€2000 EX3, scam or a damn good deal?
 

The word says "If something looks too good to be true it, it mostly isn't true at all".

This afternoon a guy (nick)named Charles McGlynn placed an advertisement on the Dutch ebay-sister site "Marktplaats.nl": A used PMW-EX3 in good condition with less than 300 hours on the meter for €2000 (say GBP 1750). He specifically mentioned the camcorder had some tiny scratches on the bottom where the tripod plate attaches and on the lenshood. Now this looks good or too good to be true?

I got in contact with the guy and as I expected he replied to me in bad translated Dutch (typically translated using translate.google.com). He mentioned that the camera is in London as he is working at the new olympic stadium there and that the camera is available for inspectio. I replied to the guy that I have a "friend and colleague" in London, he answered that that is no problem as long as that person is able to pay in cash.

It looks like (Nigerian) scam a lot, though the name of this guy refers to a professional US-based videographer. The question is just, is this really this man or is he only using his name?

Twitter

Which London-based videographer is interested in an EX3 at this very attractive price? I'm always willing to buy the camera from you as soon as you would have it. Or is somebody maybe available to do the local inspection for me?

Do you have £1750 to lose?

It could be a good deal. It could be as he says, a camera in good condition which you can test, inspect and pay for - walking away with something excellent.

Next week, a policeman can bang on your door and take back the stolen property. Next year it may need to go to Sony for repair, and they identify it as a stolen camera and report you.

My guess is it's nicked. With a camera that is solid state - you test it and apart from maybe the lens, there's not a huge amount that you won't spot straight away.

So - I suppose it's up to you. I doubt somebody else will buy it for you on a promise - maybe if you give one of us the money in cash, we would get it for you - but if you are in Holland, and the camera is here, I'm not sure? There's no central database for serial numbers available to the public, so it's a gamble. Let's be honest, they'd probably get more than that by selling to a dealer!

I'd run away.. sounds like a scam..

Too cheap to be true in my opinion.


There should be a database as suggested by Paul. As most cameras these days include serial numbers in the metadata it should be easy to find where they end up. Just include a stolen serial number database in every NLE and get that to refuse to edit the material and "phone home". It would make stolen camcorders virtually worthless. Should do the same with laptops. Problem is the privacy laws probably make it illegal, protecting the guilty and making the innocent vulnerable.

Where do you centralise a good stolen goods registry?

In the meantime here are a couple of sites worth checking - there are no doubt more..
Welcome to the broadcastvideo.com NetPolice
Stolen Equipment Registry - photo.net

Perhaps a thread on this forum for lost/stolen gear?
Here in Australia we have a camera / soundo forum where we warn each other about stolen gear etc. but it doesn't cover stolen international goods.
An international listing would be brilliant but under the provision it doesn't guarantee title for gear not on list.
Might also be helpful for catching low life.

I always say you get what you pay for.
No less and no more......

The reason that a thief or a scammer can pull off the stunts they do is that peoples' brains shut down when they want something. The more they want it, the more their brain shuts down. Their thoughts become fixated on whatever it is they want and they mentally push away any vestige of common sense. Just remember, if it's stolen, you're out the money if it is recovered later. It has a rightful owner to which it will be returned. The 'deal' you made with the thief has nothing to do with that and is simply your problem. "But officer, I paid for it" won't help you. You will just be out the money.

:~)
 

Sounds like the Craigslist of the Netherlands!

Do the math:

a "US-based videographer" 'working at the Olympic stadium' selling a camera which is in London on a Dutch website using Google Translation (without telling it*) for cash Euro's (instead of British Pounds).
I say: oplichter! (Dutch for 'a fraud')

Contact the videographer and check whether he knows about it.
If not, he maybe can have the Twitter-account blocked and deleted.
Using someone's name on internet isn't really a challenge to accomplish :-p

The camera is probably stolen or you'll never see or get the camera at all: you can send someone with the cash; robbery on demand? Or they switch bags after you saw it....
Set up a meeting and try to send the police in your place :-p


*)
I used a translator once when communicating with French people: I was writing in English, but added the French translation with the announcement it was an automated translation. (Just to make sure, in case their English was too bad... after the first message we communicated in English.)

Alister wrote "Problem is the privacy laws probably make it illegal, protecting the guilty and making the innocent vulnerable."


A stolen goods registry sounds like a very good idea, I for one would have no problem submitting a serial number if it meant I could get the gear back. I can't imagine it would be a big problem to write this as an APP. for an iPhone or other smartphoine. After all you can read a bar code with your phone and find which store is offering the same goods at a better price.

Just my thought.

I was referring to your edit software sending a message to the authorities if it spotted the serial number of a stolen camera in the clip metadata.

This looks possible... immobilise - the home of the National Property Register and Recovery Service

@ Alister:

that assumes that all computers are connected to the internet.

You see "deals" like that on ebay all the time. Currently, there's an EX3 with a buy-it-now price of $2,500. But it's not really a buy-it-now, as ebay operates. No, you just send that amount directly to an address listed and the camera is yours!

Why would anybody sell a desirable piece of equipment for half its value?