- Location
- Seattle
- Name
- Andrew
This isn't a proper acquisition, but rather a weird chain of events. I had been meaning to send in my GR III to have the rear dial issue fixed (not the wobbliness of the earliest models, but actually not scrolling, skipping, jumping all over the place in use, I tried lubricating it a little bit but that did not solve the issue long-term), and I'm a) past my factory warranty, and b) nearing the end of my Visa-backed "extended warranty" from the credit card I used to purchase it. So I sent it in to Precision camera, also noted that yes, it does have some minor dust on the sensor (again - second time, but both were minor) so I might as well get that cleaned too, if it would be covered under warranty.
Precision Camera's web portal indicated the GR III charge was typically a little over $300. After I mailed it off, Amazon had their 25% rewards back on some camera items, including the GR III, and I decided to pull the trigger on one and just sort of keep it to see what transpired with the repair/reimbursement. Precision took their sweet time, but eventually quoted me... a little over $800! The email indicated they would replace the rear dial assembly and the lens assembly, which seemed like overkill to me, also far beyond the $300 their site quoted. I submitted the invoice to Visa without a lot of hope, and let Precision know to hold onto the camera till I heard back.
Some back and forth later, and Visa has finally approved my claim, for the quoted $813. Conversation with agents over the phone made it clear that they don't care whether I replace or repair, so I guess the obvious thing to do at this point is pay the fee to have my original GR shipped back to me and now I own two! One new one, and one somewhat gimped one. On the one hand it's a stroke of luck, I guess. On the other, I'm still boggled at Precision Camera's quote. It sure seems like a ripoff.
Precision Camera's web portal indicated the GR III charge was typically a little over $300. After I mailed it off, Amazon had their 25% rewards back on some camera items, including the GR III, and I decided to pull the trigger on one and just sort of keep it to see what transpired with the repair/reimbursement. Precision took their sweet time, but eventually quoted me... a little over $800! The email indicated they would replace the rear dial assembly and the lens assembly, which seemed like overkill to me, also far beyond the $300 their site quoted. I submitted the invoice to Visa without a lot of hope, and let Precision know to hold onto the camera till I heard back.
Some back and forth later, and Visa has finally approved my claim, for the quoted $813. Conversation with agents over the phone made it clear that they don't care whether I replace or repair, so I guess the obvious thing to do at this point is pay the fee to have my original GR shipped back to me and now I own two! One new one, and one somewhat gimped one. On the one hand it's a stroke of luck, I guess. On the other, I'm still boggled at Precision Camera's quote. It sure seems like a ripoff.