If you're planning on buying from buyacamera.co.uk read this first!

Nifkin

Nifkin

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I've used these guys once before without a problem. However, I just purchased a Panasonic Lumix camera from them for my dear old mum's Christmas pressie, and when it arrived it came with "Panasonic US/Canada" all over the box, a US charger with a US-to-UK plug adapter shoe-horned into the box, which is clearly not meant to be there, as the lid won't shut! Further to that, there's no warranty slip....

I spoke to someone at the retailer's, and he said that the reason for the lack of warranty slip was that it would've been part of a bundle including a printer, so had been separated out, and that they provide the warranty support themselves. Now, buyacamera.co.uk do sell "white box" deals like this, but my order certainly wasn't advertised as such! Thing is, I may well have accepted the order if their website had been more transparent; but, because they are clearly punting grey imports as UK-market versions, it’s left a bit of a bad taste... :thumbsdown:

Have just checked with Panasonic UK, and they’ve confirmed that the version I’ve got is for the US market, and not for the UK, therefore it won’t have a valid Panasonic-backed warranty. They also checked buyacamera’s website and confirmed that there was no indication that the products they’re selling are anything other than UK versions, which is clearly not the case.

Just thought you ought to bear it in mind if you're after an item which has a genuine UK manufacturer's warranty.
 
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If you are not happy with it I would suggest you send it back and ask for a refund. On their 'Guarantee Repairs' page they clearly state "All products sold by Buyacamera.co.uk are supplied through the official UK distributors" which is clearly not so in your case.
 
Scarecrow said:
If you are not happy with it I would suggest you send it back and ask for a refund. On their 'Guarantee Repairs' page they clearly state "All products sold by Buyacamera.co.uk are supplied through the official UK distributors" which is clearly not so in your case.
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Why Scarecrow! Do you think I should send it back? It had crossed my mind... :LOL:

It's already on it's way back, actually; stuck it in the mail this afternoon. The point of my post was to make people aware that, even though buyacamera may be authorised by a number of OEMs to sell UK goods, there's some branded stuff they're selling which is most definitely of the grey variety; the problem is, as they do indeed claim that they're authorised dealers for all their wares, you won't know if the item you've bought is grey or otherwise until you receive it.

If their prices were undercutting other retailers buy a vast amount, then perhaps the risk of buying grey imports from them could be justified. However, they aren't very much cheaper than the likes of amazon.co.uk, so I would rather pay the extra tenner or so for a UK warranty, especially when the item is intended as a gift.
 
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Calm down Madam it's only a camera ;)

First off ,I know the owners of Buyacamera, I dealt with them and in all the dealing s they had with both myself and my company they were decent and straightforward. ( I have no contact with them now )

Secondly a tenner is a tenner.. the warranty is with the the supplier and if you have a uk receot then I am sure Panasonic would honour it.


Thirdly you would be suprised how many dealers grey in camera equipment because of shortages through the UK supply chain and because they can make a few extra point margin in an industry which is greardd to sending indipendet traders to the grave yard.

Perhaps they should have advertised that the camera was a grey import , however in this world all products are greyish, due to the fact that importers themselves will bypass theye usual supply chain if they have a surge in demand
 
Errm i think the point of the thread was to make you aware that if your buying off the site then be aware some of the items may have warranty issues due to the their source.

So regardless of if it is going back or not the point still stands
 
Thank you Nadeem! At least someone gets it ;)
 
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Holden Caulfield said:
Calm down Madam it's only a camera ;)

First off ,I know the owners of Buyacamera, I dealt with them and in all the dealing s they had with both myself and my company they were decent and straightforward. ( I have no contact with them now )

Secondly a tenner is a tenner.. the warranty is with the the supplier and if you have a uk receot then I am sure Panasonic would honour it.


Thirdly you would be suprised how many dealers grey in camera equipment because of shortages through the UK supply chain and because they can make a few extra point margin in an industry which is greardd to sending indipendet traders to the grave yard.

Perhaps they should have advertised that the camera was a grey import , however in this world all products are greyish, due to the fact that importers themselves will bypass theye usual supply chain if they have a surge in demand
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That they are not straight up about the fact that they are selling grey imports, and the fact that their website states:

"All products sold by Buyacamera.co.uk are supplied through the official UK distributors and as such are covered by their twelve month guarantee"

which is simply not true, I thought was enough to let people know about it here. Yes, plenty of people don't mind buying grey, but the point is they like to have the choice, and not end up with a grey import when they think they are buying legit UK stock.

Whether you're friends with them is neither here nor there; they are not entirely honest. And, no, Panasonic will not honour a warranty for a grey import bought from buyacamera.
 
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thread repaired :)
 
Whether you're friends with them is neither here nor there; they are not entirely honest. And, no, Panasonic will not honour a warranty for a grey import bought from buyacamera.
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Calm down, I have never said I was 'friends' with them I stated that when was in the commercial world I found the owners to be honerable in business and up front, I only ever met them in a business capacity ...Blimey

Panosonic may not honour * the warrenty but they will and its for two years.(y)

* Uk recipt and all the consumer protection legislation I bet they would ;)

However if you are not happy senf it back an pay a tenner more and get one years less warrenty the choice is yours
 
Holden Caulfield said:
Secondly a tenner is a tenner.. the warranty is with the the supplier and if you have a uk receot then I am sure Panasonic would honour it.
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why would they, because they're nice people, the contract is with the retailer, they're selling grey imports and acknowledge they have no warranty from panasonic, if buyacamera decides to go bust and start trading as buyacamera2 all those warranties will be null and void so i'd be sending it back too
 
Holden Caulfield said:
Calm down, I have never said I was 'friends' with them I stated that when was in the commercial world I found the owners to be honerable in business and up front, I only ever met them in a business capacity ...Blimey

Panosonic may not honour * the warrenty but they will and its for two years.(y)

* Uk recipt and all the consumer protection legislation I bet they would ;)

However if you are not happy senf it back an pay a tenner more and get one years less warrenty the choice is yours
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Holden, I'd be really grateful if you could stop telling me to calm down, cheers.

I'm sorry, and with no disrespect, but you do seem to be completely missing my point.

If 99% of TP members are perfectly happy purchasing grey imports, then that's fine by me. However, there may be a remaining 1% who would never choose to buy grey, and always want certified UK market goods with a fully valid UK warranty. Now it was for these members that my post was intended. The manufacturer is under no obligation under UK law to provide a warranty for grey imports, as often these goods have been imported whilst avoiding UK tax & duty. And that the retailer says they offer their own warranty (whatever that may entail) is not a situation that is acceptable to everyone (EDIT: for such a reason as wack61 has pointed out (y)). Buyacamera go further than that by claiming ALL of their goods are from authorised UK suppliers, which is simply not the case. Therefore, you may purchase from them thinking you have UK goods, only to discover it's a grey import when you receive it, which firstly removes your choice in the matter and, secondly, is dishonest of the retailer. And what you said in your earlier post about retailers buying in grey imports when demand is high is nonsense when applied to the majority of mainstream retailers; as you've pointed out yourself, we have a very strong set of consumer laws in the UK, and those laws are there to prevent such behaviour on the part of retailers.

Oh, and starting off defending a retailer by saying you know the owners is hardly a strong and objective footing on which to get your point across, eh? ;)
 
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I get the point...
this is basically commercial fraud and mis-advertising.
I don't mind buying grey imports but not if I think I'm buying UK kit.
also they broke up the bundle to sell the items separately?
that's a bit cheeky isn't it? its' like buying a camera and lens kit then splitting them. I'd expect that from someone in ebay. In fact I've bought one like that, but not from a UK seller with the above bit on their website
 
DizMatt said:
I get the point...
this is basically commercial fraud and mis-advertising.
I don't mind buying grey imports but not if I think I'm buying UK kit.
also they broke up the bundle to sell the items separately?
that's a bit cheeky isn't it? its' like buying a camera and lens kit then splitting them. I'd expect that from someone in ebay. In fact I've bought one like that, but not from a UK seller with the above bit on their website
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They do actually offer "white box" deals on their site, which they describe as being items that have formally been in a bundle (camera + printer + other peripherals, I guess) and have been separated out and put in a unmarked box and sold at a discount price, which I guess is fair enough if the customer knows what they're getting. However, the camera I was buying for my mum, a Panasonic Lumix FS25, was certainly not advertised as such.

Like you Matt, I'm not completely adverse to getting a grey import bargain every now and again, but only as long as I've chosen to buy grey. And as this camera was a gift, I was wanting to get a UK version.

I went with buyacamera even though at the time of ordering last week both Dixons and amazon.co.uk were selling the item at around the same price, simply because I had used them at the beginning of the year and was pleased with the service, and wanted to bung some more trade their way. Don't think I'll be doing that again! Well, we live and learn, eh? ;)
 
Holden you should try treating the OP with a little respect and not like a dribbling idiot, you should also go back to his very first post and actually read it before getting on your high horse.

Fact 1: Buyacamera are advertising UK sourced stock

Fact 2: Theyre clearly lying

Fact 3: Theyre knowingly breaking their own terms of operating

Fact 4: Someone else needs to calm down but it's not the OP
 
Nifkin,
If you have the time, it might be worth talking to your local Trading Standards office too about your concerns re the accuracy of some of the statements made on buyacameras website. They may be able to persuade them to correct any inaccuracies.
 
bigbigblue said:
Nifkin,
If you have the time, it might be worth talking to your local Trading Standards office too about your concerns re the accuracy of some of the statements made on buyacameras website. They may be able to persuade them to correct any inaccuracies.
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I had been considering that, as a matter of fact. If I get a chance I'll look into it today (y)
 
Sadly, there have been many instances of internet purchases that fall into this kind of situation. Most of the time, the buyer is after saving money by buying from the net, instead of going to one of the reputable high street stores and spending money with them.

In this case, you may not have bought with the intent of paying less than high street stockists, I'm just pointing out it does happen.

Maybe we should all be warned that internet buying can sometimes (not always, but too often) be riddled with deals that are cheaper, but not necessarily, the best deals.


Paul.
 
Yup, I can concur that these guys do sell grey imports. I just received a Lumix TZ7 that was definitely not a UK model.

When I called them they claimed ignorance but happily agreed to take it back for a full refund.

I just wish I had found this thread BEFORE I ordered it! :thinking:
 
I ordered a Canon EOS 1000D from them on Monday. Fingers crossed it's UK sourced ...
 
My camera turned up on Tuesday morning (ordered 14/12/09) and the battery charger came with a UK mains plug. However, the accompanying CD's registration utility only offered me Asia and Oceania. (Added the camera to my existing Canon account no probs though)

Everything seems to be working fine and the manuals/bumph are all in English so I'm happy, even if I can't be certain it's a UK spec model.
 
If this company is claiming that all the products they sell are imported through the official importer and they are actually supplying you Grey Imports this is illegal under The Sale Of Goods Act 1978, the matter should be reported to your local Trading Standards Department who will take up the matter on your behalf which could result in the company being prosecuted.
 
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Ben Myerson said:
If this company is claiming that all the products they sell are imported through the official importer and they are actually supplying you Grey Imports this is illegal under The Sale Of Goods Act 1978, the matter should be reported to your local Trading Standards Department who will take up the matter on your behalf which could result in the company being prosecuted.
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You do realise this thread is 2 years old!!!!!
 
Sorry, to be honest I didn't, but my remarks are applicable to any company who supply grey Imports which in itself is perfectly legal but not if they claim that they have been imported through the official importer which is contrary to the Trades Description Act, and the Sale Of Goods Act 1978 and they leave themselves liable to prosecution under those provisions.
 
I bought a camara last week off this site and it has turned up damaged!! A have returned it and they are saying they will not refund it and will not exchange it do not use this site
 
Some ok some **** but u ment to get 14 days money back and they send u bit of paper saying if any thing wrong report it with in so many hours. Done all this and they still saying we broke it so won't do anything. Going on my honeymoon this week so well peed off as bought it for that
 
Never understood this about grey imports and warranties not being covered.
What does it matter to Panasonic where the camera has been sold? If they're taking the profit from their camera, they should take on the warranty work as well.
 
garry71 said:
Never understood this about grey imports and warranties not being covered.
What does it matter to Panasonic where the camera has been sold? If they're taking the profit from their camera, they should take on the warranty work as well.
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Perhaps they're wanting to protect their resellers in their various markets. How else would UK resellers be able to sell in £s what US consumers pay in $s? it's regularly the case that something which sells for, say, £500 in the UK, sells for $500 in the US.
 
It does seem we get a rough end of the stick regarding prices in the UK. Maybe if the manufacturers want to protect their various market sellers then they should start charging their market varying prices accordingly, to stop all the need for grey imports. If it means a drop in prices in this country similar to US then we'd all benefit.

As another point, if the OP always wants certified UK market goods with a fully valid UK warranty then perhaps he should of gone into a local shop to ensure he has a UK sourced product and not try to save a tenner on the internet.
 
I used them to buy a Nikon AF-S DX VR 55-200mm F4-F5.6 G DX. It was advertised as a White Box Offer, it came with a their own one year warranty and the serial number happily registered on the Nikon website.

The price was great, I was very happy with the service and the lens is fine. I knew I would be getting a split out from dual kit lens bundle, I saved £30 or so pounds buying that way.

Just adding another viewpoint here.
 
garry71 said:
Never understood this about grey imports and warranties not being covered.
What does it matter to Panasonic where the camera has been sold? If they're taking the profit from their camera, they should take on the warranty work as well.
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Sigma told me that the reason they don't provide warranty on grey imports is because they don't have any control over how well the lenses are handled and, in particular, packaged for shipping. Of course, it's probably more accurate that they would rather control the retail channels, but that's what they told me!
 
Ben Myerson said:
If this company is claiming that all the products they sell are imported through the official importer and they are actually supplying you Grey Imports this is illegal under The Sale Of Goods Act 1978, the matter should be reported to your local Trading Standards Department who will take up the matter on your behalf which could result in the company being prosecuted.
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SOGA 1979 I think you will find.. (y)
 
Alangarde said:
Some ok some **** but u ment to get 14 days money back and they send u bit of paper saying if any thing wrong report it with in so many hours. Done all this and they still saying we broke it so won't do anything. Going on my honeymoon this week so well peed off as bought it for that
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Did you use a credit card or paypal?
 
Ehh..I wouldn't worry about the OP guys. This thread was started in 2009....

Revived in 2011....

Revived again by Alan in 2012...
 
modchild said:
As another point, if the OP always wants certified UK market goods with a fully valid UK warranty then perhaps he should of gone into a local shop to ensure he has a UK sourced product and not try to save a tenner on the internet.
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Haha modchild you ****. The original point I was making, if you actually read all of my contributions to this thread before jumping on your high horse, was that the online shop in question claimed to be selling UK sourced stock when they were not, which means they were LYING. So you're telling me that the only way to verify whether items have a full UK warranty is to visit a 'local shop' in person? We both know that that's complete and utter nonsense. As I said, I have nothing against grey imports in particular, but I do like to know when I'm purchasing them, whether it's online or in a bricks-and-mortar shop.

So unless you're saying it's legitimate practice to blatantly lie to customers, the fact that you can't seem to understand my original point is mindboggling.

And what's with reviving this thread every year? :)
 
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