Buying camera bodies from forum

So I have a question... Is there any buyer/seller protection when buying from members on this forum?

paypal would really be your only means of protecting yourself.

be weary of anyone who wont allow you to send it normal paypal with the fees at your own expense. if they will only accept it as a gift (where paypal doesnt take out fees) you arent covering yourself.

Other than the protection you get with using pay pal i dont think theres anything else. I have bought and sold alot of stuff on the forum and I feel more confortable buying on here than I do using ebay and craigslist.

I have bought and sold here too and it has always worked out well. I like to use the gift option on paypal and I don't mind returning the favor. Keep the PMs and emails involved in the transaction until you are satisfied you got what you paid for.

Using the gift option in paypal can certainly save you some money, however that comes at the risk of not being backed by paypal if something does go wrong.

most of the people on here i'd like to believe are trustworthy, there are plenty of professional people here who aren't looking to deceive people. However, you never know and you take the risk

Search the feedback thread before you consider buying anything on here. I have had good experiences buying even higher end gear but I've always checked to make sure the seller has a good reputation first.

In my opinion saving 3% is not worth potential problems if you do happen to deal with some fraud.
on the other hand why dont people who offer items for sale either price it accordingly and include the paypal fee or give a buyer a break.

Do not use PayPal gift if you want any sort of protection. Do not rely on feedback here - it is only allowed to be positive. Honestly, if you are concerned, buy on FredMiranda, where neutral and neg feedback is allowed.

I buy here as well, but I will research the seller as much as possible, and usually will not buy from someone with very little history. Far from a perfect situation, but for me the risk is tolerable.

madphotogirl wrote in post #12798500
So I have a question... Is there any buyer/seller protection when buying from members on this forum?

Pretty much the same buyer/seller protection you get when buying stuff at a swap meet - except you don't get to look the other person in the eyes.

Thanks to this forum, I've bought and sold a bunch of equipment over the last year or so and experienced nothing but satisfaction and good feelings. But, I spend a lot of time figuring out who I'm doing business with and if there are any questions, I'll either pass on the deal or else renegotiate the terms to reduce my risk.

I've sold three camera bodies and was amazed that the buyers didn't require more proof that the cameras were in perfect condition (which they were). The good word of the seller is probably your best purchase protection.

Personally, I think it's a lot better bet to wait for a great deal on a new or refurbished camera. Assuming that you're looking at upgrading to either a 7D or a 5D II, there have recently been Canon-refurbished deals with prices far below the typical used camera selling prices. It may take a while, but those prices will probably reappear at some point in the future.

just be careful who you choose, and how you pay for the actual item.

ive spent close to 3k the past 6 weeks all from things i bought from this forum and i couldnt be happier with my gear. the camera alone was close to $1900.
if you pay using paypal gift you're kinda screwed if something happens.

i look at who's selling, their feedback and how long they've been around and how they interact on the board. its not a perfect system but it works for me

I love buying and selling on here. It's the quickest and easiest way to buy and sell camera equipment. I posted a monopod this morning and it sold in a couple hours. Just be smart about it and check for feedback or long term members. Buying from someone with 1 post would be silly of course.

I won't buy anything of importance here or anywhere else without using paypal and checking the "goods" box. Never check the "gift" box and usually ignore the ads wanting to squeeze that extra 3% from the buyer.

i buy and sell a lot of things. i don't accept paypal. i almost got ripped off in a fraudulent scam and paypal told me sorry, they were not going to help me, my credit card company thankfully backed me up.

as a seller i do not accept paypal (i do my best not to use it as a buyer), because paypal is a monster. it's not regulated like a credit card company by government. my lawyer told me to quit using it as a payment method because of this. the moral of the story is that if you do use paypal, use your credit card on file and not your paypal balance.

So as a buyer what do you do when you come across an item from someone like me who doesn't accept paypal. You can be near sighted like many that have posted on here that have become dependent on paypal, or you can do a little research on the seller and make sure they are legit.

Personally, I have no problems with taking a credit card if i had another method set up, but I do have issues w/ paypal. the other thing is, as someone who has way more invested into a career in photography than some weekend warrior or armchair internet expert, i am def. not out to rip anyone off.

If i sell a body and the person is not happy, then i am more then willing to refund their money. it's happened a few times. one example would be i sold a 5d ii body that i wasn't using...i estimated it had less than 5,000 clicks, after the guy got the camera he checked it was EOS info and it had 14,000. He wasn't happy, so he sent it back and i refunded his money, not a big deal.

now on the flip side of things, i sold a 17-85mm lens to a fellow. he had the lens for three weeks. he then went to europe for a 30 day backpacking trip. he comes back and emails me that he wants a refund because the lens wasn't performing properly. in this situation i didn't give the guy a refund. My belief was he should've contacted me before he left for europe and took it backpacking. If the lens was actually not working properly, who knows what it went thru on the trip...so in that case i did not refund the money.

but this is what people have to logically realize when it comes to buying goods from someone who doesn't accept paypal: a guy like me isn't going to rip anyone off because that $2000 lens or body really isn't worth upsetting someone if they aren't happy, it's just a drop in the bucket when photography is your career.

Kit Cloudkicker wrote in post #12798516
paypal would really be your only means of protecting yourself.

What "protection" does PayPal really offer? That's not particularly reassuring, considering they are crooks in and of themselves. The perfect example of why it's bad for consumers when one company monopolizes a market.

ktownhero wrote in post #12804440
What "protection" does PayPal really offer? That's not particularly reassuring, considering they are crooks in and of themselves. The perfect example of why it's bad for consumers when one company monopolizes a market.

+1.