GH1 Shipping Today! According to Panasonic Sales Rep

sunburst said:
sorry but LOL!
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It's ok...I knew it was a crapshoot going in. I'm going to call and chew them out today, see if I can get a refund on part of the order (3rd party battery that doesn't work -- the body came with the 1.1 upgrade already applied!), get American Express involved for anything that iBuy isn't willing to refund, file a complaint (To add to the hundreds they already have...but hey...) with the BBB, and then move on with my life. I'm just considering it a tiny tiny setback, more than offset by the fact that...well...I actually have a camera.

Funny thing is, last night I suspected it was PAL right when I opened it...so I spend like 20 minutes hurrying and taking a clip, bringing it over to my computer, and getting it into a program that will tell me the framerate. So then I'm looking right on the box, and it says "PAL" with no "NTSC" in sight.

I mean, the fact alone that it's a GH1 and not a G1, or a brick is pretty amazing I think. (Sorry Pappas!!)

Lastly, the fact that I'm getting better service from a Manhattan grey-market scam shop than I would have from Panasonic Direct really tells you something...
 
I went ahead and ordered one of the two that was listed on eBay. My June 22 Panasonic order now has had an entire full month, during which most of it the online status was "In Stock". Kind of fed up with them. I'm pretty sure however masonjersey doesn't actually have them either. And that battery definely won't work. Or it will end up being a gray market unit. But I've grown weary of waiting. At least canceling my Panasonic Direct order will make me feel better.

Pretty sure this is my first post. Hi, I've been lurking here for a bit mainly because of the GH1. I'm mostly a digital boy, Lightwave/After Effects/Vegas. Real cameras and I don't really have much of a history. But if I'm going to do some effect and green screen stuff I need something better than my DXG-559V (yes laugh, it is funny). I figured the GH1 would be a nice choice since it would let me play around with SLR-type camera AND HD video. I don't think I expected it to be so impossible to buy though.
 
Ah, a fellow 3D guy! I'm the TD guy at my company (mostly Houdini & Blender). Good luck with getting the camera, hope it works out with that nathan guy.
 
bought the first one from nathan. took a leap of faith. at least theres some strength in numbers here. if something happens we all have each other to back up our claims to paypal.
 
I'm really tempted but in the end I'm getting two GH1s so the markup between the two is around the same as waiting a few weeks and getting a couple of sweet lenses too. I really hope this guy comes through for ya'll
 
Thing I don't like about it is the "No money back... only exchange" part. I did think about it but I gotta just go with my instinct and hold off a bit longer. I'm stubborn as hell so that could just be it. Good luck peeps.
 
Mike@AF said:
I sent him a message through eBay asking what it was. Answer: "panasonic usa, ntsc"
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In the auction it shows USA warranty and USA 1080p. I'm sure it's not PAL. I messaged him about having these cameras on hand he said yes. It takes 3 days for Paypal to clear payment. I also read thru his ratings and feedback, seems legit. Keeping my finger cross but I'm sure most of us will have it next week.
 
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I looked thru that guy's history and current item for sale. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him, but only with the Bing 8% cashback going on.

I'm the same way - when I sell an expensive item, say $1500 and up, I usually wait until the funds is cleared in my bank account. I make exceptions based on buyer's FB history - I might ship the same day if I feel comfortable, but those high $ listings will always have the "ships in 3 days after bank transfer clears" statement. Even then I withdraw all the money immediately upon shipment. You can't be too safe or paranoid when dealing with Ebay and Paypal.

$1899 is reasonable after 8% cashback, and with the "extras" thrown in even though they're junk.

dojoman said:
In the auction it shows USA warranty and USA 1080p. I'm sure it's not PAL. I messaged him about having these cameras on hand he said yes. It takes 3 days for Paypal to clear payment. I also read thru his ratings and feedback, seems legit. Keeping my finger cross but I'm sure most of us will have it next week.
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dojoman said:
In the auction it shows USA warranty and USA 1080p. I'm sure it's not PAL. I messaged him about having these cameras on hand he said yes. It takes 3 days for Paypal to clear payment. I also read thru his ratings and feedback, seems legit. Keeping my finger cross but I'm sure most of us will have it next week.
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I'm just hoping that we don't have to start a new "got duped by a guy named nathan on ebay" thread. we'll have to start a support group if that happens.

pappas, you are free to join because, man, you need it.
 
josephj said:
I'm just hoping that we don't have to start a new "got duped by a guy named nathan on ebay" thread. we'll have to start a support group if that happens.

pappas, you are free to join because, man, you need it.
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Hopefully that's not the case. It probably won't make sense for him with thousands of good track record and dump it all just to scam on GH1. I did a little detective work and googled his 888 number. I found a thread similar to DVX where people were talking about Canon DSLR camera back in 95. A guy bought a camera from him, nothing but praises about packing and got the camera just like described. I'm not too worry.
 
Well I called and chewed out ibuydigital.com this morning. The particular agent I talked to today was actually the most pleasant one I've spoken to before. They are sending me a pre-paid label to return the PAL camera, and they will "supposedly" ship out a NTSC model.

She's also refunding for the battery.


I talked to her about the stock level "I can only go by what's in the system" and how she's going to ensure it's a NTSC camera "Well it would be foolish for us to ship you the wrong thing, especially this second time when we're paying the shipping"


So we'll see. I told her that I would be disputing it with American Express if it takes another 3 weeks to ship a NTSC model...


I think I mentioned it before, but honestly -- what kind of margins must they be getting for this to be profitable? In the end I'll end up having paid them the $1,499 MSRP, and for that they will have paid shipping 3 times, as well as paid around 2 hours long distance charges (for me to call their 800 number), and wages for me to talk to 5 or 6 agents. I suppose most people don't put up a stink, and they make way like bandits...but at least on my order the profit must be pretty thin.
 
dojoman said:
Already got an email from bing for $157 cashback. yes that's a lot of difference, I also got $37 ebay rewards.
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Is there a link to info on this? I recall bing described before but I wasn't sure what it was about and where that is now.
 
AMAZING! Amazon just wrote to tell me that I can now expect the GH1 on Sept 22nd !!!
How can this be possible? This is so unbelievable. If it really does take that long, I will have waited 4.5 months for that camera.
 
Don't know if this will help anyone... I ordered a GH1 through Henry's in Toronto on July 15th and got an email today telling me it would ship tomorrow. I just asked them if they have more in stock, so if they do, I'll let you know!
 
saaby - I ordered from dbuys.com which is the same company as ibuydigital.com. When I ordered I asked several times if it is the US camera he said yes. I then read your post and thought I better call them back. I just got off the phone and he said they only sell the US version. I explained apparently that is not so. I asked if it is PAL what is the return policy. He said I can return.

What you think? You think I ordered a PAL? Think I should cancel this order now? Damn it I think I may have fallen into this trap.
 
Nitsuj said:
saaby - I ordered from dbuys.com which is the same company as ibuydigital.com. When I ordered I asked several times if it is the US camera he said yes. I then read your post and thought I better call them back. I just got off the phone and he said they only sell the US version. I explained apparently that is not so. I asked if it is PAL what is the return policy. He said I can return.

What you think? You think I ordered a PAL? Think I should cancel this order now? Damn it I think I may have fallen into this trap.
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Well I don't know...it's all a scam. You'll probably end up with a PAL camera too. Did you buy it on your American Express? I figured I don't have anything to lose right now except time, and everyone else is waiting on their cameras too. If the 1/100 shutter speed was usable, I'd have kept it...but it's like strobe-fest. I just erased everything and put the camera away, but maybe I'll pull it out again and take a shot, just so you can see.

It's kind of an adventure for me at this point. An expensive one I guess, but I figured if nobody else tried this route...how would we ever know, right?

I should call them tomorrow and make sure they're not going to charge me the restock fee. Maybe I should call on that right now, actually. Well I will tomorrow...I've spent enough time on the phone with them today.


Part of me says "You're dreaming...they don't have the NTSC model. Nobody does." -- but in the pages and pages and pages of bad reviews on reseller ratings.com, I've seen them do things to accommodate people who whine, like in situations like this. It's almost like they don't want to be an outright 100% scam, but they want to try and get away with anything and everything they can...because most consumers will just sit and take it, so we'll see.
 
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