4 Sending a Repair

You never need advance permission to send a repair to Camtech, just ship it. Once approved, payment is by Check, Money Order, Mastercard or Visa. You can send credit card information with your repair (as noted below), or you can wait to receive your estimate. It is perfectly safe to send CC information in the box with your repair. I am the only person who will see it.

Wrap your camera in a plastic bag and pack it carefully. Please use a sturdy corrugated cardboard box. The Post Office can supply the proper box if you don't have one. Pack in styrofoam peanuts, bubble wrap or crumpled newspaper on all sides. When you close your box, tape it shut and shake it, the camera should not be loose or thumping around inside. Please do not ship camera in shoe box or the box the camera came in when it was new. Those types of boxes are just too flimsy. You can send your Zuiko lenses along if you like. There may be a cleaning and / or repair charge for each lens if it is found they need work.

INSURE THE PACKAGE! Definitely in your best interest. You will have trouble collecting on a package that is damaged in shipment if it was packed poorly to begin with. Such damage may increase the repair price, or may make your camera "beyond repair". Insure your package for replacement value. OM-1, 1N: $200, 2, 2N: $300, 2S: $300, OM-4: atleast $400, OM-3: $400 and up depending on condition AND it's a collectors item. 3Ti: $600 and UP. 4T, 4Ti: $600 and up depending on condition. My $ values may be wrong, use your own judgment. It's up to you to insure for the correct amount. You must decide what your camera is worth and what you would have to spend to get an equivalent camera in case yours is lost in shipment. YOU, the customer, will have to prove these values if you have to file a claim.

Please do not send any camera cases, bags or original boxes. Sending body caps, hot shoes, md caps, straps etc. are fine. You'll get them all back. Use Priority Mail, UPS, Fed Ex, whatever's most convenient for you. Please include a cover letter which includes your return address and (if you've decided to include it) your cc info (see box below). After we receive it, we will inspect it and email (or snail-mail) an estimate to you. If you've sent the repair "pre-approved" we will mail or email an acknowledgement to you.

WHAT TO SEND: Please do not send equipment made by other manufacturers (ie. Vivitar flash, Tamron, Sigma, Tokina lenses) as we do not repair them. We work ONLY on items made by Olympus (name ring on lenses says "Zuiko").

We accept payment by Check, Money Order, Mastercard, Visa. No American Express, No Discover, No Pay Pal, No COD.

ACTUAL REPAIR PRICE is based on inspection. Canadian, US postal money order, Mastercard and Visa are the same as cash. ALL OTHER FORMS OF PAYMENT MUST BE DEPOSITED, ACCEPTED AND CLEARED BY THE PROCESSING BANK. Such processing is controlled by the bank and can take up to 10 business days. You may include a check with your prepaid repair. (Labor + shipping). If the total is wrong, you may receive a re-estimate in the mail.

TO SAVE TIME -PRE-APPROVE YOUR REPAIR : You may "pre-approve" your repair up to a preset amount. To do this, include a short cover letter. Within the letter, include Mastercard or Visa credit card numbers, see next box for credit card requirements. You can also include the statement that you are "pre-approving the repair up to "x" dollars". You will be notified if anything unusual is found.

Always include a STREET ADDRESS for return shipment by UPS. UPS does not deliver to PO boxes. (BTW, since 1987, UPS has lost only one package that we have shipped. The Post Office has lost so many, well, I have lost count.)

RETURN SHIPPING: Ground UPS or Priority Mail for 1 body to the 48 states with $200 insurance, MINIMUM $11.49, sometimes more. UPS at least is raising prices regularly. Actual shipping and handling determined by weight, zip code and insurance amount during the estimating process. 3 Day, 2 Day and Next Day UPS available at additional cost. NYS residents: sales tax extra (applied to labor, parts and shipping).

POST OFFICE: May 2007, the post office raised shipping rates significantly. Ex.: Flat rate Priority Mail box rate was $8.05 jumped to $8.95, and that's without insurance which adds approx. $1.50 for every $100 of insurance. The names of all the international shipping methods changed as did the rates. All shipping rates computed during the estimate process. Shipping outside the US, the Post Office is the only option. International UPS prices are vastronomical and the you have to pay UPS duty to pick your package up. Within the US, especially in the Northeast, they tend to be a better value over UPS.

1: 16 digit Credit Card number (Mastercard & Visa) . Required, please split up over 2 emails.

2: Expiration date (Card valid thru MM/YY). Required.

3: The 3 Digit CCV security Code! Every MC / Visa Card has it. This number is found on the back of your card, inside the signature box, over at the right hand end. My credit card terminal requests this number since I don't have your credit card in hand for swiping. Required.

4: The 5 digit ZIP CODE your credit card bill goes to every month (applies to USA orders only). Required

5: If sending credit card info by email, DO NOT send all information in one single email. Split it up over 3-4 separate emails. Required, AND REALLY IN YOUR BEST INTERESTS.