5D MK IV serial No issue

[BWDenver]

I just bought a 5D Mk IV from a US dealer and when I tried to register the camera with Conon, I got a message that the Serial No does not match their records.

The number allowed me to download SW and a FEW update, but I still can register the camera. When I bought the camera I avoided sales that indicated they were Gray Marker.

Serial No [Mod Note: Serial Number Removed Per Forum Guidelines]

Any ideas???

Bryan

[RobertTheFat]

Why don't you call Canon and ask them? They're more likely to know than we are.

[ebiggs1]

The serial number may work for d/l software but that isn't a confirmation that you bought a genuine Canon USA camera.  I am going to guess you saw a deal that looked too good to pass on and got a real grey market camera.  It is always best to stick with top retailers when buying photo gear.

At any rate, you have two options call Canon USA, this is a Canon users forum not the company. Or, return it and go with a known good retailer

Canon is a great at CS but it is asking a lot to expect them to honor gear that they have nothing to do with.  Call Canon today 1 (800) 652-2666.

[Ray-uk]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Canon is a great at CS but it is asking a lot to expect them to honor gear that they have nothing to do with.

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I don't understand this atitude by Canon USA, a grey market camera is still made by Canon in the same factory, subject to the same quality control and sold to the wholesalers for the same price so why the discrimination ?

[wq9nsc]

Ray,

Warranty, product support, and promotion/market support are all tied to the revenue stream of products officially sold through that market region.  So the gray market products are "free riding" on the support provided for the legitimate market products and this is one of the reasons why a gray market product can be sold for less at retail because it isn't incurring all of the costs it should be for that market.

Gray market products are built to the same quality standards however depending upon the product there may be other issues including incorrect power adapters, incorrect software/firmware for the region, not compliant with country/market regulations, and standards, etc. in addition to the lack of warranty and product support.

Gray market products can be a good deal for consumers if they understand the full package of risks and benefits associated with the gray market.  I have knowingly purchased a few gray market products but none of them in the photographic market.  A significant problem is people who unwittingly purchase gray market goods and only learn of their error when a problem arises.  One of the more humorous examples of this was during the height of the Cabbage Patch Kids doll craze when the U.S. importer greatly underestimated demand and gray market "Kids" flooded the Christmas market.  A key part of this toy was the adoption papers and many U.S. kids and parents were greatly disappointed when the package was opened on Christmas morning and the papers were written in Chinese.

It was just over three decades ago that I defended my dissertation that dealt with free riding and leakage between market segments, maybe it is time I actually purchased a gray market lens 🙂

Rodger

[RobertTheFat]

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@Ray-uk wrote:

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

Canon is a great at CS but it is asking a lot to expect them to honor gear that they have nothing to do with.

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I don't understand this atitude by Canon USA, a grey market camera is still made by Canon in the same factory, subject to the same quality control and sold to the wholesalers for the same price so why the discrimination ?

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I completely agree. Their reason, of course, is to make it easier to allocate their repair costs. Labor costs vary a lot from one country to another; and the area manager in, say, the USA might get pretty sore if he had to keep eating the cost of repairing cameras sold in low-wage countries. But that could all be worked out with a little more effort by Canon's accountants. In the world-wide economy in which Canon plays, there's little justification for making their customers the scapegoats.

[ebiggs1]

I want Canon USA to stay exactly the way it is. I has worked perfectly for me. IMHO, it is a model that other companies should follow.

I see no reason why  Canon USA should honor products it does not import itself.  Typically the gray market price is only a few bucks less anyway. In some cases, sellers of Gray Market products may attempt to localize the products themselves by adding, changing or removing certain accessories. Counterfeit accessories included in the packaging could be batteries and  chargers, which could cause injury and/or seriously damage your camera.  Incorrect power cord or adapter.  Missing, incorrect, or illegal copies of software. And lastly a fake Canon U.S. warranty card, a warranty provided by a third party back room shop or overseas shop, or no warranty at all. Then you expect Canon USA to fix it and straighten everything out.  Right!

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

I want Canon USA to stay exactly the way it is. I has worked perfectly for me. IMHO, it is a model that other companies should follow.

I see no reason why  Canon USA should honor products it does not import itself.  Typically the gray market price is only a few bucks less anyway. In some cases, sellers of Gray Market products may attempt to localize the products themselves by adding, changing or removing certain accessories. Counterfeit accessories included in the packaging could be batteries and  chargers, which could cause injury and/or seriously damage your camera.  Incorrect power cord or adapter.  Missing, incorrect, or illegal copies of software. And lastly a fake Canon U.S. warranty card, a warranty provided by a third party back room shop or overseas shop, or no warranty at all. Then you expect Canon USA to fix it and straighten everything out.  Right!

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If "you" is I (as is suggested by the fact that your post is a reply to mine), then let me clarify a couple of points:

1) I never suggested, or even implied, that Canon should stand behind counterfeit products.

2) There would be no need for a "fake Canon U.S. warranty card" if there were a Canon world-wide warranty card instead.

[ebiggs1]

My post was aimed at no one. Just my feelings.

"There would be no need for a "fake Canon U.S. warranty card"..."

Perhaps a better way of saying it is, a warranty card not honored by Canon USA.

[RobertTheFat]

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@ebiggs1 wrote:

My post was aimed at no one. Just my feelings.

"There would be no need for a "fake Canon U.S. warranty card"..."

Perhaps a better way of saying it is, a warranty card not honored by Canon USA.

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But that's the point, Ernie..Ideally, a Canon warranty ought to be honored by any Canon service center, worldwide. They don't do it because the cost of providing service varies, and the managers of Canon's cost centers would have no good way of dealing with that fact. It would have to be dealt with at the corporate level, so that the cost centers are treated fairly. The're unwilling to do that, so some of their customers are inconvenienced by it.

The problem is not a simple one, because work could tend to gravitate to the service centers that do the best work, which might not be the ones with the lowest costs. But one can argue that it does need to be solved and not foisted onto Canon's customers.