'Value for less'
I recently
bought a camera off eBay, from an outfit trading as 'ValueForLess'
(or 'evenlessvalue' as I tend to think of them).
They sell what
they describe as "Ex-Display wharehouse (sic) returns",
but if this camera was ex-display, I'm an archbishop! I buy quite a few cameras
off eBay, and this was the only one I have had that wasn't immaculate.
Maybe that makes me a bit fussy, but then we photographers are like that.
I wouldn't normally
make a big deal about a thing like this, but I asked before
the sale if the camera was damaged, and was told no. Now I have pointed it
out,
VFL are refusing to rectify the matter and insist that black is white as far
as the
camera is concerned. If you think I exaggerate, the quotes below are all verbatim
from their emails - I really did try
to resolve the matter before going this far...
Those of you
who are planning to do business with these guys should
also note their method of postage and packing. I paid £6 for the
privilege of having it wrapped in about a square foot of bubble wrap (no tape)
and stuffed in an ordinary, thin A5 manila envelope - postage cost 79p!
Also, mind how
you pay them. I should have smelt a rat when I read that
"Credit Card Orders [using their own link] have Priority over Paypal
orders"
What is
he saying, that your order will be ignored for a week if you use Paypal?
The real reason, perhaps, is that they would prefer you used a method you
can't cancel
when the goods arrive and you discover that they are not quite what you were
expecting!
If, by any
chance, you've had experience of them, do let me know and I'll post that here
too.
It would probably be unfair of me to label them as swindlers on the basis
of a single
transaction, so if you have a more positive view, then let me know about that
as well.
If they are friends of yours, then perhaps you could persuade them to refund
my money...
I leave you
to draw your own conclusions about VFL - I certainly have. In the meantime,
here are
some interesting photos (note the missing screws - who's had it apart, I wonder?)
Send me an
~~ Gallery ~~
"In fact most of
the camera is unscratched and lovely"
(from the Arthur Daley phrasebook,
I imagine)
"Above the lens
the camera is perfect"
"..the camera is
still in excellent condition"
[Legal note: Any opinions expressed above are those of the author alone. Quotations and facts related are accurate and can be corroborated.]