Discussion Epson is the worst

[Blakrs7]

Hi! I purchased a new epson 2803 all-in-one off ebay April 10 for my brother and received it 2 days later. It's defective---a bar of black about 1 !/4" wide appears down the page on scanned documents. The seller on ebay said no returns so I decided to contact epson since it's under warranty. I was told to try various software fixes including reinstalling drivers. No go.

Then I was told to clean the scanner with a multifiber cloth. Finally, I sent them a picture of the scan image showing before you hit the print button. They said it looks like a hardware problem, and to send them a copy of the purchase invoice, the seller, and the sticker on the box. Every time I contact them takes about 2 days for a reply. Then they wanted a picture of the ink levels. After each time I received a reply, I called them to talk to a "service" rep.

Next I had to send a pic of the serial number from the bottom of the printer. Then it was send them a pic of the ink wells. Finally, it was send them a copy of the ink lines in the printer. After all this time I was told that ebay sellers are 3rd party sellers so they won't honor their warranty. In the meantime, my brother is heavy into genealogy and printing was essential, so he had me order a printer that matched the one that had just failed, nx125, which is why I purchased the newer model in the first place. That was defective.

He had me order a third one because he had purchased a lot of ink for the bx125. That too is defective. I'm not even going to bother to contact epson since they made it clear they don't stand behind their products. A warranty means nothing to them. From now on, I wouldn't touch epson with a 50' pole.

 

[rgd1101]

return the printer and don't buy on ebay.

 

[USAFRet]

new epson 2803 all-in-one off ebay

I see the problem.

 

[DSzymborski]

What's wrong with the second and third printers? "Defective" doesn't really tell us much and those could obviously be returned if they were actually purchased new.

I should note that whatever the problem with these printers, Epson *didn't* dishonor the warranty, at least from everything you told us; you didn't have a warranty.

 

[NedSmelly]

a new epson 2803 all-in-one

So it should be covered under *a* warranty, if really new. With someone. (See below)

off ebay April 10... The seller on ebay said no returns

This falls under eBay Buyer Protection. If seller won't take returns, then file a refund claim with eBay for faulty item. Do this sooner rather than later. eBay tends to favour buyers in this process.

This is a breach of consumer contract by the vendor, if they aren't honouring warranty support. (Of course, depends the terms of contract with your purchase - "fine print" - and on legislation for your region.) Once again, file a claim with eBay.

so I decided to contact epson since it's under warranty.

Not clear what you mean by Epson not honouring "third party sellers". If it's official 'authorised' import stock then it shouldn't matter whether you bought it from MegaComputerBarn or the back of a truck. They keep track of import stock via regional SKU and serial numbers. But if it's a "grey import", then yes Epson has no obligation to support.

With grey importing (AKA parallel importing), warranty support obligations fall upon the grey/parallel import vendor and NOT the authorised importer.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallel_import

TLDR: Not Epson's fault. Caveat emptor in future.

 

[Ralston18]

Regarding:

"He had me order a third one because he had purchased a lot of ink for the bx125"

Where was that ink purchased?

 

[Blakrs7]

Thanks for the responses. The 2nd printer just would not print, Tried troubleshooting in windows and it said it couldn't fix the problem to contact manufacturer. The 3rd printer made s clicking noise, sort of like a train on the tracks, when you press the button to cycle the ink cartridges. I pressed the button to inject the ink. It said it would take about 2 minutes. I waited 10 minutes, then decided to wait another 5, and the lights just kept blinking. I tried to remove the cartridges, and the carriage just kept recycling to the first cartridge so I couldn't remove the other cartridges to try another set of cartridges. The ink was purchased at Staples. As for it not being epson's fault does that mean that any manufacturer can say it includes a warranty for an item, but that's just a selling point and they have no intention of honoring it?

 

[USAFRet]

As for it not being epson's fault does that mean that any manufacturer can say it includes a warranty for an item, but that's just a selling point and they have no intention of honoring it?

Generally, they'll have a clause about "authorized retailers".
Some company that has a specific agreement with Epson. Amazon or Newegg, for instance.

The seller on fleabay is unlikely to be "authorized".

 

[Blakrs7]

Thanks for the response, Whether or not a seller is authorized, they should still stand behind the quality of their product. If they hide behind a legal clause that indicates that they have no regard for the consumer.

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks for the response, Whether or not a seller is authorized, they should still stand behind the quality of their product. If they hide behind a legal clause that indicates that they have no regard for the consumer.

'authorized' means they have checked out that seller, and approved them.

Some random 3rd party seller could sell whatever junk they want to push.
Maybe even self induced breakage.
Should Epson be responsible for those?

 

[Blakrs7]

It was factory sealed in the box. The printer had all the plastic wrapping they use with their blue tape to hold the parts such as paper tray secure. They wanted pictures of everything but my colonoscopy. They should be responsible for their products. Obviously they're not.

 

[COLGeek]

Sounds almost like buying a TV off the back of a truck, back in the day, and then expecting service from the place it was stolen from.

The good thing is that you have options. If you don't like Epson any more, spend your money on a different brand.

There should be no expectation of Epson support of sales from an unauthorized, 3rd party reseller.

 

[Blakrs7]

Why does the the seller's aurhorization have anything at all to do with this. They checked the serial number on the box and the printer itself. It was kosher. They just look for a method to shirk responsibilities with their products to the consumer.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Why does the the seller's aurhorization have anything at all to do with this. They checked the serial number on the box and the printer itself. It was kosher. They just look for a method to shirk responsibilities with their products to the consumer.

Welcome to the real world. This has been a thing since forever now. The manufacturer is under absolutely no obligation to service anything not sold by an authorized dealer. Some random seller on Ebay is nowhere close to an authorized dealer.

 

[Blakrs7]

Thanks for the response. It's sad that we let manufacturers hide behind the legal system for faulty products. The only recourse the consumer has is to not buy from companies such as this. If enough people stop buying their products, they'll have to stand behind their product.

 

[USAFRet]

Thanks for the response. It's sad that we let manufacturers hide behind the legal system for faulty products. The only recourse the consumer has is to not buy from companies such as this. If enough people stop buying their products, they'll have to stand behind their product.

What Epson is doing here is absolutely not unusual.

No, your best way forward is to buy from an authorized retailer.
Not a 3rd party on fleabay.

 

[DSzymborski]

Thanks for the response. It's sad that we let manufacturers hide behind the legal system for faulty products. The only recourse the consumer has is to not buy from companies such as this. If enough people stop buying their products, they'll have to stand behind their product.

It's not hiding, but it's the default absent a legal framework to the contrary (such as in new cars). Here's the fundamental problem with your complaint: you don't have a warranty with Epson. A warranty is just a specific category of contract; Epson's contract is with the party that purchased the printer, which is the person you bought it from on eBay. The person on eBay is not someone who is an authorized seller, meaning they did not possess the right, from Epson, to transfer the warranty contract to you.

A lot of times, companies will still choose to honor the warranty contract anyway. In GPUs, EVGA was long noted for being quite liberal at honoring warranties for resold GPUs. But they didn't have to. Would it have been nice if Epson had been more helpful? Absolutely, but the absence of generosity here is neutrality, not you being wronged. Tell me; if you have a contract with Epson, what was the consideration you gave in this contract? Because they didn't get a dime to you. You needed to seek a warranty from the eBay seller, as that's the party that you had a contractual arrangement with.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Nothing really wrong with eBay inherently imo. But you usually get buyer protection meaning that regardless if a seller accepts returns or not, you get 30 days to return. So if something isn’t working, you can file a claim with eBay and say for example item not as described. Though the seller had no reason to know that.

Sounds to me like epson found an excuse not to honor the warranty. If you didn’t already, you might call back in and keep asking for a manager until they get you to someone higher up and just generally make a pest of yourself until they fix it or replace it to shut you up.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil usually.

If they still refuse to do anything you might just make it clear that you are a techie who a lot of family and friends ask for advice and that you participate in online forums and you’ll be more than happy to tell your story so that you and others will purchase their competitors products.

 

[MJS WARLORD]

You dont say what is wrong with the 2nd and 3rd printers but i am just wondering if its a simple fix.
I recently bought a new printer and it refused to do anything and i typed printer and scanner into my search box and i found the problem , my old printer was at the top of the list so when i clicked print on anything it was still searching for a printer i dont have.

Try this ...... open printer and scanner section and click on the icon of ALL printers in the list and do remove.
Go to add/remove and uninstall all new and any old printer software you might find and start again.