C300: Buying used camera on Ebay

D

DDirector

Veteran
I found one on EBay for a good price.
Assuming the bids don't go too high.

I've never purchased anything this expensive from EBay. Maybe some $300 lenses. Thats all.
Would you trust it?

And when buying a used the C300, what info should I be asking for? -- If not buying it in person like EBay.
How can I determine whether its good or not?
 
Last edited:
I've bought expensive items on Ebay before (lenses at over $10K) - but, you have to be careful.

But, a word of warning - if a deal looks too good to be true - it probably is!

I agree with Tim, if they don't take returns - forget it. You should really establish a dialogue with the seller. From their responses, you'll soon get a 'feel' for the deal.

In terms of getting a camera, you could be buying a brick... I'd really only look at cameras as new or a used one from a source that I trust (and have some comeback with). I don't know much about the C300, but I'd be wary of any 'super low' deals on Ebay, maybe a few $K's from list - any cheaper would sound alarm bells for me.

PS - I thought you were going down the Sony F55 route (or did you change to Epic?).
 
Looks apt the seller's feedback and how many sales they have . I generally won't buy from some one with less than99% positive feedback and more than 40 transactions also taking Into consideration the types of things seller has sold in the past.

Email the seller, and get a sense how responsive they are and how forthcoming they are with information. I generally won't buy from outside the US, though I have done that once and made a really good buy.

Conversely I have done a number of international sales and those have all been trouble free and everyone was satisfied with the transaction, but then again I don't mis represent what I sell or try to run scams.

eBay can be a great source of things you might like to get or need at a competitive price, you just need to know how to sniff out the seller and decide whether they are trustworthy or not.
 
I have bought and sold on Ebay and I wouldn't take a chance with something so fragile and expensive. I just sold my AF100 and lenses on it and if the buyer wanted to return it whereas I knew it was perfectly fine, well, there'd be some push back. I will buy non-electronics used but there is a danger that this camera was dropped, caught in the rain, etc. There has to be a reason they're selling and the stated one can never be trusted, just like a car. If it is a real company that has a brick and mortar presence and has a return guarantee you can trust, with LOTS of positive feedback and is based in the US, then perhaps it's worth it if you get a great deal off. But from an individual I wouldn't trust it. Besides, ignorant bidders will bid it up past where it is a good deal so your interest in it is a moot point. That's been my experience: idiots raise the bidding price.

If you have an issue on Ebay, say they won't take the camera back and you get into a pissing match regarding the escrow, I don't believe there's a way you can get a human in Ebay customer service to help you.
 
Is it USA or Canada seller? If you want to buy from USA make sure the seller is cool with you shipping it to alternate address, other than the one that is on your paypal, if you are not having it shipped to you in Canada.
 
Last edited:
I saw a C100 being sold at discount with a seller with very high ratings. (the guy also sold many other cameras in the same price range) Needless to say, I posted about it on these forums and sure enough it was some shady scam operation. The ebay posts disappeared soon after. I never figured out how they did that.
 
Ratings can be manipulated. I never buy from ebay. Especially with electronics, where something can go wrong. All of us have different levels of tolerance/adherence to ethics. With high priced items like C300, it is easier to deal with a seller in your own country.

The other challenge is the shipping cost, customs when shipped from another country and the paypal feels. Since I buy a lot of stuff from B&H, I am thinking that when I plan to sell off one of my C300s, I will send it to B&H directly. Has anyone here sold anything to the B&H used department?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top