Is this to good to be true? (digitaland)

[Mr_J]

Hi all,

I am looking to buy my first Dslr and found a good price on many brands at Digitaland.

http://www.mydigitaland.com

They have a uk based address and are selling on kellko, but seem to be a couple of hundread pound off all other sellers.
I have called them and was told thay have the stock ship to the uk weekly and 95% of item are in stock. to be delivered within 2-3 working days.
Just looking for other peoples views.

Jordan

[Fen]

If it's too good to be true... it probably is.

View this from a previous thread about them

[Mr_J]

Oh, Thanks so much I have been looking at them for days.
guess I will keep looking for other deals.

Jordan

[Fen]

I always use this site when looking for good prices:

Camera Price Buster

Several other forum members use them as well.

[Staropramen]

According to Nominet, the domain name owner has a UK address (search http://easily.co.uk, for example) but the website servers are located in Hong Kong.

In general terms:

In almost all such instances it is very likely that you will not be purchasing from a UK or EU business. This <u>will</u> affect your statutory rights - you have virtually none. UK and EU e-businesses must conform to EU & UK e-commerce regulations[/i] and give the customer contact details and information on returns, the right to cancel orders, etc. Failure to do this is a breach of the regulations. Sadly, many otherwise-reputable UK e-businesses are either ignorant of the law, or flout it. It pays to read the website's 'small print'.

Outside the EU, consumer protection is extremely variable, and personally I do not purchase any item outside the EU (except the Channel Islands) or even from the non-conforming businesses within the UK, unless they have the very best credentials and can be easily contacted by email and telephone before the purchase ....

[Mr_J]

Wow,
I did open a account & also called the uk order number on the Digitaland site, spoke to a fair sounding bloke but hey guess anyone would when you could be looking at free money.
The site offers a paypal option so thought i'd be safe.

Thanks for all you help, you have save me alot of hassle.

Jordan

[lazygraham]

I have just bought a Canon 500D from digitaland. It was significantly cheaper than anywhere else I could find and arrived within the 5 working days they promised. I found their online customer service extremely helpful and prompt so would recommend them.

[Mark]

I've just been looking online at some highish value photographic equipment and came across this company on my first search. However, something about their website rang an alarm bell. So I looked a little deeper...

1. One of the results chucked back at me from my search brought me to this thread.

2. The 'recommendation' in the screengrab below, when matched with the one and only post by lazygraham looked a little suspect.


3. On their contact page the company lists an Australian office. Google streetview showed an 'interesting' part of town, which to my mind warranted an additional search. This brought up an equally 'interesting' document relating to that address - a Feb 2008 planning application for conversion to a brothel.

At this point I decided that I wouldn't spend my savings with this company. To be fair to the company concerned, there could be perfectly innocent explanations for the search findings so please form your own opinion if you wish to trade with them.

[Staropramen]

It seems they are committed to screwing their customers . . . .

[kess]

Digitaland = Gangstaland is the best way to describe this company...
Unfortunately, I purchased from them and I regret it big time.

To cut the long story short here are the facts:

1. They are not UK company, no UK VAT no. is on their invoices. If you can call the piece of paper I received an invoice at all.
2. They sell gray imports
3. Their warranty is quite likely worthless, 'warranty cards' they provide are full of misspellings, more of a practical joke than anything else...
4. They have no problem providing you with false information regarding their legitimacy and/or the stock they supply
5. When asked direct questions about, for example, their company VAT registration no., they become rude and aggressive. Or simply simply leave you on hold for over an hour hoping you will give up.

There are many more details I could write about, but the conclusion is nevertheless the same - avoid like the plague!

In order to protect both money and time of other photography enthusiasts and professionals alike, please do spread a word about Digitaland business practices. I will do the same time permitting...

[mydigitaland]

Mydigitaland closed down as of June 2010. I used to work for them so I will be quite honest and blunt.

We are located in Hong Kong and since all Hong Kong residents born before HOng Kong was handed over to China are entitled to British residency rights, we can sign up for a business registration number like buying candy from a store.

The company has no VAT. The Shearway BS was setup through a middle company in the UK since there are no laws preventing that.

Items were shipped form Hong Kong daily to a middle shipping agent in the UK so it would seem you are getting your item in the UK.

All items are grey goods.

The company is now out of business. and is focused on wholesale through its main company JF Global Trading.

Your camera must have been returned and was handed to the former owner who honestly probably threw it away.

So most likely you will never see it ever again.

Wolu, simply electronics, mydigitaland, citiwide-online, tdimensions are all located in the same building.

i am so glad to have left this joke.

sorry about your experience. if you have ever called, its very easy to hire a dude with a British accent to answer the phone.