Looks like these little tricksters using the account "walking alone" and other accounts have been really up to no good. I've actually met him before to deal once. Here's how it went:
Was looking to upgrade my 60D to a 7D back then, so this guy, "Greg", messages me for a trade for his "personal" 7D + box and accessories with original grip in "mint condition" for my 60D with a top up of $500. So we agree to meet in Tampines on a Sunday (mutual convenience) for the deal after slow replies on his side during Saturday-Sunday (up to 3am in the morning :angry
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"Greg" even insisted I use my phone to take pics of my 60D at 3am in order to Whatsapp him pictures when I already had pics on my computer. Reason on his side stating he couldn't use the computer at that time. Reluctantly, I dragged myself out of bed at that ungodly hour to unpack my 60D to take pictures for him, only because a straight trade was much faster and easier than selling off my 60D and hunting for a 7D later. I asked for some pics of his 7D, and he showed me some snaps of the front and back which looked alright.
Later in the afternoon, I met "Greg" and his friend at Coffee Bean at Tampines One. Was mildly surprised that the two were most likely only 16 years old, as they were both studying for their O levels. "Greg" seemed friendly and presented his 7D for checking while his friend checked my 60D as "Greg" claimed he was not sure how to check a DSLR.
This was where things got dirty. The "mint" 7D had a major paint chip at the bottom of the camera, a whole chunk of paint gone from the base, exposing the magnesium body, some missing paint off the strap lugs. The live view/video switch seemed rather stiff and the rubber grip was already starting to peel off. The original grip was not even original at all. Was a third party Pixel grip, with no box at all. The original strap was also missing as well. Yet "Greg" said the camera was two years old, won from a lucky draw by his parents, and was only used for personal street photography once in a while.
At least the camera was fine functionally.
In his defence when I questioned him, "Greg" said he didn't know about certain defects eg. rubber grip peeling, and didn't know the grip was not original. He even said he didn't know how he got that large paint chip at the base of the camera. I decided to give him the benefit of doubt and just went through what was wrong with his camera, and suggested he listed his camera as an 8/10 at most upon his request.
After politely turning down the deal, I had a little chat with "Greg" on why he wanted to downgrade to a 60D as I was really suspicious at that time. That's where I found out he was contemplating downgrading to either a 50D and 60D as he felt that the 7D's features were too much for him. That checked out with his buy/sell history on clubsnap back then and he sounded rather sincere and convincing that day so I just wrote it off as innocent misrepresentation on his side given his age. Bid him and his friend farewell and left.
Thanks to him, however, I lost two potential buyers, one who replied slightly later than Greg, and another who replied even later. One got his 60D, the other one went AWOL. Eventually sold off my 60D to a nice videographer and later bought my 7D just in time for my next event.
I suspect that "Greg's" friend is the other HP number in the ads as he seemed to know his stuff when checking my camera. Perhaps he's that "Simon" we keep seeing time again and again, account after account. Probably started using "Greg's" account after all his accounts got banned. Such a shame those 2 young tricksters are still out and about. "Greg" really seemed like a nice decent guy, if that is even his real name. Kids these days... *sigh*
