Anyone ever bought from Octopus Electronics? I can't see a catch....

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Octopus Elecronics - http://octopuselectronics.co.uk

Distribution is based in Hong Kong like with onestop-digital, but customer service is in the UK. I spoke to the guy that runs the UK bit on livechat called Andy, and he confirmed what the website stated; that is, that ALL PRODUCTS COME WITH 24 MONTH WARRANTY. They also comply with EU Law and distance selling regulations (unlike onestop-digital) meaning if you are unhappy with a purchase you can return it no questions asked for a full refund within 7 days. (or 14, I can't remember).
They ship generally within 24-72 hours and guarantee to pay in the event of any import/duty/vat charges. They are also cheaper than anywhere I can find including onestop-digital. In the event of a warranty claim with Sigma lenses they will sort it in the UK I believe, and for all other lenses, they will pick up the item for you via fedex and get it fixed or replaced from Hong Kong normally within 14 days.

Opinions?
 
Well they have a London telephone number but a Devon address. When you look on Google Satellite -



Octopus Electronics
Building 26
Knapp Park Road
Paignton
Devon
TQ4 7LA

Is a residential street.

I've not heard of them personally - and found their website very slow to load.

I'm guessing this is a one man band operation.... I wouldn't chance it :) but it's up to you
 
not sure what to think of them but for me using paypal for a retailer is a bit of a big avoid flag, it suggests that they can't get a proper merchant account which is far cheaper to operate is you have any real value of trasactions (3.5% v 1.5% on a merchant account)

Hugh
 
Hi

My name is Andy noticed a lot of traffic coming from here so thought I would check it out.

We are not a 1 man band operation, we have a distribution centre in Hong Kong I am the UK account manager. We are still a new business but its going very well, we are selling on eBay with 100% good feedback and have just started selling on Amazon.

We only use PayPal because they offer very good fraud protection as well as being low cost. 3.4% per transaction is only for low turnover businesses, we get a much better deal.

Andy
Octopus Electronics
 
boyfalldown said:
not sure what to think of them but for me using paypal for a retailer is a bit of a big avoid flag
Click to expand...

You can use paypal on Boots (the chemist) website. :shrug:
 
How long has the company been running for? First registration date that I can find is the 28th July 2009
 
The registrant is a guy called 'Lazy Tycoon' according to a WHOIS search

If you want to be taken seriously as a company then you need to put relevant registrant information when purchasing the domain. This is something I always check when trying to find information about a company

Just an idea ;)
 
68lbs said:
You can use paypal on Boots (the chemist) website. :shrug:
Click to expand...

OK fair enough - and apologies to Andy for this - but after one of the many bad experiences with simply electronics not using a merchant account tends to be a bit of a red flag - and its only an option at Boots

Hugh
 
I'm not sure about this but when I pay through Paypal the money is taken through my credit card

In the case of fraud etc. I thought that Visa would repay the money.

I have only ever had recourse to do this once and I got the money back with no problems.
 
+1 to this, I use paypal alot in what I do for a living.
But, if I buy anything, even though the funds are in paypal, I always pay via my creditcard.

petersmart said:
I'm not sure about this but when I pay through Paypal the money is taken through my credit card

In the case of fraud etc. I thought that Visa would repay the money.

I have only ever had recourse to do this once and I got the money back with no problems.
Click to expand...
 
Plus marks for Andy anyway for coming on and answering some of the queeries. There are a lot of big selling companies that use PayPal as an option. Don't see any problem with that, but as Andy said, they have to start somewhere. Using a credit card SHOULD give you the security you need!
 
OctopusElect said:
Hi

My name is Andy noticed a lot of traffic coming from here so thought I would check it out.

We are not a 1 man band operation, we have a distribution centre in Hong Kong I am the UK account manager. We are still a new business but its going very well, we are selling on eBay with 100% good feedback and have just started selling on Amazon.

We only use PayPal because they offer very good fraud protection as well as being low cost. 3.4% per transaction is only for low turnover businesses, we get a much better deal.

Andy
Octopus Electronics
Click to expand...

Hi Andy, perhaps you could post your ebay and amazon ID's so people could review your feedback?

Regards

Barney
 
It would be nice if Andy could explain why they have an address in Devon and a London telephone number.
They also offer the same deal as one stop digital with regard to refunding VAT charges.
Although a 100% positive feedback score on ebay, 21 happy customers is not a lot for a company that's been trading since July this year.
The prices seem very good as well but as it's already been said, I would only pay via paypal providing it's linked to a credit card.
 
petersmart said:
I'm not sure about this but when I pay through Paypal the money is taken through my credit card

In the case of fraud etc. I thought that Visa would repay the money.

I have only ever had recourse to do this once and I got the money back with no problems.
Click to expand...

No, afraid not.
The main CC companies have (recently, around 2-3 months ago) stated that by using a third party [paypal] to make the transaction, they are only liable to ensure that the third party is paid. I.e., their contract with you is to ensure that the third party is paid. So long as they received the money, there is no breach in contract.
Also, after a recent dealing with Paypal which went sour, through a website which claimed to be a paypal merchant, Paypal customer services informed us that they did not gurarantee (in contradiction to their website, but not their published terms and conditions, adverts are not significant proof), any transaction that is made outside of ebay.
In this case, we purchased some goods from a website which offered paypal as the primary payment method. The goods were not received, and paypal would not even attempt arbitration. The paypal account was paid by a CC, but as the money had been delivered to paypal, and they had performed their 'service' by delivering the money to the company, there was no breach of contract that the CC company could act against.
 
Maybe Andy you could confirm my original post ramblings about warranty/returns/fees etc.
I think if you perhaps revamped your website slightly and made it a bit snappier it would appear more professional as well.
 
Domain name:
octopuselectronics.co.uk

Registrant:
Lazy Tycoon

Registrant type:
UK Sole Trader

Registrant's address:
26 knapp park road
paignton
TQ4 7LA
United Kingdom

Registrar:
GX Networks Ltd t/a 123-Reg.co.uk [Tag = 123-REG]
URL: http://www.123-reg.co.uk

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 28-Jul-2009
Renewal date: 28-Jul-2011
Last updated: 22-Sep-2009

Registration status:
Registered until renewal date.

Name servers:
ns1.fatposterguy.com
ns2.fatposterguy.com
Click to expand...

The registrant entries don't really inspire confidence.

Registrant name (is this supposed to be a joke?)

Registrant type (Supposedly a business, but registered as a sole trader)
We are not a 1 man band operation, we have a distribution centre in Hong Kong I am the UK account manager. We are still a new business but its going very well, we are selling on eBay with 100% good feedback and have just started selling on Amazon.
Click to expand...

Love the name servers though!!


4 domains hosted on there........make what you will of that one though!
#OctopusElectronics.co.uk
# Dildosandfleshlights.co.uk
# Fatposterguy.com
# Happyvalleycameras.com
Click to expand...
 
Hi

Thanks for your feedback.

A major point of discussion seems to be PayPal and the Who.Is info.

PayPal offer a very good complaints procedure, if you have a problem you raise a dispute and the money is immediately taken from our account. Depending on the complaint, the emphasis is on us to prove we have fulfilled our duties.

Who.Is - Our who.is info is a lot more complete than another company mentioned in this thread. We are still waiting for the Certificate so we can change it to our HQ address in HK.

Domains, I personally own 100s of domains. They are not related to this business but we do use one of my servers, specifically FatPosterGuy. My main business used to be SEO and I would buy a lot of domains, keep them for a year or more and then stick links on them to improve the rankings of my clients sites. I now only work for Octopus Electronics. Happy Valley Cameras will be another project selling to consumers in Australia.

Andy
Octopus Electronics.
 
Sounds like a very tangled web. Sorry but I would stay clear.
 
Anyone took a chance with these guys? They have a great price on the Canon EF 28mm f/1.8
 
I wouldn't use a company who only took Paypal.

You have no real protection - in the event you don't receive the item, Paypal will only recover funds if there are any.

Paypal Protection is only really anygood for Ebay - read Paypal's small print on Buyer Protection. Its very very different for non-Ebay transcations.

Personally with a new operation, I'd want to use my Credit Card.
 
puddleduck said:
I wouldn't use a company who only took Paypal.

You have no real protection - in the event you don't receive the item, Paypal will only recover funds if there are any.

Paypal Protection is only really anygood for Ebay - read Paypal's small print on Buyer Protection. Its very very different for non-Ebay transcations.

Personally with a new operation, I'd want to use my Credit Card.
Click to expand...


FIRST, Please don't take this the wrong way!
With 110 iTrader marks have you not used PayPal yourself in some of them? There are members on here who will only use PayPal so I wouldn't think that there would be much difference.
I know you say you wouldn't use a company and these are mostly private individuals, but isn't the PayPal cover the same?
I have had issues with PayPal in the past, and I know many (especially on FEEBAY) others who have, but mostly it has been positive and without incident or problem (FEEBAY feedback of 1493)
 
I was more concerned about delays/import taxes seeing as stuff appears to be coming from HK, paypal doesn't concern me.
 
wontolla said:
FIRST, Please don't take this the wrong way!
With 110 iTrader marks have you not used PayPal yourself in some of them? There are members on here who will only use PayPal so I wouldn't think that there would be much difference.
I know you say you wouldn't use a company and these are mostly private individuals, but isn't the PayPal cover the same?
I have had issues with PayPal in the past, and I know many (especially on FEEBAY) others who have, but mostly it has been positive and without incident or problem (FEEBAY feedback of 1493)
Click to expand...

Actually I really dislike Paypal, and always prefer to buy or sell with Bank Transfer. Paypal is as welcome as a rat down my underpants as a payment method, and I hate inflicting it on others too.

Point is - I trust people here (and they trust me) - I've no idea who these people are and a Paypal only operation feels fly-by-night.

Like I said... they is no Paypal Protection off Ebay. You get that with a Credit Card. Thats the bottom line with me. It feels unprofessional.
 
puddleduck said:
Actually I really dislike Paypal, and always prefer to buy or sell with Bank Transfer. Paypal is as welcome as a rat down my underpants as a payment method, and I hate inflicting it on others too.

Point is - I trust people here (and they trust me) - I've no idea who these people are and a Paypal only operation feels fly-by-night.

Like I said... they is no Paypal Protection off Ebay. You get that with a Credit Card. Thats the bottom line with me. It feels unprofessional.
Click to expand...

Yeh! I do know what you mean. I am not that fond of them myself but use them when convenient. As soon as FEEBAY forced them upon sellers, my selling took a vast nosedive (my choice) and I went elsewhere. I still have the occasional punt or sell on there but very little!
They must have stung you some to have such a low opinion!
 
Hi, ive not posted in a while but have been researching this company as am looking at buying a pentax 70mm limited lens and they sell for £100 cheaper than anyone. Im hearing what people are saying and there is a similar post on dpreview. my biggest concern which is putting me off is the warrenty, with no manufactures i just have to put my faith in this guy Andy to sort me out 23 months down the line?! thats a lot of faith. Has anybody actually bought from them and did we clarify why the london number and devon address? Also Andy has stated not being a 1 man band however states the reason he works from home is he feels £10k a year just to run admin tasks is too much?? Oh and also the live chat never seems to be on!

So, do i go with Park cameras and pay £469 or Octopus for a risky £329??
 
this is the info I got for them
Domain name:
octopuselectronics.co.uk

Registrant:
Lazy Tycoon

Registrant type:
UK Sole Trader

Registrant's address:
Unit 802, , Sing Win Factory Bldg,
Kwun Tong
Hong Kong.
HONG KONG.
Hong Kong

Registrar:
Webfusion Ltd t/a 123-Reg.co.uk [Tag = 123-REG]
URL: http://www.123-reg.co.uk

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 28-Jul-2009
Renewal date: 28-Jul-2011
Last updated: 22-Sep-2009

Registration status:
Registered until renewal date.

Name servers:
ns1.fatposterguy.com
ns2.fatposterguy.com
 
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