URGENT OPINION on being SOLD a Broken RED EPIC

[Mitchell Francia]

Hey everyone! you all have probably seen me post a million times here about problems with my RED, sensor issues and the inability to even boot. I bought it second hand from a production company in another state (I live in Australia, just for reference) and it was shipped over with a set of gear, the brain was very protected and sealed during shipping in the original Brain case and was even more protected by having all the other gear in a massive 30KG box.

When i finally opened it up, i saw red glitches on the monitor / footage, it even wouldn't let me boot sometimes giving me a serious error. As a film student with little money and an upcoming cinematographer it was a dream of mine to own a RED, so i was very upset, i didn't let it leave the house for a solid 3 weeks, i just tried everything from disassembly, to updating, everything. finally after 3 weeks of no effort to self diagnose, i sent a ticket last night to RED and received a statement after the tech team checked the RED files that there were multiple hardware errors.

Now here is my question to all of you lovely RED forums users. We now have it confirmed that the camera is done for beyond return. This most likely will not be cheap, more so considering i'm already broke from the investment and still studying at university. Should i suck it up and have to fork it out for the repair costs, likely expensive due to hearing that it was due to "multiple hardware problems". OR am i in my right to request the seller to pay for the repair costs after receiving a faulty camera?

It's a very distressing situation and i value everyones opinion here.

I cant thank you all enough!

Enjoy your week.

- Mitch

 

[Aaron McLane]

Anything can happen during shipping, this is why I hate shipping. but this is why we always make a video of it working correctly right before we ship it.

However, just to find out if they knowingly sold you a turkey call or reach out in some way to the production company for unrelated purpose find out who the lowest guy is and start a conversation with about Red vs Alexa and see what comes up..... If they had a bad camera floating around they will all know it..... Still, it's unlikely they sold you a broken camera, in the US that's a great way to get shot.

 

[Matt Fleming]

Mitchell,
I'm curious why you would buy a used RED camera and have it directly shipped to you from the seller? It's supposed to go to RED for their inspection and official transfer of ownership. Were you not aware of this?

 

[Björn Benckert]

You bought a camera that did not work on delivery and you have not contacted the seller about it?
I would contact
1. the seller
2. red

Sadly I think red can not do much as I assume you did not send the camera in for owner transfer.
if the camera been faulty before you bought it then red most likely knows about it. But its quite possible that is information they can not share with you as to thier record the original owner is still the owner of the camera.

 

[Wil Wong]

Well, if I couldn't talk to the seller about the camera/situation (say they stop communicating) or if they claim it worked when they sent it, I would likely move on. It would be hard to prove that it didn't work prior shipping and also trying to take legal actions would surely be a pain.

If they were sincere, they'd hopefully offer to pay for half the repair. Then again, unless you contacted them immediately and not 3 weeks later, it's hard for them to think that you didn't damage the camera yourself. Are you in contact with them?

Shipping insurance might also be a pain unless the seller listed the full value of the camera (which he/she might not have). The seller might be able to claim this but it's also hard to prove (since it has been a while).

I'd find out how much the repair cost would cost from Red. Then figure out how to pay for it. You might have to chalk this one up as one of those 'live and learn' moments. Hate to say this. It's really not your fault.

 

[Elsie N]

Hey everyone! you all have probably seen me post a million times here about problems with my RED, sensor issues and the inability to even boot. I bought it second hand from a production company in another state (I live in Australia, just for reference) and it was shipped over with a set of gear, the brain was very protected and sealed during shipping in the original Brain case and was even more protected by having all the other gear in a massive 30KG box.

When i finally opened it up, i saw red glitches on the monitor / footage, it even wouldn't let me boot sometimes giving me a serious error. As a film student with little money and an upcoming cinematographer it was a dream of mine to own a RED, so i was very upset, i didn't let it leave the house for a solid 3 weeks, i just tried everything from disassembly, to updating, everything. finally after 3 weeks of no effort to self diagnose, i sent a ticket last night to RED and received a statement after the tech team checked the RED files that there were multiple hardware errors.

Now here is my question to all of you lovely RED forums users. We now have it confirmed that the camera is done for beyond return. This most likely will not be cheap, more so considering i'm already broke from the investment and still studying at university. Should i suck it up and have to fork it out for the repair costs, likely expensive due to hearing that it was due to "multiple hardware problems". OR am i in my right to request the seller to pay for the repair costs after receiving a faulty camera?

It's a very distressing situation and i value everyones opinion here.

I cant thank you all enough!

Enjoy your week.

- Mitch

This is a no-no unless you absolutely know what you are doing. Even then, best to get an evaluation from the manufacturer, including contacting support as your first effort. Otherwise, you run the risk of making a minor problem into a major one.

 

[Mike Garrick]

Hey Mitch

I would ship it to Red Dragon ( the aussie Distributor for Red ) then get them to do a fault /check evaluation & go from there ,( ie. why isnt it working burnt/faulty boards or impact stress, shipping issues) unfortunately this would involve you paying.

Pending these results there are protections in Aussie consumer law and or legal redress for fraud. Also you could name/shame the seller and we being a small industry it would get around pretty quickly. They are most probably reading this right now ; ).

 

[Owen Rennie]

Hey Mitch

I would ship it to Red Dragon ( the aussie Distributor for Red ) then get them to do a fault /check evaluation & go from there ,( ie. why isnt it working burnt/faulty boards or impact stress, shipping issues) unfortunately this would involve you paying.

Pending these results there are protections in Aussie consumer law and or legal redress for fraud. Also you could name/shame the seller and we being a small industry it would get around pretty quickly. They are most probably reading this right now ; ).

I don't think Dragon Image can open them up.. they are just a re-seller.. That was the first thing i asked them went i went there last week. Would be nice knowing someone in Australia could fix or service a Red if need be...


I think your shit out of luck unfortunately mate.. Buying used has that risk.. I'd be very very surprised if the seller admitted there was a problem and pay for it. If it did have a problem he knew about good chance he'd be very happy it was sold and the problem is no longer his! As Aaron mention though some detective work could be worth a try..

 

[Troy Bakewell]

Send it in to Red. In my experience they are very reasonable with repair costs. It just may turn out to be a lot cheaper than what you think.

 

[M.Halsell]

As advised, send the unit to RED for a proper diagnosis. The feedback that RED gives you will remove your anxiety by knowing exactly the extent of the damage and the repair cost. It may be minor or major, but move forward nevertheless. You may be able to salvage the situation, even if it requires saving the resources and executing the repair later down the road.

No one really wants their purchasing situation to be a cautionary tale. But clearly when purchasing a used RED camera, it really is in the buyers best interest to follow suggested procedure to have the camera inspected by RED before committing to an outright purchase.

 

[Hal Long]

Shipping aside, Red's repair cost have always been lower than I expected. Next time, definitely take advantage of Red's cheap inspection service, but you already know that no doubt. Sorry this happened to you.

 

[Adam Griffith]

You're in Australia right? There are numerous government groups to protect consumers of both new and used goods, I know if I spent a decent amount of $ on a camera which can only be used for a door-stop then I'd be making a pretty big deal about it and taking action.

3 weeks before you contacted RED? No mention of contacting the seller?
What did you pay for this thing? Did you buy it through this forum?

It's going to cost you $700+ to send it to RED for an evaluation and change of ownership. You'll then get sent a quote for repair, You can decide your next move from there.
Otherwise you've got yourself a good looking paper weight. Sell off accessories and try recover some $

 

[jordan levy]

i would insure it and then drop it in the ocean.
just kidding, have it repaired, you are going to have to eat the costs since you took the risk of spending a lot of money without the proper way of sending it to red for an inspection and transfer, that is standard. the fact the old owner didnt do that then there must of been something wrong with it in the first place, but there is noway to prove it. still contact the seller and tell them the issue and say you would like to return it, was it paypal? because they cover you too, but all this should of been done immediately! not 3 weeks later. try everything, then get it fixed, on a credit card, rent it out to pay for the costs if you have to.