is it safe to buy professional camera from eBay ?

vilkovo

i looked at ebay offers and they are quite attractive, but not sure if its safe to buy from there ?

any ideas ?

Paulw

It depends who you buy from.

I have bought a good bit on ebay, but from sellers I know of, such as keaphoto and kerso.

vilkovo

thank you , will have a look ,

would they also give you 1 year guarantee ?

Carrigman

Yes, it's safe. Provided of course you buy from a seller with a 99%+ satisfaction rating and all of the popular sellers such as Digital Rev etc have one.

I have bought a large amount of photographic gear from eBay sellers based in Hong Kong over the years and I've never had any problems. Delivery was always super fast too - in most cases the goods arrived within a week of ordering.

Regards,

John

vilkovo

thank you John,

can you say, do you pay much to the custom office in Ireland ?
which way it works, or its fine and you dont pay any duty ?

wasper

vilkovo wrote: »

i looked at ebay offers and they are quite attractive, but not sure if its safe to buy from there ?

any ideas ?

if you buy from someone like kerso then you are safe. He can be found on ebay. I bought a lens off him years ago. he is based in Scotland & I think he gets his stuff from the States.

Thecageyone

Anyone got links to these sellers, as my searches bring up nothing.

Zillah

Carrigman wrote: »

Yes, it's safe. Provided of course you buy from a seller with a 99%+ satisfaction rating and all of the popular sellers such as Digital Rev etc have one.

I have bought a large amount of photographic gear from eBay sellers based in Hong Kong over the years and I've never had any problems. Delivery was always super fast too - in most cases the goods arrived within a week of ordering.

Regards,

John

How does the customs work for this? I ordered a coat on ebay worth fifty quid a while back and they siezed it, I had to go to the post office distribution centre and pay VAT on it before they'd give it to me. If they go to that much trouble for something like that, I can't imagine them letting several grand worth of electronics slip through.

Thecageyone

When the flash gun I ordered was held, they sent me an e-mail telling me they would only release it [as if it were a hostage situation!] if I agreed via e-mail in return to pay the VAT @ 21% plus a fee for the postie to deliver ... And I had to sign for it my end to make it all official

the flash gun was originally €37, €13.50 [21% which was €7.70 plus €6 to the postman for re-delivering it] was dumped on top by customs. Beware of that overall percentage when buying pricier/heavier goods from Hong Kong.

vilkovo

thanks for info

amk00

Its totally safe to buy off eBay

Have a look at this;

http://pages.ebay.ie/help/buy/protection-programs.html#bpp

"If you haven't received your item, or it doesn't match what was described in the listing, we may be able to help you by facilitating communication between you and the seller through our Resolution Centre. Through the eBay Buyer Protection programme, you may also be eligible for a refund of the item purchase price and the original costs of postage & packaging (P&P)."

vilkovo

are you employee of ebay ?

amk00

No but I use it a lot and have only had good experiences with it. Have used the buyer protection programme before with great success

wasper

Thecageyone wrote: »

Anyone got links to these sellers, as my searches bring up nothing.

Kerso's ebay shop
http://shop.ebay.ie:80/kerso/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1

Just also keep in mind that you won't be stopped for VAT if you buy within the European Union and when you do buy from Hong Konk and such, it's still 50/50 as to whether they will stop your parcel or not.


Vat is 21%, and thats of the order total (so if you buy a camera for €10, and shipping is €10, you pay 21% of €20, not just for the camera cost).

The postal fee is always added to it, too.

Generally, you get a letter in your door from revenue saying you owe them money, and to email them a copy of your paypal receipt (though i always give them the ebay order details as it's handier). You email them and they calculate the cost using your receipt.

Then they'll email you back saying how much you owe them and when to expect your parcel.

If the cost is negligible they might not charge you VAT. This only happened me once when I spent £22 on something (can't remember what it was) and when they emailed me back they said not to worry about it and I'd have my parcel on X day.



So the best thing to do is keep the VAT cost in mind, and be prepared for Revenue to come looking for it. If you get your camera without hearing from Revenue, then happy days, you've made a nice saving. If you get hit for VAT, then at least you were expecting it.


If Fed-Ex deliver your parcel (Hong Kong sellers usually don't use specialised couriers like that though, it generally winds up with An Post), Fed-Ex will deliver your parcel with a smile, and then send you a letter telling you you owe them VAT about a month later, when you have completely forgotten about it. They're a pack of bastards, like that.:o

vilkovo

thats informative