Last Updated on May 3, 2023 by cameraconsumer
Buying a camera, or a camera lens isn’t rocket science – especially when you know what to look for. Sure, you could just go to your local Best Buy and grab what you want off the shelf, but you won’t get the best deals that way.
Oftentimes, the best deal to be had is on eBay or Amazon. But what should you look for? How do you weed out the good sellers from the bad?
It’s actually quite easy. You just have to know what you’re looking for. With that said, here are the factors to look for:
Authorized Seller
Without a doubt, the main thing to find out is whether or not the seller or store is an authorized dealer of the brand you are about to purchase.
An authorized dealer is a store with authorization from the manufacturer to sell their products. What this means is that they are buying the products directly from the manufacturer, or from a direct distributor.
Have you ever heard of grey-market cameras?
Those are cameras that aren’t purchased from the manufacturer (or direct distributor) and are being sold by a non-authorized dealer.
Have you ever seen a camera referred to as the “import” version?
Here’s an example of the import version of a Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM Lens Standard Auto Focus Lens being sold on eBay:
Grey market, or import version doesn’t mean that the product is counterfeit.
The majority of grey market goods are actually in fact authentic. “Import version” just means that the camera is for a foreign market – like China for example.
So if they are authentic, what’s the issue?
The Problem With Grey Market Cameras
The issue is that these products don’t come with the original manufacturer’s warranty. And, you probably won’t get customer support either.
So for example, a camera that should be sold in China will only be warranted in China.
With import versions, you will often see the product being sold with a “seller-provided” warranty. Usually, these warranties will be for a period of 30-90 days; whereas original manufacturer warranties run for 1-5 years, depending on the brand.
The box might say “5-year warranty”, but if you didn’t purchase it from an authorized dealer, you don’t get the warranty – not even for a day.
And it doesn’t matter if the camera was originally purchased from an authorized dealer before being sold to you. What matter is that you purchase it from the authorized dealer yourself.
So how do you tell if the seller is an authorized dealer?
How To Identify Authorized Dealers
Simple. Just visit the manufacturer’s website.
For example, let’s say you’re shopping for a Sony Alpha digital camera. You would visit Sony’s website, and in this case, scroll to the bottom. You’ll find a link that says “See Authorized Retailers”.
After you click that link, it will give you the “Sony Authorized Dealer Directory”, which will look something like this:
From there, just find the name of the store that you’re planning to purchase from.
Let’s say you shopping from the 17Photo Electronics and Outdoors store on Amazon. You would look for their name on the list (in this case – 17th Street Photo) like this:
That’s about it.
Every camera or photography manufacturer’s website will have some version of this. If you can’t find the link on their website, just do a Google search for (the manufacturer’s name) + authorized dealer list.
A quick note: Purchasing from an authorized dealer ensures that your camera (or accessory) is not only authentic, but that it does also come with its full manufacturer’s warranty.
If the warranty is not of significance to you, you can skip this step.
Feedback History
Now that you’ve confirmed whether or not the seller is authorized, the next step would be to take a look at their feedback history. Cameras and lenses are expensive. In general, as the price goes up, so does a buyer’s scrutiny. So you’ll find out really quickly if the seller is honest, or if they’ve had a bunch of unsatisfied customers.
We all know how to check an eBay seller’s feedback history. But on Amazon, it isn’t so obvious – but it’s actually just as easy.
I referenced 17photo earlier, so let’s use them again.
On any product page, or store page, you’ll see a blue link, referencing who the seller is. For a product page, you’ll see the link highlighted like this:
Clicking on that blue link will take you to their seller profile page, where you’ll see their feedback history.
The top portion will show you their 12-month feedback score and percentage, like this:
And if you scroll down and look to the right, you’ll see a breakdown of their feedback history, which will look like this:
From there you can take a look at their feedback history, and the number of unsatisfied customers they’ve had. As a general rule – on Amazon look for sellers with at least a 95% feedback percentage, and on eBay look for 98% and above.
Sellers below those thresholds aren’t necessarily bad sellers – and you don’t HAVE to stick to those feedback percentages, especially if you look at their…
Recent Feedback
Assuming their overall feedback history is good, let’s take a look at their recent history. Specifically about what the customers have to say about their experience.
No seller is perfect, and all sellers will have some negative comments. What matters is what the negative comments have to say.
Sometimes your shipping employees are late, and a few shipments are shipped after the promised “ship by” date. Sometimes FedEx delays the package, which is out of your control, etc. Or maybe the seller shipped the product, but the customer was just unhappy with the product itself.
So it’s important to look for red flags. Look for comments about products not being received at all, or products being counterfeit – like this one:
Honest and legitimate sellers will have just a few, or preferably none of these types of comments. If you see more than a handful of red flags, it might be best to stay away.
Final Thoughts
The 3 categories above are good ways to ensure a positive buying experience when shopping for a camera (or any expensive product for that matter).
It will not only provide you with an authentic product, but also ensure that you receive the original warranty.
But if you found a great deal on a camera, camera lens, photography accessory, etc. – but couldn’t verify the seller with the manufacturer, just keep in mind: You still have protection on eBay with their 60-day Buyer Protection Guarantee, and on Amazon with their 30-day A-to-z guarantee.
So if the deal is just too good to pass up, go for it. Just make sure to test it out fully before your guarantee time period expires!
