Buying off someone, need advice.

[lithiumli]

Hey guys, i know alot of you have bought stuff off other people so i just need a little help. i'm buying a camera off someone on thursday. the person told me that the camera's zoom lens does not go in an out and there is an error message about the lens when he turns in on. he still has the receipt and the box and is willing to give it to me. i'm thinking of claming the wwarrenty. i called the manufacturer and he said that it's 50/50 on the warrenty depending on if the camera was abuse. (fair enough) (he bought it in june). so i'm jsut asking you guys, what should i look out for when i do this transactions. like serial # on the recipt, etc.

any help would be great.

thanks in advance.

[Octavius]

Well, the serial number on the receipt is a big one.

However, to me, this almost looks like a scam. If the product was damaged by water, there is no way to find out without taking it apart. If you buy this camera off this guy and its water damage, you're stuck with a pretty paperweight and he gets some of his money back.

I would work out an arrangement with him. Pay him 1/2 up front for the camera (exchange personal info, drivers license, phone numbers, etc) and then RMA it out to the mfr for warranty service. If the mfr covers the damage, then pay him the other 1/2 of the money. If they do not cover the damage, return the busted camera to the seller and demand your money back.

If he skips town, you lost 1/2 of what you would have normally lost, plus you could sell the dead camera on EBAY and make a few bucks back as well should the worst case scenario occur.

Good Luck...it is always risky buying stuff like this in these circumstances.

[CHINAdeals]

sounds like risky businesses.

meet up at a bank etc. public place preferrably

any proof of purchase is good.. box/receipt

always keep contact information on hand

try to call in with the serial ahead of time if you can to mftr ..could be past warranty already ..good luck

[JAC]

The fact that he doesn't RMA it himself should be a pretty big indication that something is amiss.

[lithiumli]

that's what i was thinking cause i asked him and he's like i'm going to buy a new camera.

The fact that he doesn't RMA it himself should be a pretty big indication that something is amiss.

[lithiumli]

anything else to look for?

[Rembrandt100]

What the hell is happening to the english language?

WTF

I was sure this post was about bribery.

Dude you know already that this is a shady deal. You are just looking for a reason to go ahead with it tho aren't you?

Dave

[GangStarr]

only reason he's selling it is beacuse he knows he cant RMA it.