Year-end scammers

[frankz]

Just as a reminder to all - there are websites with some fantastic pricing on

EOS 5D bodies and other Canon candy.

 

Before you get too far into your dreaming and drooling, check the prices of

their accessories such as batteries and CF cards before getting too carried

away with your new-found "bargain".

 

You'll see CF 2 gig cards "on sale" for $189.00 - $250.00 and BP-511 batteries

for $139.00. That's your first clue.

 

If you order, they'll wait for you to get impatient and call them, citing a

phony need for verification of something. If you haven't yet changed your order

to a more expensive option that will be offered during the "verification"

process, you'll wait again, call, and have to "verify" something else that's

already been given to them and listen to another high-pressure sales talk.

 

I did this recently just for grins (Best Price Cameras, New York). There are

other sites out of New York that are virtually identical in appearance, and I

suspect the different phone numbers all lead to the same boiler room.

 

Bottom line - You're told the $849.00 - $1149.00 5D (pricing changes daily,

supposedly due to market conditions like oil) is plastic (polycarbonate, even

though noplastic 5Ds have never been made by Canon) and gray market with a

store "warrantee" only. Rest assured your order will be "verified" snd delayed

many times until you concede and order the magnesium body out of frustration

for a more realistic price.

 

But it gets better - once your all stoked about the new camera, you find out

about the $28 "fondling fee", and the 7% shipping charge. In the case of my

particular order, which I never had any intent to finalize, the total to ship a

5D and battery grip was $196.00. The scammers are getting more greedy every

year.

 

Of course, after hearing the add-on charges, I told him to cancel the order and

was immediately hung up on.

 

The routine hasn't changed for many years no doubt because of its success,

preying on those who think they can get something for nothing.

 

Thought I'd relate the experience here for those who might be considering doing

business with these crooks. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

 

It's Christmas time and the scammers are out in force - guard your credit cards

and posterior and buy only from reputable dealers.

[bobatkins]

I wrote this for photo.net in 2003:

 

http://www.photo.net/equipment/caveat_emptor.html

 

It's still valid!

 

See also http://www.bobatkins.com/photography/photo_stores_2006.html

[William Kahn]

And resellerratings.com is still your friend.....

[images_in_light_north_west]

Didn't Darwin cover this ?

[akajohndoe]

No, not Charles Darwin; rather, P.T. Barnum.

[pkallos]

Funny, I was selling a used 30D, and this guy was telling me my price was too high because he could get a new one with lens for $500 from a certain company.

 

So I check out his link, and then go to reseller ratings, and the company got a 1.5 out of 10 rating, and everyone was saying classic bait and switch.

 

Anyway, after informing him of this and to watch out, he proceeds to say it's a great deal and he was getting it from them anyway.

 

That's how these people stay in business!

[ron31664876659]

Best price I have found this year on Canon 40D is with Ritz camera. Same as everybody else, except no state sales tax and no shipping charges. Recieved within three days of placing the order.

[phyrpowr]

Interesting aside, today read an editorial in a camera mag on this topic, "Beware of the scammers, too good to be true means just that, check resellerratings, etc."

 

The mag was Popular Photography

[thomas_hardy1]

I buy from B&H, and Adorama. I sometimes buy from Amazon, but I've noticed that some of their equipment is sent from stores that I don't trust so much.

[akajohndoe]

I usually buy locally or through B&H. I noticed that the most recent order I made was through Amazon was via a less than trusted reseller; however, it worked out OK, and I paid $30 less.

[erinfreeman]

Frank, the same thing happened to my husband with that company! We ended up buying through them (he did, it was my Christmas present, 40D). He ordered the camera and thought everything was done when he recieved an e-mail saying to call the company (a certain salesguy). He called them back, and they said the camera didn't come with a battery or a battery charger. Just the body and the lens. Then my husband told me about all the stuff, or should I say crap, the sales guy said to him. I took a couple notes, then did some researching of my own(I'm in sales and marketing, so right away I smelled a rat). It was insane how much BULL the salesguy was full of! He said the same thing about the polycarbonate vs. magnesium bodies, and that all the other places selling cameras were selling the polycarbonate body. Also, he told him about a "better" "high-speed" lens than the one that actually came with the camera, and it was listed on the website for $799. Everywhere else the lens is NOT listed as "high speed" and costs around $150-200! I started checking into some other prices on the website, and some of the lenses were jacked up to insane prices, and the accessories were CRAZY! Over $200 for a 3-pack of lenses? Oh, that's because it comes with a carrying case... WHAT? We did buy through them, and my husband insists he got a good deal, even after I told him all the info I found out, so I'm still happy with it. But I'm definitely going to be leary of everything they have to say. And this is a warning to others as well, beware the bull!

[erinfreeman]

Oh, and I just looked this up:

 

http://search.newyork.bbb.org/reports.aspx?pid=44&page=1&id=12668