SJCAM Does NOT Honor Warranties!

kyoo

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Just wanted to make this post to warn other consumers:

SJCAM does NOT honor any kind of "warranty" if you do not purchase directly from their website - anywhere else you buy it, you are SOL - if there is a product malfunction, you get a big fat nothing. SJCAM suggested that I ship the camera to China at my cost, get it repaired by them at my cost, and expect this process to take ~30 days - NOT acceptable IMO, and not how you do business when you are selling products in the USA.

Extremely disappointing - even their "warranty" isn't really a warranty - shipping to China at your cost and getting the camera repaired at your cost isn't a warranty at all - that is just paying to get your lousy camera fixed. If they didn't manufacture the camera correctly, it is their responsibility.

This is the issue I am having:

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/sjcam-5000x-elite-sound-rattle-issue.19164/

re: any kind of warranty service SJCAM provides:

I submitted a support ticket to SJCAM - they explicitly said "Please be advised that we only provide a warranty service to cameras purchased on our official website..."

Here is what is stated on the website, per TeriTerryTarry:

Yes. Here is their web page page for the SJ5000X Elite. Note the stated 1 Year Limited Warranty. Here is the B&H Product Warranties and Repair web page. Note that the paragraph states "All items needing repair (other than IMP) should be sent to the manufacturer/distributor directly for service. B&H is not liable if the manufacturer/distributor fails to perform warranty service."
 
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Where did you buy it from?
 
B&H Photo, I believe they are in NY. B&H has a return policy, but they obviously cannot warranty other manufacturer's products, and I am past the return window, but have only used the camera ~10 times in the 2 months that I have had it. Camera is now making a clicking noise, no idea why, and SJCAM won't warranty it - which makes no sense to me.
 
SJCAM are warrantying it but back to their base which is in China - they don't have a presence in the USA.

I'm not sure what you expect.

B&H should be making that clearer in all fairness - if you send it back to China you may want to hang onto the battery otherwise that could cause you issues.

B&H aren't listed as an official reseller on the SJCAMHD site either and there are no USA resellers or distributors listed which is why you have to send back to China.
 
what are you defining as "warranty?"

I submitted a support ticket to SJCAM - they explicitly said "Please be advised that we only provide a warranty service to cameras purchased on our official website..."

Regardless, I don't consider being charged to fix a faulty camera as a warranty - that's just paying a company to repair a camera. Let me sell you a camera that doesn't work, then when you want it to work, I'll charge you extra to get it working.
 
Your issue should be with B&H for selling the camera without providing a local warranty
 
Regardless of what my issue is, I am just letting everyone here know that SJCAM will not honor warranties for cameras that are not purchased on the SJCAM website.

Please be careful when purchasing these cameras from other vendors
 
Your issue should be with B&H for selling the camera without providing a local warranty
Here is the Product Warranties and Repairs web page from B&H: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/WarrantiesRepair.jsp

Specifically, after B&H's own 30-day return period, "All items sold by B&H are warranted solely by the manufacturer/distributor, except "direct import" a/k/a IMP items. All items needing repair (other than IMP) should be sent to the manufacturer/distributor directly for service. B&H is not liable if the manufacturer/distributor fails to perform warranty service." As far as I'm aware SJCam products aren't "IMP". In this case it seems SJCam is responsible for repairing/replacing the camera at SJCam's cost. Unfortunately the cost of shipping isn't addressed.
 
Here is the Product Warranties and Repairs web page from B&H: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/HelpCenter/WarrantiesRepair.jsp

Specifically, after B&H's own 30-day return period, "All items sold by B&H are warranted solely by the manufacturer/distributor, except "direct import" a/k/a IMP items. All items needing repair (other than IMP) should be sent to the manufacturer/distributor directly for service. B&H is not liable if the manufacturer/distributor fails to perform warranty service." As far as I'm aware SJCam products aren't "IMP". In this case it seems SJCam is responsible for repairing/replacing the camera at SJCam's cost. Unfortunately the cost of shipping isn't addressed.

unfortunately the problem here is SJCAM's own policy, stating they will not honor warranties of purchases not made directly through their own website. per what they said:

"Please be advised that we only provide a warranty service to cameras purchased on our official website..."

Thanks SJCAM! Pretty much screws over anyone who purchases their camera through a vendor! Again, which does not address the logistical issue of, sending the camera to China, shipping costs, etc. etc. and a month-long wait to get the camera back.
 
Just wanted to make this post to warn other consumers:

SJCAM does NOT honor any kind of "warranty" if you do not purchase directly from their website - anywhere else you buy it, you are SOL - if there is a product malfunction, you get a big fat nothing. SJCAM suggested that I ship the camera to China at my cost, get it repaired by them at my cost, and expect this process to take ~30 days - NOT acceptable IMO, and not how you do business when you are selling products in the USA.

Extremely disappointing - even their "warranty" isn't really a warranty - shipping to China at your cost and getting the camera repaired at your cost isn't a warranty at all - that is just paying to get your lousy camera fixed. If they didn't manufacture the camera correctly, it is their responsibility.

This is the issue I am having:

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/sjcam-5000x-elite-sound-rattle-issue.19164/

re: any kind of warranty service SJCAM provides:

I submitted a support ticket to SJCAM - they explicitly said "Please be advised that we only provide a warranty service to cameras purchased on our official website..."
I must admit after looking into this a bit more that I'm shocked with SJCam's "warranty". Here are some quotes from the SJCam Warranty web page:

Please check with your SJCAM reseller to see what their warranty policy is. Items not purchased from SJCamHD.com may be subject to a $10 warranty fee. If parts need to be replaced there may be additional fees.
Returns / replacements after 90 days of SJCAMs may be subject to shipping, repair or replacement costs and/or restocking fees.
Buyer is responsible for shipping the SJCAM back to us.
Again, if you did not order from SJCamHD.com, there will be a charge irrespective of when you purchased from your SJCAM reseller; Please contact your reseller first.


In my opinion this is essentially no warranty at all. It also seems as though warranty terms as stated by B&H and SJCam are at odds.

I've never had this warranty return problem arise with any other products purchased from a US seller regardless of where the manufacturer's business was located or where the product was actually manufactured.
 
I must admit after looking into this a bit more that I'm shocked with SJCam's "warranty". Here are some quotes from the SJCam Warranty web page:

Please check with your SJCAM reseller to see what their warranty policy is. Items not purchased from SJCamHD.com may be subject to a $10 warranty fee. If parts need to be replaced there may be additional fees.
Returns / replacements after 90 days of SJCAMs may be subject to shipping, repair or replacement costs and/or restocking fees.
Buyer is responsible for shipping the SJCAM back to us.
Again, if you did not order from SJCamHD.com, there will be a charge irrespective of when you purchased from your SJCAM reseller; Please contact your reseller first.


In my opinion this is essentially no warranty at all. It also seems as though warranty terms as stated by B&H and SJCam are at odds.

I've never had this warranty return problem arise with any other products purchased from a US seller regardless of where the manufacturer's business was located or where the product was actually manufactured.

yep, exactly what I said in the first post. it's not a warranty, it's just paying someone to fix your lousy camera! let me sell you a busted camera and then charge you to fix it! ps you have to ship it to china first! lol
 
SJCAM are warrantying it but back to their base which is in China - they don't have a presence in the USA.

I'm not sure what you expect.

B&H should be making that clearer in all fairness - if you send it back to China you may want to hang onto the battery otherwise that could cause you issues.

B&H aren't listed as an official reseller on the SJCAMHD site either and there are no USA resellers or distributors listed which is why you have to send back to China.
I didn't see anybody anywhere listed as a reseller or distributor on the SJCam website. Will it always be the case that if no such reseller is listed by the manufacturer then the product will need to be returned to China (I'm referring only to Chinese action cams here)?

Also can I clarify some terms with you? There are a number of words used to describe the companies that sell action cameras. These include seller, reseller, retailer, vendor, distributor and there might be more. To me a distributor would not be selling products to end users but the rest of the terms I'm not sure about. Are these all interchangeable or do they have specific meanings in the world of action camera sales?
 
I didn't see anybody anywhere listed as a reseller or distributor on the SJCam website. Will it always be the case that if no such reseller is listed by the manufacturer then the product will need to be returned to China (I'm referring only to Chinese action cams here)?

Also can I clarify some terms with you? There are a number of words used to describe the companies that sell action cameras. These include seller, reseller, retailer, vendor, distributor and there might be more. To me a distributor would not be selling products to end users but the rest of the terms I'm not sure about. Are these all interchangeable or do they have specific meanings in the world of action camera sales?
None of those terms are action camera specific, they all have slightly different meanings but are basically the same apart from "distributer" who is normally the person who supplies the "retailer".

In Europe and many other places, the seller is responsible for warranty. In the UK we get 6 years protection against faults that were present when the item was purchased, doesn't matter what the sellers terms and conditions say. In most of the EU I think it is only 2 years. So to us it does seem like it should be covered by B&H, SJCAM should not cover it directly. Of course you have to live under USA law but should not expect other parts of the world to work in the same way or to be controlled by your laws.
 
None of those terms are action camera specific, they all have slightly different meanings but are basically the same apart from "distributer" who is normally the person who supplies the "retailer".

In Europe and many other places, the seller is responsible for warranty. In the UK we get 6 years protection against faults that were present when the item was purchased, doesn't matter what the sellers terms and conditions say. In most of the EU I think it is only 2 years. So to us it does seem like it should be covered by B&H, SJCAM should not cover it directly. Of course you have to live under USA law but should not expect other parts of the world to work in the same way or to be controlled by your laws.
You would get six years of protection if you bought an SJCam from a retailer (bricks or clicks) in the UK, and you would deal only with the retailer? Is this true for consumer electronics generally?
 
the issue here really is B&H, they are importing and selling the product but only offering a 30 day return, they are the importer and make the profit on the sale of the goods, they should be covering warranty return costs, you must have no consumer protections there, no retailer here would be able to get away with not supporting a full warranty
 
You would get six years of protection if you bought an SJCam from a retailer (bricks or clicks) in the UK, and you would deal only with the retailer? Is this true for consumer electronics generally?
Yes, all goods sold in the UK, including SJCAM products, sold in store or online, including downloaded products such as e-books. After 6 months it is up to you to prove that a fault was there at the time of purchase.
 
makes sense how you see it that way, but neither countries involved are in the EU.

In the USA, manufacturers are expected to provide warranty, regardless of where that manufacturer is located. Obviously this isn't law here but is standard practice. Aside from a return window, retailers are not expected to provide warranty - rationale being why would they? They didn't make the thing. They will coordinate with customers and manufacturers at times though.

Back to SJCAM - I haven't said anything that is not factual. So while it may be a duh statement for a UK customer, it is not so for a US customer. Hence the very first sentence of my post. USA customers who are used to manufacturers covering their product are in for a surprise if they have a problem with their device. No one covers it!

Finally i don't know how warranties work in the UK but in the USA warranties typically mean the manufacturer repairs or replaces the product - usually on their dime, as a show of confidence in their product.

PS when you do business in a country, it's typically best practice to adhere to that country's standards, not your own. otherwise it would be chaotic
 
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Yes, all goods sold in the UK, including SJCAM products, sold in store or online, including downloaded products such as e-books. After 6 months it is up to you to prove that a fault was there at the time of purchase.
Can I just clarify, this means that if a product becomes defective at any time within six years, and assuming it's a manufacturing defect in the case of a camera, and assuming the consumer has complied with any maintenance specified by the manufacturer, the consumer can return it to the retailer and presumably the retailer has the option to repair or replace the item , is this correct? There could be a crucial difference I'm trying to clarify. It's one thing to have a product stop working after 5-1/2 years and be able to return it to the retailer. It's another thing to have a six-year period to submit a warranty claim. The warranty period would still be only one year for instance, but you have an additional five years to legally submit a warranty claim.

If you bought an SJCam (or whatever) from a retailer outside the UK, then the six-year warranty would not apply (statutorily), is that correct?
 
After 6 months it is up to you to prove that a fault was there at the time of purchase.
If the retailer doesn't agree with you that the defect was there at the time of purchase, how do you sort that out? For example, if a product has given you 5 years and 11 months of reliable service but then stops working, how does the consumer prove the defect was there all along?
 
Can I just clarify, this means that if a product becomes defective at any time within six years, and assuming it's a manufacturing defect in the case of a camera, and assuming the consumer has complied with any maintenance specified by the manufacturer, the consumer can return it to the retailer and presumably the retailer has the option to repair or replace the item , is this correct? There could be a crucial difference I'm trying to clarify. It's one thing to have a product stop working after 5-1/2 years and be able to return it to the retailer. It's another thing to have a six-year period to submit a warranty claim. The warranty period would still be only one year for instance, but you have an additional five years to legally submit a warranty claim.

If you bought an SJCam (or whatever) from a retailer outside the UK, then the six-year warranty would not apply (statutorily), is that correct?
The product has to have a fault at the time of purchase, that fault may not show up for 5.5 years but if the product becomes defective at 5.5 years and you can show that it is due to a manufacturing fault then you have .5 years left to make a claim and the seller then has to repair or replace at zero cost to the customer.

If I buy an SJCAM from SJCAM in China then I guess I could use Hong Kong law, but I certainly would not expect UK law to apply to someone in another country! There are various international laws, but consumer rights are very poorly covered by any international laws or agreements despite various attempts to get something in place over recent years.
 
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