Everyone loves the IPC-HDW5231R-Z and everyone says "buy from andy". I traded PMs with him so I know he's a real person, but I don't have any confirmation on exactly what I'm buying. He doesn't have a home page and there's no information about warranty claims. From what I can Dahua won't honor any warranty. I'm reading about cameras that's phone that phone-home, language-firmware issues, firmware that comes via Andy not Dahua directly. Seems like a ton of people are happy so maybe I'm overreacting.
Why does buying Dahua seem so sketchy?
- Thread starter Winterminute
- Start date
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 17,081
- 28,803
Hi Winter
Andy has 2 stores on Aliexpress... ( Empire Tech and BEC )
Normally you see a lot of Dahua and Hikvision products sold by others who rebrand them, so if you want you can find Dahua OEM or Hikvision OEM products under other brands in the USA, UK, EU, AU, and other places.
Sometimes those who sell in your country may not have all the models available which you maybe interested in - and we're forced to look else where for it. ( example IPC-HDW5231R-Z )
fenderman
Staff member
- Mar 9, 2014
- 36,891
- 21,416
Simple dahua doesn't want to sell to you and doesn't want you as a customer... The only way for regular folks to get that product it's a do it this way.... A website is meaningless I can create one in 10 minutes... Companies like reolink that are complete scammers spammers and fraudsters have very nice looking websites...
wantafastz28
Getting comfortable
I hear what you're saying.... but all you have to do is do some reading on this forum, and you should feel more comfortable... I think I'm up to $2k in items I've bought from Andy. You can probably find Dahua other places, but be prepared to pay a crapload more.
Q™
IPCT Contributor
Raptor_007
n3wb
- Aug 15, 2015
- 4
- 2
Funny timing - I just completed a purchase via email with Andy and was coming by to mention that it was perfect. He sold me 1 IPC-HFW5231E-Z5 which arrived today. The price was great, packaging was ample and the camera was well-protected, and the shipping time was ludicrously short. I initially made contact with him via email exactly one week ago, and I have the camera in hand today.
I have no complaints and will be doing my future business with him.
I have no complaints and will be doing my future business with him.
tangent
IPCT Contributor
- May 12, 2016
- 4,641
- 3,997
Darkflame808
Young grasshopper
- Sep 27, 2017
- 51
- 22
I had my reservations but after reading the countless rave reviews from here, I thought to myself ah what the hell take a chance. I don't regret it. Andy shipped to me and I live in Hawaii, I got my camera from him in less than a week. Had I gone elsewhere, I would have paid more and waited 3-5 times longer. He offers values on both ends of the spectrum, price and shipping! I don't know how he does it but he does it! 
awsum140
Known around here
After buying from a very "reputable" camera manufacturer and finding out they don't repair their own gear, then buying, supposedly, "quality" cameras from "reputable" dealers, I bought a 5231R-Z from Andy. Great price, very fast shipping, six days to the East Coast, and a really great camera. I'll be buying more once the Holiday bills are paid.
If you want good quality and great service, buy a Dahua from Andy. He says he'll cover any warranty issues. That does mean you have to ship it back to him if there is a problem, but I'm pretty confident that he will honor that warranty.
If you want good quality and great service, buy a Dahua from Andy. He says he'll cover any warranty issues. That does mean you have to ship it back to him if there is a problem, but I'm pretty confident that he will honor that warranty.
It seems sketchy because we are all too cheap to procure the legit way.
In order to sell product in the USA, you need to legally import product for sale. There is a USA distributor Welcome to DAHUA Technology ! Supply high quality NVR, DVR,Special DVR, Network Camera, HD-SDI Camera etc but because they need to pay taxes they are likely more expensive that buying from Andy.
We here have developed a comfort level with Andy due to positive past performance. He goes through whatever channels he has (don't ask / don't tell), sells to us at a reasonable price, ships quickly, and supports his sales (although we need to ship back to him in China through Hong Kong at a pretty stiff return shipping price).
For a more legit and formally supported warranty process reach out to the USA distributor listed above. I'd be curious to see their pricing.
In order to sell product in the USA, you need to legally import product for sale. There is a USA distributor Welcome to DAHUA Technology ! Supply high quality NVR, DVR,Special DVR, Network Camera, HD-SDI Camera etc but because they need to pay taxes they are likely more expensive that buying from Andy.
We here have developed a comfort level with Andy due to positive past performance. He goes through whatever channels he has (don't ask / don't tell), sells to us at a reasonable price, ships quickly, and supports his sales (although we need to ship back to him in China through Hong Kong at a pretty stiff return shipping price).
For a more legit and formally supported warranty process reach out to the USA distributor listed above. I'd be curious to see their pricing.
Pretty much all of the IP cams from all the manufacturers phone home to some degree. You just have to firewall your cameras properly.
And the Cams that Andy is selling are stock international models. They don't have hacked firmware or sketchy language issues in the menus. They are factory stock, unmodified cameras. I've been able to pull new firmware directly from the Dahua website and update all of the cams that I've purchased from Andy.
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 17,081
- 28,803
FYI -
1) We are purchasing items in a legit manner. US law does not allow companies to control their products once sold. US supreme court has even vindicated the "first sale" doctrine in 2013 - when John WIley & Sons attempted to stop the importation of textbooks from Thailand by student-entrepreneur Supap Kirtsaeng.
2) During the Black Friday - Cyber Week period I have seen a number of kits with quality Dahua OEM cameras being sold for very good competitive prices - even when comparing them to purchases from numerous vendors on Aliexpress, Amazon, Ebay, and else where.
3) It is not easy to find often the exact models of cameras nor the full specs from numerous US based vendors.
@mat200Don't take this in the wrong way but... I doubt there is 100% compliance on rules for exporting items from china for import into the US for sale **.
I'm not sure how First Sale doctrine related to copyright law applies to importation and taxation of physical goods. First-sale doctrine - Wikipedia
** Edit - to be more educated and not spread false statements, I started researching...
From the US Customs Web Internet Purchases | U.S. Customs and Border Protection
When you buy goods from foreign sources, you become the importer. And it is the importer - in this case, YOU - who is responsible for assuring that the goods comply with a variety of both state and federal government import regulations.
Reminder: U.S. Customs and Border Protection holds the importer - YOU - liable for the payment of duty not the seller.
I'm not sure how First Sale doctrine related to copyright law applies to importation and taxation of physical goods. First-sale doctrine - Wikipedia
** Edit - to be more educated and not spread false statements, I started researching...
From the US Customs Web Internet Purchases | U.S. Customs and Border Protection
When you buy goods from foreign sources, you become the importer. And it is the importer - in this case, YOU - who is responsible for assuring that the goods comply with a variety of both state and federal government import regulations.
Reminder: U.S. Customs and Border Protection holds the importer - YOU - liable for the payment of duty not the seller.
- Personal vs. Commercial Use: Many import regulations only apply to goods imported for commercial - business or resale - purposes. For instance, most goods imported for personal use are not subject to quota. The one exception to this is made-to-measure suits from Hong Kong, which are subject to quota restrictions regardless of the use they are imported for. On the other hand, import restrictions that are based on health, safety and protecting endangered species apply across the board.
Last edited:
fenderman
Staff member
- Mar 9, 2014
- 36,891
- 21,416
its important not to play internet lawyer...remember the items he sells are not even branded dahua...regardless, screw the chinese...its not like they care about our rules and regs...., the turret starlight varifocal is not even available in the US market so it is the only place to get it...
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 17,081
- 28,803
Hi Enrique,
US customs and other government agencies at this time are fully aware of international commerce via ebay, amazon, aliexpress, and other sellers coming in via various shipping methods.
For the amounts most of us are typically ordering there is little to be concerned about - and in appropriate cases we are charged VAT and import taxes ( typically in Germany and the UK iirc - and that amount is not too high ), for the USA which is more pro-free trade there is less issues.
If you decide to become a large importer or a seller of drop shipped products here in the USA, EU, UK, or AU certainly you will need to be more up on the particular details of imports. For small buyers like most of us here things largely have been already taken care of by the Amazons, Ebays, Aliexpress, the sellers ( like Andy ), as well as the shipping companies.
I'm not the one who quoted a Supreme Court case on copyright law as justification for camera shipments.
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 17,081
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FYI - That is just an example of a product which has both physical AND copyright material in it that is being imported - similar to the properties of IP cameras, which also have both copyrighted material ( code ) as well as being a physical good.
fenderman
Staff member
- Mar 9, 2014
- 36,891
- 21,416
yes, but you claimed its not legit, and that buying from andy is in someway unlawful, which is incorrect. The fact that dahua has a presence here in the us is irrelevant. As long as you pay the proper import duty if any you are good to go...would be the same as buying anything else on ebay/ali direct from china.
geoff rothman
n3wb
- Nov 27, 2017
- 7
- 0