Wildlife Photography across the Water: Japan-Getting ready and Getting scammed

Friday 14 January 2011

Japan-Getting ready and Getting scammed

I have been busy selling some gear and buying new stuff for the soon to be Japan trip, I dont like to buy stuff on line and never use E Bay as there are too many unsavoury characters that are willing to shaft you whenever they can, My friends here have jackets called 'Canada Goose Snow Mantra', Known as THE warmest jackets in the world, They are big and heavy but boy are they warm, They said i could borrow one but only had a medium and a 2XL, The medium was ok although a large would have been better, I have it here, Looking at the web i read some reviews and had a look at costs, Normally around $800+, I noticed a couple of places selling them off at 70% or so discount, Large discounts like these are not uncommon here in the states, the TV is alive with these type of ads, i went ahead and ordered one, I carried on googling the jacket when i found a place in China selling rip offs for $65-alarm bells started to ring, I went to e mail the company and found the e mail to be a hotmail account-alarm bell number 2, I asked to cancel the order-too late, I asked for conformation that this was a genuine article-They said it was-The website sounds like a French Canadian name, I thought maybe a guy was selling them from there until i asked for the shipping details-China, I contacted the Real manufacturer and told them the story and they came back saying that the company is known to send fakes and are under investigation, So thats $240 down the pan and i doubt i will be seeing anything arrive through the post, I have now informed my credit card compay and they are going to try and deal with it, I feel pretty stupid and should have gone with the 'if sounds too good it probably is'
You can by looking at their website that this is a big concern-selling fakes around the world

http://www.outletmonclerk2.com/canada-goose-parka-snow-mantra-parka-c-1302_1308.html

Do not buy anything from these people and please keep your guard up when things look very cheap, This is the first time i have been 'caught' by scammers and i will make sure its the last
The web can also be a great thing, This week i have sold 1 lens and my D300 battery grip, The D300 will also be gone today, I have 2 new jackets, 1 from Mountain Hardware and the other from a British manufacturer called Snugpak and i have snugpak salopettes following,I had not heard of snugpak before but was tipped off by Mike Lane, They are used by the British Military but the main benefits are that they are very light and pack very small into a stuffer sack, i buy a fair amount of kit from Cabelas and they are sending me some of their military range of base layers, So hopefully i wont be feeling the cold when i am in Japan, I have my flights booked from here and Pete has been busy working on the flights to Hokkaido and also most of the accommodation

Dave

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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.