how can i tell japanese import ??

[downloader]

I bought a cannon s2-is.....it was instock when i ordered and has taken a week to come, overnight the status of my order changed to jap import, i rang them as i requested i did not want a jap import, they said the one i was getting is not....im not to sure though...looks a little ominous to me....is there any sure fire way to tell ??

[hgernhardtjr]

Am not sure of what you are asking ... sounds rather , well ... ummm .... anti ...

Canon IS a Japanese company ... I would expect my Canon's to be imported from Japan. Ditto Nikon. Ditto Sony. Etc.

Or do you mean "grey market"?

[downloader]

yes, i mean grey market....you see i paid £248 for mine, i could have gone on ebay and bought directly from japan for around £50 less with a 1GB sd included....i dont like being lied to and i think this company are trying to pull the wool over my eyes. I just want to know for sure but reading your reply i imagine there is no way to tell.

[hgernhardtjr]

No, not really any way to tell for sure up-front. Gray market items are imported but usually the warranty is not for the country you live/purchase in and is often much cheaper. Here in the US, a gray market camera is just as good as the "properly" imported-by-the-manufacturer one, but the manufacturer refuses to honor the warranty in the US because the camera was supposed to be sold elsewhere at a different price.

The only real way, I suppose, is to see what warranty comes with the camera. If it is not for your country, then it is probably gray market.

[downloader]

Thank you....let me say i have no problem with the camera, its a lovely piece of kit, i just dont like companies thinking they can hoodwink me...if it breaks down i have to send it back to them, then i suppose they will have to send it back to japan...i can do all that myself if i was bothered about getting it for £50 less....anyway...i have reported them to trading standards who are on the case, if this does turn out to be a grey import then they are in breach of trades goods and services descriptions act.

[downloader]

just opened the manual packaing, there is NO warranty card inside the camera packaging, i think they have already opened it and swapped the manuals for english one and removed the warranty card.

I believe all products come with a warranty card, however, an imported cameras warranty would be useless here for me...so they have put in thier own card explaining how you got to the website (www.purelygadgets.co.uk) where i bought it and log in to activate the warranty with them.....ie..they will have to send it back to japan for repair and then i am cameraless for god knows how long.....this is the reason i never purchased a jap import myself......i pad the higher rate for a camera that was not listed as a jap import and then got one that is.

[downloader]

Heres an email i recieved from them...can anyone concur with what they are stating ? also i look for the serial and it is just a number, however, i did notice the model number was "canon pc 1130" google for this and see what it brings up, the same camera but a different name ??


We understand your concern, yet we have confirmed with the warehouse that it is not a Japanese import. Please kindly check the serial number at the bottom of the camera as if it is a Japanese import the serial number will start with MT1234567.



As far as the setting is in Japanese is concerned this could be set and changed using the menu setting. It comes with many languages and please kindly follow the following to change it into English:



-Press the "menu" button

-Go to "Tools", the second system

-Scroll down until the one before the last option, e.g. set for language

-Press on "Set"

-Choose the language desired and press the "SET" button to finalize

[peripatetic]

MT1234567 - wow what an amazing coincidence that would be.

Sounds like a bunch of sharks to me. Contact Which and Watchdog as well as trading standards. Probably worth contacting Canon UK as well - under the circumstances I expect they might be willing to help - possibly even issue you with a UK warrantee as you have acted in good faith.

This sort of thing is bad for their reputations so they might be willing to throw a bit of muscle behind it.

[downloader]

i think when they say MT1234567 they mean the MT part and then the 123456 is just an example........i had already phoned canon uk, they were useless, i got a feeling thier call centre is in another country.

[inness]

downloader wrote:

i think when they say MT1234567 they mean the MT part and then the 123456 is just an example........i had already phoned canon uk, they were useless, i got a feeling thier call centre is in another country.

Every thing is in another country, we don't make anything anymore:lol:.

I got my canon from Dixons and it had a warranty card and registration card, I don't think canon sells anything without a warranty anywhere in the world, If they took it out they are fiddling you, send it back get your money back and reorder somewher else.

Bob