Canon Customer Loyalty Program: Low-cost Trade-in For Broken Cameras

Although I recently bought my first non-Canon digital camera in about a decade (see earlier blog items below)…

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3: Small 10 Megapixel Camera, 12x Zoom, HD Video

AVCHD High-def Video Sample From Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS3 Camera

…I’ll probably buy another Canon digital camera in the future. And, here’s one of the reasons why: Canon has a program that lets you trade in a broken out-of-warranty camera for a recent model refurbished model for a relatively low-cost. They also provide a 6-month warranty for these refurbished devices. Here’s a personal story that helps explain how this works. I learned about the Canon Customer Loyalty Program back in the summer of 2008. I had an ancient (probably nearly 8 years old) Digital Elph. This was, to my knowledge, the first digital compact camera Canon produced. I called toll-free (in the US) direct number for the program:

866-443-8002 ext. 2

The customer service representative listened to my description of the camera’s problem, acknowledged that it was indeed inoperable (and out of warranty by many years) and gave me a choice of three recent model Canon digital cameras to choose from. I chose to purchase a refurbished Canon PowerShot G9 for $249 (if memory serves me correctly) as a replacement device. This was about $200 less than the camera sold for as new at the time and a far more powerful device than the old Digital Elph. The camera arrived within a few days. Canon provided a pre-paid mailer for me to use to return the Digital Elph.

Does that sound pretty simple? It was. And, despite not buying a Canon as my recent purchase, it is a reason I will continue to consider Canon digital cameras in the future.

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