Panamoz Serial numbers

Eddzz!!

Eddzz!!

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Eddy
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So I bought my Canon 7D from Panamoz, knowing full-well that it would be a grey import. Who cares? Reputable company, one year warranty with them as standard and all for a unbeatable price. I knew therefore that the Camera would most likely come without a UK serial. Well I checked the sticker on the bottom of the camera where the serial number is located. Firstly, the sticker is slightly askew, which leads me to believe someone at Panamoz has tampered with the sticker. Anyway I registered the product with Canon no problem.

Today I checked the serial number of the sticker against the serial number included in my exif data and they are completely different! Why would Panamoz go through the hassle of sticking a UK serial sticker onto the bottom of a grey import camera? :wacky: Surely Canon check the digital serial number when dealing with warranty claims... I'm not sure that this is a particularly bad thing to have discovered about my camera. I'm just hoping the camera wasn't used before I bought it! :eek:
 
Was a similar issue with a Canon from DigitalRev reported here a while back - turned out to be a bad'un from one of their suppliers and was replaced ... might be worth discussing this with Panamoz.
 
gramps said:
Was a similar issue with a Canon from DigitalRev reported here a while back - turned out to be a bad'un from one of their suppliers and was replaced ... might be worth discussing this with Panamoz.
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Link to thread? I really hope it's nothing to worry about! lol
 
Thanks Yvonne. Reading that thread is not making me feel tooo great... This always happens to me! lol
 
I doubt it's Panamoz, probably their stock source.

I just checked my 5D Mark III from Panamoz and it matches the EXIF. I also registered mine with Canon with no problem too.
 
Lucky you. Now I'm seriously worried. Worried that I've got some stolen camera, or something that was faulty and returned as new... ARRHHHH! Knowing my luck it will work fine right up until the end of the warranty and then pack itself in. Will UK insurance companies insure my gear if it's from abroad?
 
Insurance won't be an issue but I would certainly raise the issue with Panamoz.
 
I have sent them an email, so I await their response. I'm just hoping it's not something along the lines of "Send it back to Hong Kong and wait a month for a replacement" I've got big shoots coming up!
 
Photogaz said:
I also registered mine with Canon with no problem too.
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Unfortunately that means nothing AIUI, you can type anything into the registration page, there is no built in check done at registration, that only happens if/when you actually need to use Canon service.

Edit

Any number does work, I just made up a number and registered a "650D" to my Canon account.

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I've always had great service from Panamoz, they even excelled when I had a warranty problem on one of my lenses. Drop them an email and I'm sure they will sort it out for you. As with the other thread about DigitalRev, everything worked out OK in the end, and I'm sure this will too. Seems like maybe the same supplier are sending stock to both Panamoz and DR.

My lens was replaced in 11 days from first contact to the receipt of a brand new lens with another year warranty card. I had to send my lens to London and expected it to be away for a few weeks so I was very pleasantly surprised how fast it was all sorted.
 
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Unfortunately it's the Chinese New Year period as of Saturday so I will be waiting a long time. I have SUCH bad luck when it comes to buying anything from the internet, you wouldn't believe. This last week I've been sending my phone to and from Nokia repair because it's riddled with defects. Have had the same problems with pretty much every expensive gadget I've owned previous to this.

ChrisHeathcote said:
Have you checked the firmware version. Their was an update a few months ago because the serial number showing different in the exit to the camera.

See below for details

http://www.canon.co.uk/Support/Cons...faqtcmuri=tcm:14-938935&page=1&type=important
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I have a 7D not a 60D ...
 
If I indeed decide to keep the camera (probably won't) what are the possible implications with having a dodgy serial number? Are they just Canon repair related? I mean, I've had this camera for eight months and it's worked flawlessly thus far!
 
Eddzz!! said:
If I indeed decide to keep the camera (probably won't) what are the possible implications with having a dodgy serial number? Are they just Canon repair related? I mean, I've had this camera for eight months and it's worked flawlessly thus far!
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At the risk jof sounding nasty, you kept that little fact rather quiet; the implication in your first post was that it was new.
 
Eddzz!! said:
Unfortunately it's the Chinese New Year period as of Saturday so I will be waiting a long time. I have SUCH bad luck when it comes to buying anything from the internet, you wouldn't believe. This last week I've been sending my phone to and from Nokia repair because it's riddled with defects. Have had the same problems with pretty much every expensive gadget I've owned previous to this.

I have a 7D not a 60D ...
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But this was one of the considerations you made when deciding to buy from a foreign supplier to save yourself the cost of uk tax on the item?
 
DemiLion said:
At the risk jof sounding nasty, you kept that little fact rather quiet; the implication in your first post was that it was new.
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Does it matter ... does it change the fact that the serial numbers are different?

Byker28i said:
But this was one of the considerations you made when deciding to buy from a foreign supplier to save yourself the cost of uk tax on the item?
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What! Forged serial number?
 
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I'm kinda with Gramps on this one. It doesn't matter how old it is, the serial number is not right and so it would affect any warranty repairs at Canon.

But, the fact IS that it's still working perfectly well and in a few months time when it's out of warranty and something goes wrong, will the serial number be a problem if it's going into Canon for a paid for repair.

With a body that had a forged serial but was still working perfectly in the DR saga, the body was collected and re-labelled by Canon Asia to a correct label and returned. If the camera is still working perfectly I think the OP is asking a lot to have a 'new' camera when the label can be replaced.
 
This idea of bringing things into the country without paying the appropriate import duty ... isn't that smuggling?
 
What has that got to do with the O/P's question?
 
DemiLion said:
At the risk of sounding nasty, you kept that little fact rather quiet; the implication in your first post was that it was new.
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You're right, that did sound kind of 'off'. I've had the camera for eight months and used it without a hitch. Forgive me, but I'm afraid that when I received the camera my initial reaction was not to check the serial numbers, but to go out and shoot. :)

modchild said:
I'm kinda with Gramps on this one. It doesn't matter how old it is, the serial number is not right and so it would affect any warranty repairs at Canon.

But, the fact IS that it's still working perfectly well and in a few months time when it's out of warranty and something goes wrong, will the serial number be a problem if it's going into Canon for a paid for repair.

With a body that had a forged serial but was still working perfectly in the DR saga, the body was collected and re-labelled by Canon Asia to a correct label and returned. If the camera is still working perfectly I think the OP is asking a lot to have a 'new' camera when the label can be replaced.
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Right and wrong. I've just had an email from Tina at Panamoz asking me if I'd like a straight exchange for a new body. They will also check that the serial numbers match before sending it to me!
 
Eddzz!! said:
Right and wrong. I've just had an email from Tina at Panamoz asking me if I'd like a straight exchange for a new body. They will also check that the serial numbers match before sending it to me!
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Way to go Eddy, thats Panamoz customer service for you. (y)
 
Eddzz!! said:
Right and wrong. I've just had an email from Tina at Panamoz asking me if I'd like a straight exchange for a new body. They will also check that the serial numbers match before sending it to me!
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Good result there. Have never used Panamoz as I was concerned about service level but thats excellent.
 
Eddzz!! said:
I've just had an email from Tina at Panamoz asking me if I'd like a straight exchange for a new body. They will also check that the serial numbers match before sending it to me!
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Can't argue about that!
 
another reason why i will continue to order from Tina! ... (2 bodies & 2 lenses so far.. and the service is second to none)
 
Brilliant service mate. I ordered a new lens from them and should arrive today.

Worth checking serial to see if it matches on exif? Does exif show lens serial or just camera body?
 
I'm going to buy my 35 1.4 from them. The sigma 70-200 OS I got from them saved me 200 quid and the delivery was very fast
 
Sounds like a good result all round but it just goes to show that things are not always what they seem.
You might never have discovered that and never had any issues but if you'd ever sent it to Canon for any reason they might have picked up on it or if you'd ever sold it on the buyer might have picked up on it.
Glad it's resolved, credit is due to Panamoz for sorting it out with no quibbles. (y)

For reference, could you post a photo of the serial number sticker?
 
Wozzaaah said:
For reference, could you post a photo of the serial number sticker?
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Can do later!

I've been told my Tina to return the camera boxed with all original accessories to the following address:

ADDRESS REMOVED FOR PRIVACY

That's someone's house... Seems well dodgy! Anybody returned to there before? :cautious:
 
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Dont worry mate, Panamoz are basically whats caller drop shippers who operate out of a private address, they dont have or need a warehouse as they just order from their suppliers abroad, they will probably just have a very limited stock within the UK as they dont need to hold stock because they can and do get it shippef from abroad usually within 3-4 days
Eddzz!! said:
Can do later!

I've been told my Tina to return the camera boxed with all original accessories to the following address:


That's someone's house... Seems well dodgy! Anybody returned to there before? :cautious:
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Ok, cheers Gary for explaining that!
 
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everyone and his dog are now checking their serial numbers & exif's on old battered camera's to see if they can get new bling .... ;-)
 
Rolex said:
everyone and his dog are now checking their serial numbers & exif's on old battered camera's to see if they can get new bling .... ;-)
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Lol, mine is still within the one year warranty period! There is just cause for a replacement if you ask me :)
 
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