Is Amcrest selling returned goods as new?

[Catcam]

I recently bought 2 ProHD IP2M-841B's. One from ebay the other from an online company. The ebay one was mint - has new firmware and has been upgraded to include POE.

While the second one was sold through another company it was fulfilled by and shipped directly from Amcrest. The camera is scuffed. The firmware is several years old - "2.420.AC00.8.R, build : 2015-10-16." And worst of all, it is a pre-POE version. The primary reason I had gotten a second one of this model is because the first was POE. This on top of buggy Amcrest software I feel somewhat cheated.

[markcm]

From your description it doesn't sound like you bought either of these directly from Amcrest, yet your question and assessment are directed at Amcrest?

I don't see how 3rd party purchases translate to an assessment of Amcrest, were these "discounted' purchases as well? Why didn't you buy directly from Amcrest? I've made multiple direct purchases and been very pleased with the products and services.

[Catcam]

Markem

Technically the camera at issue was bought from Amcrest. It just happens it was through a marketplace type setting. The camera was shipped directly to me by Amcrest. There was no 3rd party that handled the camera.

[Catcam]

I posted this message here as a courtesy before doing a formal negative review on the purchasing website. I had the misguided belief that someone at Amcrest would actually care and respond.

Contrary to customer service, just flashing a new firmware on to the camera does not make it as good as new. Image sensors can only be cycled so many times. Mechanical components undergo wear and tear. Plastics and even electronic components slowly degrade over time. Why should I be cheated out of 2, 3, 4 years of product lifespan and be expected to just let it go?

[Catcam]

I had a chat window from Simon Butler pop-up while I was typing in my previous post. He absolutely refused when I asked him to read this thread and then he terminated the chat. Fortunately, I was able to save it before he closed the window.

[Raheel]

Hi Catcam,

Really sorry to hear about this issue, have you tried to contact our RMA department about this? They may be able to assist further. Please contact them at rma@amcrest.com so they can further investigate.

[Catcam]

Hi Catcam,

Really sorry to hear about this issue, have you tried to contact our RMA department about this? They may be able to assist further. Please contact them at rma@amcrest.com so they can further investigate.

Per my previous post, my only recourse through Amcrest is to flash a new bios which will (not) "make it as good as new."

[buckyswider]

Hi catcam, although I'm empathetic to you situation, I'm not sure Amcrest is the proper target of your ire at this point. Many 3rd party sellers have deals with OEMs to re-sell factory returns/refurbs (of course at a steeply discounted price). Whether the marketplace seller chooses to expose the true nature of the product isn't something that the OEM controls- they just fulfill the order as per their agreement with the retailer.

Now that Amcrest is aware of the situation, however, they should take steps to either scold this retailer into doing th right thing or terminating the reseller agreement.