eBay grey market EVA1 for 3779.19, a steal or appropriate?

Well, I know how we always try to imagine what the risks could be, and how it would play out... but in case you didn't check out the link to reviews on the seller earlier in this thread (here), here is a negative review that details a very plausible scenario of how a scam and/or poor service can bite you:

SCAM SCAM SCAM!
"HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! Ordered a camera on eBay. Stated it was in stock. The next day I received a tracking number stating it had been shipped overnight. 4 days went by and still didn't receive the item. Tracking still show that a label had only been created and nothing dropped off. I call the company only to be told that they are out of stock and that they won't get anymore in for roughly 4 more weeks. I try to cancel the transaction on eBay but because they have uploaded a tracking number already, I cannot cancel now. Even though it hasn't actually been shipped. I then tell them I want to cancel my transaction and they need to approve it. They then tell me they are going to charge me a 20% cancellation fee which is almost $400!!!!! They sold me an item that wasn't in stock. Uploaded false tracking to prevent cancellations. Then try to steal $400 of my money to approve the cancellation! I am now having to get eBay involved and dispute it with my bank. This is ridiculous!!!!!! STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE!!!!!! They sell stuff on eBay, Amazon, Overstock, and tons of other online markets."

Take it for what you will. But, if you do go for it, make sure you have a clear understanding of their return policies (and please, btw, follow up here with your experience for posterity!). Good luck!!!
 
Run&Gun said:
Yeah, the ulterior motive being you didn’t want to stay in a sh!t-box hotel...
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I didn't if it were one but ... as the MO on the internet, people are free to write bad reviews. So, even assuming that a one-star review isn't completely contrived, it's still one of many and you have to look at the bulk of the comments while being somewhat more ware of the potential pitfalls.

Side note - we wanted to leave the room to get something to eat but the electronic locks - newly installed - did not activate and the door remained open. We called the maintenance. The guy came in and fixed the lock. It cost us about 20 minutes of our time.

A year later, their breakfast room fell through the floor. Fortunately, there were no injuries, as it was off-hours. But the event did make the local papers.
 
I’ve bought a gray market lens from these people. In my case I called and was assured it was not gray market, but when it arrived it was. It was new and worked great otherwise, but be aware that they’re not an honest seller.
 
Everything comes from Japan; it's all the same (besides any specs if applicable).

Just the pieces of paper inside the box dictate the product's status in life.

Like a piece of paper on someone's wall.

You pay for both papers.
 
NorBro said:
Everything comes from Japan; it's all the same (besides any specs if applicable)...
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Years ago, a friend of mine was in Hong Kong on a pleasure trip (with his wife). He said he walked into a photo-video store and not a single salesperson volunteered to help him. In fact, they looked at him as a poor American, which he was not. But whom did they treat as valued customers? The Japanese tourists. Who were stopping by to purchase "cheap" Japanese equipment. To take back with them to Japan.

Newsguy said:
I’ve bought a gray market lens from these people. In my case I called and was assured it was not gray market, but when it arrived it was. It was new and worked great otherwise, but be aware that they’re not an honest seller.
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Just curious - how do you know it was "gray"?
 
Info

Info

Newsguy said:
I’ve bought a gray market lens from these people. In my case I called and was assured it was not gray market, but when it arrived it was. It was new and worked great otherwise, but be aware that they’re not an honest seller.
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I'm a high school teacher (TV production & filmmaking) and I will be purchasing 3 additional cameras starting next year for our film program. We currently use 3 DVX200s for for our TV productions but we need proper cinema cameras that can also be integrated into our live tv workflow (if possible). I've decided to get 2 EVA1s, and if the price of the LTs were to be discounted to 10k again next summer, 1 LT (if my budget allows). Downside of working for a public school (budgets are really tight).

I contacted 6th AVE about this listing, and they said that it is an import (grey market). We purchase everything from B&H, but I am tempted. This was part of their response and I asked about warranty/returns:

We offer a 1 year warranty on this item (90 days labor, 1 year for parts). Our return policy is 30 days; if you have trouble or do not like the item you can always return it

Thanks, Michael - Customer Support
Support, 6ave Express, 800-369-6239
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Carlos13 said:
I'm a high school teacher (TV production & filmmaking) and I will be purchasing 3 additional cameras starting next year for our film program. We currently use 3 DVX200s for for our TV productions but we need proper cinema cameras that can also be integrated into our live tv workflow (if possible). I've decided to get 2 EVA1s, and if the price of the LTs were to be discounted to 10k again next summer, 1 LT (if my budget allows). Downside of working for a public school (budgets are really tight).

I contacted 6th AVE about this listing, and they said that it is an import (grey market). We purchase everything from B&H, but I am tempted. This was part of their response and I asked about warranty/returns:
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I would think being a government institution(public school) you would have to buy through certain channels/vendors, especially for big ticket items like that.

And wow... Lucky kids. Considering buying an LT for a public school TV/“film” production program. That’s kind of crazy. And maybe a little overkill for HS kids. And something else to keep in mind, that $10K is just for the body. That $10K camera will be closer to $20K(and easily higher) by the time you put a VF on it, shoulder mount, media(cards), etc. And I don’t know what kind of existing support gear you have, but you can easily be adding another $2-$3k for batteries and charger and several more $K for a tripod system.

Not trying to rain on your parade or be negative, just wanting you to be aware that it’s not as inexpensive as it sounds. I ran the numbers for my needs a few weeks ago and on the low end I was over $23K($27K with enough cards to feel really comfortable), and I own all the necessary support gear already.
 
Run&Gun said:
I would think being a government institution(public school) you would have to buy through certain channels/vendors, especially for big ticket items like that.
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As I mentioned, we buy mostly through B&H (and Adorama).

Run&Gun said:
And wow... Lucky kids. Considering buying an LT for a public school TV/“film” production program.
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Another HS I know has Red Scarlets , so not that uncommon. The yearly budget for the last HS I worked for was 25-50k. Equipment can be purchased if planned properly.


Run&Gun said:
That $10K camera will be closer to $20K(and easily higher) by the time you put a VF on it, shoulder mount, media(cards), etc.
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Aware of this, but we already have equipment that can be used with the LT should we purchase it (lenses, Atomos Infernos, P2 cards etc). These are not the first Panys we've bought. Would just need the body.
 
Not sure which cards you have, but just FYI that old P2 cards may only work for 1080p (if that). expressP2 are the newer ones.

But yea...definitely don't need an extra $10K+ to use the camera even if you just bought the body and had nothing else.
 
Carlos13 said:
As I mentioned, we buy mostly through B&H (and Adorama).



Another HS I know has Red Scarlets , so not that uncommon. The yearly budget for the last HS I worked for was 25-50k. Equipment can be purchased if planned properly.




Aware of this, but we already have equipment that can be used with the LT should we purchase it (lenses, Atomos Infernos, P2 cards etc). These are not the first Panys we've bought. Would just need the body.
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That's awesome. I'm jealous. I'm around a lot of big Universities covering college sports and some of the production programs are top-notch and they have incredible equipment a their disposal: Amira's, RED's, VariCam's, etc... And I know of at least one that shoots film. That's definitely crazy at the high school level. Even though I had absolutely nothing to do with the (teeny tiny) TV program when I was in HS, it was nothing more than some consumer camcorders. Of course that was in the early-to-mid 90's... I'm not sure I'd want to be starting out now, with the way things are, but I wonder what it would have been like to have these kinds of tools at that age.
 
NorBro said:
Not sure which cards you have, but just FYI that old P2 cards may only work for 1080p (if that). expressP2 are the newer ones.

But yea...definitely don't need an extra $10K+ to use the camera even if you just bought the body and had nothing else.
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Of course my price-out is higher than their's was likely to be, because I included the PL adapter and a minimum of five P2E cards(my personal minimum). But if you had nothing but the body(the $10K special that's going on), you're not shooting anything. At the very least, you would want to go with something like a Zacuto EVF, so not $5400 like the Panasonic, but still about $2K plus cables. Several hundred minimum for a shoulder mount, if you don't go with Panasonics(which I'm not a huge fan of, anyway). I'd budget at least $1K for batteries and charger(on the low side). Several thousand for some P2E cards(least expensive is $1150 for a single 256GB), unless you stick to the resolutions, frame rates and codecs that an original P2 card can handle, you can pick-up a 60GB P2 for $495/each. If you're shooting on the shoulder and you don't have an ENG type lens, you're going to want some type of handle/grip(not top handle), even if you don't get the Panasonic control handle, so at least several hundred more for that. I could go on...

Anyway, my point was that it's never "just $10K"... Even if it's not gonna be "another $10K", it's not ready to shoot out of the box at $10K, unless you have all of that stuff just laying around. Even for someone like me who has a ton of support, it was still going to be a lot more to get the camera in ready-to-shoot condition, that met my requirements.

As someone who bought three VariCam's brand new(and still owns all of them), including two P2 versions, I think it's the cost of the new P2E media that gives a lot of people pause. Thankfully Sony(oddly enough) gave us a fully supported, cost effective solution to their (overly priced) SxS cards for the F55/5, via Sony XQD cards inside Sony SxS adapters.
 
You know the deal...just depends on the person.

Personally, I would skip the EVF and any support gear besides the tripod/monopod I already owned and would purchase the following:

2 batteries and a charger - $638.75 - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1131772-REG/dracast_dr_2x90a_1xch2a_2x_90a_a_b_mt.html

1 P2 card (transfer in the field on a MBP) - $1150 - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...c_auxp0256bg_256gb_expressp2_memory_card.html

Sigma 18-35mm (for 90% of my work) - $699 - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/967344-REG/sigma_18_35mm_f1_8_dc_hsm.html

My only concern would be power and I might have to get a third battery just to be safe...so $150 or so for an extra gold mount brick. I obviously also want some other lenses but they shouldn't be included in the price because then what's justifiable? I included one in the bundle because you need at least one.

Total cost of my package (without the third battery) including the camera: $12,482.75

___

Obviously we are at extreme ends of the spectrum, and I'm just showing a different perspective for someone who may only need the bare essentials.

I am familiar with your personal preference for shoulder-mounted systems with very good EVFs (and everything else), so the way I work would be completely impossible for you nor would you even want to entertain this approach, and vice versa.

___

Again, just totally want to make it clear that I of course understand many people do not have the time and/or luxury to charge batteries or dump footage, but I (and thousands of others like myself) do. So this is just another POV.
 
Forgot the card reader, ha.

So I'd add that too if the camera couldn't be used as one (IDK).
 
Seanik said:
Well, I know how we always try to imagine what the risks could be, and how it would play out... but in case you didn't check out the link to reviews on the seller earlier in this thread (here), here is a negative review that details a very plausible scenario of how a scam and/or poor service can bite you:

SCAM SCAM SCAM!
"HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE! Ordered a camera on eBay. Stated it was in stock. The next day I received a tracking number stating it had been shipped overnight. 4 days went by and still didn't receive the item. Tracking still show that a label had only been created and nothing dropped off. I call the company only to be told that they are out of stock and that they won't get anymore in for roughly 4 more weeks. I try to cancel the transaction on eBay but because they have uploaded a tracking number already, I cannot cancel now. Even though it hasn't actually been shipped. I then tell them I want to cancel my transaction and they need to approve it. They then tell me they are going to charge me a 20% cancellation fee which is almost $400!!!!! They sold me an item that wasn't in stock. Uploaded false tracking to prevent cancellations. Then try to steal $400 of my money to approve the cancellation! I am now having to get eBay involved and dispute it with my bank. This is ridiculous!!!!!! STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE!!!!!! They sell stuff on eBay, Amazon, Overstock, and tons of other online markets."

Take it for what you will. But, if you do go for it, make sure you have a clear understanding of their return policies (and please, btw, follow up here with your experience for posterity!). Good luck!!!
Click to expand...
We deal with various grey market companies all the time. When things go south on one of these sales people contact us not knowing that they’ve been screwed by someone we don’t deal with. When I say buyer beware, it’s because of stuff like this complaint. I hear this way too often. Really, if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is.
 
If you buy on Ebay - the products will be variable, you get minimal warranty, if any, and it's a gamble. My own rule on such purchases is simple - I only buy when I can afford to lose the money worst case. Most have been successful, but once I get to say two grand, then Ebay is a bad place to buy expensive kit.
 
paulears said:
If you buy on Ebay - the products will be variable, you get minimal warranty, if any, and it's a gamble. My own rule on such purchases is simple - I only buy when I can afford to lose the money worst case. Most have been successful, but once I get to say two grand, then Ebay is a bad place to buy expensive kit.
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I once bought a Gallardo on eBay. For about $6,000 new. I am pretty sure it had bike parts inside.
 
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