 BetterPhoto Member |
buying digital equipment on ebay I was just looking for opinions on purchasing digital cameras through ebay or other similar sites, do you think it's worth the time and the risk? I am in between on the subject.
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Pete H |
Hi Janine, Just do your research....Look at the sellers feedback. If you see a lot of negative, move on. I have purchased from a company called "Cameta Camera" and never had a prob..They are reputable.
Pete
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Paul Tobeck |
Be very cautious if buying a camera on ebay. Closely scrutinize any individual seller by going through all of their feedback. Any negatives at all are an area of concern. Be sure that the seller offers "Buyers Protection". If the place you are looking at is a retailer, you can check out their rating online by doing a google search. There are some good guys on ebay, but a lot more unsrupulous types that'll pull the old bait and switch routine, or not sell you a complete camera and try and "upsell" you the batteries and other stuff that should come with camera already. There are some great deals on ebay, just educate yourself before jumping in.
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Debby A. Tabb |
Dear Janine, I have had no troubles dealing on ebay. I bought my D70 from Digicorp: they offer some good prices, but do not seem to hold each auction as listed , so you may get backorders at times. they tend to be SOOO busy shipping is slow. The Fugi S2: was a personal camera I purchased and has proven a great deal! I just bought the D200 from Cameta Camera and WOW!! they were fantastic! they hold every auction as a sale, so it IS there waiting to be shipped. It went out the next day, everything was there and they have great coustomer incentives for future purchases, tell Bill A. I sent ya. I hope this helps Debby here is a link to there listings on ebay, from there you can get to there store: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZcametaauctionsQQhtZ-1
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BetterPhoto Member |
Thank you for your opinions, I will do my research. I was looking at a cannon eos 1D through cameta camera..so I think im on the right track. Again thank you for the suggestions, its greatley appreciated. Janine Debby thanks for the link.
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Mark Feldstein |
I've said this before and I'll mention it again. Unless you really know what you're looking for and what questions to ask the seller, including who honors the warranties, whether they actually have an item in stock and whether it's sold with all the manufacturer-included accessories, then buy your equipment from a reputable online dealer like B&Hphotovideo.com. Yes, you may pay a couple of bucks more, but at least you'll be sure to get what you pay for. The fact an e-bay dealer is back-ordered, to me at least, indicates they won't order an item until they've sold it. That's a disreputable practice unless they tell you in advance. My understanding of e-bay seller rules is they are supposed to have an item in their possession BEFORE listing it for sale. That's what an auction is all about. And...if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. As Pete said, some e-bay sellers (or other online dealers) remove manufacturer supplied accessories that are provided with new goods, including things like straps, caps, batteries, cases, etc., and offer them for sale separately. Some e-bay sellers jack up the low costs with exhorbitant shipping costs. Some try to sell you models that aren't made any longer but their model number is strikingly close to the newer model numbers that they're easily confused so you think you're getting one instead of the older one. Pete is absolutely right about the old bait and switch routine. And, if you get a seller who says they're out of stock on an item, either don't get into or bail out of the deal. It's your right. BTW, an auction IS a sale. E-bay is an auction house and basically provides only the electronic building for the sellers to work out of. E-bay, pay pal, even your credit card companies can't be held responsible if a merchant defrauds you. The e-bay rules require their sellers who are auctioning a particular item to actually HAVE the item in their possession. An online store isn't however. But like I said, unless you really know what you're doing, don't make large purchases on e-bay, especially photo equipment, particularly lights and cameras. E-bay seller feedback is pretty meaningless these days. Nowadays when a deal goes sour, a disreputable seller often refuses to refund purchase prices unless first receiving positive feedback from the buyer in order to try and keep their sales rep. clean. Pretty sleazy eh? And that's MY story and I'm sticking to it. Whew !!!! Take it light.
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anonymous A. |
I'm a committed eBayer. I have purchased literally thousands of dollars worth of photo, musical instrument and computer equipment on eBay and saved an great eal of money in the process. I have also been able to locate equipment I just couldn't get elsewhere. My most recent purchase was this week: a carbon fiber tripod $300 below anything I could find elsewhere in stores or on-line. I am in Australia, and I regularly buy items that are sourced in the UK, USA, Hong Kong and locally. This purchase arived from the USA 7 days after I ordered it. Protect yourself through eBay's buyers protection program, use PayPal (another layer of protection) or a creit card company with an explicit on-line purchase protection policy (like Amex). On the 2 occasions that I have had a problem with a delivery, it was sorted out speedily ~ one company sent an angle viewfinder which didn't arive within the anticipated week: I e-mailed, they sent an immediate refund Recreditted my Paypal accunt) with a request that, if the item turned up late, I would notify them. The other item was a private sale: alaptop computer which arived without the advertised DVD burver. One phone call and one email to the seller with a note that, although I was sure it was only an oversight, I had cc:'d the email to eBay and the missing article was delivered with an apology and a refund of the shipping fee for the computer. I know there are dubious dealers out there, but in 4 years, I have had nothing but good deals, good service and as for the "couple of bucks" you might save, well...$800 on a Canon D20, $400 on a Minolta Z6 for my wife, $350 on a Panasonic Lumix FZ10 (all new gear in original boxes, all under manufacturers' warranty) $70 per battery for my EOS and Panasonics (multiply by 9, because that's how many I bought).... etc. etc.
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