Hybrid_From_Hell Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Never done it before, but me camera has gone "Phut" so need a new one Have been looking at the Fuji E900, harxdly availoable anywhere, but amazone have this 9 million Megapixel unit for £130, seen elsewhere at around £250++ So, whats it like buying from amazon, is it hassle free or are they a nightmare, what is it like if it goes wrong whilst under warranty etc ? I would like to by from a shop, but TBH the £ differences justr do not add up to doing that, plus Currys Dixons jessops don't do this model ? Thoughts please ? Oh, and as for OT - I'm not really usage is 90+% 4x4 LR and off roading ! Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest diesel_jim Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 I've only bought DVD's and books (yeah, i know, i CAN read! ) from them, and they've been nothing but good. they let you know when stuff is on backorder,and the items always come very well packaged. I'd imagine you have the same 12 months consumer warranty as if you'd bought it from a high street shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige90 Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Bought books,etc and a couple of electrickery items (no camera though) from them and happy enough so far. Bought a Panasonic camera from Pixmania.com and apart from the software and instruction manual being in French,again, no troubles. Once I'd sussed the language option I've never had to use the manual anyway. Just looked, they're slightly dearer at £132+£4.90p&p so that's them sacked then. Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MJG Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Never done it before, but me camera has gone "Phut" so need a new one<SNIP> This relates to my experience of Amazon:- They are first class and reliable - I've ordered loads of stuff (literally hundreds of pounds over the years) from them with only one problem - a CD that never turned up a couple of years ago. I can't remember how I sorted it with them but it was very easy and another one was dispatched no questions asked, no problem what so ever. I also once bought something from them (A digicam as it happens) and changed my mind after it arrived (they like all on line retailers have to offer a mail order cooling off period) again sorted no problem - only thing I lost was the return postage which really is only fair enough. Their prices are amongst the best around - though they are not the cheapest 100% of the time. The free delivery option often makes them the cheapest as some retailers do not offer this. I do not think you will get the E900 any cheaper than what Amazon are currently offering it at. They had it for £146 only a few weeks ago so I guess they are running the stock down so if you are thinking about it I would say move quickly. They sell/have sold shed loads of these cameras as they have had them way cheaper than ayone else for weeks if not months. I don't know a great deal about the E900 camera but you will see from the Amazon site you can read reviews from previous buyers. If I was in the market for a new digicam (I'm not as I have just been bought one) them this would be very high on my shortlist.... especially at around £130. One thing to check is that you are actually buying from Amazon or if you are being taken to a market place seller (when you click on 'add to basket') - these are independant sellers who sell through Amazon and are supposed to offer the same level of service quality - not sure they always do espec. in terms of delivery terms. The Amazon system sometimes takes you to one of these sellers even when they have it in stock and cheaper - just something to watch out for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happyoldgit Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Buying from Amazon direct has always been problem free for me, buying from companies via links from Amazon has been generally good too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted December 26, 2006 Author Share Posted December 26, 2006 Buying from Amazon direct has always been problem free for me, buying from companies via links from Amazon has been generally good too. Gulp ! Dirty Deed Done then Ordered £130 inc Free P&P for a 9 million Megapixel camera with RAW Facility just has to be a bertie bargain ! Ta everso all, thought I had better get in quickly as MJG suggested ! Nige PS Of course I now hold you all persoanally joint and severably liable for just about anything now Serious ta for the superfast and useful info as always on LR4x4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 ooooh you don't wanna do that I use Amazon a lot and have found all the "standard procedures" to be good, shipping is quick and packed sensibly (though the shipping pricing is a bit odd) but they are a bunch of aholes when it comes to any common sense out of customer service. I tried to order something computerified from there a couple of years back (can't remember what, a game I think) and I got an error message saying I couldn't order computer/electronic stuff to be sent here. So I sent them an email. And got a "standard response" saying something along the lines of "we regret we cannot ship to FI due to possible incompatibilities with power, telephone standards, video standards, blah". So I wrote an email back explaining that it was ok, we use PAL video, 240V 50Hz power, drive on the right hand side of the road and sing God Save the Queen all exactly the same as the UK so it would be fine and I knew there would be no problem so please send it. What did I get back? The exact same "standing effin email" saying that they could not send whatever it was to the FI because of A B C, all the same rubbish word for word So I sent one with lots of F and B words in it very impolitely telling them that they should learn to read emails, provide some "customer service" and that if they couldn't be bothered to listen to me they could stick it up their A and I would take my business somewhere else :angry: Strangely they did not bother to reply to that one. The bottom line being that I am happy to order a book or a CD from there because not a lot can go wrong with those, but I'd not touch them with a barge pole for anything that might go wrong as they seem too stupid to understand plain English. I always buy my cameras (3 now) from Park Cameras who have a couple of stores in Sussex, usually near the best prices (on the ones I have bought - not on this one though) and in my experience give you very honest advice. You'll be fine as long as it doesn't go wrong but probably b*ggered if it does because in my experience their customer service department is filled with cretins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon W Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Bought quite a few things from there, a TV, freeview box and various books etc., never had to use customer services as it's all been fine. Very good prices, especially on cameras at the moment as you've found! Richard Edit: Oops, appear to be logged on as Jonathan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimAttrill Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 I also had a case where, on ordering a book, all of a sudden I was refunded my money and the book never appeared (of course). I get the impression that some of Amazon's suppliers will not deal with credit card deals outside of the US. In that case, I just made sure I ordered the book from a different supplier. This time everything went ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MJG Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 ooooh you don't wanna do that Good job the (vast) majority of Amazon's customers don't reside in the FI then Which CD's do FI residents like then - Baaaaaaach.... perhaps There is a saying, I can't remember the detail but it is something like 'A happy customer will tell 1 person were a unhappy one will tell 12' or something like that. It is very true that the test of the customer service of any company is when things do not go right and how quickly they resolve it, as I say I had two things out of the ordinary and the were dealt with swiftly and efficiently, often these things are the luck of the draw and very dependant on the person dealing with the query having a good work ethic and taking pride in what they do, sadly something very lacking in lot's of companies today - though not in my experience lacking at Amazon. Also it is my understanding that Amazon like a lot of on line retailers point you in the direction of the manufacturers repair/warranty facilities if things go wrong certainly after the first 28 days or so. All you need is your proof of purchase and you normally deal with them direct. This can be quicker than sending things back to the retailer for them only to send it on to the place you could have sent it direct to anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Nige, Just bought the exact same camera about a week ago. From Amazon too. Not disapointed with the camera the pics seem to be good on screen at least..(although I'm no David Bailey). Not printed any out yet. Good luck with Royal Mail though :( Let me know if you find a good snug fitting case for it. I can only find ones that are just too small or way too big... A 2GB memory card is worth it too - 500+ 9MB images Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 It is very true that the test of the customer service of any company is when things do not go right and how quickly they resolve it, as I say I had two things out of the ordinary and the were dealt with swiftly and efficiently, often these things are the luck of the draw and very dependant on the person dealing with the query having a good work ethic and taking pride in what they do, sadly something very lacking in lot's of companies today - though not in my experience lacking at Amazon.Also it is my understanding that Amazon like a lot of on line retailers point you in the direction of the manufacturers repair/warranty facilities if things go wrong certainly after the first 28 days or so. All you need is your proof of purchase and you normally deal with them direct. This can be quicker than sending things back to the retailer for them only to send it on to the place you could have sent it direct to anyway. Most companies I think work on the basis of keeping 95% happy and sod the other 5% - true whether mail order, high street or whatever. High street stores have the same policy, over 30 days you are not eligible for a straight swap and you are referred to the manufacturer. I had an appalling experience with Dixons in this regard about six months ago, I spent days chasing around from one person to another to another trying to get a faulty DVD recorder fixed and as a result I will never buy anything from Dixons or made by Panasonic ever again, just on principle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 I've always found them very good, bought a digicam (one of the tiny keyring ones) which turned out to be rubbish (although not actually faulty, it was just carp), sent it back expecting to be given the run around and they were far more helpful than most shops I've ever dealt with. So impressed I bought my current Canon from them. Uncle buys lots of stuff from Japan / China on eBay, cheap digicam, PSP, MP3 players for his sons etc. and has always done well but IMHO that route can be a bit risky. That said, he's done OK - got a very nice camera for about 50% of the UK price with free goodies and even had the english manual with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MJG Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 as a result I will never buy anything from Dixons or made by Panasonic ever again, just on principle. FWIW my experience of Panasonic products has been just great, this is a brand based on my personal experience I fully trust.... Obviuously yours has not not been a similarly positive experience, sorry this is not the case for you..... I have the same view about Hitachi products as I have had a run of bad experiences with them but I am sure there will be folk who think Hitachi are the dogs do da's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MJG Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Most companies I think work on the basis of keeping 95% happy and sod the other 5% - true whether mail order, high street or whatever.High street stores have the same policy, over 30 days you are not eligible for a straight swap and you are referred to the manufacturer. I had an appalling experience with Dixons in this regard about six months ago, I spent days chasing around from one person to another to another trying to get a faulty DVD recorder fixed and as a result I will never buy anything from Dixons or made by Panasonic ever again, just on principle. Let me tell you a story................ About this time last year I purchased a 37 inch Hitachi Flat Screen LCD TV. After three months it started switching the picture off at random.... I purchased from empiredirect.co.uk.....the service could have been better. But they put me in touch with a great local company (THV) who came out, collected my TV, fixed it within 4 days, and returned it to me fully working........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8 Freak Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Glad you ordered.... Saw this too late.. Company I've used successfully for camera stuff are Digital Depot... Your camera LINK On offer for £139 includes 512MB card... Hope all is well.... If not, you have an alternative... I have no association with DD but would recommend their service to anyone.... Bought loads of Canon stuff from them over the years, plus 4 or 5 other cameras for gifts etc.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 FWIW my experience of Panasonic products has been just great, this is a brand based on my personal experience I fully trust....Obviuously yours has not not been a similarly positive experience, sorry this is not the case for you..... I have the same view about Hitachi products as I have had a run of bad experiences with them but I am sure there will be folk who think Hitachi are the dogs do da's I'm the same with Sony. I bought a fairly decent Sony CD player (for a separates hi-fi system) in 1990. It went bang after 2 weeks. So the shop replaced it. The second one went bang after another two weeks. I asked and they agreed to let me choose something else of the same value. I bought a Marantz CD player, and it is still sitting in the stack in the sittingroom working perfectly - I keep thinking I should replace it one day but it's been so good I wouldn't part with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MJG Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Let me know if you find a good snug fitting case for it. I can only find ones that are just too small or way too big... One of these http://www.warehouseexpress.com/?photo/low...KEYWORD=lowepro Should do it. The Lowepro web site (when it's working!!!) at www.lowepro.com I'm sure has a table on there where you can look up your camera model and match it to one of their bags. I've always used Lowepro bags - high quality good value and last for ages. I think the slight issue finding a bag/case for the E900 will be it's very slightly unusual shape with quite a prominent hand grip meaning in order to get a bag to fit the grip you will have some slackness over the rest of the camera body. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS26 Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 One thing to check is that you are actually buying from Amazon or if you are being taken to a market place seller (when you click on 'add to basket') - these are independant sellers who sell through Amazon and are supposed to offer the same level of service quality - not sure they always do espec. in terms of delivery terms. The Amazon system sometimes takes you to one of these sellers even when they have it in stock and cheaper - just something to watch out for. VERY MUCH ENDORSE THIS - I LOST £170 WHEN I BOUGHT FROM A SELLER CALLED 'AMAZON CLEARANCE' WHO WAS ONE OF THESE 'MARKETPLACE' JOBBIES AND THEN DISAPPEARED. Although my general experience of Amazon is GREAT and I would not hessitate to buy a camera from them (and have done so before), they were useless in this situation, stating that the contract was between me and the seller and all they had done was send him my cash and had therefore done all that they needed to. Emptor Caveat in the 'marketplace' ! Rog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Thanks for that - I've tried loads of Lowepro bags and they were all too small (although all very nice too!) I even loked on their website but didn't know about the compariosn charts - thanks for that. Looks like it is a Rezo 50 that I need (the biggest I could find to try in the shops was the 40 typcially!) Now to find the best price.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkieB Posted December 28, 2006 Share Posted December 28, 2006 stating that the contract was between me and the seller and all they had done was send him my cash and had therefore done all that they needed to. Emptor Caveat in the 'marketplace' ! I've had similar difficulty from paypal with an Ebay merchant. Although I daresay their contract is worded to support their case, it's clearly bull to claim they're not part of the contract, as agent. Trouble is, for a small claim against Amazon/paypal/Ebay themselves, you would have to persuade a district [read pretend] judge to understand a bit of law [ie beyond the superficial terms of the contract] — me, I'll have to engage Californian lawyers to get my money back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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