that have pulled the trigger on the cine primes and I can just call them if I really want a good demo.



I mean, I can understand them wanting to stop the practice of "get loaner instead of renting", but considering they had a limit of only a few times for the same item that seems like it'd help that. Further, how can you really evaluate a piece of equipment without using it for a 'job', paying or not? A day is hardly enough to properly evaluate a lens or body. If they said you only get 3 days from the date of signing/arrival, that wouldn't be too horrible. Unless like RGF and need to go out into the wilderness with it which would be pretty complicated for even 3 days to manage.


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## Freddie (Sep 12, 2013)

*there goes the eval feature*

What they're doing is essentially eliminating the evaluation benefit for us Gold CPS members.
So what's left? A slight discount and expedited shipping on repairs? I've never used them for a repair, only the evaluation service. I've been evaluating new equipment for the last nine years and I nearly always later bought what I had tested and found useful. I've been trying to get one of the 200-400 lenses for testing since June and I always get the same answer. "Not enough to go around." Apparently so. Too many CPS members nowadays it seems.
Now, since I live in Colorado, the best option is to ask that a loaner ships on a Friday, arrives Tuesday, and ships back on Wednesday unless I want to pay for overnight shipping. With shipping running $60-100, it's not a bad deal if I can have it for more than 48 hours.
Unfortunately, those days are now gone. Too bad. Now I'm thinking perhaps it would be good to have a Nikon D700 and a Nikkor 200-400. After all, the two of them together still cost less than the Canon EF 200-400. Canon is not really interested in supporting the average pro photographer any more, I guess. Sad, very sad.

I've sent my final email to CPS now. Sadly, I will no longer pay to maintain my membership in what was formerly a very nice program with wonderful benefits. All these changes in benefits were set in motion, in my opinion, when they changed the requirements for CPS membership a few years ago. I'm sure they're now so vastly oversubscribed and stretched to the limit trying to keep up with the numbers that they're looking for some way out. Lately, all you had to do was buy some equipment and pay the fee. It wasn't always so easy. There were very real requirements to prove professional status in the past. I'm definitely not an elitist but it looks like they wanted to increase revenues more than they wanted to support their customers who were trying to make a living.


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## Sauropod (Sep 12, 2013)

I live in Arizona and all of my loaned equipment has come from, and had to be shipped back to, Virginia.

On the old plan we could rent the same lens twice a year. I wonder if I will be able to request a "back to back"? 

The long eval period directly resulted in my purchasing the 200 f/2.0, 24-70 II, and the 400 f/2.8. It also ended up putting the 1DX and the 800mm on my list for future purchases (ok, I'll be honest, I'll probably wait for the 800 II, that thing is heavy!). Had I only tested the lenses for 1 or 2 days I wouldn't have been able to simulate actual ownership. I wouldn't have had time to hit the zoos and the outdoor areas I frequent. I can say I likely would have passed on the 400 if I hadn't used it in multiple locations as I was on the edge of justifying using different lenses with 1.4x/2.0x tc iiis and save the money. 

Recently when I request CPS product I have taken to requesting "X or Y, whichever is available first" and have had a steady stream of lenses to demo. I have the 300 coming soon and can't wait! 

Digitally tracking my cleanings is a nice to have and I (knock on wood) haven't had to leverage their repair facility yet. The eval program was really the biggest benefit to myself. Shipping product, insured, back to Virginia is spendy but with the long eval period I felt it was worth it. If it was a true 5 day eval, where the clock starts when I receive the lens and stops when I send it back, I think I could live with that. I can't (hope is more like it) believe with the new plan they would include to and from freight days as part of the loan as by reducing the overall loan time by a week, even with shipping, they enable a quicker inventory turn versus today's system.


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## awinphoto (Sep 12, 2013)

Sauropod, from my communications with CPS, that is exactly what they are thinking, clock starts the moment the equipment leaves their shipping dept and ends when they receive it. Exactly what they currently do but it's with 2 weeks giving you a hair over a week after shipping. So if that sounds bad to you, email the link I posted.


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## awinphoto (Sep 12, 2013)

*Re: there goes the eval feature*



Freddie said:


> What they're doing is essentially eliminating the evaluation benefit for us Gold CPS members.
> So what's left?



They aren't eliminating it from the gold members, they are eliminating it from everyone.


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## YuengLinger (Sep 12, 2013)

Called CPS today and they can't yet say if the new discount rate applies to recently renewed accounts. Guess I missed some small print about terms being changed at any time. Guess I'm lucky to still be getting 20% off.


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## keithfullermusic (Sep 12, 2013)

So - Good News!!! I think all our anger got to them, because I just received this from CPS:



> _I understand you are frustrated with the upcoming changes to the CPS Program and, I would like to address your concerns regarding the CPS Evaluation Loans. The length of the loan period is being changed to one week, as the email stated however, this will not include the time for shipping as the current loan program does. This change will allow you to have the loaner equipment in your hands for one week._


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## awinphoto (Sep 12, 2013)

keithfullermusic said:


> So - Good News!!! I think all our anger got to them, because I just received this from CPS:
> 
> 
> 
> > _I understand you are frustrated with the upcoming changes to the CPS Program and, I would like to address your concerns regarding the CPS Evaluation Loans. The length of the loan period is being changed to one week, as the email stated however, this will not include the time for shipping as the current loan program does. This change will allow you to have the loaner equipment in your hands for one week._



Sweet... now the question is does that include return shipping as well... and how do they enforce length of return shipment (i.e. ground vs 2 day vs overnight).... but at least this is a step in the right direction and showing they are actually listening.


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## RGF (Sep 12, 2013)

awinphoto said:


> keithfullermusic said:
> 
> 
> > So - Good News!!! I think all our anger got to them, because I just received this from CPS:
> ...



A week plus shipping time is an improvement. Not ideal but better


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## Drizzt321 (Sep 12, 2013)

RGF said:


> awinphoto said:
> 
> 
> > keithfullermusic said:
> ...



Yea, that's not so bad.

And as far as I recall from the couple times I've used the program, you have to pay for return shipping (plus any insurance if you want to be safe). I'm betting that part hasn't changed, but it's always been that way so it's a wash.


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## neuroanatomist (Sep 12, 2013)

RGF said:


> A week plus shipping time is an improvement. Not ideal but better



A week in hand sounds pretty reasonable...except for those of us with a day job, perhaps.


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## Drizzt321 (Sep 12, 2013)

neuroanatomist said:


> RGF said:
> 
> 
> > A week plus shipping time is an improvement. Not ideal but better
> ...



We'll just have to make sure we get it Thursday so we can spend the entire weekend shooting with it.


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## Sauropod (Sep 13, 2013)

Below is what CPS sent me at 9:36am EST. I am hoping Keithfullermusic's note was from later on in the day and that CPS altered their stance.

Last night I emailed "Does this mean you will start counting the evaluation period from when I receive the lens and end it when I send the lens back? Do weekends count? Lastly will you have a demo pool in California?"

Their answer: 
"The loan start on the day it ships and ends on the due date, which is the date we would need it back in our hands. To answer you second question, weekends do count as days toward your loan request. So if we ship on Friday you do lose the two days even though Fed Ex does not deliver on those days. To get the most out of the request the best ship day would be Wednesday for arrival Friday as we use FedEx 2 day service, if the item is available. 

Loans will only be shipped and processed through our VA loan facility."


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## Drizzt321 (Sep 13, 2013)

Sauropod said:


> Below is what CPS sent me at 9:36am EST. I am hoping Keithfullermusic's note was from later on in the day and that CPS altered their stance.
> 
> Last night I emailed "Does this mean you will start counting the evaluation period from when I receive the lens and end it when I send the lens back? Do weekends count? Lastly will you have a demo pool in California?"
> 
> ...



Hmmm...sounds like some major confusion is going on. Let me send off an email to see if I can get yet another opinion.


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## Drizzt321 (Sep 13, 2013)

Ok, heard back from them (3:06am PT) and got the following:



> Thank you for contacting Canon product support.
> 
> The 7 days starts when you receive the item. Shipping time is not included in your 1 week of evaluation.
> 
> We hope that clears things up for you. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns. Thank you for choosing Canon.



So another confirmation for 7 days starting when receiving.


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## Sauropod (Sep 13, 2013)

And one more follow up. CPS reads the forum! They recognized my pasted email response from them and sent me a note of clarification which is posted below. I am impressed they took the time to clarify the conditions and I can live with a 10 day total eval. Thanks CR and thanks Canon!

"I came across your post on Canon Rumors and I see there was still some confusion so I just wanted to clarify. The total loan duration for a evaluation loan will be 10 days total. That does include shipping time. So for instance we always use Fed Ex 2day service to you, which means if we ship the lens out on Monday you will receive it Wednesday so you will technically have it on the 3rd day. Depending on your return shipment method, if you decide to ship it 2day or even economy 3day select you would have it in hand for 5 to 6 days to test. 
If we ship on a Friday or Thursday you do lose one or two days as Fed Ex would not deliver a Two day express shipment on those days, so that would cut your in hand time. 
Please remember we cannot guarantee shipment on a specific day but will try to come as close as possible to the date requested if available and given the proper advance notice. Gold members require at least two weeks notice, Platinum members receive priority loans which can be as little as 2 to 3 days but is also based on availability. 
I hope I was able to clear up any confusion."


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## Drizzt321 (Sep 13, 2013)

I just got a new CPS announcement. Basically, they changed the Equipment Evaluation to 10 days from shipping. Since they ship FedEx 2 day, that leaves the remaining 7-8 (depending on delivery day) to evaluate it, and then ship it back to return it to them by X date. So 5-6 days of actual use in most cases. Much better than the previous. 



> Since announcing the changes to the CPS program a few days ago, we have been monitoring feedback from our membership base. Please see below for additional information regarding the upcoming changes to the CPS program.
> 
> *Effective Date for the New CPS Benefits Structure*
> The new CPS member benefit structure will become effective for all members on October 1, 2013.
> ...


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## tiger82 (Sep 14, 2013)

Handling of Clean and Check Coupons that Have Not Yet Been Used
From October 1, 2013 until the end of your current membership term, the entire annual Canon Maintenance Service (CMS) benefit will be available for you to use (10 pieces of cameras or lenses for Platinum members and 5 pieces for Gold members). Since the number of CMS transactions allowed under the new benefits structure is greater than the previous number of Clean and Check coupons, the coupons will no longer be needed.


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## tiger82 (Sep 14, 2013)

keithfullermusic said:


> nikon is sounding better every single day...



Uhmmm, have you looked into Nikon Professional Services? Based on your comment, you haven't.


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## tiger82 (Sep 14, 2013)

For those of you who blast Canon CPS, please read this: http://www.nikonpro.com/aboutnps.aspx

Canon has always shipped my evals Fedex 2 day, even to my travel location in California. 

For my loans, I arrange my loans to arrive Friday then I ship it back the second Monday for them to receive it the following Wednesday. So my loans have gone for nearly 15 days. With the new plan, they ship Wednesday, I receive it on Friday and the 10th day is on a Saturday when they are closed. I will have a case to say the shipping it back on Wednesday for it to arrive on Friday makes it a 9 day loan so I can keep mysame routine.


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## RGF (Sep 15, 2013)

Compared to NPS, I am very pleased with CPS My only major wish is CPS would help us get newly released equipment such as 200-400.

Other than that, I am pleased with the program. It could always be improved, but everyone's desire would be slightly different.


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## MechE31 (Sep 16, 2013)

I deal with our Canon equipment at our company and we have always had a rep we deal with. This was around before the CPS enterprise option. He's always extremely flexible with duration on loans. 

Do individual CPS members have individual Canon reps that they deal with or just CPS as a whole?


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## Freddie (Sep 25, 2013)

As far as I can tell, we have a regional rep but that person's time is pretty much taken up by his bigger clients. The last time I contacted our regional rep several years ago, he very kindly replied to my message but I have yet to meet him. I would imagine the big spenders get a pretty free rein on time slots.
I just asked for an evaluation loan of the 200-400L lens again. I was given a mid-February time slot so I guess they really are short on those units. They've been telling me more are coming so I may get moved up a bit, not!
Retailers seem to be pretty short on full inventory of these lenses as well.
So, for February, my 200-400 lens evaluation will be done in Bosqué del Apache, NM. It's close enough for us to get down and shoot for a few days and, if necessary, ship back out of Albuquerque on the way home to Colorado. I know what I can do there and I've shot enough with other lenses there to allow a decent comparison.


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## KarstenReis (Oct 2, 2013)

The new CPS page went up today. The evaluation loan period is going to be 10 days, not 7 days like previously mentioned. http://www.cps.usa.canon.com/loans/loans.shtml


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