For anyone thinking about buying camera equip. online

Mike_E

No longer a newbie, moving up!
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Be careful!! If the price is way under everybody else, there is a good chance you are about to get e-mugged. I personally have bought equipment at Calumet, B&H and Adorama with Never a problem and there are many other honest e-businesses as well.

Here is a link to THE CONSUMERIST http://consumerist.com/consumer/bro...-sheistylooking-business-addresses-230560.php
exposing (?) Broadway Photo.

Don't let this put you off buying online, but Please do the research on where you will buy while you are researching what you will buy.

Good luck and Good light!

mike
 
Mike as you say, so long as you do a little research then you should be ok. I've had a fake email from someone on ebay offering a second chance bid on a lens that I liked. It was £400 and the lens was worth approx £900 (24L). I checked with ebay and they advised a fake.

Do your checks and you'll be fine though.

I deal mostly with Ian Kerr (Kerso) on ebay who imports from US to UK at great prices. He's become a friend and I'd recommend him to anyone. Top bloke and service second to none.

The majority are great sellers.
 
The other thing to watch out for are grey market imports. I'm not sure how other companie compare but I just had a massive fight with Nikon about a lens I sent for a warrenty repair which was a grey import, but bought from a reputable local dealer. The fight never ended but the local dealer was kind enough to give me a new D200 and new lens and said they'll sort their stuff out later.
 
My rule of thumb (for ebay that is) is always buy in your own country, look thuroughly at customer reviews, and scrutinize the photos of what you are bidding on.
 
I agree with you all. I buy (and sell) many items on ebay BUT... Anything that I am serious about, might cost a good chunk of change, or need to be serviced, I buy local whenever possible (for the service factor). I just purchased a D200 - I didn't even consider ebay (1) because I had the money to begin with & (2) I didn't even want the remote chance of it being damaged in shipping or not working at all. I have ordered items on ebay that were packed so poorly, I couldn't believe the unit didn't fall out of the box(I worked at UPS for 2 years out of high school and loaded the delivery trucks so I know the abuse that some packages take). If you use ebay really pay attention to the rating system. I usually won't even bid on an item unless the user has 100% feedback. But also check the history of the items the person has purchased or sold (it is possible to have a 100% feedback without selling anything). If a seller has a 97% positive feedback and has sold 5,000+ items I'll look at the history and see what some of the complaints are.
As for grey market - I personally wouldn't buy electronics just for the chance that it has to be serviced. I did just buy my first grey market item - a lens from B&H. If I have to have it serviced, I have to send it to B&H, not the manufacturer.
Sorry for the long-winded reply. Being a noobe on this forum (and with photography), there's not much else I can talk about.
Best,
Tom
 
Oooh Oooh (like a little kid waving my hand with the answer to the question).
That's what I ment to say. Watch the wording in the description. Read carefully! Sometimes the picture is not the actual item and accessories may be shown. If your not sure about what is included, ask. I was looking for a light meter on ebay and came across this description "in IMMACULATE/NEVER USED PERFECT Condition". I sent an email to the seller asking if this unit was reconditioned (since this seller seems to sell quite a quantity of them at a very good price). He/she responded no, not refurbished, refurnished, rebuilt or reconditioned.
So I replied "So you are selling this unit as new?"
I have yet to hear back from the seller
 
When my dad was looking for his D80 he came across a few "too good to be true" prices and did some basic research and talked with my uncle (pro photog). He found out that a couple of the companies he was looking at were selling grey-market cameras, and the "USA warranty" they offered wasn't the manufacturer warranty, but *their* warranty.

When I started looking he gave me a few websites to steer clear from. Sure enough though, those same sites came up with "too good to be true" pricing for a D40.

When buying expensive items online (or anywhere for that matter, for some things), I tend to follow one 'rule': If it SEEMS too good to be true, it probably IS--there's usually a 'catch'... find it before you commit to buy.
 
The other thing to watch out for are grey market imports. I'm not sure how other companie compare but I just had a massive fight with Nikon

My experience has been that Nikon is VERY strict while Canon will usually do warranty work on a "grey market" lens or film camera or flash if you can show date of purchase and if you send the item to Canon USA's HQ and not to a satellite service facility. For digicams, all bets are off though.
 
Yeah, thank goodness for independant merchant review sites. Off the top of my head expresscameras.com is a scam. Their MO seems to be offering cameras for a fraction of others, then after they get orders, they'll call you upselling accessories and accessory kits. Then they'll cancel the camera order on you saying it's out of stock, leaving you with a bunch of accessories (at normal prices) and no camera.

Another site I'll vouch for is Beachcamera.com, I got my camera from them with no problems. They do, have a restocking fee though, so make sure you want it before you buy from them. :lol:
 
Yeah, thank goodness for independant merchant review sites. Off the top of my head expresscameras.com is a scam. Their MO seems to be offering cameras for a fraction of others, then after they get orders, they'll call you upselling accessories and accessory kits. Then they'll cancel the camera order on you saying it's out of stock, leaving you with a bunch of accessories (at normal prices) and no camera.

Another site I'll vouch for is Beachcamera.com, I got my camera from them with no problems. They do, have a restocking fee though, so make sure you want it before you buy from them. :lol:

Expresscameras is the site my friend had a problem with. Similar to what you were saying happens I believe. A real pain in the youknowwhere for him.

Actually Beachcamera is the site my dad found sells greymarket stuff. Maybe that's just for one brand though...?
 
IMHO the absolute MUST-READ #1 site for research on where to buy is http://www.resellerratings.com.
+1000000000000000000000000000000000000!!!

Heres what will happen if you see something too good to be true:

You see a 30d body advertised on a genuine-looking site for $560. You order with your credit card. The next morning, they call you to "confirm the order." However, they try to pressure you into buying absurdly overpriced items (i.e., lenses, memory cards-- like a 1g for $180). If you refuse, they find a way to make your life hell (remember, they have your credit card number). This is called bait and switch.

Others will try to get you to pay via Western Union. Don't. You will never hear from them again, and there is nothing you can do.

As for ebay, Don't buy expensive stuff (cameras, lenses) from anyone that has less than 2000 AND 99.6% positive feedback. If you do that, and the read the description, you should be fine. I do it all the time. Never had a real problem. Sometimes, with cheaper stuff, you can find great deals. I just got a new 1g Sandisk Ultra CF card for $10.
 
Occasionally, you can be lucky online though. While I don't use ebay for expensive stuff, I do most of my purchasing via the internet and it pays to look around before buying. Don't just go to the guys you always use. That way, you can get some pleasant surprises. I use hot uk deals most of the time to find some offers.
I got a 400D from Tesco Direct last week for £399. It's now back to £499 so Yippee for me......:)
 

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