Safe to buy a digital camera on Ebay?

Question

i want to get a new digital camera and i see that ebay has some listings for very cheap (ie $0.01-50.00) for cameras that are usually very expensive. I know that prices go up as it comes closer to the auction expiery but i even found some ending today that are ($10-50). can i trust buying it for cheaper? how can people afford to sell it for so much less? and does anyone have any words of advice or experiences or anything details i should look for or by wary of?

Answer 1

Many times people work for companies so they can get the products very cheap, sometimes people receive them as gifts and don't want them, and some of them may be refurbished (that means the product had a problem with it and it was sent back to the company for repair).

I would suggest to read all the feedback from the person (I know that can be cumbersome, but you get to see what type of history the seller has). I would not bid from a seller that has a rating of less than 94%. And I would examine who gave them feedback (buyers vs sellers), how negative feedback was handled (the seller comments on the feedback to explain or no explanation), and what their feedback comments are (I have seen negative comments marked as positive).

Then, I would see what the shipping cost and return policy are because you want to know how much you are bidding. You may bid $50, but they may charge $30 shipping, so you actually pay $80, therefore I always try to add the shipping costs into my bid so I know in my mind what I will be paying at the end of the auction.

You may want to check if their auction is a private auction. That means eBay members cannot contact you, the buyer to tell you that it is a "scam" or whatever. I have seen that happened before with rare items from music artists. I also want to comment that I would really take a look at how many comments are left by BUYERS because what if they just have 10 positives from sellers who they bought from?

I think you will have a good time on eBay. Just be cautious while on that site.

Answer 2

Might be safe, but it might not be. Here's some things to check that may be affecting the price: 1. Is the camera refurbished or an open box item? With a very good feedback score I doubt the company is misrepresenting them, so check the entire ad and see if those descriptors are used. Refurbished isn't a major deal if it's refurbished by the manufacturer, they bring them back up to factory standards. Open box might be interesting cause that means regularly included items may be missing or the camera may be cosmetically damaged (scratch on the surface) that does not impair the camera's function. Little riskier, but if you have to go buy a $40 battery after saving $100 on the camera that's still pretty good. 2. Is the item from the US? Some companies import cameras at lower costs. Doesn't mean that the camera is bad, just that the warranty will be no good. Kinda risky and I wouldnt suggest it unless it's a tremendous deal. 3. Is the camera soon to be replaced or already discontinued? Check the manufacturer's website, if you don't see the camera listed with the rest of the Digital SLR's, then it's been discontinued and the company is selling it at a reduced cost to get rid of the stock. If it is there, but it's the oldest one on the list the company is probably making room for the newer models. If that's the case, then you've got great timing cause they might be selling it at their cost to make room for more profitable stock. 4. Is the auction a 'buy it now' or a bid auction? If it's a bid auction, then chances are the price you see now isn't what it will end up selling for. Lots of bids process in the last hour of an auction, often raising the price dramatically. My apologies if you're an experienced eBay user who knew that already, but you'd be amazed how many times I get that question daily. If it doesn't seem like any of those are the case, then you might want to try contacting the seller over the phone. If it's a company they should have a contact number and business hours posted. EBay prices are commonly lower than retail due to a lower cost of business, but if it seems too good to be true, than it probably is. Happy hunting!

Answer 3

I was a little nervous when I made my first purchase on eBay, but I was very pleased. The best advise I can give is to research. when you're looking at a specific item there should be some stuff to click on that will let you know about the seller. Most people will post a report on the seller about whether or not the product was good, shipping, price and all that. Look for the seller with a high rating. Also look at how long or how many items they've sold. This will give you an idea as to how reliable they are. I've never heard one bad thing about people buying stuff on eBay. My step mom was the only person I know that had a problem and that was because she ordered the wrong color. also be sure to look at the shipping price. you might see a camera for 20 bucks, but the shipping will be like 150. The item I ordered was 12.99 and the shipping was 24.99. The cost for the same product in the store was 24.99, go figure.

Answer 4

Always look at the feedback of the seller and see how long they have been doing business.

If they have been around for a long time, and have few problems with feedbacks, then look at the product itself and find out the actual retail price is. If it is the same product and at a lower price, generally you are going to be all right.

Also, check out the shipping and handling cost. That can be out of reason on some things and make the deal not such a good deal after all. So check all these things and then decide.

If you do your research, you can get some really great buys on Ebay. The ones that have problems many times failed to do the research and got burned.

I bought my digital camera online and got a real deal.

Answer 5

Don't!!! A kid in my classe's uncle ordered an i-pod on ebay and he got an i-pod case filled with moldey ham. NOT JOKING!!!! Althow I wouldn't buy a 50 dollar camra from a store anyway, its proubly cheap and the picture's blurry.

Answer 6

I read the reviews at cheapest prices search engine when I bought my digital camera. They helped a lot.
http://www.cheapestpricessearchengine.com/

Answer 7

Había comprado antes una cámara digital de sitios web y quería algo más evolucionado, la última cámara que compre cumple todos mis expectativos, es fácil de utilizar, pantalla grande y hace unas fotos perfectas.

Answer 8

make sure it says
one year usa warranty
other wise it may be from Europe
and only have a 3 month warranty