For anyone thinking about buying camera equip. online

[RedDevilUK]

totally agree... i usually end up spending more on some things.. like my D80
i could of got it cheaper on ebay... but i though i would go to Jessops (a large camera shop chain in UK) and i paid £699 for the D80 with a 18-70mm lens, i thought this was a fair price, on ebay i could have paid £600

but i just dont trust ebay enough.... ive been ripped off once before!

i am buying a 70-300mm VR soon.... and i wont be getting it off ebay!

 

[Ranger]

I have ran into this sort of thing with expresscameras.com, they had Canon XTs for $349, so I ordered one with paypal along with a 20-90mm lens (or something like it). The next day someone from their company calls saying that we HAVE to have a filter kit for the lens, its mandatory to use the lens. Their filter kits were extremely over priced, some were a couple hundred. Then when we told them that we didnt want the filter kit they told us the Camera was out of stock. So we tried it again with a Nikon D70 and it happened over again.

These people try everything.

 

[RacePhoto]

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.

Was it a real Sandisk or one of the off brands with a label stuck on it? The real ones have a die cut radius on the corners and better printing. The copies look like someone printed it on their computer and cut it out with a paper cutter. Square cuts on all corners.

I agree with you about the eBay rating thing, but usuallyif I write and ask questions, I can tell if the seller is just new or a flake. Last camera I bought was because it came with a lens I wanted. Really good deal, under 10 rating seller.

My mistake! Camera is prefect. Lens has a scratch on the front element. Arrived in bubble wrap, no lens cap, no UV filter. Just bubble wrap.

Within and hour of delivery I wrote, "you neglected to mention the scratch on the lens in your auction. I'm running a lens test."

No response.

Every image has a small dark spot in the corner. I cleaned the sensor, just in case. Still there. Plus bought a lens cap and UV filter, but that's not an issue.

I wrote to the seller and asked to return it. "We don't do returns" I wrote back and said, you auction didn't say as is, didn't say no returns and didn't mention the scratch on the front element. He wrote back, "I never had a single problem with the pictures I took." (in other words, he knew it was scratched!)

I wrote and said I'd accept a partial refund. He wrote and said, he didn't offer a refund and I was trying to scam him. (go figure that?) He said he was going to give me a negative, and report me to eBay. WHAT? I paid in less than 12 hours, with PayPal.

I filed a return request with eBay and PayPal. He refused and it went to PayPal for review.

Now someone tell me how I'm scamming him, because he didn't disclose the scratch on the front element of the lens?

All I was really asking for was the guy to admit that he sold the lens, knowing it was scratched. Now I'm beyond that. He can try to sell it with an honest description and get half of the $325 that I paid.

New eBayer, he needs to learn that it's not a dump site and you can't sell damaged equipment without telling people.

 

[Ranger]

I agree with you RacePhoto, some new people to ebay dont know what they are doing. Sorry to hear about your lens, have you tried to put in a PayPal dispute? May help you get your money back.

 

[reshp1]

The only thing with the 2000+ power sellers on ebay is a lot of them are either pawn shops or dedicated ebayers (you know, the "bring us your crap and we'll sell it on ebay for you for 50% commission" guys). They are generally very reputable, but the thing is they don't know squat about cameras and the item descriptions are often based on the people they got the item from. (I'm actually speaking on experience buying music equipment but I'm sure the same applies here). I usually won't buy high price stuff on ebay unless they actually are familiar with the products they are selling.