Buying Advice (General)

Robert M Wright · December 23rd, 2009, 03:23 PM

A better source than eBay, for used equipment, is this forum. The folks selling their gear here are mostly pros, or serious amateurs that tend to know what they are doing, and generally don't abuse gear like some of the stuff being sold on eBay (obviously, there's always exceptions).

Julia Camenisch · January 7th, 2010, 02:10 PM

There's some great advice here. Thanks. One final question: when would you advice buying new instead of buying used, or vice versa?

thanks.

Robert M Wright · January 7th, 2010, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julia Camenisch

There's some great advice here. Thanks. One final question: when would you advice buying new instead of buying used, or vice versa?

thanks.

Buying new (from a well established dealer with a good reputation) makes a lot of sense when you simply don't know much about what you are buying (lacking the fundamental knowledge/experience necessary to evaluate the condition of a piece of gear) or for folks that generally just tend to be easily taken in by scams. Warranties are another factor to consider, in some circumstances.

Mark Boyer · January 7th, 2010, 03:43 PM

If the camera has only 10 hours on the head then I buy it used.

When I buy tape or batteries I always buy new.

Like my old pappy used to say... Don't buy used toilet paper.

Andrew Smith · January 7th, 2010, 06:25 PM

For those of us who would make an overseas purchase, you would be tempted to use a credit card to pay due to the convenience factor. The issue here is that the currency conversion rate that you get on the transaction is up to the CC company, and you only learn of it when it is on your statement.

This won't be an issue on purchases worth a few hundred dollars or so, but when you get to $1000 or more it can potentially mean paying an extra $100.

For the higher amounts, it is worth investigating the use of a Telegraphic Transfer or a wire transfer for payment. For a small fee ($35 here in Oz) the money is transferred between the banks themselves and you get a much better currency exchange rate. Your money arrives in a few days and it's quite secure. This is how most international transactions are done.

You can have a cheque made out in a foreign currency such as USD, but you still have to post it to its destination. Posting from Australia to USA would take a week or two to get it to the destination, and then their bank needs to process it. The whole thing could take a while.

I've taken a quick look at Western Union etc in the past, and they're too expensive. Their niche of the market is for people who need to get the funds through urgently ... as in 15 minutes time.

Hope this helps.

Andrew

Shaun Roemich · January 7th, 2010, 10:47 PM

Further to Andrew's point (and at the risk of going off topic), purchasing with a credit card will also often give you an advocate IF the purchase turns out to be erroneous or misleading in some way. Visa is particularly well known for this.

Andrew Smith · January 7th, 2010, 11:11 PM

Unfortunately they are of no help when it came to "your conversion rate sucked".

Andrew :-)

January 7th, 2010, 10:47 PM	#21
Shaun Roemich Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia (formerly Winnipeg, Manitoba) Canada Posts: 4,088	Further to Andrew's point (and at the risk of going off topic), purchasing with a credit card will also often give you an advocate IF the purchase turns out to be erroneous or misleading in some way. Visa is particularly well known for this. __________________ Shaun C. Roemich Road Dog Media - Vancouver, BC - Videographer - Webcaster www.roaddogmedia.ca Blog: http://roaddogmedia.wordpress.com/

December 23rd, 2009, 03:23 PM	#16
Robert M Wright Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Minnesota (USA) Posts: 2,171	A better source than eBay, for used equipment, is this forum. The folks selling their gear here are mostly pros, or serious amateurs that tend to know what they are doing, and generally don't abuse gear like some of the stuff being sold on eBay (obviously, there's always exceptions).

January 7th, 2010, 02:10 PM	#17
Julia Camenisch Tourist Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 3	There's some great advice here. Thanks. One final question: when would you advice buying new instead of buying used, or vice versa? thanks.

January 7th, 2010, 03:43 PM	#19
Mark Boyer Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Bothell Washington Posts: 174	If the camera has only 10 hours on the head then I buy it used. When I buy tape or batteries I always buy new. Like my old pappy used to say... Don't buy used toilet paper.

January 7th, 2010, 06:25 PM	#20
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,065	For those of us who would make an overseas purchase, you would be tempted to use a credit card to pay due to the convenience factor. The issue here is that the currency conversion rate that you get on the transaction is up to the CC company, and you only learn of it when it is on your statement. This won't be an issue on purchases worth a few hundred dollars or so, but when you get to $1000 or more it can potentially mean paying an extra $100. For the higher amounts, it is worth investigating the use of a Telegraphic Transfer or a wire transfer for payment. For a small fee ($35 here in Oz) the money is transferred between the banks themselves and you get a much better currency exchange rate. Your money arrives in a few days and it's quite secure. This is how most international transactions are done. You can have a cheque made out in a foreign currency such as USD, but you still have to post it to its destination. Posting from Australia to USA would take a week or two to get it to the destination, and then their bank needs to process it. The whole thing could take a while. I've taken a quick look at Western Union etc in the past, and they're too expensive. Their niche of the market is for people who need to get the funds through urgently ... as in 15 minutes time. Hope this helps. Andrew

January 7th, 2010, 11:11 PM	#22
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,065	Unfortunately they are of no help when it came to "your conversion rate sucked". Andrew :-)