Photographer Orders $2K Camera Lens, Gets Box of Staples Instead

A photographer looking to upgrade her camera setup shelled out almost $2,000 for a new lens, but was horrified when she opened the box and found Bostitch staples inside instead.

Viktoryia Shkel from Ontario, Canada, ordered a Canon 24-70mm lens in a sale from Canon. The lens had been discounted to CAD 2,577 ($1,872) owing to the box being damaged. After waiting excitedly, Shkel opened the box to find the lens had been replaced by staples that weighed the same as the lens she was hoping for.

“The box was supposed to contain a Canon EF 24-70mm lens, and instead there was a box of staples,” she tells CTV News.

Shkel contacted Canon to explain what had happened, sending photos of the Bostitch staples. “They notified me that all protocols were followed… they said the lens was inspected in the facility and by the time the lens left, everything was intact,” she tells CTV News.

After an investigation, Canon Canada told Shkel that she would not be receiving a refund since “all protocols were followed” and the lens had left the facility intact after an inspection.

That is when Shkel contacted CTV News, which runs a feature called ‘Consumer Alert’ where the broadcaster helps out citizens who have had something bad happen like this. The TV network reached out to Canon, which gave the following statement.

“Internally, we have launched an investigation with our customer care and warehouse teams to examine what may have occurred,” Canon says.

“We can confirm that our current process for outbound shipments requires a weight verification of the product(s) held within and must match our strict weight measurements before being sent. Both our warehouse and shipping partner have confirmed that the outbound package did match the measurements and weight that would be expected for the lens model purchased, however based on the information provided by Viktoryia, it appears that the package may have been tampered with after departing our facility.”

Canon calls Shkel’s situation “unusual” and not something it has previously encountered, but agreed to refund Shkel her money since she was bearing the financial burden. She has since received a full refund.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.