Buying off Ebay?

[seven]

I was looking around ebay the other day, and I found this company with good deals: http://stores.ebay.ca/ShopSunshine_W0QQssPageNameZviQ3asibQ3astoreviewQQtZkm

Would it be a bad idea to buy from there?

 

[photogoddess]

Seems like an ok outfit. Feedback level is acceptable. The one thing I routinely check when buying off of ebay is whether or not the item is a USA model. Gray market cameras can be a real pain.

 

[kelox]

Hey seven, I've not bought from that vendor, but I have bought several things from ebay(to include a couple of lenses). My only advise on ebay would be don't spend more than you're willing to lose. That is to say, don't spend an amount you can't stand to lose. If the deal goes south and you can't get your money back for a long drawn out time period or at all, then you will not be hurting for cash. I usually set a dollar amount for anything I want to bid on that if it came down to it, I could walk away from it. Of course we would all be mad if we lost money, just don't get into a bind behind something on ebay. Hope this helped.

 

[seven]

Thanks for the feedback. What vendor do you normally use kelox?

 

[Big Mike]

While there are deal to be had on E-bay...these places are in business to make money...just like everybody else.

IMHO, it's better to order from a place with consistently good prices and good customer service. If you can get a good deal at a local store you can save the shipping and get person to person contact.

If you do want to mail order, check out the two links on the bottom of the page...B&H and Adorama. They usually have the best prices...and a good reputation. If you find a price that is significantly lower than their prices...somesomthing is probably fishy.

 

[kelox]

Thanks for the feedback. What vendor do you normally use kelox?

I don't use any particular vendor, just jump on a deal when I see it. But I must also agree with Mike. The links in the forum are good. Both stores have pretty good reputations, plus you'll be helping out the forum if you use the link.

 

[photogoddess]

I've checked around and B&H consistantly has the best prices, shipping and service. I just bought a couple of lenses from them and it was a great experience. If you decide to buy from them, make sure you click on a link from the bottom of any page here at TPF so the site will get credit. Good luck on your purchase!

 

[seven]

B&H looks great already, thanks for telling me about this site!

 

[codex0]

Just in case anyone was looking to buy from these people - I got my 20d from them and had a horrible time. My flash, one of my lenses, and my microdrive were put on backorder (without notification - they told me about the flash - I only found out about the rest when I got my package... Real pain not getting a card for another week). They said that the 4 gig card was on backorder - I could get a 3 gig card and an extra battery immediately if I preferred. I emailed them, saying to do this - a week later I received the 4 gig drive. "ok. they made a mistake." Turns out they sent me the wrong lens. After several emails and phone calls, I finally managed to get an RMA number. I sent the lens back. In the meantime, I received my flash. The flash pictured in their package deal is a sigma 500ex super. The actual specs refer to a flash that is no longer sold. They sent me a $20 sunflash. I sent both items back. Several weeks later - I didn't receive the correct items. I called, and they said "they just took care of it today. It should arrive shortly." One week later, I called again and was told that they "no longer carried the (model number of the flash I was promised)." They were kind enough to offer me $20 (the sigma gets about $180 on ebay, the spec'd brought about $80 - they were offering me the amount the crappy flash was worth). Fine. So I waited another few days, and received an even worse flash unit than the first (value about $15). At this point, I've paid for shipment for a couple packages. So I did what I shouldn't have done - gave up. I have since purchased from B+H and must say that they are definately worth the marginally higher price of sunshine electronics. In the long run, it's quite worth it. I never received all of the items that I actually ordered, and it took me about 4 months to receive everything they did send.

 

[Texas_Diver]

Are the bundled deals on ebay usually a good buy or is it best to purchase the things separately?

 

[TheCanonMan]

I find Ebay a safe place to buy or sale I have shiped over 300 things to people who have gave me money over Ebay & buy form there all the time .

Set up a PayPal account it will make your life on Ebay much more fun. Well if your a buyer that is lol .

 

[TheCanonMan]

Buy the bundled deals on Ebay usually you will not only save money but get more bang for your buck .

I got a Canon AE-1 with 40filters 2 bags 1 70-200mm zoom 1 200mm micro zoom 4 flashes a 17mm wide angle & a box of junk for 125.00 after shipping all of it works like new