P2 Card Purchased on eBay, Question..

NC17z

NC17z

Well-known member
I purchased a 32 Gig P2 Card off eBay for $980.00
It was described as Open Box, never used... however, It looked very used as well as had all the serial numbers removed with a Dremel Tool.... (I have a feeling it may have been stolen)... He claims he bought them from a re-seller.

The card seems to work fine however, do you think I'm going to run into problems in the future?
I've never had an error on a P2 Card yet. Has anyone else had problems with the P2 card malfunctioning and had to send it back to Panasonic?
Thanks in advance for any advice,
Len
 
p2 cards are build like tanks, I have done my fair of abuse to them and they hold up like true champs, now as far as the serial being scratched off,
based on the description of the auction, you have grounds to return it and get your money back since the seller is lying and in reality it has been open and used, for the amount you paid its a hell of a deal and if its working fine dont worry, the only potential problem I see in the future is when it comes time to sell it, your buyer is going to ask why is the serial scratched off and you tell them the truth " I bought it on ebay but it works like a champ" its not a gun you know :)
 
Serial Number scratched off , Yikees,
I'd guess it's Stolen property for sure, was the seller wearing a Big trench coat, did he have a receipt from the so-called re seller.
If you ever have trouble with it down the track, no doubt Panasonic will not want to know.
I bet someone may read this thread who has had a 32gig stolen and just chime in...

Tom K
olinevideo.com.au
 
ehhhh, I'd try to return it and get your money back if you can. Tell the seller that you ended up not needing it or something, and don't even mention why you're actually returning it.
 
totally sounds sketch to me -- no serial = stolen right off a set. i'm sure it happens a bunch with these cards! but also sure it will work fine though, they are super rugged.
just too bad you got a hot one.
 
This situation brings a question to mind, Can the cards "Serial Number" be found/recognized electronically/internall. Is there some software from Panasonic out there that will do the task, Device & Vendor ID are the only ones I can see on my Mac.

cheers
TomK
olinevideo.com.au
 
Personally I would not have put on a forum that you've mostly likely received stolen goods...

In Oz it's an offense to be in possession of stolen equip...

Maybe the moderator could delete the thread for you...

Just my 2c

Cheers
 
Actually the serial number can be found electronically, so whoever scratched off the serial number really fails to understand P2, thus I too would bet it is stolen property. If you want to know the serial number of the card, boot up P2 viewer, P2CMS. Record a clip on the card and alook at the Metadata on the clip, you must do this while the clip is still on the card. The serial number of the card will be there prior to transfer.

Not sure which advice to give here as not all cards that are stolen are reported. For whatever reason, some people do not copy down their serial numbers. You could send me a PM with the serial number and I can check with the worldwide cache of stolen numbers and see if it is there, and if it is, I would send it back to the guy. Heck we had two card stolen from the Panaosnic booth and we had them wired down. I had another one stolen in a quick distracted moment where one guy was looking at the card, and another guy came up and asked a question. Stolen cards happen all the time. In neither of these cases could I tell you what the serial number was of those two cards. Doesn't make them less stolen.

It is stuff like this that makes me leary of buying electronics on eBay.

Best,

Jan

Best,

Jan
 
Please do not delete this thread, This is not OZ. This is only my opinion that it may be stolen. I have no proof that it has been stolen. I asked the forum about P2 cards malfunctioning.
If anyone thinks that they have purchased P2 cards from this guy and would like bundled assistanced in the event things go sour, just send me a PM. There were Three other P2 cards sold on this auction. He's offered to give me a refund onceI return the goods.
 
I PMd Jan with the Serial Number. If anyone wants to verify serial numbers let me know. I'm here to help the community anyway I can. The card was shipped out of Chicago, IL last week.
 
Good Info Jan,
we have all learned something from this issue.
I suppose the sheer cost of the cards will make them good value on the street. more value than most vital organs, (sorry, could't help myself)

Cheers
Tom K
olinevideo.com.au
 
good that youd be willing to help return the card NC17z! yeah, you'd be out the money you spent but i have always found that if you do the right thing your "karmic account" will be credited and somewhere down the line, the favor will be returned to you.

cheers
 
Well, I think there are several lessons here. First no one has reported this card as being stolen. Keep in mind though that many people have come into Solid State with a tape mentality and thus do not think about their media having a serial number, thus never record it. So lesson #1, record your serial numbers on your card. Put them on your insurance. Report them to Panasonic if they are stolen.

Lesson #2 there is a market in stolen cards and this is why. I mean I would have jumped at a chance to buy a 32GB card at $900. This is below my cost. So if they didn't pay for it, they just made $900. Nice money from a distance. Now it might be that this card was just used, used well and then sold, also a possiblity, since we do not know for sure its origins and we certainly don't want to strictly assume that it was stolen, it may not have been, just be careful with your cards out there because there is a market for them.

And kudos for NC17z for wanting to do the right thing. For what it worth we would have helped you on this one. Enjoy the new property, it should last you a long time.

All the best,

Jan
 
Yeah, if you want to sell the card for 900.00, let me know.
As long as they are like gold, there is going to be black market for them.:Drogar-Love(DBG):
 
I would turn him in to the police, put a note in the sellers BIO, and not take pride in the great deal at someone's loss.
I could be wrong about it being stolen, but nobody has yet thought of a legit reason for grinding off the serial number or selling it so far below cost.

The fact that you likely won't get caught isn't the issue. The fact that you are enabling a thief is.

Of course this is just my humble opinion and I can understand the desire to get such a great deal. But busting this guy today just might help you some day. Even if it's just in the afterlife! :beer:
 
Hi Ted,

You can't tuirn him into the police as there is no proof that the card is stolen. We checked the serial number it isn't listed as being stolen. The only thing sthe buyer can do is to give the guy a bad score on ebay or return it.

Nest,

Jan
 
Jan_Crittenden said:
Hi Ted,

You can't tuirn him into the police as there is no proof that the card is stolen. We checked the serial number it isn't listed as being stolen. The only thing sthe buyer can do is to give the guy a bad score on ebay or return it.
Nest,
Jan
Click to expand...

OR, you could ask him if he has anymore and buy them too ?.

Cheers
Tom K
 
There is a crime ring based in Chicago that deals in stolen AV merchandise purchase with skimmed credit card numbers that they resell on Ebay.

A couple of years ago this group was targeting resellers for JVC GY-HD110s. They'd make a purchase with a stolen credit card, ship it to a "business office" which turns out to be a run down apartment with a homeless guy set up to sign for deliveries.

The cameras then get resold on Ebay at really low prices with a relatively new ID.

We learned out lesson and only ship to the credit billing address.

We eventually got our GY-HD110 camera body returned to us by JVC Service when an Ebay buyer sent the camera in for a firmware update. Never got the VF or lens. We had reported the serial # as stolen to JVC.

There was absolutely no interest on the part of the police in Chicago or here in Austin in doing any investigative work. No one cares.

Buyer and Seller Beware.




NC17z said:
I PMd Jan with the Serial Number. If anyone wants to verify serial numbers let me know. I'm here to help the community anyway I can. The card was shipped out of Chicago, IL last week.
Click to expand...
 
If it works fine, I'd keep it. And not just because it was a really good deal.

Anyone willing to knowingly sell something stolen is very unlikely to actually give you a refund. He'd just as soon have you return it, and then sell it to somebody else and make even more.

On the other hand, let's assume that maybe the user you bought this from is someone else like you -- he'd bought it online and then discovered that it was probably stolen when he got it. Except in his case, the seller just disappeared, so there is no one to return it to. He would be faced with two choices -- 1) keep it and have his employees think he steals P2 cards (or at least buys stolen ones) or 2) Try to get his money back by selling it. If he chooses the later, he couldn't possibly mention the scratched off serial number in the eBay auction, or they'd yank it down. If this is the case, he *might* refund your money, but he could just as easily send it back to you, claiming that you were the one that scracthed off that serial...


It's still pretty unethical to withhold that info, regardless of his situation, so I'd give him negative feedback either way. But sending it back seems like asking to lose your money.

Just my 2 cents.
 
Hi everyone,
Well, I sent the P2 Card back requesting a full refund from the seller on eBay. He agreed that when he received the card vial UPS (Signature Required) he would refund me the full amount of the purchase. He has issued me a refund via Paypal however it has been pending for nearly three days. ( this could mean a number of things, insufficient funds most likely) Since this incident all of his listings have closed and he hasn't re-listed anything. I'll keep everyone posted if I ever see the money.
 
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