Would you buy a pro camcorder from eBay?

Ervin Farkas · December 13th, 2010, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wesley Cardone

Things sell for too much on eBay. I have bid on a lot of things but only won a few auctions. I just can't believe the high prices people pay for things there.

eBay is a market place, and prices are established by demand. On free markets, the real market price is whatever buyers are willing to pay for the goods.

It used to be a dubious place, but now it's much better, since eBay changed their feedback requirements. Before, it was left to the two parties to work it out, and often times the seller did not leave a positive feedback until the buyer left a positive one - this practically forced any buyer who cared about his rating, to leave positive feedback, regardless of the quality of the purchased product. Now the seller MUST leave positive feedback the moment he receives the money, and this is fair, since the buyer's only obligation is to send the money.

I bouth a used car on eBay, without seeing it - and not a $500 junk, but a decent $6500 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Checked out the sellers feedback, and all turned out good, used that car for over three years with no problems.

Dave Blackhurst · December 13th, 2010, 01:17 PM

Ervin -

Normally I wouldn't comment, but perpetuating a MYTH (actually an absolutely FALSE statement) using wording that makes it seem true is irresponsible.

The statement "Now the seller MUST leave positive feedback the moment he receives the money, and this is fair, since the buyer's only obligation is to send the money" is both false and irresponsible, and has caused MUCH degradation of the eBay "marketplace" as it's impossible for sellers to "mark" scammers to warn others, meaning scam buyers have run amok.... there are LOTS of things a "buyer" can do after sending the money, including filing false claims of non-receipt...

Thus there ISN't as much "high end" gear showing up on eBay - too many sellers have been burned because of eBay's "the buyer is ALWAYS right, even if they are a theif, crook, scammer, or lying scumbag" policy. Many sellers now say "don't sell it on eBy if you can't afford to lose it", and many good ones are GONE, in part due to "bad buyers" with a sense of entitlement (including "feedback upon payment, or I'll neg you"). I've had more than one "bad buyer experiences" since eBay got all "buyer friendly, so I vet my buyers on the expensive stuff, PERIOD.

Feedback is VOLUNTARY (for BOTH sides of the transaction). As a seller I don't leave it till my buyer has their purchase in hand and has confirmed satisfaction. As a buyer, I leave feedback when I've inspected my purchase, and am satisfied - leaving "5 stars", because anything less makes it likely the seller will be another victim in the now monthly eBay "purges" (I had a competitor buy a small item just so they could leave "4 stars", knowing it would sink my ratings!! EBay caught and removed it, but still...). If I can't leave 100% positive, I simply don't! In the few and rare cases I found a counterparty unpleasant, I'll refrain from comment - unless they are a "special case".

Shopping ANYWHERE one needs to use their head, you can end up ripped off by a server with a Credit Card skimmer at a local restaurant...

EBay DOES have strong buyer protections as long as you follow the rules, I've only been "burned" a couple times (not since the new policies have been in place, and on small items), on bigger purchases they generally back you, but use a Credit card as well for "double protection", just in case you missed one of the "rules".

Unfortunately, the selection on eBay is NOT what it used to be, as they've made being a seller an absolute nightmare, and the range of sellers (like people who are honest and just want to sell their good used gear) has dwindled significantly with policies like 21 day holds on payments, one way feedback (buyer can neg if they had a bad case of indigestion, seller is screwed), and all sorts of ways that scammers can "work" eBay.

Plus they've recently made changes that have really collapsed prices, making it hard to sell ANYTHING at a decent price, it's all about "the cheapest price", not quality or a customer relationship. I'm cheap too, but I prefer to have a "relationship" and deliver quality, not be the guy in the raincoat offering "the cheapest price anywhere"...

I should also note that having low or no feedback (in other words you're "new") may get you all sorts of trouble - as a seller, you're a "scam magnet", as a buyer if you do somthing just plain dumb, like send a money order to a scammer in Nigeria or a bank wire to Romania, they won't "have your back"...

EBay is a marvelous resource for those of us not lucky enough to live near ANY brick and mortar stores of any consequence... with many unique, hard to find, and sometimes one of a kind "toys", but like anything else, you have to use it wisely, and know the ropes, not just waltz in and "buy the cheap Rolex" expecting the real deal. Or should I say the cheap MEMORY CARD... from HK/China... since that's the most commonly counterfeitted thing most of the DVi'er's might be in the market for!

Roy Alexander · December 14th, 2010, 06:01 PM

I have bought two HD camcorders from Ebay (Uk) and have had no problems at all. I pay by PAYPAL which gives some guarrantee in case of problems. You can usually tell by the sellers feedback if he is reliable. Without any feedback I wouldn't buy.

Cameron Poole · December 21st, 2010, 03:13 PM

Well Amazon are useless, there's no contact number for the sub dealers - procameradirect or provisualdirect, don't know how these two companies can expect any business when they can't pick up the phone.

Also just realized that I'm better off getting it back home in Asia anyway as the warranty won't be valid outside of the uk. Ah well, will have to do my nieces first xmas on my consumer cam. Bought what could be my last 3 pack of mini DV's today.

Anyway I'm rambling, merry xmas folks.

December 13th, 2010, 01:17 PM	#17
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Ervin - Normally I wouldn't comment, but perpetuating a MYTH (actually an absolutely FALSE statement) using wording that makes it seem true is irresponsible. The statement "Now the seller MUST leave positive feedback the moment he receives the money, and this is fair, since the buyer's only obligation is to send the money" is both false and irresponsible, and has caused MUCH degradation of the eBay "marketplace" as it's impossible for sellers to "mark" scammers to warn others, meaning scam buyers have run amok.... there are LOTS of things a "buyer" can do after sending the money, including filing false claims of non-receipt... Thus there ISN't as much "high end" gear showing up on eBay - too many sellers have been burned because of eBay's "the buyer is ALWAYS right, even if they are a theif, crook, scammer, or lying scumbag" policy. Many sellers now say "don't sell it on eBy if you can't afford to lose it", and many good ones are GONE, in part due to "bad buyers" with a sense of entitlement (including "feedback upon payment, or I'll neg you"). I've had more than one "bad buyer experiences" since eBay got all "buyer friendly, so I vet my buyers on the expensive stuff, PERIOD. Feedback is VOLUNTARY (for BOTH sides of the transaction). As a seller I don't leave it till my buyer has their purchase in hand and has confirmed satisfaction. As a buyer, I leave feedback when I've inspected my purchase, and am satisfied - leaving "5 stars", because anything less makes it likely the seller will be another victim in the now monthly eBay "purges" (I had a competitor buy a small item just so they could leave "4 stars", knowing it would sink my ratings!! EBay caught and removed it, but still...). If I can't leave 100% positive, I simply don't! In the few and rare cases I found a counterparty unpleasant, I'll refrain from comment - unless they are a "special case". Shopping ANYWHERE one needs to use their head, you can end up ripped off by a server with a Credit Card skimmer at a local restaurant... EBay DOES have strong buyer protections as long as you follow the rules, I've only been "burned" a couple times (not since the new policies have been in place, and on small items), on bigger purchases they generally back you, but use a Credit card as well for "double protection", just in case you missed one of the "rules". Unfortunately, the selection on eBay is NOT what it used to be, as they've made being a seller an absolute nightmare, and the range of sellers (like people who are honest and just want to sell their good used gear) has dwindled significantly with policies like 21 day holds on payments, one way feedback (buyer can neg if they had a bad case of indigestion, seller is screwed), and all sorts of ways that scammers can "work" eBay. Plus they've recently made changes that have really collapsed prices, making it hard to sell ANYTHING at a decent price, it's all about "the cheapest price", not quality or a customer relationship. I'm cheap too, but I prefer to have a "relationship" and deliver quality, not be the guy in the raincoat offering "the cheapest price anywhere"... I should also note that having low or no feedback (in other words you're "new") may get you all sorts of trouble - as a seller, you're a "scam magnet", as a buyer if you do somthing just plain dumb, like send a money order to a scammer in Nigeria or a bank wire to Romania, they won't "have your back"... EBay is a marvelous resource for those of us not lucky enough to live near ANY brick and mortar stores of any consequence... with many unique, hard to find, and sometimes one of a kind "toys", but like anything else, you have to use it wisely, and know the ropes, not just waltz in and "buy the cheap Rolex" expecting the real deal. Or should I say the cheap MEMORY CARD... from HK/China... since that's the most commonly counterfeitted thing most of the DVi'er's might be in the market for!

December 14th, 2010, 06:01 PM	#18
Roy Alexander Major Player Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 354	I have bought two HD camcorders from Ebay (Uk) and have had no problems at all. I pay by PAYPAL which gives some guarrantee in case of problems. You can usually tell by the sellers feedback if he is reliable. Without any feedback I wouldn't buy.

December 21st, 2010, 03:13 PM	#19
Cameron Poole Major Player Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: London Posts: 212	Well Amazon are useless, there's no contact number for the sub dealers - procameradirect or provisualdirect, don't know how these two companies can expect any business when they can't pick up the phone. Also just realized that I'm better off getting it back home in Asia anyway as the warranty won't be valid outside of the uk. Ah well, will have to do my nieces first xmas on my consumer cam. Bought what could be my last 3 pack of mini DV's today. Anyway I'm rambling, merry xmas folks.