local deal , What can go wrong ?

Hey there ,

I found a local deal for the 5D2 with only 4065 actuations for $1200 and the seller says i'll be getting all the papers and box with it . The address mentioned is a 10 minutes walk away from my place , so i'll probably meet him/her soon but wanted to know what could possibly go wrong .

He already sent me a couple of pictures but I'll ask for a copy of the receipt and a screen shot for the actuations before i meet him and will ask to meet in a Coffee house that's across the street from my bank . What other precautions should i take ? I've never bought any used gear , but couldn't miss out on that deal .

Thanks .

I forgot to mention that when i googled the address , it's a two-storey store building in China town . This + the price are suspicious to say the least , that's why i'm asking .

If your spidey senses are tingling, then wait for another one. Lots can go wrong, including assault and mugging since you will be bringing over $1000 in cash.

Probably should meet in a public place, indoor, i.e. a starbucks, etc. And park right outside, so there's no funny business when you leave.

If all goes well, you're either buying from an ignorant seller unknowing of the price, or hot merchandise.

Meet at the coffee shop and look at the Camera. And if everything looks on the up and up
walk across the street to your bank, and get the cash and do the exchange inside the bank.
Get the cash from the teller, not the ATM.

They have good camera systems and I doubt anyone would be foolish enough to try and
pull something stupid inside a bank.

--Evan

^Exactly what I would do. Don't be afraid to back out if you get bad vibes. Remember that if the SN turns out to be stolen and it gets tracked back to you, you will probably lose it without any restitution. I hope this is legit and you get yourself a killer deal though

Mitch.A wrote in post #14239433
it's a two-storey store building in China town.

You can be 99% certain it's stolen.

Any deals I find locally, I would meet locally. Even for something cheap. Just don't want to risk your life for the smallest thing. It's not what it used to be anymore, people get killed for a few bucks now. That happens in not so nice areas but it still happens.

Awesome deal on a camera but you gotta meet in a unknown building in a creepy part of town... you don't really need that extra kidney after all, do you?

If the seller has the box, manual and papers I would say there is less of a chance it is stolen.

In addition to the suggestions above, I would suggest:

Are the photos generic - meaning could they just be copied off the web? Ask for a shot of the body with today's newspaper in the photo. Get a screen shot of EOS COUNT and compare with a shot of the serial number.

Be thorough in checking out the operation. Don't let the thought of getting a great deal blind you to the basics of checking out the operation of the camera. (Side story - I went to purchase a "very low usage" 5DMII recently. The seller didn't know I could pull the shutter count with EOS info. Fired up the laptop and the "very low usage" body had 195K clicks on it! I passed.)

Does the seller know anything about the camera and how it works? When you are checking it out, ask him to show you how it works and where the controls are located - if he is clueless to the basic operation, be suspicious.

Meet during the daylight hours, not at night.

Bring a friend (preferably someone 6'4" 240 lbs) to shadow the transaction. Each of you park in different locations (you at the bank, him at the Starbucks)

+1 On the INSIDE of the bank suggestion. Don't bring cash, and don't bring the seller to the ATM

Box up the the camera and accessories after the transaction is complete. Bring a bag or a backpack to put the box into.

Most important suggestion - if it feels fishy walk away. Nothing is worth your safety.

Good luck - I hope it works out for you.

Ask him for the serial number and post it to this web site: http://www.stolencamer​afinder.com/
There's no guarantee that if it's stolen it will be on the web site. But it's better than nothing. In any event, make sure the actual serial number on the camera is the one that he gave you.

Did you open the exif information in the photos that he sent you? It will tell you if they were taken on the camera that is in question. It might even have the camera owner's name in it. That is, if he's the typical dumb ass thief who doesn't know anything about photography. If there's no exif information, they're probably shots stripped off any random site on the Internet. Or he stripped it out in order to avoid embarrassing questions.

isoMorphic wrote in post #14240361
You can be 99% certain it's stolen.

How do you know for certain???

Meet at a police station. That's what i did when i bought my 5d2 off craiglist. I had over $2k with me.

I have sold a few phones off CL and I meet up at a local Verizon store. I made sure it was able to be activated before selling it.

Great tips guys , appreciate it .

I asked for more info yesterday (A copy of the receipt and a screenshot of the shutter count) and asked for his website (because i like to see other local photog. work) , i'll keep you posted .

Haven't really thought about that , now that i checked the only available info is in the comments and it says " Processed By eBay with ImageMagick, R1.0.1.M1" , That's suspicious , it doesn't make sense to get the pictures off ebay when you're supposed to have them on your hard drive (assuming he's already posted it there)

What makes it even more suspicious is the fact that the used body prices in Canada are higher than the US , the lowest used price for a 5d2 that i've seen was 1700+