Insane deals!

[pplater]

Caught an email today whereby someone asked me if I'd like to buy a Canon 300D for $700aud.

That's less than half of what they retail for.

I've followed it up, but I don't think much will come of it...

Has anyone here ever had an insanely good camera deal and pulled it off?

[PaulSands]

I saw some 600MM f2.8 lenses on ebay for £99 recently...of course I bid and then within 6 hours received a "auction withdrawn account compromised" notice...if it seems to good to be tru it probably is

[gi_gav]

Considering the best Canon offer is a 600mm f4 (for around £7500...) you're right to be skeptical!

[pplater]

sir, the camera is new and will be shipped from Romania
I will send first this unit by UPS air express and you will need to cinfirm
the payment after UPS will confirm to you that I sent this unit to you.
More information about UPS you can find on www.ups.com.
ALso Ebay will record and protect us in this transaction.
The price Au$710 is not negociable and include the shipping taxes.
Total Package Includes:
Canon 300d body
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens
Battery Pack BP-511(includes protective cover)
Battery Charger CB-5L
Power Cord for Battery Charger
USB Interface Cable IFC-300PCU
Video Cable VC-100
Neck Strap EW-100DB ll
EOS DIGITAL Solutions CD-ROM
Adobe Photoshop Elements CD-ROM
EOS DIGITAL Solutions CD-ROM
Adobe Photoshop Elements CD-ROM
Kingston 512MB Compact Flash Card
Compact Flash Card Reader
2 BP511 Extended Life Lithium-Ion Batteries
Professional Tripod
Vanguard Carry All Camera Case
55mm & 58mm 3 Piece Filter Kits
Deluxe 5 Pc. Photo/Video Cleaning Kit
70-300mm Super Macro Autofocus Lens
Digital Camera Memory Card Wallet

[pplater]

Should I go for it?

[mark_l]

Is Romania a hot bed of electrical bargains?

personally I would be sceptical.

[pplater]

I'm being very skeptical... lots of questions etc.

It does sound too good to be true; there's no good reason to sell anything this cheap. I'm a little suspicious.

[Dani Filth]

pplater .. think not once . not twice . but a lot of times before buying it . best offer i've found around here for a Canon 300D was around 800USD(not au$) . camera bought in the US..
be sceptical ..

[pplater]

The sceptic within me has sent further emails interrogating the seller and here some of the response:

"I'm handling the liquidation of a big stores stock"

"Why is so cheap? I will send this unit to you like a donation, and I will not need to pay 40% for VTA taxes . The price include All shippment taxes"

"I can`t accept escrow because till to much time to cash the funds, maybe 15-20 days or more with birocracy from my country"

I'm clear with most of that, but this is puzzling:

"Ebay will record our transaction and will protect us in case something goes wrong. I have US$5000 deposited to Ebay, and they will record any transaction I want if the transaction represent 50% from my deposited. If the transaction is more then 50% from my deposit I can`t obtain their protection"

Their protection?
Deposited $5K US?
What the hell does that mean?

He wants to use Western Union- which is discouraged by eBay.. is this a gentlemens agreement or something.

It is suspisciously good, bad and ugly.

More questions need to be asked.

[PaulSands]

Leave it..the worst that happens by not going for it is you'd feel a bit hacked off if it was a genuine offer but nothing else.
There are so many people out there trying to rob you blind on the internet it's definitely a case of better safe than sorry

[Dani Filth]

agree with Paul . better safe than sorry ..

[gi_gav]

Contrary to what your seller says, Ebay will not protect you.

I can't remember, but i think they only protect up to about £180.

Prices here are really falling (i sold one today for £615, albeit scratched) so it's just not worth it to risk your money on ebay.

[Alfaholic]

This is a complete and utter SCAM. All you will receive for your money are a load of faked emails including the ones from UPS.

This is an off Ebay transaction so you will NOT be protected by them, and most importantly NEVER EVER use Western Union unless you know and completely trust the person you are sending the money to. It is completely untraceable, so when this transaction goes wrong you will have no way of finding out where your money has gone and nobody to make a claim against. Even Ebay warn against its use - see the following link : http://pages.ebay.co.uk/safetycentre/safety_tips.html

[Az]

What sort of feedback did this guy have on eBay?

[KennyG]

This is your warning flag "He wants to use Western Union". Anyone on E-bay or Amazon, those cesspits of scams and frauds, that ask for payment by Western Union are out to rip you off, simple as that.

Unless you are a 10 year old who has no idea of the big wide world, then you should realise that anything on E-bay that appears too good to be true - is. Stay well clear. Go and look on DPR, FM or RG forums for more information on these scum.

[Andy H]

got to agree with the rest of the chaps I wouldn't go there if the deal is off e-bay and payment by Western Union as you have absoultely no recourse if this is a scam

[blackfalcon]

Steer clear of this deal. Anyone looking for payment in this manner should be avoided, and it's too good a deal for the price.

[Aysedasi]

Avoid it.

Anyway, 10Ds are going for less than £800 now.......

[alfacors]

800STG is a lot more than AUD700!

I nearly bought a 300D second hand. I'm glad I waited though, as I'd be disappointed with it after a while.
I'm going to be ordering a 20D soon.