£1200 and no lens

markyboy.1967

markyboy.1967

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Mark Molloy
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This is a tale of woe. A few weeks back myself and the family decided we should take a trip to Longleat Safari which is about a 7hr journey from us. We decided to do this and stay in a nice hotel and visit the park, on the way home we could take in a theme park for a day or two for the kids to enjoy.

I was looking for a lens which was fast and sharp and decided to go for the Nikon 80-200 f2.8.On looking at various sites decided to take a chance and ordered from an ebay site and thought it would be a great deal. The site was in Hong Kong. I ordered through ebay and paypal. A few days later i mailed them as they hadnt responded. The got back to me a few days later ( now over a week from ordering )to say they never had the item ( even though i did a buy it now ). They offered a return of my money which i accepted.It took anoter 4 days to get the cash into paypal only for paypal to put it on hold for 7-10 working days--still the same just now and i dont actualy have the money yet.When it is freed up then it will be about another 5 working days until it goes into my bank account.

During this time i mailed Kerso who got back to me right away ( next day ) but as time was closing in he couldnt be sure to get it to me in time.I found another UK supplier who stated they had it in stock and it was a 1-2 day delivery time.I ordered and even added in an extra £9 for a quicker delivery.I now had a week to go and was confident that as it was coming from London that it would be with me in time.A few days went past and never heard from them.I mailed them to be told that they had my money and would ship as soon as possible---this didnt sound good.I mailed again but never got an answer, the wife called over 30 times just to be cut off.Eventually she spoke to them today only for them to hang up on her but she persisted and got through only to be told they didnt have the item in stock.Their web site still says they have it in stock but they dont have it now and it would be a few weeks waiting on Nikon sending them one for me.

So here i am £1200 out of pocket just now with no lens to try out on my holiday--tomorrow.Im totally miffed at companys taking money and dont have the item in stock. Some may say i shouldnt have ordered from Hong Kong in the first place but i was willing to pay the tax etc if need be. I dont want to post names of companies up but if anyone want the names the pm me..:shrug::'(
 
Sorry to hear about your woes. I had a similar problem with Warehouse Express. I got the lens from Kerso in the end and fair play to WarehouseExpress, they forwarded the remainder of the order with out problems and refunded the lens.

Its not a nice position to be in, and I agree wit you that companies shouldn't advertise items for sale that they don't have.
 
That's really frustrating, especially if you're now without a lens for your holiday. With my 70-200 VR three different companies said they had in stock and all three accepted the order. Two got back to me within 24 hours to say they actually didn't have it (despite saying they did) but Calumet messed me around for nearly 2 weeks before finally saying they had accidentally deleted my order, so no lens.

The difference is that I paid by credit card, so the refunds (plus the one from the ebay seller that the next one was ordered from) were instant. It's amazing how quickly paypal will give your your money back if they think they will have to do battle with Visa rather than just you or I :lol:

Always
 
I'm sure there's a law against taking money for items that you don't have in stock, unless the customer is clearly told that the item is out of stock at time of ordering.

Obviously the HK seller is exempt, as they're not in the UK.

Either way, it sucks what you've been through, and I hope you name and shame :)
 
We could have a "Guess the Bad Seller" competition to see if we can figure out who the sellers were :lol:
 
Ok as a few others have mentioned company names i have decide to name the 2 i had dealings with.Im doing this to save others the issue but if the mods dont think i should name and shame then feel free to delete..

The Hong Kong ebay shop was--- Digital iSHOP
The London based company was---Simply Electronics-ordered through their web site but now see they are dealing on ebay as well.
 
have you tried Stewart on here he maybe able to hire you one for your holiday assuming you can collect on the way i don't know where you are or he is but might be worth a shot :)
 
mate had a similar problem...

all i ever do now is phone the store directly, and make sure they confirm and reserve stock and collect.

i had the same problem with ebay, and a few other uk suppliers.

so i will never make the same mistake twice.
 
Digital iSHOP are still listing the 80-200 as available, want me to ask them if they have it in stock for immediate delivery? :naughty:
 
A bit late after the event i know, but if you order from Hong Kong in future try one stop digital, they are very reliable and if your item is over £250 they send it via FedEx which normally only takes about 3 days.
 
I have resigned myself to just using what i have rather than hiring. Im extremely particular about condition of everything i own and if it was someone elses then i would be worried about using it at all.

I will just try to use what i have but im sure it will help me find out more about the kit i have.

Just to add--i havent cancelled from Simply Electronics and wil give it 2 weeks before i request money back from them.Thanks for the support.
 
I once ordered some stuff to then find out it wasnt even in stock, I asked them why they dont say on their site if the stock is available or not and they told me it would take too much time! Warehouse Express was the shop, a well known dealer, but I lost all faith in the company.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Digital iSHOP are still listing the 80-200 as available, want me to ask them if they have it in stock for immediate delivery? :naughty:
Click to expand...

They returned my money to paypal as they couldnt see any shipments in the next few weeks.I will wait until my money has be safely returned to my bank account and then im leaving my first ever negative feedback on ebay--not that it will gain me much but i feel i need to warn others.
 
Sorry to hear about that - Ordering from Hong Kong on ebay i have done before and things have been okay but there are loads of fake electronic items coming through from there so i stopped buying from there. I normally use Warehouse Express who have always offered me brilliant service along with 7dayshop.com.
 
Sorry to hear about that. I have ordered some lens from HK but not from the seller on ebay. My friend works in HK and he send them to me without taking any money (Well, I will pay as soon as I can). LOL. I can receive any lens within 3 days from HK. LUCKY ME!
 
Really sorry to hear about this. I dont where you are based, but you can use my 200-400mm if you're able to collect it.
i tried looking at your profile, but couldnt see where you live.


Kev.
 
hi that sucks, if you used your credit card you should be covered form the cash side of things, it's so frustrating when shops don't come up with the goods, when ever i search e-bay i always set the search to uk only, and no matter how temping the deal may be, Evan if it's a uk seller there is always that element of doubt, hope it's not put you off buying, but second hand shops are just as good as new, people do keep there gear in good nick, and i have had a few bargins, dealing with second hand,

Regards Mark.
 
Bummer! How frustrating.
I concur about Onestopdigital, have used them successfully in the past.
Simply Electronics also list on Amazon Marketplace and as has been noted, lots of listings on ebay.
 
kevshore said:
Really sorry to hear about this. I dont where you are based, but you can use my 200-400mm if you're able to collect it.
i tried looking at your profile, but couldnt see where you live.


Kev.
Click to expand...


Thanks very much for the offer but i couldnt accept.I will wait until it comes as im sure i will have plenty of opportunities to use it then.Thanks for the support everyone.
 
Sounds like a right pain.

I do have something here that might help you out a little.

____________________________________________

Step yourself over that, forget about this nonsense and head off to enjoy some time away from the day to day with your family. ;)
 
Simply Electronics are a Hong Kong based company so probably grey imports anyway.
 
its really unfair that ebay continuously allow sellers to state they are uk based, when they are not....ive had a few items that have come from "uk based sellers" that have come via hong kong...:bang:

i feel for u matey...especially when u spend your hard earned cash on something that is wanted for such an occasion....

jabber:cuckoo:
 
markyboy.1967 said:
Ok as a few others have mentioned company names i have decide to name the 2 i had dealings with.Im doing this to save others the issue but if the mods dont think i should name and shame then feel free to delete..

The Hong Kong ebay shop was--- Digital iSHOP
The London based company was---Simply Electronics-ordered through their web site but now see they are dealing on ebay as well.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your situation, but neither of these 2 companies have had good press recently, when I'm checking prices, normally I do an internet search on the company and see what other people have said about them, then make my judgement on whether its a good or bad deal. Friends have used URGalaxy before on eBay with no problems (major buy's), Kerso is very good from all acounts (although personally never used him todate), most of my purchase have been through warehouse express, who I've had never had any problems with. Hopefully you get the money or the lens and it hasn't put too much of a dampener on your holiday

Peter
 
Definately a PITA. Hope you get sorted. I am always weary about buying from ebay etc...

Theres so much that can go wrong its important to do your re-search.
 
I am sorry to hear of your tale of woe, but this really highlights the benefit of dealing with reputable companies who are not necessarily the cheapest.

If you do business with the lowest bidder, build in something for the risk of late delivery, non delivery or of awkward claims with after sales service. By the time you have done that, it would have been cheaper to go to the reputable company in the first place.

I know £s cheaper may look attractive....but if something is way below what everyone else is selling them for you shouldn't go "Yippee, I've saved £100" - alarm bells should ring and you should give the place a wide berth.

If something looks to good to be true, it will be.:naughty:

Greys of Westminster might not be the cheapest - but have you ever wondered why people from all over the world are prepared to pay their prices? No it isn't because they are stupid, it is because companies like this are reliable and sound and honourable.

How come they can survive in a market where everyone wants the advice and the ability to go in and handle the demo models...and then expect to buy it cheaper off the internet from someone who has provided you with no service at all? They survive because many people recognise the value of service.

How much were you saving by trying to smuggle the lens in from Hong Kong? £50? £75? £100 maybe? How much would the lack of aggravation have been worth to you? How much have you spent in time (even at just £5 per hour) chasing this fiasco? How much stress has it caused you?

I think there is a moral in here somewhere.

I am surprised that Calumet let you down - a phone call will usually provide the answwer as to how many they have in stock and at which stores - the stock is linked across the chain, so any store can see where there is one, if at all, when they don't have one themselves. Calumet have always looked after me very well - so do Fixation, they are another excellent outfit.
 
:bonk: what a pain in the ass!


I understand what you mean about hiring, but Stuart at LfH has excellent gear in superb condition and offers insurance, plus the rental is very reasonably priced, so as long as you take the same care with it as you do your own gear, you will be fine. Just think of standing there at the park and knowing how much better your shots could be with that loger quicker lens, especially withthe current propensity for the weather to be overcast and raining.
 
Lensflare said:
I am surprised that Calumet let you down - a phone call will usually provide the answwer as to how many they have in stock and at which stores - the stock is linked across the chain, so any store can see where there is one, if at all, when they don't have one themselves. Calumet have always looked after me very well - so do Fixation, they are another excellent outfit.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised too, I deal with the Glasgow branch regularly and never have any problems, I just thought I would try the website for a change. When I ordered the lens I stipulated that I only wanted it if it was delivered within the quoted 4-8 days and Calumet emailed me back to say it would be with me within a week. I'm sure a lot of the fault in my case can be laid at Nikon's door, as they apparently promised Calumet delivery within that time frame, even so Calumet were remiss in not keeping me informed about the lack of stock.

Funnily enough, my grey market 70-200 VR (on which the seller doesn't seem to have paid the duty/tax) was actually £30 more than what I ended up paying for a new UK lens from a UK Nikon dealer, after getting a tip off (here on TP) that they had just received stock :)
 
Looks like a few lens sellers are going the way that PC sellers used to be like a few years ago. Total contempt for their customers and only interested in getting orders filled.
I bought a Nikkor lens from Accessories Shop UK using Amazon.co.uk ( thay are a marketplace shop) to use on my upcoming holiday too.
I paid for the lens and got an invoice and delivery date. After a week, nothing, no reply to my email, then a few days later an e mail from Amazon to say the order had been cancelled. No explanation from the seller.
Then I looked on their shop again, they had put the price of the lens up. Even though they advertise discount prices, they obviously dont want you to buy them at that price! I think they are the most expensive lens sellers now, still advertise their " discount " prices though!

Allan
 
It is simply a case of dropshipping... the shop takes your money then orders the item perfectly legal and 15% of ebay shops do it best to check feedback and see what past customers say about delivery times
 
Just in from work and leave in an hour. I have an email from Simply Electronics saying that the lens will be dispatched today.Looking at my order on the site it doesnt seem to have been updated or the more likely thing is that the lens hasnt actually been dispatched at all.Guess i will have to just wait until i return to see if they did send today or not.Just hope the weather near Longleat is good for the next few days.

From this thread it seems several people have had similar type issues. Might be good to have a sticky thread where people can post good experiences with retailers. It all gets a bit out of hand when we slag of companies for problems which cannot be proven...
 
Just had a thought - the 80-200 is no longer a current lens........it has been superceeded by the 70-200VR.

I saw a 70-200 VR today in a shop in Newcastle-under-Lyme. 1st Cameras. They only have the one and it is at list price (£1200). Nobody is going to discount a premium lens that is in short supply.
Anyway, there it is. I have given the heads up.
 
£1200 is actually not too bad, you can get them for a bit less (I think mine was £1123 from Clifton Cameras), but it's still less than Jessops. List is somemething daft like £1499....
 
Lensflare said:
Just had a thought - the 80-200 is no longer a current lens........it has been superceeded by the 70-200VR.
Click to expand...

No it hasn't, the 80-200 AF and the 70-200 AF-S VR are both still in production. It's only the 80-200 AF-S that's been discontinued.
 
You pays your money.......

Sometimes we take big risks to save a relativly modest amount of money. Although I feel bad for people who loose money in this way, I can't help thinking that in someways it natural selection.

There are so many tales of woe about togs who have dealt with some unknown e-bayer from Hong Kong in order to save forty quid or so that I'm surprised anyone still does it.

Recipie for disaster if you ask me.
 
Bummer :( That's a sorry state of affairs! I hope, come what may that you have a good break and still manage to get some cracking shots with what you already have.

I found a great tool to use when it comes to purchasing off ebay ~ CLICKY ~ if you paste in the sellers ebay username, you can look at all their negative feedback. It always helps me make up my mind, as to wether it's worth risking my money.
 
Jo said:
Bummer :( That's a sorry state of affairs! I hope, come what may that you have a good break and still manage to get some cracking shots with what you already have.

I found a great tool to use when it comes to purchasing off ebay ~ CLICKY ~ if you paste in the sellers ebay username, you can look at all their negative feedback. It always helps me make up my mind, as to wether it's worth risking my money.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clicky:thumbs:
 
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