BACs payments for online shopping

ukaskew

ukaskew

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Payment by BACs to online companies (mainly Hong Kong based by looks of things) appears to be 'in vogue' at the moment, offering up to 5% discount on already scarily cheap items (the reasons for which have been well discussed and are not what this thread is about).

Does this method of payment offer any protection whatsoever? Looking through the threads here people are happily sending thousands, but reading up I can find no mention of any sort of cover at all, the money is essentially disappearing into a black hole. All those rules we were taught about safe online shopping seem to get thrown out of the window when things are cheap enough (unless I've mis-read the info I can find about direct payments).
 
ukaskew said:
Payment by BACs to online companies (mainly Hong Kong based by looks of things) appears to be 'in vogue' at the moment, offering up to 5% discount on already scarily cheap items (the reasons for which have been well discussed and are not what this thread is about).

Does this method of payment offer any protection whatsoever? Looking through the threads here people are happily sending thousands, but reading up I can find no mention of any sort of cover at all, the money is essentially disappearing into a black hole. All those rules we were taught about safe online shopping seem to get thrown out of the window when things are cheap enough (unless I've mis-read the info I can find about direct payments).
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The short answer is no. You will have absolutely no protection whatsoever.
I guessed people are doing this based purely on other people's experiences and testimonials.

I also recently purchased something from HK a couple of weeks ago, but regardless of good reviews, I was not happy to take the risk for the sake of a few quid.

I'm looking at buying a £700 lens shortly and will be paid by CC as well. At the end of the day 5% is only £35 and its just not worth the risk to me.
 
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Elliott's hit the nail on the head really - people are doing it, and seemingly happy in doing it, based on the many many positive experiences posted by others. I've kept a keen eye on the panamoz thread here and i don't think there's a single bad experience in it.

I paid for a 5d III a few months ago using direct transfer as it saved me about £100 or so. Then last week i bought a 24-70 II and 85 1.8, again saving around £85 ish i think. Whether or not it's worth the risk is very much open to debate, and i can certainly see both sides of the argument..
 
rampanthamster said:
Elliott's hit the nail on the head really - people are doing it, and seemingly happy in doing it, based on the many many positive experiences posted by others. I've kept a keen eye on the panamoz thread here and i don't think there's a single bad experience in it.
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I agree, I don't think there have been any substantial problems with them, which is quite impressive given the number of orders they appear to be getting and their methods of sending stuff. I am very very uncomfortable with them paying for positive reviews and forum posts, that alone would put the brakes on me using them.

Worse case scenario I guess if they folded would be a lot of folk with absolutely no way of getting their money back.
 
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ukaskew said:
I agree, I don't think there have been any substantial problems with them, which is quite impressive given the number of orders they appear to be getting and their methods of sending stuff. I am very very uncomfortable with them paying for positive reviews and forum posts, that alone would put the brakes on me using them.

Worse case scenario I guess if they folded would be a lot of folk with absolutely no way of getting their money back.
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Not heard about
"I am very very uncomfortable with them paying for positive reviews and forum posts, that alone would put the brakes on me using them"

Any more info on above? Cheers
 
nog said:
Not heard about
"I am very very uncomfortable with them paying for positive reviews and forum posts, that alone would put the brakes on me using them"

Any more info on above? Cheers
Click to expand...

One mention of it: http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showpost.php?p=5267873&postcount=9, I couldn't find the others but it cropped up a few times right back to at least a year ago. My memory might be playing tricks but I thought it was even mentioned on their site for a short time.
 
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