Boy, did I get caught!

[Bruce A]

I saw this MB-D10 battery grip a few weeks back and I thought - is this too good to be true? But, look at the packaging, look at their feedback! Something kept telling me no - don't, but for $70 compared to $300-$500 here, I just had to get it didn't I?

eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home d?r

Well, it worked okay for a couple of weeks. Yesterday I charged the batteries in camera and grip. Put them back - nothing worked! Took the grip off - everything okay. Changed around batteries - no go. I found a website that showed the differences between the real grip and the knock-off. To think, I really saw it coming in the beginning.

I took the fake to a camera shop, purchased a real one (with warranty) and showed them the fake. They couldn't believe it - right down to the Nikon paperwork, manual, boxing and packing. If you didn't know what to look for you'd never know.

Here's the tell-tale web site: https://nikoneurope-nl.custhelp.com/...ail/a_id/49717

Okay - lesson learnt! First time ever I got caught using Ebay. I have reported the fraud and have started a dispute to get a refund.

[scootermcq]

Sorry to hear that Bruce. Thanks for sharing and i hope your dispute turns out in your favour.

[CheaperKings]

I bought one of the cheaper ones. It wasn't trying to look like it came from Nikon, though. I can't remember the name - I think it started with a "Z". Anyhow, it looks and works awesome! I think I paid about $90US for it...

[sk66]

Don't feel too bad. I'm still waiting for my fake to be delivered.

[kirbinster]

I've got a real one on my D700 and a Zeikos fake one on my D300 -- both work exactly the same.

[SwissJon]

I have a little mental rule.. If it's coming from China or Hong Kong (Same place) then it's 95% likely to be a fake. I've seen plenty of "new" stuff that is no longer manufactured.. They'll do anything high value.. Lee Filters come to mind.. Some of the time the stuff is ok, some of it's crap.

So my little mental rule is; I'm taking a gamble.. So if it MUST work because it's expensive, I won't buy it from them. If it's cheap (like a filter holder) then I don't care..

$70 for a $300 grip? What would you pay for one 2nd hand used? I think it's probably worth the gamble.. You're paying less than 1/4 of the price.. So even if 1/2 of them fail, you've got a reasonable chance of coming out tops.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.. Sorry you got diddled Bruce.. Lesson learned I guess.

[Bruce A]

Originally Posted by SwissJon

I have a little mental rule.. If it's coming from China or Hong Kong (Same place) then it's 95% likely to be a fake.

I've ordered a heap of stuff on Ebay from China and HK and have always been satisfied I got what was described. This is the first time I've been caught. The seller offered to give me a refund when I send it back. I said refund + postage first then I'll send it back and reminded him once again that it was a fraudulent sale. Waiting for a response.

The new Nikon (real) grip cost me $295.00 (darn good price here). It seems to have a quality feel that the other was missing, although the fake was a pretty good imitation that I would have been happy with if it didn't cause problems.

On my D7000 I had a NIK battery grip and it worked like a charm.

But yes, I have learnt my lesson and I'll deal from my list of trusted sellers in the future.
The new Nikon

[sk66]

I don't mind buying a "copy" or 3rd party.... It pisses me off when it is marketed and manufactured as "the real deal"; I don't care the price.

[veritasimagery]

Originally Posted by sk66

I don't mind buying a "copy" or 3rd party.... It pisses me off when it is marketed and manufactured as "the real deal"; I don't care the price.

+1 on this. There is a big difference between a "knock-off" or third party, and a "fake". A fake is something that is being sold as the real thing. Here the seller is passing of these cheep "know-offs" as real Nikons. That is illegal. But buying a less expensive "copy" that presents itself as what it really is is no problem. As a matter of fact I have a cheap 3rd party grip that I got off Amazon, and it works fantastic.

[Bruce A]

Yep, nothing wrong with 3rd party grips when advertised as such. After having camera problems with the fake, and the fact that it's a new camera under warranty, I decided to buy the genuine Nikon grip to guarantee a warranty fix should anything happen. Nikon won't offer warranty if 3rd party devices are used.