Comments | slave_to_anime: (Money) Safe Camera Buying Guidelines

slave_to_anime

(Money) Safe Camera Buying Guidelines

Jun 05, 2009 14:53

Don't know if ziggybecket or kuronosho or me or anyone else has put up a post on this already. I'm sure people other than us have posted about this before. But since I've seen at least 3-4 people I know get burned or nearly get burned by this, including recently, I figured I'd better post about this and drill it in.

WHEN BUYING CAMERA EQUIPMENT ONLINE, YOU NEED TO ( Read more... )

shopping, money, serious posts, photogeekery, photography

Comments 19

ziggybecket June 5 2009, 23:43:53 UTC

Yah good points! I usually stick with amazon because of free shipping and no tax.

Also their return policy for defective items is often WAY better then the no-names which often charge a restocking fee, even if the camera arrives broken!

shiroin168 June 6 2009, 02:30:34 UTC

this is a great post about buying these kind of stuff online.

shiroin168 June 6 2009, 02:30:49 UTC

which reminds me i should really get that credit card....

furtech June 6 2009, 07:48:00 UTC

Another red flag:
If the seller/store insists on calling you to "confirm your order" watch out!

These companies create a number of sites under different names, but when you see a deal that is $50-100 below all the other companies, it's a come-on. When they call you back ("to confirm your order"), you will get a HARD SELL on stuff that you don't need (at high prices). They will imply that you are crazy or an idiot if you don't get these things (or that your camera -needs- these items because the battery it comes with is too weak). TOTAL SCAM! If you stick to your guns and say no to all the come-ons, they will suddenly discover that your item is out of stock!

I do want to add another company to your list:
www.Newegg.com

These guys are *great*! Their prices are competitive with other legit companies and their customer service is fantastic!

agentsakur9 June 9 2009, 17:40:13 UTC

What a 5D Mark II for $99.99? too good to be true? say it ain't so.

B&H Photo/Video - purchased a beginner's lens kit.

Adorama Camera - purchased backdrop Stand And Background paper

Amazon - Battery grip and second battery... external flash

ebay - 8GB and 16gb CF card

the Good guys - sort of online purchase... i purchased it online and picked up at a local store... came nicely discounted and with a whopping 512MB card.. you could fit about 50 8MP pics on it.. LOL about 10 in RAW.

oh and when researching your purchase... you can rent a camera for a day or two from some local camera stores.. here in San Diego we have three places i know you can rent from. they ask for deposit, so make sure you have a credit card handy. but renting a camera for a fraction of what you might spend on a camera might give you insight into what you're getting yourself into.