Camera Paradise - Trustworthy?


checkmate007

New Member
Nov 24, 2013
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Hey!

It's great to be one of you now.

I was wondering if anyone here has purchased cameras from Camera Paradise
(I can't post a link yet - go to cameraparadise.com)

I am thinking about buying my D5200 or D7000 from the place near the end of this year.
Overall, the pricing and warranty, which is provided by the company itself, are attractive.
However, I do not know whether this company is trustworthy and safe as I would be spending $1000+.

Has anyone had experiences with this website before, or any opinions on this website?

Thanks.
 

Hey!

It's great to be one of you now.

I was wondering if anyone here has purchased cameras from Camera Paradise
(I can't post a link yet - go to cameraparadise.com)

I am thinking about buying my D5200 or D7000 from the place near the end of this year.
Overall, the pricing and warranty, which is provided by the company itself, are attractive.
However, I do not know whether this company is trustworthy and safe as I would be spending $1000+.

Has anyone had experiences with this website before, or any opinions on this website?

Thanks.

Is that an australia company?

http://www.productreview.com.au/p/camera-paradise.html
 


The Camera Paradise referred to in that link appears to be a HK-based company:

Office Address

603 Yee Kuk Ind. Ctr., 555 Yee Kuk St.,
Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon,
Hong Kong.

http://cameraparadise.com/contact-us.html

Based on the reviews on that site, looks like you'll be happy as long as you don't need to claim warranty – that seems to be the basis of the bulk of the complaints. My personal conclusion: proceed if the attractive prices are worth the trade-off with possible poorer after-sales support, which may lead to extended down-time without the use of the camera, or having your warranty claim possibly rejected. I'd take their warranty 'coverage' with a dose of skepticism and treat it just like purchasing other item that does not have international warranty.
 

Based on the reviews on that site, looks like you'll be happy as long as you don't need to claim warranty – that seems to be the basis of the bulk of the complaints.

Thanks for your reply, kandinsky.

I am wondering if the complaints were due to the limited coverage of the default "24-month warranty".
At first I was considering extending warranty to "3 Years Mack Diamond Warranty" that covers human damage as well (e.g. drops)

Do you think it will be worth the extra S$100-S$150?

Thanks
 

Compared to our own local parallel import shops? Hmmmm
 

Thanks for your reply, kandinsky.

I am wondering if the complaints were due to the limited coverage of the default "24-month warranty".
At first I was considering extending warranty to "3 Years Mack Diamond Warranty" that covers human damage as well (e.g. drops)

Do you think it will be worth the extra S$100-S$150?

Thanks

not worth it.

honestly all these are generally methods to entice u to spend more, and remember : warranty offered by the companies themselves are as good as how long they last or how good their after sales service are.

spend time on the T & Cs since u already bothered to read up on the website reviews:

I'm not comfortable with this line for example:
"For non-repairable products, CameraParadise.com shall not compensate Buyer with 100% value of the original purchase unit price. Please consider with the rate of depreciation".

I'll treat it as no warranty and compare prices to local parallel import sets for this case and if the warranty works in the way i hope it is, its a bonus.
 

Last edited:
Thanks for your reply, kandinsky.

I am wondering if the complaints were due to the limited coverage of the default "24-month warranty".
At first I was considering extending warranty to "3 Years Mack Diamond Warranty" that covers human damage as well (e.g. drops)

Do you think it will be worth the extra S$100-S$150?

Thanks

FYI, from a quick search, it appears that the "3 Years Mack Diamond Warranty" offered by US-based http://www.mackcam.com/ looks to be a form of 3rd-party service package. They consider their product a 'Service Contract'.

This service contract is not an insurance policy or a warranty.

http://www.mackcam.com/warranties/digital-cameras/

Have no experience with this. I'm not sure about how this service contract plays out for international customers. Do you have to ship it to US yourself? Or do you ship it to your dealer in HK and then they ship to US for you? Who pays for postage? How long will the process take? You have to ask Camera Paradise your questions. Use this opportunity to suss out their communication and see if it's something you're happy with.

I guess the thing that strikes me (again) is the possibility of extended downtime without your camera due to all the shipping/emailing back & forth. If that's something you can live with (in the event that you require some sort of servicing), proceed.
 

FYI, from a quick search, it appears that the "3 Years Mack Diamond Warranty" offered by US-based http://www.mackcam.com/ looks to be a form of 3rd-party service package. They consider their product a 'Service Contract'.



Have no experience with this. I'm not sure about how this service contract plays out for international customers. Do you have to ship it to US yourself? Or do you ship it to your dealer in HK and then they ship to US for you? Who pays for postage? How long will the process take? You have to ask Camera Paradise your questions. Use this opportunity to suss out their communication and see if it's something you're happy with.

I guess the thing that strikes me (again) is the possibility of extended downtime without your camera due to all the shipping/emailing back & forth. If that's something you can live with (in the event that you require some sort of servicing), proceed.

It depends on the terms stated in the contract/t&c.

But as far as I know, most will require you to pay for your own postage to wherever you need to send your camera for repairs.

Of course, you WILL have to factor the possibility that your parcel get lost in transit etc. Other unknown is whether the cost of the repairs will be fully reimbursed or not by the company.

But, IMO, it's best that you assume that there isn't warranty for the set you are buying. Simply too much hassle to get the warranty claimed. For sanity sake, I'll either get a local set with local warranty or simply just buy grey set without warranty and be prepared to pay for repairs out of pocket if it fails within the 1 year.
 

Thread should be in Consumer Corner!
 

I'd take their warranty 'coverage' with a dose of skepticism and treat it just like purchasing other item that does not have international warranty.

I'll treat it as no warranty and compare prices to local parallel import sets for this case and if the warranty works in the way i hope it is, its a bonus.

For sanity sake, I'll either get a local set with local warranty or simply just buy grey set without warranty and be prepared to pay for repairs out of pocket if it fails within the 1 year.

Looks like we're all on the same page. :cool:

checkmate007, hope you're getting the picture. Simply put, it's about priorities. If warranty coverage & convenience is most important to you, buy local. If you prefer to save $$ upfront (nothing wrong with that, a lot of us do go this route when we find a good deal), find the best deal you can get with a reputable retailer but have a realistic idea of what the tradeoffs are.
 

Looks like we're all on the same page. :cool:

checkmate007, hope you're getting the picture. Simply put, it's about priorities. If warranty coverage & convenience is most important to you, buy local. If you prefer to save $$ upfront (nothing wrong with that, a lot of us do go this route when we find a good deal), find the best deal you can get with a reputable retailer but have a realistic idea of what the tradeoffs are.

Thanks a lot for all your replies.

It seems like I'll have to forego the warranty and buy the set at the lower price.

On another hand, I will consider buying from a local parallel import shops as well since I am on a tight budget for now.
Do any of you have a suggestion on which websites/retailers are more reputable/well-known in Singapore?

Cheers
 

All the talk is about cheaper vs loss of warranty.

How much is the difference? Notice I didn't use the wide 'savings' as you're trading it in for the discount.

If you think its worth the difference, it's your bet and you will have to live by that decision.

If you feel that you can't live with throwing away your $1000 purchase because of no warranty cover, the answer is obvious.

Everyone else does not have skin in the game so their talk is cheap.

Only you can answer the question.

And please do not come back in the future griping about bad support from those companies, it can only be less than buying from the authorized retailers. You get what you pay.
 

If the TS is having doubts about buying from such a website then that itself should be a large enough warning not to proceed any further. Why bother taking such risks with buying from unproven operators? The savings is really not worth the worrying.

Purchasing a used copy from BnS would be much better given that one would be able to test till he/she's happy before parting with the hard-earned cash.
 

Ever considered flying to HK to buy the camera yourself?
 

I am pretty occupied with work and I barely have time to go overseas, especially if it is not for work.

If you are so busy, you should buy from real stores. Go in check the equipment, pay and be done. Got problem during warranty period, just bring to service centre and no hassle.

Don't waste time. Time is money.
 

I placed an order for a D7100 from Camera Paradise last Thursday morning and I received a call from them at around noon to confirm my order. They gave an estimate to ship my camera on Friday, but in fact they only shipped it from Hong Kong on Monday afternoon at 5:42pm. My D7100 was delivered on Wednesday at 11:14am. The delivery speed is impressive (via Toll Global Express).

I didn't opt for shipping insurance. The camera was bubble wrapped properly and the packaging was unscathed through the delivery process.

FYI, comparing prices with DD Electronics, Camera Paradise is only around $30 cheaper. Both of these online shops offer the cheapest prices, but as for warranty claims, only time will tell.
 

Generally if you buy at much lower price, there is a trade-off somewhere. At least this seller is not a shadowy one advertising using multiple nicknames.
If you can buy at much lower price and can still insist that there is no trade-off - that everything is as good as buying from the authorised retailers, then good for you.