Good evening everyone. I've been coming here for a few years reading and learning a lot, this is my first post. I STRONGLY URGE EVERYONE NOT TO BUY FROM BIGVALUEINC! I like a great deal as much as the next guy but please read what happened to me TODAY!
I purchased the 5D (body only) from Bigvalueinc a little over a week ago, it arrived and appeared to be used. The manuals and a few other accessories had been previously opened, in fact, the manuals did not have the usual sealed plastic around them. The camera would also not hold focus on a still object, it appeared to continuously back focus, at least 75% of the time. I returned it and received a replacement on Friday of last week. That camera also came with a few opened accessory bags and the buttons on the top of the camera all felt very VERY loose and well used.
Here we are at today. I called to set up a return and try one more time. I told the rep I would just place a new order as a means of expediting the shipment of the new camera. He said fine but they could not give me the deal I received a few weeks ago. As ridiculous as that was I pulled up the item and low and behold, it was the great deal they have running today! I showed my excitement, he placed me on hold for a few minutes, while he was gone I kept getting error messages when I clicked Buy Now or Add To Cart. When he came back to the phone he said the manager would make an exception and include the accessories in the camera they ship out a a replacement and I did not have to repurchase, great, right? No! The rep went on to say they would do so only if I revised my initial negative review regarding the first used camera! I asked him why I could not add anything to my cart and he kept playing dumb, saying he had no idea what was wrong. The rep kept asking me to write a revised review while we were on the phone, clearly saying things like 'we will send a replacement if you revise your review'...ridiculous! They sent me a 'review revision request' and a return shipping label.
I emailed them and said I would write the review only after I received the replacement camera and did not appreciate the 'you do this for us and we'll do this for you' approach they were taking. Bigvalueinc emailed me around 5pm today with a phone number they do not list on their page and asked me to call, they clearly did not want this exchange made available to eBay via email. When I called the rep (same guy from earlier today) said the following, "If you revise your original review we will replace the camera and provide the accessories, if you don't I cannot guarantee what the managers will do regarding your replacement." We went around for a while and he denied knowing anything about Bigvalueinc blocking my account from purchases, which they did and I had just finished confirming with an eBay customer service rep before I called.
Bottom line, eBay urged me to open an investigation into Bigvalueinc and they now have concerns about them selling used items. Guess what, nowhere in any of my email and phone exchanges with Bigvalueinc did they ever EVER deny selling used items and tell me I was mistaken!
Lastly, their stuff does not have the US Canon warranty on it, at least not deals like this. If you call their customer service and ask they will tell you something like it has 'our special import item' warranty or some nonsense like that. Look, I purchased 2 lenses from them last year and was perfectly happy with those purchases but this crap today shows they are incredibly small, underhanded and untrustworthy! Spend the extra $400 and buy the camera from other sellers and get the US warranty from an authorized reseller. You can buy the Opteka dual charger for $15 and 3 chipped high capacity batteries on eBay for about $25. That SD card sucks and is not UHS so it really should not be used on a camera like the 5D anyway!
Yeah, you'll pay more than this deal but you know you're dealing with a reputable Canon reseller and not someone who does the unethical crap Bigvalueinc did to me today. So far on eBay the best price I've found from a certified reseller was PMI Digital. No, they are not $2550 but I'm sure I'll be getting the real deal with a US warranty and hopefully way better service!
Email if you have any questions, I'll be happy to respond.
