Comments on: 4 Scams That Target Photographers

By: Garfield

Garfield — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 13:55:48 +0000

I had sold a couple of panhead tripods a few years back, and someone tried this on me. Luckily I had documented everything properly to protect myself from this, and didn’t lose any money. But I think I’ll be doing a lot of business in person from now on.

By: Diane Bush

Diane Bush — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 19:53:41 +0000

Actually, I used to have my students enter the Photo Forum contests, but that was before the rules changed. I warned them that it was a scam to sell books, and they did not need to buy any. back then, you could just order “tear sheets” (just your page) which were very cheap, if not free..can’t remember. A lot of the students work was published, the college was thrilled, and it used the students’ success for marketing and promotion, with press releases and the whole shebang. The students loved being published, having tear sheets in their portfolios, and being able to put it on their resume. Sometimes their photos were large, sometimes small…but they were thrilled to be published.

By: James

James — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:22:09 +0000

Very good article. Interestingly, I work at a small camera store, and we get calls occasionally which are obviously scams where someone claims to want to buy eqpt., rather than sell. The world is full of crooks, sadly, but there’s a sucker born every minute. My advice is to use common sense and instincts in business; it’s a very sophisticated internet out there.

By: Tim O'B

Tim O'B — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 19:00:03 +0000

wow. I actually ran into the very scam described in the last scenario. and the camera shop was in brooklyn!!! same thing, they had the price about $100 less than anyone else and when i called to see why my oder hadnt been processed they told me that i needed to buy a batter for an extra 69 dollars and even though they offered free shipping they were charging me $75 for insurance. I canceled the order immediately and am still mad at myself for almost falling for it. from now on only reputable places that use pay pal for me.

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 02:08:34 +0000

There’s a magazine called Photographer’s Forum that runs a contest very similar to the one you mentioned, although I can’t personally say they do it as a “scam”. It’s more of a way of selling websites targeted at photographers. (Winners/honorable mentions get a free site for a year I believe.) I entered once and received a mailing saying I was a finalist, and if I placed or was given honorable mention, I’d be in the book. Also included was an order form for the books, which I believe were $40/each. Funny thing was, you had to place your order BEFORE finding out whether or not you won or had an honorable mention. Long story short; I ordered one, got an honorable mention and then found my photo, which was almost literally printed the size of a postage stamp, somewhere near the back of the book. Awesome. To be fair, winners’ photos were printed at a fairly decent size. I entered again a couple years later without any intention of buying a book. I received notices for two of my photos being in the book, but I have no idea if they actually won anything or not.

By: Trudy

Trudy — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 11:10:01 +0000

Great post. Glad that I already knew about all four of these scams. Early in my going from film to digital days I almost fell for the last scam when shopping for a digital camera, but my instincts kicked in hard. So glad they did. I did my research and realized that it is a common problem. Whew! Most things that appear too good to be true ARE too good to be true.