This is a hot eBay Frenzy deal: BigValueInc via eBay has the Canon EOS 7D Mark II for $1299.00. This is the lowest price we’ve seen yet for this camera, by over $100! Please note this is likely an import / grey market model as BigValueInc via eBay is not an authorized dealer.
An import model is physically identical, but a Canon USA warranty is not guaranteed. The seller provides a store warranty; historically Canon USA has also serviced the warranty anyway (note it’s at their discretion — this can change at any time.) Read our FAQ about imports.
We’ll warn that two months ago, BigValueInc via eBay massively oversold on several great eBay deals. As a result, many readers were subjected to delays in receiving their camera bodies (with poor communication from the dealer). It looks like they have recovered from this incident, and we’d welcome any readers to comment on their experience. Other than this incident, they have been a reliable eBay dealer over the last several years.
if someone buys this, I had a hard time with their customer service so be careful.
I couldn’t emplore all of you considering buying one to STAY AWAY. Ordered a Mk iii from them and it arrived used. It had over 2k on the shutter and they fought me every step of the way to make it right. Even after taking almost three weeks to get it. Got to the point of filing a claim through eBay and my bank.
Scary story. Thanks for sharing.
The story isn’t over yet. This was when they were offering the mk iii for $1999. I’m waiting for bank to process their fraud investigation. BVI offered to “accept my return and purchase another one” (now $400 more) They said they “couldn’t issue an exchange while there was an open case against them” They said I’d have to close my PayPal and bank claim against them to be eligible for an exchange. HELL NO.
Based on these two horror stories alone, CPW should post a warning and ban all future BVI references from their website. Shame on BVI.
Steven — although the above story is scary we do need a bit more history/pattern than this to make a declaration about a dealer. This dealer sells 700-800 items a month (many of which are purchased by CPW readers) and this is the first such story we’ve heard in 3 years of listing this dealer.
There are always two sides to every story and a single customer’s post on social media, although powerful, does not tell the full story. I’m not suggesting any deception on the part of the reviewer above, but through our partnership with various authorized dealers we hear of lots of “attempted scam” stories by customers (using a brand new item and then returning it, claiming it was received used; returning a different/broken/used body in place of the new one; etc.) So I would definitely need to see a trend, then seek a comment from the retailer, before taking action on escalating this one.
The only thing I can confirm at this time, is in the February sale, many customers had to wait 2-3 weeks before receiving bodies. This is the first and only report (that we’ve heard) of any issue with the bodies received. Over 2,000 bodies were sold in that sale.
To that end, I would encourage anyone with a recent experience (positive or negative) with this dealer to contact us and describe it.
CPW: All good points, I’m sure, but even a small percentage of dissatisfied customers is reason enough to take action.
I was shipped a 6D (listed as new) that had a broken power switch. Physically cracked/broken.
The camera appeared to be new in all other respects and included a US warranty card – for whatever that’s worth – which isn’t apparently much… not sure why people make a big deal out of that.
Canon dragged their collective feet for nearly a month sorting out whether or not they’d cover it… several times stating that BVI is not an authorized reseller and that it was my responsibility to cover the repair cost. Eventually they did the repair, but would not warranty their repair work, which seemed very odd for Canon.
BVI was of absolutely zero help in resolving the issue. It took me several tries to just to get the opportunity to communicate with them directly about the matter.
Moral of the story – you might save a bunch of money, but you’re taking a bit of a leap of faith that you’re getting exactly what you paid for and that you won’t end up spending the savings (and then some additional) to get what you actually thought you were buying.
Disclaimers go a certain distance in warning people that warranty may not apply, but take heed… for every successful purchase, there’s likely some that aren’t as smooth. You might have a higher percentage of risk with BVI than you would with say, Amazon, Adorama, B&H or some other authorized online reseller.
Thanks for sharing. How long ago was this, and can I ask why you didn’t pursue the return policy if you were shipped a defective unit?
Here is what happened to me..Purchased a 5d MK3 from BVI. Item was fine, however I realized that I dont like the noise its producing at ISO > 6400 as compared to my 6D. I called up BVI and they sent me RMA and return label. This was 3 weeks back. I had to follow up atleast 6 times before my refund got processed. Positive side – Very easy to reach customer service representative. Almost minimum hold time. Second the lady over the phone acknowledge that they have huge backlog so they are having delay in refunding that was the 5th time when I called. However I was patient everytime and accepted whatever they said without going into much arguments. So for me refund came fine (Even did not had to pay for return shipping) full $1999 in my Paypal account.
Thanks for sharing your story.
I’ve had only positive experiences with this vendor – once when I bought the Canon 5D Mark III and when I bought the 24-105mm lens. Both times the items were delivered the next day(I’m in PA) and both were packaged brand new with no problems.
Bought the 7D Mark II recently from BVI at $1299. Everything was as expected, and it works flawlessly. It was in a “kit” box with 18-135mm lens removed. Received it exactly 7 days after I ordered it.
I just bought a “new” Sony A7s from BigValueInc through Ebay. When it arrived, what i found was clearly a used camera being passed off as a new item. I sent it back immediately, but BigValueInc is now trying to claim that I sent them back a different camera than they sent me. If there ever was a fraudulent scam seller on ebay, this is one.