Sony VPL-HW10 US vs European version?

[mnfish]

I just bought a Sony VPL-HW10 on ebay from a guy in Bulgaria for $1160 US shipped. Used very little. Great deal I thought until I remembered that there is a difference in electrical hook ups. I might be screwed on this thing now. Does anyone know if there is a different model for US vs EUR? I would assume so? Since he is on the other side of the world from me it's hard to ask and get answers right away. Any suggestions??

[Brain Sturgeon]

Wow, you are very brave. I would be extremely cautious about buying any expensive items from an Eastern European country through eBay. A ton of scams go through that area of the world. How is the seller having you pay for it? If its through a bank wire or Western Union, I would be highly suspicious of a scam. Even if you use PayPal, you can get hosed.

Even if it is on the up and up, Bulgaria uses a 230 V/50 Hz system much different than our 120 V/60 Hz. I dunno if the Sony has a switching power supply, but I'm guessing you will need to have it modified by Sony to get it to work here. I'm guessing the projector will support PAL, NTSC, ATSC, and DVB/T so I think you'll be okay moving it over here from that standpoint.

I'm not sure what other differences might exist between a US and European model-- might want to search for a British AV enthusiasts website or perhaps one of our members here from across the pond could chime in.

Good luck!

[mnfish]

Yup..bank wire. But I have emailed him many times. He was looking for a VPL-VW200 to replace this one. He found one in Japan. I have his home address and home telephone number not to mention his business address. But you're right. It could still be a scam. I have not paid for this unit yet and I could tell him to cancel the auction and give it to the next highest bidder? I don't know?? I'll wait to hear back from him about the projector.

[Tru2theBlu]

Sounds fishy. And no offense, but you seem to be making some irrational decisions here. Why would you wire someone money across the globe? Just because someone gives you their address, phone number, etc, does not mean crap. You can still get scammed. I am just saying, you should be careful. If I were you, I would buy from a reputable online dealer, not someone from ebay, unless you KNOW you can trust them, and they have plenty of positive feedback. We are not talking about a $15 Blu-ray, but a lot of money, be careful.

[mnfish]

None taken. I agree but have bought/sold many items off ebay and am really scrutinizing this one. I have NOT sent any money yet. All emails are going thru hotmail which is suspect because they should be going thru ebay..not hotmail. I'm having him also send me a picture of the unit as he claims there is a switch that changes the ac from EUR to US?? LOL!!! Never heard of that one and I can't find anywhere on any 10 model about a switch. I never heard of any projector with a switch? So yes...my ears are up on this one. If it's too good to be rue then it usually is.

[WriteSimply]

The voltage on this is universal. Check Projector Central.

As for wire transfer... Good luck.


fuad

[Grubert]

My magic 8-ball says, "all signs point to SCAM".

[Brain Sturgeon]

Originally Posted by mnfish

None taken. I agree but have bought/sold many items off ebay and am really scrutinizing this one. I have NOT sent any money yet. All emails are going thru hotmail which is suspect because they should be going thru ebay..not hotmail. I'm having him also send me a picture of the unit as he claims there is a switch that changes the ac from EUR to US?? LOL!!! Never heard of that one and I can't find anywhere on any 10 model about a switch. I never heard of any projector with a switch? So yes...my ears are up on this one. If it's too good to be rue then it usually is.

As WriteSimply brought up, it does look like the PS is universal, so you might be okay-- just need to change the power cord and maybe flip the switch (this option does exist on some power supplies). However, given the relatively low price of the unit and the details of the deal, I'm smelling scam (as are others). I would skip this deal if I were you.

Good luck!

[mnfish]

Here is his first email:

"Account name : BULPROF LTD,104601743

InvestBank

IBAN : BG 56 IORT 8043 1100 1607 00

BIC / SWIFT : IORTBGSF.

Bank code: IORT8043



Bank address: Bulgaia, 5000 Veliko Tarnovo Rodoliubets str., 2

BULPROF LTD

BIC / S.W.I.F.T kods: IORTBGSF.

GOROD,ULICA,ZIP,nomer DOMA:Bulgaria, 1000 Sofia, Triaditsa, K.Velichkov bul., 133



My home address:

Primorska 12

City: Balchik

Zip Code: 9600

Country: Bulgaria

Phone: 35957479005





After receive a sending please leave to me positive feedback.

You are welcome to contact me via email if you have any queries before, or after sales. Please do not hesitate to do so if you need assistance, or simply some general information.

Thanks!"

[mnfish]

His response to me asking what system he has and other emails. I only post these in case someone else might have a similar conversation with someone like this.

"I will send Bulgaria state a mail because it not expensively and with insurance. Forgive but I will not answer you the second question because I have not understood it please formulate it on another. As to that or it at me is that certainly there is differently I would not sell it. I used the screen of 92 inches and I have sound system Cremona.
Regards"

"Hi
Yes I will give you procaking number. Insurance enters in стоимось deliveries but partial if you wish to insure it completely that it is +28 to that sum which I to you has given.
Forgive but VPL-WV200 is not on sale yet as it yet did not deliver in sale.
Forgive but paypal I do not accept for the simple reason they protect the buyer instead of the seller recently I have been deceived through paypal on $2700 the buyer from China have paid to me stolen paypal it was found out after the goods has been delivered to it and money they have returned to that at whom them have stolen judicial claims with paypal to what have not imparted.
Regards"

"Forgive I wished to explain you for VPL-VW200 it have ordered but to me my colleagues from abroad will bring it in 2 weeks as at us they are not present on sale. But I can tell to you that on quality it 10 times more VPL-HW10 as when I was on business trip in Japan I had possibility to compare to many models. But believe to me that VPL-HW10 costs this money as you have bought it from me under very attractive price. You will be happy when it will arrive to you.
Yours faithfully Anatoli"

[mnfish]

Last one about the voltage switching which was cleared up here on an earlier post.

"dear buyer by sight certainly a switch is not present switching takes place automatically hand switches in a modern technique already does not do many years . I know that I talk and I am sure that it works in 110 .
with kind regards"

[mnfish]

BTW...here is the auction.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=160336833272

[Brain Sturgeon]

Dude,

I'm smelling scam big time. I've seen that excuse for PayPal many a time in scams: "Oh, I got scammed by someone else and had no recourse with PayPal so I won't use it anymore". Even if you have his address, bank info, etc-- if he walks away with your money you have absolutely no recourse. Heck, you don't have much recourse if you do that here in the U.S., much less to Bulgaria.

The pics in the auction are taken from AVS! Here is the link to the original pictures: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1062546

Plus, the guy hasn't had any feedback since 2006!

SCAM!!! Do not send this dude the money! Bail on this deal!

Seriously, I am nearly positive you will lose the cash if you go through with this.

[mnfish]

Way too funny!! That is great!! Thank you very much for that. I'll be contacting him right away with the link.

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by mnfish

Way too funny!! That is great!! Thank you very much for that. I'll be contacting him right away with the link.

You should also report him to Ebay so that they can revoke his account.


fuad

[Trogdor2010]

Stay away from the dealer, some one who shows some sort of denial of a approved (not perfect) payment protection service will likely scam you. I am curious why this guy bought a lower end projector, when the projector is relatively new and I think it is good for most people, then goes for a far higher end projector (VPL-VW200, I personally would love to own this projector though) that cost about $15,000? I think he maybe hiding something.

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by Brain Sturgeon

The pics in the auction are taken from AVS! Here is the link to the original pictures: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1062546

Plus, the guy hasn't had any feedback since 2006!

And he has the exact same floor carpeting as Jason Turk.

Good catch.

[mnfish]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

You should also report him to Ebay so that they can revoke his account.


fuad

Already done!

Problem now is I have to look for one again. Oh well?

[Brain Sturgeon]

Glad you got out of that bogus deal. Good luck finding a good legit deal on one.

Speaking of Jason Turk, have you tried getting a price quote from AVS? I think you will find their prices to be very competitive (significantly lower than MSRP), and their customer service is top notch.

[mnfish]

Can you believe the tenacity of this guy?! He's got it up for auction again??!! This time I reported him and left neg feedback.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...id=p2759.l1259