Isit a scam

[flyfox]

Hi i just recently bought a Think Tank Bag 35 version 2 from a user called michaelyi who made a post

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=783300

selling a bag which he said bought for SGD240. i replied him via sms saying i may be interested and he immediately gave me a call saying that the bag is big and can put 500pages worth of books. He too tell me that it can be used as a backpack.

The next day i went to TK Photo and gave him a call. He told me he bought it at a price of SGD240 and he is now selling me @ SGD200 He too added that he bought it as sold in TK photo for 240 and he's gonna sell me for SGD200 as he's used it for 2 weeks. His reason for selling is to buy another larger bag. Thinking that i am able to save SGD40 as i am too tight on budget, and plus the fact that i need to put alot of books, i promised to deal with him but requested for another SGD10 discount. He agreed.

A few days later he asked if i was still wanting to buy. I said yes and we'd fixed a time and date. At Dhoby Ghaut 7.30pm 26 Oct. He met me and i was abit surprised why the bag wasnt that big. Anyway, he told me its expandable and can become very big by loosening the strap.He claimed that he was rushing for time and asked me to do it myself. I briefly checked and paid him the money. He thanked me and ran away.


To my surprise, i realized that it wasnt what's sold in TK Photo. The one displyed in TK Photo sold at SGD240 has a backpack strap and the one he sold me isnt included. i called him and explained to him but he hung down my phone.

In short, he bought a Think Tank Bag with the harness together for 240 and regretted buying it short while later. Hoping not to make a loss, he decided to remove the strap and sold it separately but posted online that he bought it for SGD240 and wish to sell it for SGD200. It's misleading in the sense that newbies like me who just started on photography and buying a first photography bag . All i know is that i am buying a bag worth SGD240 selling at SGD200 because he used it for 2 weeks. And he also told me the bag is worth SGD240. I believe he should mention that the strap is removed and the actual value of the bag is worth less than SGD200. But there's nothing i can do now. He hung down my phone when i tried calling him.

I am very depressed now and don't know what to do...

 

[flyfox]

Hi i just recently bought a Think Tank Bag 35 version 2 from a user called michaelyi who made a post

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=783300

selling a bag which he said bought for SGD240. i replied him via sms saying i may be interested and he immediately gave me a call saying that the bag is big and can put 500pages worth of books. He too tell me that it can be used as a backpack.

The next day i went to TK Photo and gave him a call. He told me he bought it at a price of SGD240 and he is now selling me @ SGD200 He too added that he bought it as sold in TK photo for 240 and he's gonna sell me for SGD200 as he's used it for 2 weeks. His reason for selling is to buy another larger bag. Thinking that i am able to save SGD40 as i am too tight on budget, and plus the fact that i need to put alot of books, i promised to deal with him but requested for another SGD10 discount. He agreed.

A few days later he asked if i was still wanting to buy. I said yes and we'd fixed a time and date. At Dhoby Ghaut 7.30pm 26 Oct. He met me and i was abit surprised why the bag wasnt that big. Anyway, he told me its expandable and can become very big by loosening the strap.He claimed that he was rushing for time and asked me to do it myself. I briefly checked and paid him the money. He thanked me and ran away.


To my surprise, i realized that it wasnt what's sold in TK Photo. The one displyed in TK Photo sold at SGD240 has a backpack strap and the one he sold me isnt included. i called him and explained to him but he hung down my phone.

In short, he bought a Think Tank Bag with the harness together for 240 and regretted buying it short while later. Hoping not to make a loss, he decided to remove the strap and sold it separately but posted online that he bought it for SGD240 and wish to sell it for SGD200. It's misleading in the sense that newbies like me who just started on photography and buying a first photography bag . All i know is that i am buying a bag worth SGD240 selling at SGD200 because he used it for 2 weeks. And he also told me the bag is worth SGD240. I believe he should mention that the strap is removed and the actual value of the bag is worth less than SGD200. But there's nothing i can do now. He hung down my phone when i tried calling him.


I am very depressed now and don't know what to do...

 

[esoeij]

Hi i just recently bought a Think Tank Bag 35 version 2 from a user called michaelyi who made a post

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=783300

selling a bag which he said bought for SGD240. i replied him via sms saying i may be interested and he immediately gave me a call saying that the bag is big and can put 500pages worth of books. He too tell me that it can be used as a backpack.

The next day i went to TK Photo and gave him a call. He told me he bought it at a price of SGD240 and he is now selling me @ SGD200 He too added that he bought it as sold in TK photo for 240 and he's gonna sell me for SGD200 as he's used it for 2 weeks. His reason for selling is to buy another larger bag. Thinking that i am able to save SGD40 as i am too tight on budget, and plus the fact that i need to put alot of books, i promised to deal with him but requested for another SGD10 discount. He agreed.

A few days later he asked if i was still wanting to buy. I said yes and we'd fixed a time and date. At Dhoby Ghaut 7.30pm 26 Oct. He met me and i was abit surprised why the bag wasnt that big. Anyway, he told me its expandable and can become very big by loosening the strap.He claimed that he was rushing for time and asked me to do it myself. I briefly checked and paid him the money. He thanked me and ran away.


To my surprise, i realized that it wasnt what's sold in TK Photo. The one displyed in TK Photo sold at SGD240 has a backpack strap and the one he sold me isnt included. i called him and explained to him but he hung down my phone.

In short, he bought a Think Tank Bag with the harness together for 240 and regretted buying it short while later. Hoping not to make a loss, he decided to remove the strap and sold it separately but posted online that he bought it for SGD240 and wish to sell it for SGD200. It's misleading in the sense that newbies like me who just started on photography and buying a first photography bag . All i know is that i am buying a bag worth SGD240 selling at SGD200 because he used it for 2 weeks. And he also told me the bag is worth SGD240. I believe he should mention that the strap is removed and the actual value of the bag is worth less than SGD200. But there's nothing i can do now. He hung down my phone when i tried calling him.

I am very depressed now and don't know what to do...

First thing you should stop doing is posting your grievances all over CS (I spotted three identical threads in different sections)! You mentioned you visited TK Photo to check out the bag. That being the case, you should not have been surprised by the actual size of the bag? I took a look at the seller's post. To be fair, he did not indicate that the harness was included with the bag. As for his claim that he bought it at $240, you have no proof that this is false.

You should always check carefully before handing over the cash. Take this as a learning experience. In any case, you didn't suffer financially from this deal. You merely paid market price for something in (presumably) mint condition though 2nd hand. All in all, sorry but I think 'scam' is way too strong a term to use in this case.

 

[flyfox]

First thing you should stop doing is posting your grievances all over CS (I spotted three identical threads in different sections)! You mentioned you visited TK Photo to check out the bag. That being the case, you should not have been surprised by the actual size of the bag? I took a look at the seller's post. To be fair, he did not indicate that the harness was included with the bag. As for his claim that he bought it at $240, you have no proof that this is false.

You should always check carefully before handing over the cash. Take this as a learning experience. In any case, you didn't suffer financially from this deal. You merely paid market price for something in (presumably) mint condition though 2nd hand. All in all, sorry but I think 'scam' is way too strong a term to use in this case.

Hi thanks for the reply. Btw, he said he bought it for SGD240, and he showed me the receipt,its with me now and its written including harness

And also he told me the bag i ll get is exactly the same what i saw in TK Photo- in this case comes with the harness sold at SGD239, which he didnt include.

For starters like me, when selling a bag, i thought its an ordinary bag, and somemore with what he said ' he bought it for 239' i ll just take what i saw is sold at TK Photo for 239, the one with harness.
However, the receipt did indicate that its 240 and its with harness, which in this case he didnt buy the bag for SGD240 which was not what he said, 'he bought the bag for 240.'

 

[dougs]

The one on the website comes with a harness? Does the original one include a harness or there is an option to buy it without a harness (on websites, shops)?

 

[esoeij]

Hi thanks for the reply. Btw, he said he bought it for SGD240, and he showed me the receipt,its with me now.

And also he told me the bag i ll get is exactly the same what i saw in TK Photo- in this case comes with the harness sold at SGD239, which he didnt include.

For starters like me, when selling a bag, i thought its an ordinary bag, and somemore with what he said ' he bought it for 239' i ll just take what i saw is sold at TK Photo for 239, the one with harness.
However, the receipt did indicate that its 240 and its with harness, which in this case he didnt buy the bag for SGD240 which was not what he said, 'he bought the bag for 240.'

He wasn't being completely honest I guess, but he didn't rip you off either. Just out of curiosity, how much does a brand new harness cost?

 

[flyfox]

The one on the website comes with a harness? Does the original one include a harness or there is an option to buy it without a harness (on websites, shops)?

Hi thanks for the reply.

I went to the shop that he bought and its sold at SGD240, exactly what he said, 'he bought the bag at SGD240' but the bag sold in that shop is inclusive or harness. and moreover, he showed me the receipt, its with me now, and its written inclusive or harness...

He even called me a few times saying that i ll get the bag exactly whats sold in TK Photo for SGD240.

 

[flyfox]

He wasn't completely honest I guess, but he didn't rip you off lah. Just out of curiosity, how much does a brand new harness cost?

Around SGD40.

Actually he bought it for 240 and used for 2 weeks. So he thought of a way to sell it without making a single cent loss.
He removed the harness and advertised the bag for SGD200 and claimed he bought it for SGD240, but in fact it isnt, because he bought it for SGD240 WITH the harness

And on the other hand, he tries to sell away the harness separately for SGD40. In that case ,he wont make a loss at all.

 

[esoeij]

Around SGD40.

Actually he bought it for 240 and used for 2 weeks. So he thought of a way to sell it without making a single cent loss.
He removed the harness and advertised the bag for SGD200 and claimed he bought it for SGD240, but in fact it isnt, because he bought it for SGD240 WITH the harness

And on the other hand, he tries to sell away the harness separately for SGD40. In that case ,he wont make a loss at all.

I thought you said you managed to squeeze an extra $10 discount? So you paid $190 for something you thought was worth $240 but is actually $200? This means your seller took a $10 loss for owning the bag for two weeks. He may or may not have sold the harness, which theoretically cost him $50. He could have kept it for his bigger bag.

 

[night86mare]

hi flyfox

sorry to hear that, but i think this serves as a lesson to always do your homework first, and know what you are buying.

don't ever take people's word for it. if a person says that his camera is in mint condition, are you going to take his word for it? i sure hope not. if it looks quite ok, but there are signs of a drop (suspicious serious bruising on one corner, for example), i would not even accept it. i hope this does not come at a wrong time (well, it does, since it's too late), but you should have found out beforehand that whatever you were buying had a harness.

in any case, are you saying that the bag cannot be used without the harness?

i do not agree with michaelyi's actions, but it really is a smaller problem than you think, if it just doesn't come with a harness and you can still carry it. so cheer up, take it as a lesson, and move on, there is only so much you can do in such a case.

in any case, now people will know what this guy has done. i have taken the liberty to pm him to inform him of this thread, so that both sides of the story can be presented. this is to avoid the possible scenario where person A yaks about person B, presenting a one-sided story, and people get the wrong impression, since there are often two sides to one coin.

suggest you try to settle it with him amicably. from what i see, such threads serve no purpose other than possible warning off of people who want to deal with him, or making them extra wary of dealing with him.... but it will never solve your problem, except in rare cases. cheers.

 

[hotchoco1ate]

Hi TS,

its unfortunate that you did indeed get scammed. But think about it, is it worth mumbling and getting so upset over 40 bucks? Indeed a new one cost you 240 and now you got yours without harness for 200. Since the bag is relatively new, why not just make good use of it and buy a harness at 40, and take it as a new bag?

Compared to some people who lost their lenses due to negligence or otherwise, your case is really no big deal. And seeing that you are not a new member so to speak with just 1 post count, you should be aware of how "some" people operate here. Take it as a lesson learnt.

The fact that he called you in a hurry the first time, and said he was rushing for time are GOOD indicators of something amiss. I don't know how you missed it. Anyway people who dealt with me for cameras or lenses know that i always allow the buyers to check THOROUGHLY to let them feel secure. Up till now, there has been no complains whatsoever. The guy who cheated you has seriously messed up his karma dude.

So just get over it and get your harness and start shooting! :thumbsup:

 

[night86mare]

Around SGD40.

Actually he bought it for 240 and used for 2 weeks. So he thought of a way to sell it without making a single cent loss.
He removed the harness and advertised the bag for SGD200 and claimed he bought it for SGD240, but in fact it isnt, because he bought it for SGD240 WITH the harness

And on the other hand, he tries to sell away the harness separately for SGD40. In that case ,he wont make a loss at all.

ok, he's not ethical based on your point of view.

but you are really making way too much noise, in my honest opinion.

and stop posting duplicate threads please, thanks.

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showthread.php?t=786905

 

[flyfox]

Hi TS,

its unfortunate that you did indeed get scammed. But think about it, is it worth mumbling and getting so upset over 40 bucks? Indeed a new one cost you 240 and now you got yours without harness for 200. Since the bag is relatively new, why not just make good use of it and buy a harness at 40, and take it as a new bag?

Compared to some people who lost their lenses due to negligence or otherwise, your case is really no big deal. And seeing that you are not a new member so to speak with just 1 post count, you should be aware of how "some" people operate here. Take it as a lesson learnt.

The fact that he called you in a hurry the first time, and said he was rushing for time are GOOD indicators of something amiss. I don't know how you missed it. Anyway people who dealt with me for cameras or lenses know that i always allow the buyers to check THOROUGHLY to let them feel secure. Up till now, there has been no complains whatsoever. The guy who cheated you has seriously messed up his karma dude.

So just get over it and get your harness and start shooting! :thumbsup:

Thanks for that, but i am currently v depressed. Sorry that i may over react but i have history of psychological issues and i still cant accept it...

i really think that i got scammed...i saved up very hard for it, and was happy that i thought i can save up a few dollars to get a 2nd hand...

 

[TheChef]

Take it as a lesson learnt.

 

[flyfox]

hi flyfox

sorry to hear that, but i think this serves as a lesson to always do your homework first, and know what you are buying.

don't ever take people's word for it. if a person says that his camera is in mint condition, are you going to take his word for it? i sure hope not. if it looks quite ok, but there are signs of a drop (suspicious serious bruising on one corner, for example), i would not even accept it. i hope this does not come at a wrong time (well, it does, since it's too late), but you should have found out beforehand that whatever you were buying had a harness.

in any case, are you saying that the bag cannot be used without the harness?

i do not agree with michaelyi's actions, but it really is a smaller problem than you think, if it just doesn't come with a harness and you can still carry it. so cheer up, take it as a lesson, and move on, there is only so much you can do in such a case.

in any case, now people will know what this guy has done. i have taken the liberty to pm him to inform him of this thread, so that both sides of the story can be presented. this is to avoid the possible scenario where person A yaks about person B, presenting a one-sided story, and people get the wrong impression, since there are often two sides to one coin.

suggest you try to settle it with him amicably. from what i see, such threads serve no purpose other than possible warning off of people who want to deal with him, or making them extra wary of dealing with him.... but it will never solve your problem, except in rare cases. cheers.

Thanks for that, but my main purpose to get this bag is because i need it as a backpack and also i usually bring books around during my photography outing.
I tried calling him but he hung down my phone and i smsed him and he replied

'If u can get a new one with harnass at 240 then I'm speechless. In short I get that bag at a gd price with discount from my fren who used to work there'

It's obvious that i can get that price at SGD240 with a harness, and he even passed me his receipt indicating that he bought the bag with harness at SGD240.

 

[night86mare]

Thanks for that, but i am currently v depressed. Sorry that i may over react but i have history of psychological issues and i still cant accept it...

i really think that i got scammed...i saved up very hard for it, and was happy that i thought i can save up a few dollars to get a 2nd hand...

(1) can you do anything about it if he doesn't pick up your phone?

(2) did you indeed deal with him, and exchange money for something in return?

be logical please.

 

[flyfox]

Thanks for that, but my main purpose to get this bag is because i need it as a backpack and also i usually bring books around during my photography outing.
I tried calling him but he hung down my phone and i smsed him and he replied

'If u can get a new one with harnass at 240 then I'm speechless. In short I get that bag at a gd price with discount from my fren who used to work there'

It's obvious that i can get that price at SGD240 with a harness, and he even passed me his receipt indicating that he bought the bag with harness at SGD240.

I dont mind scanning the receipt that he passed it to me, and his SMS. i ll do it tmr, when i feel more ease at mind. To many, I may have overreacted, sorry but i have past psychological issues..which i dio face some difficulty taking things easy

 

[dougs]

I think the seller should refund you on this ocassion. nevertheless, you should be more careful in buying stuff second hand.

personally, i will go down to the shop to check out fully what the entire package entails before making a payment. but that's on hindsight.

hopefully the seller will refund you, if not treat it as a lesson.

 

[kwttan]

For this case, agreed with night86mare, need both parties to present their stories for fairness.
If I read correctly, you paid 190 for the TT bag w/o harness. Any idea how much the harness costs?
If a new harness is less than $50, maybe to make you feel better just treat it as buying a second hand bag at original price.
From just your description, seems like the seller is avoiding you and I guess it is unlikely he will refund you.
So if the harness is not too expensive, just buy a new one and treat this as a lession.

 

[eleveninth]

people like to come here and whine about losses when they don't do research in the first place. You went to TK, and actually called him and yet you didn't take the time to check the price or the contents of the bag. If you did, this probably wouldnt have happened.

you aren't the first to learn the hard way. Just take it as a lesson, anyway not say the bag was spoilt or anything.

Infact, if anyone of these people who posts about being scammed or what did any research in the first place, these kinda dirty people won't be getting much business.

Just do research before you make a decision.