Buying from gumtree.

metaldud

metaldud

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Adam G
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Hi guys wanted to get anyones experiance with gumtree before i even move with this buy. I saw an add on the local gumtree for a 40d with lens and 3 batterys for £500 the guys mobile is on there, i dont want to stereotype but he sounded a little dodgy but maybe he was tired. im going to see the camera in person where he lives on sunday but taking no money with me so it cant get stolen. So anyone with a good buy or sale on gumtree speak up.
 
Yep, I brought a lens off of gumtree last year, the Guy and I actually met in a Motorway services, i was alone as was he, never entered my head that anything doggy could happen. toooooo trusting.
 
raider2727 said:
Yep, I brought a lens off of gumtree last year, the Guy and I actually met in a Motorway services, i was alone as was he, never entered my head that anything doggy could happen. toooooo trusting.
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Yeh me to until i read a story of a guy getting stabbed trying to buy a car. but its not that much money. the guy said he is selling for his girlfriend who has finished a photography course now she dosent need it. i find it a little weird that she is selling a camera after a photography course as surely it means you love taking photos.
 
freefall said:
always take a friend, make a mental note of where you are, including postcode. have 99 ready and dialled. you just never know...
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That is a bit too much :puke:. Meet in daytime, in town centre, and pay in the bank. There are lots of people around and CCTV on every step.
 
yeh think i might give it a miss then had a look on google street view at his address first thing i see is a gang moto tagged on a wall.
 
metaldud said:
yeh think i might give it a miss then had a look on google street view at his address first thing i see is a gang moto tagged on a wall.
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you did the right thing..

i do as much sleuthing on someone as i can...then if the bell rings in my head...i leave it

doing the streetmap was brill...i have met in a little chef on one buy and felt silly trying out a bass guitar as the waitress was getting our toasted teacake order
but the guy was genuine and we did talk on the phone

caveat emptor means just that!!
 
Gumtree is unfortunately a shadow of it's former self. But I still check it, and fire off an email occasionally if I think there's half a chance of a real bargain. It's easy to tell who's genuine, and of course as long as you are sensible and take every precaution.
 
SuperAP said:
Gumtree is unfortunately a shadow of it's former self. But I still check it, and fire off an email occasionally if I think there's half a chance of a real bargain. It's easy to tell who's genuine, and of course as long as you are sensible and take every precaution.
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I've always found Italy quite a long way to go to buy anything - and that's where most "bargains" on Gumtree tend to be located :naughty:
 
Gumtree v ebay.............you decide, but you always have the mafia with ebay they are known as paypal:LOL:
 
there seems to be a lot of scammers sending the generic paid by paypal emails, and always wanting to ship to nigeria for some reason...

with that said I'm trying to sell my 5D on it, so will see
 
Or keep the money in the bank, keep adding to it, and keep an eagle eye on the for sale section of this site, you have a much much greater chance of it being a) kosher b) used by someone who loves photography therefore will look after the equipment.
 
Yeh i guess so i have the cash so ill keep looking or maybe stick it in the wanted section of the site.
 
i would say, always go to someones home address to meet , because at least then you know where they live, so no one can pull a fast one
 
I personally have used Gumtree to try to find cars, but never had any success with getting through to sellers. I hate the fees associated with ebay so I am all for a free alternative (I assume gumtree is free to list?) but because of this it's always going to be a scammers paradise really. I would definitely proceed with caution. If you smell a rat just leave it. Not worth it. On the other hand, I agree that meeting in public places could be ok.
 
metaldud said:
http://nottingham.gumtree.com/nottingham/26/44750526.html
this is the ad and the more i look the more i think its stolen especially after i checked and the lens looks like its worth 8ooquid.
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Difficult one....it does look like a slightly missinformed advert, but not everyone is as clued up as some on cameras. I know a lady that shoots great photos and has a Nikon, but she doesn't really get all the technical mumbo jumbo at all.
 
The guy that ripped me off on here also uses Gumtree to sell a lot of camera gear.. For all I know I could have been the only person he's ever ripped off but I doubt it. Either way, it's put me off ever using Gumtree, not that I'd really considered it in the first place.
 
Ill call the guy again today and see if he has the cap for the body and lens cap for the back of the lens. if its stolen he will have neither of them.
 
I could bet money that one is stolen. It may be worthwhile contacting the authorities in case somebody had 40D with 24-70mm stolen (and serials would match up). Shottingham is full of crooks for the last few centuries since Robbin' Hoody.
 
I'd put money on it being dodgy too!
No mention of the boxes, software, cables and so on that come with the body as standard. Box and pouch for the lens? missing charger? There are just too many things wrong here to even consider it.

But consider this... if you had £1500 (new price) of kit, that you could quite reasonably expect to get in the region of £900 - £1000 for... would you be asking £500?

No... neither would I.
 
If you look closely at the photo you can just make out the finger nails of the rightfull owner.
 
that's a nice L glass kit lens!!
500 notes
sheesh!

looks dodgy
I know a couple of people in nottingham that probs nicked it for him!
I would so take a mate with you if you were seeing this and get the cash afterwards


I called a "home visit health masseur" on gumtree...cheap as chips.
first thing she said to me was " I don't service gentlemen clients"
I assured her it was for my g'f...one of a few birthday pressies and I was skint at the time. so cheapness was good. She's got loads of business out of my g'f, her sister etc since but she was VERY aware of dodgy geeza's on gumtree cruising for a service!


p.s he's had no takers, or has had two cameras!
http://nottingham.gumtree.com/nottingham/82/45400882.html
http://nottingham.gumtree.com/nottingham/17/45952717.html
 
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This doesn't look the most kosher of adverts but not everyone on Gumtree is a crook. I've bought lenses and flash gear from it, and with any luck will be selling a 300/2.8 on it tonight. There is no harm in trying to contact the seller I guess. Try and suss him/her out a bit before exchanging.

There was some advice above about only meeting at his house. While I could see the logic in that, and have done it myself, thinking about it I would rather meet somewhere public and neutral (and with a big mate in tow).

This is my favourit current add there:

http://www.gumtree.com/london/28/45834328.html

look at the shot of the body and lenses. Some great Photoshop work there.
 
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The lack of battery charger is the dead giveaway here, if he/she has just finished a course using this camera surely they would have the charger, as they would have been using it constantly, i would put money on it that it's from a burglary or lifted from a car, the old saying comes in here, if something sounds to good to be true ;)
 
can anyone tell me i've got 2 choices now
1)70-200mm f4L canon £240 slighly scratch on glass + uv filter broken
2)28-75mm f2.8 Tamron £230

I only can buy one....help me on this....i'm using a 450D and would love to shoot a lot portraits..... I beleive i've use more in 28-75mm but 70-200f4L seems a big bargain of cos with its tear and wear
 
Both sound round about the going price, the 70-200mm sounds cheap because of the scratch, try selling it on and it won't sound so cheap.

The tamron would be a good buy as long as it's mint and boxed but i'd still take a punt at £200
 
what I meant was they usually go for around £350, this one seems cheap at £240 but if you tried selling it when your done with it you'll find it hard to get rid of, nobody likes scratched lenses, if you're buying it to keep it and the scratch isn't bad then yes it's cheap, most scratches don't show up in the pictures buy buyers don't like them

The tamron would be better for posed portraits, the canon for candids because of the extra reach
 
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sooyeshun said:
can anyone tell me i've got 2 choices now
1)70-200mm f4L canon £240 slighly scratch on glass + uv filter broken
2)28-75mm f2.8 Tamron £230

I only can buy one....help me on this....i'm using a 450D and would love to shoot a lot portraits..... I beleive i've use more in 28-75mm but 70-200f4L seems a big bargain of cos with its tear and wear
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It sounds like 70-200mm was dropped and very likely has more problems. Without close inspection and trial I'd leave it.
 
thanks
it sounds it dropped and broke the uv filter, but the owner said no.
I have not bought any lens for myself be4 ...still with my kit lens....
how am i going to inspect it ? he has sent some pic for me and the pics looks alrite to me...
 
sooyeshun said:
thanks
it sounds it dropped and broke the uv filter, but the owner said no.
I have not bought any lens for myself be4 ...still with my kit lens....
how am i going to inspect it ? he has sent some pic for me and the pics looks alrite to me...
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The owner can say many things. Why didn't he get rid of that filter before selling it? What damage do you expect? I've seen a dropped Sigma 70-300 on the stone with a smashed UV filter but very minor superficial damage. It worked, but was out of calibration (or just normal for Sigma). If you can't evaluate sharpness and AF precision then you won't know.
 
Right, I thought it was local so you could see it, I wouldn't buy a lens which may have been dropped without seeing it.
 
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