# What's your experience buying refurbished from Canon Direct USA?



## JonAustin (Jan 28, 2015)

I've purchased new items from Canon USA in the past, and have generally been satisfied with their fulfillment processes.

I just bought my first refurbished lens from them last week (January 22nd), however, and the status has been "Order received and ready for processing" ever since.

I have an order number, so -- even though my credit card hasn't been charged yet -- I presume that I actually have an order in place for this lens (which now is shown as "out of stock" in their web store).

Does anyone care to share his experience with or knowledge about this process? Doesn't Canon prep the refurb product for sale and shipping before listing it in their inventory? Any reason why fulfillment of an in-stock refurb product should take any longer than a new one?


----------



## Edge476 (Jan 28, 2015)

I have bought a lens as well as a refurb 5D lll and have had no issues. They charged my card once the items were shipped on both purchases. The 5D had less than 3K on the shutter and it saved me over $1K. Not to mention you get the same warranty as you would if you bought new. Be patient and I'm sure it will be fine.


----------



## JonAustin (Jan 28, 2015)

Edge476 said:


> I have bought a lens as well as a refurb 5D lll and have had no issues. They charged my card once the items were shipped on both purchases. The 5D had less than 3K on the shutter and it saved me over $1K. Not to mention you get the same warranty as you would if you bought new. Be patient and I'm sure it will be fine.



And how (if you recall) were the intervals between your order dates and the corresponding ship dates?


----------



## Edge476 (Jan 28, 2015)

I Just realized I never answered the question, the body I purchased had the same status. When I called to confirm I would receive the item, they stated that the items that are sometimes coming into the refurb store are listed on expected inventory based on logged returns/repair status/release from quality inspections/etc. I think it took about 2 weeks to receive the shipping information for the body but the lens was shipped in about a week. If you are in a pinch just call and they can give you the detailed status.


----------



## Ryan708 (Jan 28, 2015)

Both my 60D and 70-200 are refurbs. Both looked BRAND new when I got them, except the generic box they come in. I cant remember about my 60D but my lens only took 2 days to ship out.


----------



## BJK (Jan 28, 2015)

JonAustin said:


> I have an order number, so -- even though my credit card hasn't been charged yet -- I presume that I actually have an order in place for this lens (which now is shown as "out of stock" in their web store).
> 
> Does anyone care to share his experience with or knowledge about this process? Doesn't Canon prep the refurb product for sale and shipping before listing it in their inventory? Any reason why fulfillment of an in-stock refurb product should take any longer than a new one?



It took them about 3 business days to ship my 200mm f/2.8L lens back in June. I very much doubt your order has been cancelled. Can't really explain why it took that long; they shipped out my refurb 70D on the same day I ordered it this past November. If you don't see a shipment confirmation e-mail in the next few days, maybe contact customer service.


----------



## wtlloyd (Jan 28, 2015)

First purchased refurb 5 or 6 years ago. Took a couple days to ship, and I was disappointed that they charged sales tax.

Many refurb purchases since then, has always taken a couple days to ship.
In your case, you purchased sometime on a Thursday, so at the pace they move at, I wouldn't have expected to get a shipping notice until Monday. 
Monday was "Snowpocalypse 2015!OMG!"
Just hang in there.

For the record, last 3 refurb purchases were new items. Zero shutter counts on a 6D in Nov 2013, same on a 5D3 (that one was ordered Dec 23 2014, shipped Jan 5 2015) and a 400 f/5.6 was unmarked with unblemished contacts, I don't think it had ever been mounted. Oh ya, just received a 100mm f/2.8 L IS Macro in same condition.

I got in on a 15% off refurb sale and paid $660 shipped for that 100 L macro. 
Why buy used?


----------



## JonAustin (Jan 28, 2015)

Edge476 said:


> I Just realized I never answered the question, the body I purchased had the same status. When I called to confirm I would receive the item, they stated that the items that are sometimes coming into the refurb store are listed on expected inventory based on logged returns/repair status/release from quality inspections/etc. I think it took about 2 weeks to receive the shipping information for the body but the lens was shipped in about a week. If you are in a pinch just call and they can give you the detailed status.



Thanks for all for your responses. Edge476's explanation of inventory sometimes listed before ready to ship makes sense.

I'm not "in a pinch," and can wait for the product (35/2 IS) to ship and be delivered. I didn't want to call Canon and upset the apple cart if my experience is par for the course. (How's that for a set of mixed metaphors?)


----------



## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 28, 2015)

I have bought lenses and bodies, and all were fine. I bought a SX 50 in early January for $200, it was not working right. I had a hassle from them about replacing it. Finally, I got thru to someone who issued a RMA, and ordered a replacement with free overnight shipping, and the price had dropped to $180, so I'm happy with it.


----------



## mpetersheim (Jan 28, 2015)

I've purchased multiple refurbs from the Canon Direct USA store, usually without a problem. The last purchase had some complications... I tired of waiting for the status to change (I don't think I lasted quite a week, since previous orders were fulfilled within a day or two) so I gave them a call, and apparently my order was in some abnormal state such that it was just sitting there unfulfilled. It required several phone calls over the course of a few days to get the order cancelled and re-placed, then cancelled and re-placed again, but I did eventually get it (with free overnight shipping as a gesture). 

As an aside, I'm consistently amazed at the customer support experience I receive from them; can anyone else relate? It's never more than two rings before a native-English-speaking representative picks up, and they're always very agreeable, knowledgeable and helpful...


----------



## JonAustin (Jan 28, 2015)

mpetersheim said:


> I've purchased multiple refurbs from the Canon Direct USA store, usually without a problem. The last purchase had some complications... I tired of waiting for the status to change (I don't think I lasted quite a week, since previous orders were fulfilled within a day or two) so I gave them a call, and apparently my order was in some abnormal state such that it was just sitting there unfulfilled. It required several phone calls over the course of a few days to get the order cancelled and re-placed, then cancelled and re-placed again, but I did eventually get it (with free overnight shipping as a gesture).



This was my concern. Orders can occasionally fall into limbo. I'll give it a few more days before calling in.



mpetersheim said:


> As an aside, I'm consistently amazed at the customer support experience I receive from them; can anyone else relate? It's never more than two rings before a native-English-speaking representative picks up, and they're always very agreeable, knowledgeable and helpful...



That's good to know! If I do decide to call in, I won't have to "prep" myself for a frustrating or adversarial experience.


----------



## old-pr-pix (Jan 28, 2015)

I have only had good experiences with Canon refurbs... at least so far! Product arrives in great, essentially new condition, and shipping times seem reasonable. I have noticed shipments don't always seem to come from the same place; although it's possible that was because of infrequency of ordering and they just changed locations in-between.


----------



## JonAustin (Jan 29, 2015)

Since it's been a week, I decided to go ahead and call in. I spoke with a very polite and professional lady named Ellen, but the bad news is that the lens I thought I had ordered is no longer in stock, so they can't fulfill the order. 

She was unable to tell me exactly why my order didn't process, but conjectured that their system will process multiple order requests concurrently against any quantity of in-stock merchandise, and that the number of order requests in process often exceeds the available inventory. What she couldn't explain is why the system doesn't respond with a "Sorry, we're out of stock now" message to those order requests in process that don't complete before stock is exhausted, like mine. Consequently, I've been sitting on a useless order number with the status "Order received and ready for processing" for a week.

Of course, she had no idea when they'll get another such lens in stock. However, she did say that my order will stay in the system (since I haven't cancelled it) and will fulfill when they receive more inventory. We'll see.


----------



## JonAustin (Jan 29, 2015)

*Just one last chapter (hopefully) to wrap up this weird little story*

After posting my previous observation, I went browsing through the Canon online store, just out of morbid curiosity. To my surprise, the refurb lens I had ordered (35/2 IS) was now showing as in stock!

So I checked my order status again; no change. I called Canon back, spoke with another polite and professional lady, who listened patiently, checked their inventory, confirmed they now have 7 of these lenses in stock, and "unblocked" my order so that it would ship out today.

What's weird is that there was no discussion of my order being "blocked" in my earlier conversation with Canon today; the term never even came up. So I have little confidence that my order would have fulfilled today, had I not seen the lens listed as in stock and called in a second time.

The moral of this little story for me is to CALL Canon whenever I want to buy a refurb item, rather than relying on their online store. Shouldn't be a problem, since they're open from 8:00 am to midnight every day of the week, except holidays.


----------



## Act444 (Jan 29, 2015)

Only one experience - the 24-70 f4 IS, got it refurbished shortly after the price drop from $1500 - the refurb went from $11xx to $800, jumped on that.

If used, it would be considered mint so it wasn't a bad deal. There was one medium-sized speck of dust inside the lens but other than that I think it turned out pretty well.


----------



## setterguy (Jan 29, 2015)

I have purchased both lens and body and the experience has been excellent!


----------



## dexstrose (Jan 29, 2015)

It's great deal if you don't have to pay sales tax. Everything I bought refurbished was a two hundred and under close to getting a brand one. But I still saved a few bucks on purchasing refurbished items. 

Refurbished lenses and flash I purchased came through with no problems, looked brand new. I'm surprise the flash is still strong after a year of heavy use and over heating it a few times. I also called for price adjustment and they gave me one. So overall I had a good experience with canon refurbs.


----------



## dcm (Jan 29, 2015)

Purchased a body and some lenses refurb. Same experience as buying new items from Canon. No problems to report on the purchase process or the items I received - all looked and functioned like brand new. I usually double dip and wait for the refurb sale (15%) or other $ off promotions to make it really worthwhile. 

Popular items go fast so its best to sign up with Canon Price Watch to get notified when an item appears. Even then they can be gone before you get there. I once got an item in the cart, but took a few minutes to get out the credit card and it was gone before I could complete the purchase.


----------



## mpetersheim (Jan 30, 2015)

*Re: Just one last chapter (hopefully) to wrap up this weird little story*



JonAustin said:


> After posting my previous observation, I went browsing through the Canon online store, just out of morbid curiosity. To my surprise, the refurb lens I had ordered (35/2 IS) was now showing as in stock!
> 
> So I checked my order status again; no change. I called Canon back, spoke with another polite and professional lady, who listened patiently, checked their inventory, confirmed they now have 7 of these lenses in stock, and "unblocked" my order so that it would ship out today.
> 
> ...



Sounds like (one of) the same thing that happened to me in the epxerience I related. Glad you got it ordered!


----------



## studeb (Dec 16, 2015)

<EDIT> Now posted a a new thread.

I would start a new topic for this, but as i am a noob, i cant.

This is my second refurb purchase and I have a question about what condition you would accept for a refurbed product. i bought a 70-200mm 2.8 IS II on the Black Friday sale, i know i am lucky. It arrived, i unpacked it, and all looks okay except for the black hood mount ring. It was clearly scratched and the scratches had been painted over in a less than elegant fashion. i will try for pics later, but black on black aint easy to show up. The painting is not obvious, and from a few feet it is not noticeable. It occurred to me that i should try to mount a filter. i haven't used the lens yet, AFMA checks out fine and a few test pattern shots show improved performance over the non-IS version i have.

Would you accept this re-painting as a refurbed product?


----------



## unfocused (Dec 16, 2015)

That's unusual. I have purchased a lot of refurbished items (most recently a 100-400 II) and they have always been pristine. That said though, if it is just cosmetic I wouldn't worry about it, especially since refurbished now come with a full one-year warranty.


----------



## studeb (Dec 16, 2015)

That was my initial thought, its just cosmetic. I also wonder about down the road issues, like if the paint would be cause for warranty problems?

It seems like this is the first report of a non-pristine refurb. Maybe it really is a unicorn!


----------



## Pookie (Dec 16, 2015)

I bought my 200mm f/2 refurb... not a single issue and if I didn't tell you you'd think it was brand new (now it's a little beat but back then it had that "new" car smell). Came with everything that a new one would come with... I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one the exact same way.


----------



## kaswindell (Dec 17, 2015)

I bought my 5d3/24-105 kit as a refurb earlier this year when the price dropped and have been very happy with it. No problem with the order and it arrived 2 days after the order was placed.


----------



## monkey44 (Dec 17, 2015)

We can only reiterate what has been said here -- we bought two cameras refurb, and one lens at different times a couple years ago ... all three arrived within a few days of the order, and if it wasn't for the refurb sticker, we'd have thought it was brand new and shipped by accident. Perfect condition and the 7D came with only four shutter clicks - right, that's four!!! 

We'd have no hesitation buying refurb from Canon again.


----------



## tpatana (Dec 17, 2015)

I've bought several items, and each of them looked like new. No clue that anyone would have ever used/touched them before.


----------



## drmikeinpdx (Dec 17, 2015)

I've made several purchases through the Canon refurb store and have always had good luck.

My one complaint is that they always charge sales tax. I'm not sure why that is, but I have to take that into account when I'm comparing prices with other online photo retailers.


----------



## dickgrafixstop (Jan 17, 2016)

Yes....and no. Bought camera and lens which arrived with no problems and am still using both. Then I bought a
camera for my granddaughter and it arrived DOA. Return rigamarole was interesting and frustrating, but eventually a replacement was shipped after a second credit card charge. Refund did arrive but they sure take longer to return money than to take it. Replacement camera is working well and my granddaughter is a new Canon booster.


----------



## alberrt (Jan 10, 2017)

My experience was a disaster and is still going on. I ordered a 28-105 refurbished lens on 12-10 and immediately got an email from canon thanking me for my order and telling me they would notify me when it shipped. I also immediately got an email showing an hold to my paypal account for the purchase. On 12-17 I called to check and see when this would ship as this was a Christmas present. I was told that the order could not be filled as there was not enough stock (yet I see here and in other forums that if this is not stock it will show in the screen where I purchased it). I was further told that they were not going to notify me. I had not received any notice that there was an issue, I just randomly decided to call. I was also told there was no raincheck; just no lens, no notification, and nothing I could do. SOL. 

So a ordered one from 42nd St photo and had it the next day, brand new for the same price delivered! I know it is 'grey market' but it is a canon lens same as I would have received from Canon and they actually delivered it.

I also and still struggling to get the amount released from my pay pal account even though Canon has a recorded call where I asked for them to release the hold as they were not going to ship.

Too bad I didn't start with NIKON.


----------

