7D err30 - Canon refurbished

Canon repair says it will cost $219 to fix it but they refuse to say what is wrong with it. The operator at Canon says that is just a standard repair cost and they won't know what is wrong with it till I pay them.
Sounds like a BS story.

The operator, Frida said that the 7D camera has a flat rate of $219 for any repairs. I asked why I had to ship them the camera to find out what the reapir charge would be if they knew in advance. She said that is Canon policy.
I asked to speak to a supervisor.
Bakari, a Canon repair center supervisor says that Pro series equipment has a flat rate repairs. I asked why they didn't tell me what the flat rate was before I shipped the camera. His response was "Pro equipment doesn't get repair quotes over the phone."
What a Mickey Mouse way to run a company.

John Sargent wrote in post #16633524
Canon repair says it will cost $219 to fix it but they refuse to say what is wrong with it. The operator at Canon says that is just a standard repair cost and they won't know what is wrong with it till I pay them.
Sounds like a BS story.

Not unusual really. They don't know what the problem is, but they know they can fix it. The charge is for the labor. It really doesn't matter which part is bad - shutter, circuit board, etc, they all will require the same disassembly and reassembly to sort it out. The parts themselves may vary slightly in cost. That's actually a bargain. If they get in there and find that 3 different parts need to be replaced, you'll still get the same charge.

I would push them on it though. Sometimes with some pushback you can get a price reduction or get it eliminated. Tell them your thoughts on the err30 being so common on the 7D and grip about it not being that old or abused or that heavily used. It can't hurt.
But even then, since err30 is a ****ter problem, you are likely to come out with a new shutter and be good to go for quite some time.

But why don't they tell you, before you mail it to them, that they won't diagnose the problem or even look at the camera till after you pay them a fixed cost that they know in advance? Why not tell you the fixed cost before it is shipped to them?

this error stuff,i hate it its another way to get in your pocket and just like old cars and cameras you could fix them yourself in the olden days..my 2 cents

John Sargent wrote in post #16635776
But why don't they tell you, before you mail it to them, that they won't diagnose the problem or even look at the camera till after you pay them a fixed cost that they know in advance? Why not tell you the fixed cost before it is shipped to them?

There probably are some instances where people have sent in cameras, without any "up-front" money and upon getting an estimate told the repair to scrap the device, also refusing to pay an examination fee. Inmmy experience this is typical in dealings with corporate service departments. I have found it might not be the case with the independent businessman, like a jeweler, but then he has my watch which can be sold if I refuse to pay.

By the way Canon USA does have on-line estimator that least for lenses will give you a firm price. It also handles camera repairs, I just haven't had occasion to use it for that specific need.

John Sargent wrote in post #16635776
But why don't they tell you, before you mail it to them, that they won't diagnose the problem or even look at the camera till after you pay them a fixed cost that they know in advance? Why not tell you the fixed cost before it is shipped to them?

Because the error can be caused by a number of things that they probably already ruled out. It's a simplified business model that probably goes something like this:
Camera comes in.
Inspection for obvious problems
elimination of most obvious solutions such as firmware update, replacement of coin cell battery, etc
From there, they would then categorize the problem and they would have a tiered pricing model based on the likely possible problems. They price it and then fix it for that.

In your case, even if you told the rep on the phone, (who isn't a tech) what all you did, they have likely encountered thousands of people who have said they reinstalled the firmware but when it came in and a real tech reinstalled the firmware, it fixed a problem. So all they can say at that point is that they can look at it. So you send it in, it goes through the preliminary stage and then they rule out a lot of problems. Once they do that, then they can categorize it and say that whatever is left that might be wrong, no matter what it is, it fits into the $219 category so that's what you'll be charged. If really broken down, it may have been only a $200 repair or it could have been a $300 repair. But they save time by doing it this way which saves them money and we do too.

I know it's frustrating. But I certainly prefer it to the methods used in medicine where the want to spend a fortune on tests then more tests then more tests. I'm sure they wouldn't mind charging you $50 for a preliminary inspection, $100 for detailed diagnostics since they have to open it up after failing the preliminary inspection, and then even more for the parts and labor. But this simplified model benefits them as well as us.

blanex1@netzero.com wrote in post #16635860
this error stuff,i hate it its another way to get in your pocket and just like old cars and cameras you could fix them yourself in the olden days..my 2 cents

It's the price of using newer technology - film cameras are still kicking around if that's what you prefer.