# Buying a camcorder abroad â€" A word of warning



## justinp (May 7, 2002)

Hi

When I bought my dv camcorder in New York I agreed on a price for a sony dcr-pc1, then after they had my debit card the salesman said, â€œyou have bought a really nice camcorder, but do you want an excellent one?â€ Â He then proceeded to set up a camcorder the same as the one I had purchased and connected it to a tv, He showed me how dark the picture was when filming inside the shop. Â He then showed me a cheaper looking camcorder which looked to give a much better picture. Â And for the cheaper one he only wanted an extra $200.

Luckily I stuck with the dcr-pc1 and realised when I got back to the hotel room that the one in the shop was rigged with the exposure turned right down. Â Mine is excellent filming both inside and outside.

Unfortunately a friend or mine got caught out by this same scam in Tenerife and indeed purchased the cheaper camera for more money.

Hope this helps someone

JustinP


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## StiV (May 7, 2002)

Similar thing happened to me just off Time Square. I got the camera down to an excellent price. As soon as they had my credit card it was major hard sell on alternative products. The last thing they wanted to sell me was the camera I had chosen. When it seemed that they were actually going to have to sell me the original camera at the daft price they quoted they tried everything to sell me an alternative.

When I realised that the whole shop was into scamming I demanded my card back. I had shop staff physically preventing me from leaving the shop!

I had to threaten violence, then the law before they would return my card and let me leave the shop.

To this day I still can quite believe I was nearly mugged by a shop!

S


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## Gren (Jul 25, 2002)

Have seen this in Gran Canaria.

Great deal isn't so good when you realise the camera doesn't come with batteries or any leads. These have actually been removed from the box. Then it comes out that they won't sell it to you in this state anyway and you have to add on 'the extras'

The great price is to get you through the door whilst they even send someone to get sarnies for you to keep you in the shop!

Stuff looked dodgy anyway - you'd really wonder about any warranty claim.

Gren


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## justinp (May 7, 2002)

Hi StiV

That sounds like the same shop as where I bought from, just opposite the NASDAQ building. As I mentioned I actually bought the 1st camera at the low price and managed to resist the hard pressure sale on everything else but the Sony dcr-pc1 I went in to purchase.

After getting out of the shop I popped a couple of doors down to buy a coffee and check the contents of the box, to my horror there was no charger in the box, I was nearly sick.

I went back to the shop and told my wife to stay in the coffee shop. I was ready for allot of grief and did not expect to get any where, but when I spoke to the assistant and explained he apologised and quickly gave me the charger.

All in all I was very lucky.

Cheers

JustinP


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## jonah (Aug 17, 2002)

Ok i was had big style, met a bloke in a pub( get the picture) got talking and he said he could get sony digi camcorders for half price! anyway out of this bag he pulled a brand new sony camcorder boxed with all the instructions the lot, got him down from Â£400 to Â£250, deal done.
went off to get the cash met him out side the pub handed the money over and went off to the car with what i thought was a camcorder but turned out to be a Bag of Sugar  [smiley=stupid.gif]
Never saw the bloke again


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## Thumper (Nov 4, 2002)

Most of the Photo / Video shops in NYC are a con! They all try similar scams, e.g.

2 years ago, I bought a recordable minidisk player from one of the stores near Times Square. Got a good price, but they then tried to say that the leads & battery pack were *extra* - this was after taking my card for payment. After a lot of arguing, they let me have them for nothing, but then tried to sell me 10 blank discs for $90  , saying that this was cheaper than UK! I eventually left with the player & accessories at a fair price, but when my Amex statement came through, they had double-swiped it!

OK, Amex did their bit & refunded me, but I was still concerned that they had my card no., so got it changed.

If you want to buy electronic / photo / video gear in NYC (where it is still cheap), try B & H on 9th Ave (between 33rd & 34th). It's a bit of a hike from central Manhattan, but well worth it - a huge store, incredibly helpful & efficient staff (a good Jewish family ) and very competitive prices. (e.g Canon Powershot S45 rrp Â£550 is Â£315, including all accessories, full Worldwide guarantees etc.!). They also have mail order & International Shipping. (From Â£30 for the above item to UK). I have used this store extensively and never had a problem!

Their website is http://www.bhphotovideo.com


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