FAQ
FIRST TIME RENTER
1) Can I place an order or make a reservation on an “Expected“ item?
2) When does the rental period begin and end?
3) Do you charge a deposit?
4) Local Renter and Pick Up
5) How do you charge for a late return drop off?
6) Do you have 1 or 2 Day rentals?
7) What is your pricing for 1, or 2 Day Rentals?
8) Shipping
9) Where can I designate point of delivery?
10) When are you going to ship my order?
11) When do I receive my order?
12) How do I return the rental items?
13) Shipping Cost
14) Can I use FedEx, USPS or other Carriers for shipping?
15) What is Accident Damage Waiver?
16) What does the Accident Damage Waiver cover?
17) What does the Accident Damage Waiver not cover?
18) Do I need to buy the Accident Damage Waiver?
19) How do you determine if there is damage?
20) How I can cancel my order?
21) How you charge a cancellation fee and how can I avoid it?
22) What is your policy if I want to change/cancel my local pickup and drop-off appointment?
23) Do I get credit if I return the gear early?
24) Still have question?
FIRST TIME RENTER
If you are a First time renter please click here to access the rental document form. This form must be signed and faxed to Top Lens Rental before any rental item is released. Top Lens Rental reserves the right to refuse to rent to any person or businesse. Please note that we do not consider anonymous information such as cell phone numbers, Pay As You Go cell phone numbers, Gmail, Yahoo, hotmail…accounts as valid information to verify who you are.
After receiving your rental document form, you will receive a phone call, or email from us for either confirmation or clarification within 4 hours. Please get back to us if you miss our call. If we do not hear back from you, your order will be canceled at the end of the day.
Because we need time to verify your identity, it might take up to 48 hours or more for your order to be shipped out.
For local pickup orders and orders in which the shipping address is different from the credit card billing address, it might take up to 72 hours or MORE for your order to be processed. You can speed up the verification process, if you can provide us with your company website, email, and business phone numbers. You can also mention that you would like to ship the rental item(s) to your company address that is different than your billing or home address.
1) Can I place an order or make a reservation on an “Expected“ item?
The “Expected“ item is an item that is being rented and the item will be back instock when the renter returns it.
However, you can go ahead and place or make a reservation as usual (just add the item into the shopping cart and then check out). In this case, the “Expected Date“ message is the date we anticipate the expected item will be back in stock and ready to ship out or to be picked up locally. Your delivery date usually is 2 days from the expected date, if you chose a 2 Day shipping method.
If you have a hard date, where you must have the rental gear for a special event, please select the available items only and select the delivery date that is at least 2 days in advance. This is to permit for unexpected instances where the UPS may deliver your item(s) late. Again, we have no control over unplanned or unscheduled circumstances that may account for late deliveries.
2) When does the rental begin and end?
You rental start time begins at 5 PM on the delivery (or attempted delivery) date. An adult signature is required for a delivery.
The rental ends at 5 PM on the return date. You must return the items that evening before or by 5 pm. For example, the UPS delivered (or attempted to deliver) your item on October 1, 2011 for a Ten (10) Day rental. You must return and scan the item at a staffed UPS drop off location on October 11, 2011 by 5 pm.
If a customer shows up at a local UPS location at 5:05 PM and the UPS closes, the customer can only come back the next day to drop off the item. This is a late return. The bottom line is if the package has not been scanned into the UPS system by 6 pm on the return date, it is late and a late fee will apply.
3) Do you charge a deposit?
Only a partial value deposit of the gear being rented is required and your deposit will be refunded in full (minor .50 cents for the transaction fee) when the rental items are returned as they were rented out with normal usage.
If our credit service identifies a renter who has an inadequate credit history a high risk, or a renter who previously has lost or damaged items, or returned items late, we reserve the right to request a full-value deposit.
When you place your order we only charge your credit card for the rental cost; Therefore, the security deposit or other required fee must be paid in full and in advance before releasing the rental item(s).
4) Local Renter and Pick Up
You can pick up your orders free of charge at our office in Torrance. Only the people who place an order with a valid photo id can pickup the order. Sorry, there are no exceptions.
Local customers with a pickup option must place their rental orders online and 3 hours before the pickup schedule. Since you can chose your pick up and drop off times when you checkout the items, we encourage you to show up on time when picking up or returning items. Please do not return the items late, otherwise rental fees or/late fees will be added to your total rental bill. You can return the items early if you wish with no fees involved.
CUSTOMER PLEASE READ OUR PICKUP POLICY
We are a mail-order rental business which is a mailing/shipping operation. We are not a retail store. We are allowing local customers to pickup orders to save on their shipping costs. Wandering around the office to look for equipment will not be permitted. We request that these guidelines be followed when selecting the pickup option.
We only rent out excellent or like new camera equipment, as a result you do not need to worry about the quality of the equipment you rent from us. We want your return business; therefore, the quality of the gear we rent will either meet or exceed your expectations. In short, our affordable rental rates bring you in and our quality equipment brings you back.
5) How do you charge for a late return drop off?
Late returns cause us to lose revenue when we can not rent our items on schedule to other customers who are waiting in turn to rent the return items (late returns cause unpredictable stocking availability). Also, late returns cause more work on our staff. For example, instead of letting our automatic system generate the next rental availability schedule for a rental item, our web/database administrator has to go to our system and issue a new rental schedule manually. Our staff has to contact customers to reschedule the delivery and pickup dates and times.
Therefore, if you do not return the items on time on the required return (drop-off) date, late fees will be assessed as to that item as follows:
- One (1) Day Late; 30% of a 1 week rental fee for that item will be added to the total fees.
- Seven (7) Days Late; The item will be considered stolen and the full retail amount of the item will be added to the total fee, unless you made arrangements to extend your rental agreement before the return due date.
Depending on our stocking availability, we may or may not extend your rental period. Please remember that you are still responsible to pay for late fees even when we can extend your rental agreement.
In order to help reduce the stress of unpredictable rental availabilities and assist you save on rental extensions, please consider the following and chose the right rental period that is suitable for you.
a) Your 3 Day rental and 3 day extension fee will cost you more than a 7 day rental. We recommend that you select a 1 Week rental period from the start.
b) Your 1 week rental and 1 week extension will cost you more than a 2 Week rental. We recommend that you select a 2 Week rental from the start.
PLAN TO AVOID LATE AND EXTENSION FEES
To avoid late and extension fees, please consider adding a couple of extra days to your rental period when you rent your gear in anticipation that there might be a 50/50 chance that you might return the gear late.
Our checkout calendar system lets you select any custom rental period that suits your needs. For example, you may need a couple of extra days for a 1 week rental period. You can select a 9 Day rental period. You do not need to go with a 14 Day rental or 1 Week rental plus 1 week extension.
6) Do you have 1 or 2 Day rentals?
Yes, we do. For 1 or 2 Day Rental options you are only allowed to pick up at our local location and you will need to call us to make a reservation. Please note that our website rental calendar does not offer a rental less than 3 days and we do not offer shipping for a rental less than 3 days.
7) What is your pricing for 1 or 2 Day Rentals?
The pricing for 1 or 2 Day Rentals are as follows:
1 Day Rental = 70% rental price of a 3 Day rental.
For example: A 3 Day rental for a Canon 50mm F1.2 is $40 dollars. Therefore 1 Day rental for the Canon 50mm F1.2 will be $40 x 0.7 = $28 dollars
2 Day Rental = 3 Day rental (same cost).You decide whether to rent an item for 2 or 3 days.
8) Shipping
Currently, we use 2nd Day Air USP for outbound shipping in the US, except California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah. We use ground shipping since the delivery schedule in those 4 States is still within 2 days. Furthermore, we will use 3 Day shipping method to the other states if our stocking availability allows us to do so. We do not ship to Canada.
All you need to do is select the delivery date and the drop off date, we will ship your order based on your selected delivery date. Please note our shipping display information only applies to customers who are not located in CA, NV, AZ and UT.
9) Where can I designate point of delivery?
You should choose only your office, home, or other address as the place you receive your rental. An adult signature is required for a delivery. Please have someone trustworthy to be there and sign for the package. Any refused or returned delivery will be processed as a completed rental transaction with full rental and other fees assessed.
We do not ship items to hotels, resorts, or PO Boxes. However you can chose to ship your lens to the nearest UPS store or UPS staffed location. In this case, only you can pick up the package. Please remember to bring your ID when you sign to pick up the package. The staff will not release the package without seeing your-ID.
10) When are you going ship my order?
Because we need time to verify who your identity, our verifying process is as follows:
If you are a repeat customer, your order will be shipped out within 12 hours.
If you are a new customer, it might take up to 48 hours or more for your order to be shipped out.
If you are a new customer and your order shipping address is different than your credit card billing address, it might take up to 72 hours or more for your order to be shipped out.
11) When do I receive my order?
In general, if you placed an order by 5 PM PST Tuesday, you should receive it Thursday. Since UPS does not deliver packages Saturday and Sunday, second day shipping on Thursday arrives on Monday.
12) How do I return the rental items?
The rental item must be re-packaged securely as it was sent to you. Seal the package and place the provided return label to cover the previous shipping label. Drop off the package at a UPS location and obtain a receipt. You are not required to purchase insurance from UPS, and for security reasons; you should not discuss the content(s) of the package with UPS personnel.
We will check, inspect and test the return items thoroughly when we receive it. If anything is wrong with the return item(s) we will call you. If you do not hear anything from us in 2 days, your package(s) was returned safely.
It takes form 3 to 7 business days for the refund to complete
Please note that we cannot issue another pre-paid shipping package to replace the lost pre-paid shipping package so please do not lose it. If you happen to lose it, you will be responsible for the cost of shipping the items back to us.
13) Shipping Cost
Shipping costs are listed on the detail item web page and it is very straight forward. We hope that you do not have any question here.
If you order multiple items at the same time, you can go ahead and pay for the total shipping cost that is calculated by our system. However, we will try to combine your orders in a single package. We will only charge you a fair fee on your multiple rental items. If you paid too much, we will give you back the extra shipping fees that you paid for renting multiple items. Give us a call at 480-2MY-LENS or email us, if you have any questions or want shipping quotes on multiple rental items.
14) Can I use FedEx, USPS or other Carriers for shipping?
Yes, you can. Please mention your preferred carrier in the special instruction box during the check out process. We will email you back the shipping cost.
If you want us to use your FedEx account, we only charge you $8 dollars for the packing material.
15) What is Accident Damage Waiver?
The Accident Damage Waiver is a DAMAGE liability waiver when an accident occurs.
If your rental lens gets damaged and you do not have Accident Damage Waiver, you will pay 100% of either the retail cost of the lens for the replacement or the cost of the repair. In addition, you also are responsible to pay for the loss of the revenue for the rental while the lens is out of stock for replacement or repair.
If you do have Accident Damage Waiver, you just pay for the deduction which is only about 12% of the retail cost of the lens and walk away. Everything else is between TopLensRental.com and the insurance company. No headaches or paper work involved on your end.
16) What does the Accident Damage Waiver cover?
The Insurance company policy for the Accident Damage Waiver covers the replacement and repair costs plus the loss of revenue while the damaged lens is being replaced or repaired. Please note you cannot claim negligence as accident damage. For example, you allow your 10 year old son to take pictures using our Canon 300mm f/2.8, then your son drops the lens. This is negligence. This is not an accident and your Accident Damage Waiver does not cover your negligence.
17) What does the Accident Damage Waiver not cover?
The Accident Damage Waiver does not cover for LOST or STOLEN equipment, LIQUID, SAND damage, and ABUSIVE or NEGLIGENT use of equipment. Therefore, if your rental item is lost or stolen, damaged by liquid, sand, or negligence, you are not covered and you are entirely responsible for the cost of the replacement.
We do not sell LOSS or THEFT insurance. You need to obtain loss or theft insurance on photography equipment through your home or business insurance. To use your insurance as a deposit substitution, your certificate insurance must be submitted to us in advance for a review. You must have been under the policy for at least 1 year and we do not consider a new account that was created for a rental purpose.
If there was a previous rental history of equipment damage due to your negligence, our insurance policy requires us to ask a full value deposit for future orders; therefore, it is important that you treat your rental gear as if it was your own.
Please note that with any high end item(s) or a poor credit history a full value deposit is required for renting.
18) Do I need to buy Accident Damage Waiver?
Even if you do have your home or business issuance policy to cover you for loss or theft on photography equipment, you still do not have coverage when you damage a lens. Even though you have coverage to cover damages on your photography equipment, the deductible is usually expensive ($500 or $1000). You can avoid big monetary loss if you have our damage waiver insurance.
Repairing a lens can be very expensive. A lens worth several thousand dollars might require a few thousand dollars to repair it if you happen to damage one. If you do not have damage insurance, we have to charge you the cost of the repair plus the cost of the lost rental revenue while the lens is out of stock for repair. You only pay 12% of the cost of the lens as the deduction if you have coverage. We currently charge an affordable flat rate for every rental term up to 45 days.
19) How do you consider there is damage?
We do not consider normal use such as minor scuffmarks to the barrel or hood as damage. However, scratches to the glass, damage to the coupling, intended or unintended damage to any other part that affects the equipment performance will be considered damage.
Please note that all the rental lenses and cameras have lens filters and LCD screen protectors so please do not remove them while the rental items are in your possession in order to avoid damage.
20) How do I cancel my order?
Please contact us, if you have to cancel your order. Since we have to recover some of the lost revenue of reserving the items a cancellation fee may apply.
21) How do you charge a cancellation fee and how can I avoid it?
There is no cancellation fee when the rental order is cancelled within 24 hours after placing the order or 7 days before the ship or pickup date.
A cancellation fee will be charged when contacting us to cancel your order past the cancellation time frame. The cancellation fee will be 28% of your total rental fee.
Below are two examples in order to avoid a cancellation fee:
-First example applies for the shipping order. In order for us to deliver an order on Jan 10th, we have to ship the item on Jan 8th. Thus, the cancellation must be made on or before Jan 1st to avoid cancellation fees.
-Second example applies for the pickup order. In order for you to avoid the cancellation fee for a pickup order on Jan 10th, you must notify us by Jan 3rd.
22) What is your policy if I want to change/cancel my local pickup and drop-off appointment?
Since we are a mail order rental business, we allow local customers to pick up rental items in order to save on shipping costs. However, we cannot allow our work flow to run inefficiently by rearranging the rental appointments for the customer who is on the waiting list to wait in turn to rent the return item(s). If there is a change of a current booking appointment, we must change the future booking appointments for the customers who are on the waiting list. We lose customers when the rearrangement schedules do not meet their schedules; therefore, we treat a changing appointment as a cancelled appointment.
We offer no charge cancellation fee for an order that meets the below criteria:
a) An order placed within 24 hours.
b) A pick up date that is 1 week away from the cancellation date.
For more information about the cancellation process and to avoid the cancellation fee, please see the answers for question 21
In the event that a customer does not show up to pickup the items, we have a right to process the order as a completed rental transaction with full rental and other fees assessed. In addition, the customer who previously did not show up to pickup the rental item(s) can not use our local pickup services anymore. This customer must choose the shipping option for future orders and pay for shipping costs. If the failed to APPOINTMENT customer continues to choose to use our local pickup services during the checkout, we will close his or her account.
23) Do I get credit if I return the gear early?
We usually are not able to rent gear within a week of notice; therefore, we only offer store credit for orders that are returned one week earlier than expected. In order to qualify for the credit, the orders need to be rental orders that are at least 3 weeks. For example, if you have a 3 Week order, and we get the equipment back after 2 weeks, you will get a credit of 1 week. Please note that a credit of 2 weeks is the maximum credit that you can acquire despite returning the gear back earlier than 2 weeks. Please plan well and select the correct rental period that you need.
24) Still have questions?
No problem, just give us a call at 480-2My-Lens or 480-269-5387