OMG, My buddy got screwed by Amazon buying a lens. Or perhaps an inside job?

My buddy at worked place an order with Amazon about 10 days ago. He ordered the 70-200MM 2.8 IS MK II. (They still had them in stock at the time). After taking a week to process they finally shipped the lens and the lens arrived at our work moments ago.

When we opened the box, we couldn't believe our eyes.

1. It's a 70-200 F/4 non IS!!!!
2. The package looked as if it had been opened and the packaging was horrible. The plastic padding/bubble wrap was all deflated.

When he opened up the box, it got worse

1. You can tell the instructions were looked at. It was folded the wrong way and all wrinkled.
2. The grey drawstring case ( that comes with he F/4 series held the lens inside. Normally it's in the box, but package separately)
3. There was no padding around the lens and the lens cover was attached to the camera.
4. The CD case was opened and you can tell the CD was used
5. There was no warranty card in the box.

So, the worst part of this is he contacted Amazon and they said they would look into this and hopefully refund his money. But they told him they can't do an exchange because they are sold out. So, if he gets a refund and decides to buy it later, he'll have to pay the difference since the lens has gone up in price.

Anyone run into this before with Amazon? I have never had a single issue with them, but on my high def board that I own, guys talk about this type of stuff all the time. I've had guys order hardware and either got a used piece of equipment or the box arrived with sand in it!

To me, it sounds like it's somehow an inside job. Whoever did it, knew exactly what they were doing.

Christian

sounds a little far fetched to me... have never had a problem with amazon... have spent thousands of dollars with them...

Amazon draws from many different sources so who actually did the fulfillment?

Amazon will make it right, they've bent over just to make it right from my experiences. I'm sure this is a rare occurrence if what you've said is actually true.
Just return it.

Perhaps the person who originally purchased the MKII swapped it with an F4 and Amazon didn't bother checking when it was returned.

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #11667201
Amazon draws from many different sources so who actually did the fulfillment?

+1. Some of their camera shops are nice and a couple I don't trust so much.

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #11667201
Amazon draws from many different sources so who actually did the fulfillment?

This is the key; I (anyone) could set up shop on Amazon and begin selling, shipping from my own bedroom...although I wouldn't recommend me.. Seriously though, Amazon lists 8 sellers have having that lens and at least a handful of them ship from various warehouses unrelated to Amazon itself... Amazon is a little like Ebay these days...just a place to list your stuff for sale...

70+ transactions at amazon..not a single issue.. was the box in the reg ole amazon box with the smiley mark on it? (assuming this was fulfilled by amazon)

something is definitely out of place with this story

Agree with above posters. More than likely it was fulfilled by a third party vendor and that is where the issue is. I try to pay very close attention when ordering from Amazon that is says it is both shipped and sold by Amazon.com LLC. It is important as well, if you do not do this, that you check with whomever the seller is Amazon is using as the third party. Amazon.com is listed as an official distributor of Canon products, however if one of their third parties is not, you might run into all sorts of warranty issues if an issue ever arises.

did he ACTUALLY buy from Amazon? To this day I'm surprised that people still don't realize that there are a ton of 3d party vendors on Amazon. I doubt he actually ordered FROM amazon (vs ON amazon).

The lens was sold directly through amazon, not a 3rd party. It just shocks me that the packing wasn't up to par and it's not even the 2.8. I can see how they might of shipped the wrong version of the 2.8, but they got the type of lens wrong along with it being used. So, the people at Amazon not only grabbed a used lens, but the wrong lens as well? Hmmm, doesn't add up to me.

Oh, trust me, this isn't some made up story. I love AMAZON and have never ever had issues with them. I'm even an associated partner with them on my own website.

After speaking with CS, they told him to hang on to it until new ones are in stock and then he will be able to exchange it. So, that is good news.

Very strange, indeed. I wonder if the shipping guy has sticky fingers.

Had a glitch with my Amazon order just last week. Ordered a wedding gift for a friend of mine and wrote a short message. My friend got the right item, but the name of the sender wasn't mine and the sender was wishing happy birthday to some other person. I guess someone just misplaced the packing slips, but that was a somewhat odd screwup.

Tens of thousands of dollars spent at Amazon and never had any issues. Even when there were minor hiccups, they always corrected them. Return policy is excellent, and prices are often better than other competitors. I recommend Amazon to all the people around me...

I hope they fix you right. Good luck!

Mjkxxl wrote in post #11667299
Agree with above posters. More than likely it was fulfilled by a third party vendor and that is where the issue is. I try to pay very close attention when ordering from Amazon that is says it is both shipped and sold by Amazon.com LLC. It is important as well, if you do not do this, that you check with whomever the seller is Amazon is using as the third party. Amazon.com is listed as an official distributor of Canon products, however if one of their third parties is not, you might run into all sorts of warranty issues if an issue ever arises.

Very good point. Thank you. I know it was sold and shipped through Amazon. the only thing he did differently (he has never done it before) was used the free super saver shipping. (not sure if that has anything to do with it, but I highly doubt it). But, I thought It was strange that it took almost a week to process the order? Normally if you buy something that is in stock, they usually ship it within a day or two. (But I'm a Prime member and have never used the super saving shipping, so perhaps it takes longer to process?)