A Little Advice, Please?

I was hoping to try out my new camera today for Nature Notes, but it just wasn't to be. It arrived yesterday from an online camera company that looked OK to me and had the best price. But it came with no logos or return address on the box, no invoice or shipping inclusions, and - scariest of all - no warranty cards in the box. (P.S. That is, the shipping box was bare. The actual kit box and its contents look new, complete, and legit, but the warranty cards for the camera and lens are missing.)

Canon is telling me that the company may be a reseller or the camera was intended for foreign markets, in which case it has no warranty. And the accessories may not be Canon, in which case they could damage the camera.

The company insists Canon is giving me wrong information, and the camera is for US Markets, and the manufacturer warranty would be honored. My instinct here is to trust Canon, but there is a 15% restocking fee to return the thing. That's $120 plus certified shipping.

I spent hours on the phone this morning going back and forth between them. I'm taking a break at the moment to back off it and think.

What would you do?

Anyway.

After today I'll be AWOL until next week. I'm heading up to Ogdensburg, New York for a nephew's wedding. Everyone else has commitments, so it will be just my older son and I. Driving. From Indiana.

It's going to be an exhausting weekend, but I'm actually looking forward to spending the time with him. Once kids grow up, even having them stop by for a few hours is a big treat.

Funny how suddenly that seems to happen. For years your whole life revolves around them and their needs and schedules. And then, one day, it doesn't. They're off having lives of their own, and you're left trying to lure them over with promises of pot roast.

So yeah. Mother and Son Road Trip. Cool.