Yesterday I attended a Camera Show/Swap in Toronto, there were about 50-100 vendors selling alot of gear. One guy had at least 4 A2Es at $500 each no tax another had a EOS 5 with grip very clean for $800 and still another with a Refurb 7E with 1 yr Canon war. for $500 if anyone can shed some light on the general reliabilty of gear from these type of shows it would be greatly appreciated. All prices in $CDN

-- Russell Boate (rboate@eagle.ca), January 28, 2002

Answers

General reliability? That's a pretty meaningless question, isn't it?

The goods could be totally clean and functional and terrifically priced, or they could be stolen gear that, uh, fell off the back of a truck, or they could be perfectly decent but overpriced or they could be broken in subtle ways, or they could have been owned by a powerful mage who put a dying curse on the stuff before he died, etc etc.

When you don't buy from a reputable store with a warranty then you're taking a gamble. It's probably not a really bad gamble - EOS gear is pretty reliable - but it's a gamble nonetheless.

Examine the gear extremely carefully, ask the seller a lot of questions and see if s/he seems open or evasive, ask if they have any sort of warranty. And then you take your chances.

-- NK Guy (tela@tela.bc.ca), January 28, 2002.

The problem with such things also is that you have no recourse to the seller if you have a problem. Ebay is probably a better way of buying things.

Certainly in the UK, camera fairs are basically havens for stolen goods, and by buying from them, you leave yourself open to prosecution (under UK law) for handling stolen goods. Of course, there may well be some honest vendors also, but are you going to risk it?

-- Isaac Sibson (isibson@hotmail.com), January 29, 2002.

From experience the shows attract many shady dealers. Remember only a Canon dealer can sell a product with a waranty. So that used piece that comes with the waranty card is really just a used piece with a piece of useless scratch paper. Ebay might be the place to find everything but after years of buying and selling I had 3 bad transactions in a row. I almost lost $100.00 on a purchase and Ebay wouldn't offer any help. Buyer beware was there advice. Mine too. Remember you usually get what you pay for. Even if you shop with a reputable dealer just knowing about photography is not enough. There are signs that most used equipment show about their use and even though you might know what to look for it can still be risky. Maybe think of camera shows as when the wolves invite the sheep over for dinner. Hope this helps.

-- john (mr.-n-mrs.g@att.net), January 29, 2002.

>Ebay is probably a better way of buying things.

Well. eBay offers pretty limited protection to the buyer.

"Under the Fraud Protection Program, you are eligible for reimbursement for up to $200, minus $25 of the item price, if it is determined that you have been a victim of fraud."

US $175? Gee. You sure can buy a lot of photo gear for that! eBay is a great deal for the seller, but not necessarily the buyer.

http://teladesign.com/photo/auctions.html

-- NK Guy (tela@tela.bc.ca), January 29, 2002.