Has anyone purchased camera gear/lenses from Expert Infotech recently?

Forums › Digital Imaging › Has anyone purchased camera gear/lenses from Expert Infotech recently?

Tomahawk66

108 posts

Master Geek

# 254252 3-Aug-2019 17:04

Hi,

I'm looking for a particular wide angle lens for my Sony A mount camera. The only place I have found one brand new is Expert Infotech. I've seen posts here at Geekzone from years ago where people have said the service and warranty etc from this shop is terrible. That was a long time ago though.... 2010. Looking at the trade me feed back on this store from this year, it seems all good..... but is it really? Has anyone had any direct, recent experience with the company?

Thanks.

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Geekzone

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# 2289249 3-Aug-2019 17:04

Hmmmm. Here we go.

I am the Geekzone Robot and I am here to help. I am from the Internet. I do not interact. Do not expect other replies from me.

Tomahawk66

108 posts

Master Geek

# 2289255 3-Aug-2019 17:18

PeterReader:

Hmmmm. Here we go.

????? why ???

tardtasticx

2965 posts

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# 2289259 3-Aug-2019 17:33

Tomahawk66:
PeterReader:

Hmmmm. Here we go.

????? why ???

@PeterReader is a bot lol

Geektastic

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# 2289265 3-Aug-2019 17:45

3 people support this post

Ring Progear in Auckland and ask if they can get it. They'll have your back if it goes wrong.

quickymart

4663 posts

Uber Geek

# 2289269 3-Aug-2019 17:55

I wouldn't purchase anything from Expert Infotech, had a very poor experience with their so-called "after sales service" with some faulty PC hardware back in 2009. Never been back since. A long time ago, as you say - but once burned, never again for me. The way they handled my warranty claim was shocking.

lNomNoml

1356 posts

Uber Geek

# 2289273 3-Aug-2019 18:04

What lens are you looking for? we can help you find it.

Tomahawk66

108 posts

Master Geek

# 2289400 4-Aug-2019 06:55

lNomNoml:

What lens are you looking for? we can help you find it.

I'm looking for a Tokina AT-X Pro DX II AF 11-16mm f2.8 for Sony A Mount. They are readily available for Canon and Nikon mounts but not now Sony A.

There is one on Trade me but it's the price of a new one, and it's second hand.

Thanks.

Tomahawk66

108 posts

Master Geek

# 2289401 4-Aug-2019 06:56

quickymart:

I wouldn't purchase anything from Expert Infotech, had a very poor experience with their so-called "after sales service" with some faulty PC hardware back in 2009. Never been back since. A long time ago, as you say - but once burned, never again for me. The way they handled my warranty claim was shocking.

Thanks for this info quickymart.

Tomahawk66

108 posts

Master Geek

# 2289402 4-Aug-2019 06:57

Geektastic:

Ring Progear in Auckland and ask if they can get it. They'll have your back if it goes wrong.

Thanks, I will email them.

bluedisk

198 posts

Master Geek

# 2289459 4-Aug-2019 11:21

I too am looking for a camera/ lens combo and the prices on Einfo are at least $700 less than other retailers in NZ. This is not a small discount and is more in line with standard prices in bigger markets. I am sick of paying premium prices when our wage rates are below every other major country.

I do believe that companies can and do change, and I wouldn't trust reviews from 9 or 10 years ago. They are still selling new boxed products and the CGA still applies. The last camera I had (Canon 5D ii) needed a new mother board which was a major item but still cost less than $700.

Some of my colleagues have bought gear off Einfo and found them acceptable.

quickymart

4663 posts

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# 2289466 4-Aug-2019 11:31

My experience was they were great as long as everything worked fine. God help you if anything developed a fault or you needed to return it for any reason.

I heard that a lot of their reviews on Pricespy were written by themselves, so I would take that with a grain (or a sack) of salt.

bluedisk

198 posts

Master Geek

# 2289470 4-Aug-2019 11:59

quickymart:

God help you if anything developed a fault or you needed to return it for any reason.

Have you had a problem with gear that's been returned?

You don't always get the service you think you have paid for in this country.

My experience owning a professional Canon EOS C300 cine camera bought from an authorised distributor (A2Z technologies) that needed a Canon service centre firmware upgrade wasn't great to be honest. It wasn't only the time away but also the lack of being able to speak to the technician about the camera that rankled. With Sony cameras they used to have a senior camera engineer who I could talk directly to and solve many issues with.

It took at least a week from Wellington till return and it was so difficult to get any information from Canon as the call centre is all automated.

My point with this is that I have always had an adequate response from most tech companies, and I haven't heard anything bad recently about Einfo specifically.

quickymart

4663 posts

Uber Geek

# 2289552 4-Aug-2019 12:11

bluedisk:

Have you had a problem with gear that's been returned?

Yes, I have. Expert Infotech sold me an RMA'ed motherboard as brand new (the pins were bent and the bag was opened). As I was new to the PC building business at the time, I didn't know to look out for these things, until I got it home and found the fault. I took it back to them, the guy quite literally took it around the corner and came back and gave me another one. Unbeknownst to me, this was also someone else's faulty, RMA'ed returned item (on this one, the driver CD envelope was opened and ripped, so obviously used). I took this one back as well. They refused to refund me for the faulty motherboard, only saying "we have to send it to our 'lab' for 'testing'". This nonsense went on for two weeks.

Eventually they said "oh we can't find a fault with it" (whatever), I asked for a refund but they said "we will need deduct a 20% 'restocking fee'" (read: 20% for the guy to take it and place it around the corner for some other poor sap).

By this point I had gone around the corner and purchased a brand new, unopened, working motherboard from PB Tech (slightly more expensive but) that worked like a dream, and I was more than over Expert Infotech's crap, so I just assented and said fine, refund me that amount. They did so a week later and I never went there again.

Yes it was a while ago, but do you really think I'd be foolish enough to ever set foot inside that place again? At PB Tech I had a part that had a fault, and they just replaced it on the spot - unlike the clowns at Expert Infotech. So while I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm never giving them my money ever again. That experience was more than enough to put me off them. Would you visit them again after having something like that happen?
The lesson I took away from this was it worth paying a little more to get some decent service, a lesson I still follow to this day. It's not always just about the price.

Tomahawk66

108 posts

Master Geek

# 2290023 5-Aug-2019 09:06

bluedisk:

I too am looking for a camera/ lens combo and the prices on Einfo are at least $700 less than other retailers in NZ. This is not a small discount and is more in line with standard prices in bigger markets. I am sick of paying premium prices when our wage rates are below every other major country.

I do believe that companies can and do change, and I wouldn't trust reviews from 9 or 10 years ago. They are still selling new boxed products and the CGA still applies. The last camera I had (Canon 5D ii) needed a new mother board which was a major item but still cost less than $700.

Some of my colleagues have bought gear off Einfo and found them acceptable.

From the replies below, I'd now be scared that if I brought a brand new item, it wouldn't actually be brand new...

Batman

Mad Scientist
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# 2290039 5-Aug-2019 09:43

Wow good to know!

Involuntary autocorrect in operation on mobile device. Apologies in advance.

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