Would you buy a camera from an overseas seller?


mengwei11

New Member
Aug 3, 2010
136
0
0
There was one posting on the classifieds. The price was quite much lower than usual. Issue is he is in Europe.

Is there a safe way to transact? Paypal? Or is this confirmed scam?
 

There was one posting on the classifieds. The price was quite much lower than usual. Issue is he is in Europe.

Is there a safe way to transact? Paypal? Or is this confirmed scam?

If it's pay via western union, stay away from it. If it's too much lower, I rather you turn to the B&S section here...
 

SkyStrike said:
If it's pay via western union, stay away from it. If it's too much lower, I rather you turn to the B&S section here...

It is from the b&s section. But when a deal is too good to be true, it probably is?
 

It is from the b&s section. But when a deal is too good to be true, it probably is?

From the B&S section, if you can see the thing first, test on the spot, happy than pay. If cannot test, forget it.
 

There was one posting on the classifieds. The price was quite much lower than usual. Issue is he is in Europe.

Is there a safe way to transact? Paypal? Or is this confirmed scam?

I wouldn't deal on anything in the BnS unless its meetup, if I cannot check the goods, i'm not paying, especially for expensive items.
 

Any time when you have to transfer money first, before goods shipped from overseas, should be considered a scam until proven otherwise.
 

dont compete to be the sucker that is born today ... or tomorrow
 

Any time when you have to transfer money first, before goods shipped from overseas, should be considered a scam until proven otherwise.

That's unjustified generalizing.
When you buy from ebay you will have to buy upfront in almost all cases. Which seller would send his stuff around to globe without getting paid?
But I'd buy from ebay Germany without much hesitation if the seller's rating is good. The laws there (as they are the baseline of the contract in this case) are much more in your favour than here in SG. It helps to read the fine print.
 

Last edited:
Octarine said:
That's unjustified generalizing.
When you buy from ebay you will have to buy upfront in almost all cases. Which seller would send his stuff around to globe without getting paid?
But I'd buy from ebay Germany without much hesitation if the seller's rating is good. The laws there (as they are the baseline of the contract in this case) are much more in your favour than here in SG. It helps to read the fine print.

Actually, that was what I was asking him to do. Get it placed on eBay and we get it transacted thru pay pal. He said he just moved to the country and that would take time to set up bay account.

Oh well, I generally like to trust people, but I think this one smells tricky.
 

mengwei11 said:
Actually, that was what I was asking him to do. Get it placed on eBay and we get it transacted thru pay pal. He said he just moved to the country and that would take time to set up bay account.

Oh well, I generally like to trust people, but I think this one smells tricky.

Or you can use escrow service.

Anyway, if the guy ask you to send money via western union, it is most probably a scam.
 

I think I had saw 2 seller in B&S based in overseas, think the ad had been removed already. When I saw the price, was thinking to myself really so cheap? Email them and when I saw their reply that they base overseas, I just ignore the msg already. Don't feel safe even is it true.
 

99% of nigerian scammers use a UK-based number and address. It's a fake. The number is a simple re-routing service and the address can be anything.
 

huatman said:
I think I had saw 2 seller in B&S based in overseas, think the ad had been removed already. When I saw the price, was thinking to myself really so cheap? Email them and when I saw their reply that they base overseas, I just ignore the msg already. Don't feel safe even is it true.

Yes I think their thread has been removed. Hey thanks for the warning!!!!

Now my big qn is buy brand new or 2nd hand.
 

Now my big qn is buy brand new or 2nd hand.

You will have to answer this yourself. Everyone's comfort level for 2nd hand items are different. Also, you will have to balance out the adv and disadv of 2nd hand and weigh it against brand new sets.

Below are just some criteria to aid you in deciding... (you will have more)
- Cost, is the price difference worth the risk? (if let's say the brand new is $1k, the 2nd hand is $950, dun bother abt the 2nd hand, pay the extra bit and ease ur heart alittle)
- Uncertainty, was the item dropped/damaged before(AF mechanism damaged????)? got fungus (lowers IQ even if removed)? other issues(dirt & dust in the lens/body/sensors)? etc
- Warranty, no warranty = cost when need repairing. Some repairs can be VERY expensive...
- How do you feel abt the 2nd hand product? (If just looking at 2nd hand items makes your heart beats 3x more because of the above reasons, do yourself(heart) a favor and get a new one)

If you have decided to get a 2nd hand one, check out the sticky (Buying 2nd Hand Lens) http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/threads/311048-Buying-2nd-hand-lenses
 

mengwei11 said:
Yes I think their thread has been removed. Hey thanks for the warning!!!!

Now my big qn is buy brand new or 2nd hand.

If you want to get a new set, decide soon, there might be an increase in the price in the near future, it already started in hongkong.
 

If you want to get a new set, decide soon, there might be an increase in the price in the near future, it already started in hongkong.

And not only lens & cameras, even SD & Flash memory cards on the rise (and many more products)
 

spree86 said:
If you want to get a new set, decide soon, there might be an increase in the price in the near future, it already started in hongkong.

That's what I fear too... Ok 5d mk ii here I come
 

Yes I think their thread has been removed. Hey thanks for the warning!!!!

Now my big qn is buy brand new or 2nd hand.

Good thing you dodged a bullet.

Remember. If it looks like turd, smells like turd, then it is most probably turd. Don't try to taste it to see if it taste like turd. ;)
 

daredevil123 said:
Good thing you dodged a bullet.

Remember. If it looks like turd, smells like turd, then it is most probably turd. Don't try to taste it to see if it taste like turd. ;)

Ha ha. Thanks man!