DJI Mini 5 Pro in Amazon. Is this legit?

[FLDave]

The seller calls it a beginners drone. Do you guys think the Mini P5 is a beginners drone?

If it's the buyer's first drone it's a beginner's drone. Unless a seller term is technically correct, it's OK; the opinions are just marketing fluff.

 

[mavic3usa]

For an item that is both sold and shipped by a 3rd party seller, how is the Amazon listing able to post something like "Only 8 left in stock, order soon."

I gotta say, that's pretty clever of Amazon to post a few drones at the super low price, get all the attention, and then switch it up within hours. I guess when the word gets out "Amazon has the M5P, I just bought one; hurry!" people will use the link and make the purchase regardless of the price (as long as it's not higher than the other local US sellers) because most people don't know the MSRP because it's conveniently "blocked" on dji.com for ordinary Americans. Instead, I've seen some of these listings as being marked down from the regular price of $1999 which is baloney.

Anyway, everyone should at least have a free Amazon Store card which will give you 5% off your purchases; should you get lucky and buy on deal from Amazon, you get an even bigger discount. I need RC-N3 so coming up BF and holidays, I might be interested in another M5P kit.

 

[Bad Santa]

Because the seller can specify how many units are available when creating the Amazon listing.
Although I don't sell on Amazon, Ebay has a similar feature. I use it there.

 

[mavic3usa]

Because the seller can specify how many units are available when creating the Amazon listing.
Although I don't sell on Amazon, Ebay has a similar feature. I use it there.

On eBay, it makes sense. Not sure it makes sense on Amazon, not really accurate.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Welcome to the dark side.

Just a heads up, the drone you purchased isn't being fulfilled by Amazon. The seller, "GD Sales", is taking care of the fulfillment. You'll still be covered by Amazon's A-to-z Guarantee if anything doesn't go as expected, so you're fully protected. The downside is the return and refund process will take longer.

I bought from Aero Tech at the same time you did, while Aero Tech was still in the Buy Box, being fulfilled by Amazon, and not from the replacement seller GD Sales I posted the screenshot of, at a ridiculous $2149, made to look almost exactly like "fulfilled by Amazon" but didn't say it. Amazon now says my "box of rocks" has shipped, for delivery on October 27. Clearly not in any U.S. warehouse of Amazon's! Does Amazon have a warehouse in, and an underground railroad from China now?

As to A to Z "Guarantee,", Amazon only acts as the arbitrator, and always takes the seller's side. Seller gets to pretend they never received your return, or that you damaged the item, and is free to also charge any restocking fees that they disclosed in the fine print under their own well-hidden return policy, referenced under the Amazon Return Policy as an A to Z Guarantee with a separate link to it. It's far from a Guarantee, and just proving the seller never sent the item can require waiting 3 weeks. These sellers are slimy, and will immediately "ship" from China by creating a bogus USPS shipping label, that mysteriously never gets scanned by USPS, but Amazon says that is normal, and wait for it to be scanned!

If "fulfillment by Amazon" while buying from a crooked 3rd party seller avoids going through A to Z, as you have represented, my "box of rocks" refund should be seamless! Similarly, if Amazon doesn't deliver my "box of rocks" on October 27, an immediate refund better be available. If it truly is a brand new, sealed in the box, functioning Mini 5 Pro Plus Combo with the RC 2 for $1159, then that's just an unexpected bonus! Not a believer in miracles, but I'm relying upon your superior insider knowledge here, rather than my own personal past experience and complete distrust of Amazon and their enabling of these shyster 3rd party sellers on the Amazon Marketplace.

Cheers!

 

[GadgetGuy]

Current Scam Seller in the "Buy Box" for the Mini 5 Pro: NorthFront at the link for the $759 version in the OP's first post, now at $1699, and they are still a Scam Seller, even at that price with 50% restock fees for any returns!

 

[msinger]

The seller calls it a beginners drone. Do you guys think the Mini P5 is a beginners drone?

For shared listings like this one on Amazon, the original creator sets the title and main details. After that, other sellers who join the listing have to request changes through Amazon, and Amazon decides whether or not to approve them. I just wanted to share a bit of background so you know that the information shown in a shared listing might not have come from the seller currently featured in the buy box.

That aside, I personally think all DJI consumer drones are excellent for beginners, especially if your goal is to get comfortable flying DJI drones specifically. Since most of them handle similarly, the key is to make sure the drone you choose has the features you need for what you plan to do and that it fits your budget. Another thing to keep in mind is the cost of extra accessories and the possible expense of repairing or replacing a damaged drone, which can vary quite a bit depending on the drone model.

 

[msinger]

For an item that is both sold and shipped by a 3rd party seller, how is the Amazon listing able to post something like "Only 8 left in stock, order soon."

They're able to because sellers are required to share their available inventory with Amazon. When Amazon handles fulfillment, it keeps track of the actual inventory levels in its warehouses. This prevents customers from ordering items that sellers don't really have in stock. It's a standard feature across most online marketplaces, so it makes sense that Amazon built it into theirs too.

I gotta say, that's pretty clever of Amazon to post a few drones at the super low price, get all the attention, and then switch it up within hours.

This isn't really Amazon being clever. The Amazon marketplace just shows the best available deal in the buy box for any product. You're simply being pedantic and turning a small detail into something it isn't. But hey, you do you.

 

[YorksPhotos]

Hopefully any returns to Amazon will be quicker than the return I had with K-Wave. It was 1 month from ordering to refund.

 

[msinger]

Hopefully any returns to Amazon will be quicker than the return I had with K-Wave. It was 1 month from ordering to refund.

Amazon has really set the standard for online marketplace returns. For most items, you'll get a full refund shortly after your package is dropped off and scanned at UPS. The only time that didn't happen for me was when I returned an 85" TV that was picked up by a carrier I'd never heard of. I did not receive that refund until the carrier returned the package and Amazon processed it.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Hopefully any returns to Amazon will be quicker than the return I had with K-Wave. It was 1 month from ordering to refund.

Remains to be seen. LOL!

 

[msinger]

I received my Mini 5 Pro from Amazon this afternoon, and it arrived exactly as described in a sealed box. The whole fulfillment process was excellent, just as it usually is when Amazon handles the order.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I received my Mini 5 Pro from Amazon this afternoon, and it arrived exactly as described in a sealed box. The whole fulfillment process was excellent, just as it usually is when Amazon handles the order.

Enjoy your regular battery RID broadcasting Mini 5 Pro, limited to about 15-20 minutes, according to most reports. You should have bought the Plus version which operates exactly the same with 50% more flight time for a few dollars more.

 

[msinger]

You should have bought the Plus version which operates exactly the same with 50% more flight time for a few dollars more.

The standard battery packages are all I need for the kind of flying I do. Whether a drone uses RID or not really doesn't matter to me.

 

[GadgetGuy]

The standard battery packages are all I need for the kind of flying I do. Whether a drone uses RID or not really doesn't matter to me.

Glad you got what you wanted.
Remains to be seen whether I do, through the same seller.
Stay tuned.

 

[msinger]

Remains to be seen whether I do, through the same seller

And you said your package is being fulfilled by Amazon too, correct? If so, I doubt you'll experience any issues.

 

[JAW]

Interesting. 20 decent (not exceptional) reviews, 82% rated it 4 or 5 stars. ALL reviews, as of this posting, were from Canada. As far as weight goes, DJI rates it at 249.9 grs +/- ? grams due to manufacturing variances. My DJI M4P tipped the scales at 251.31 grams out of the box. It's now closer to 260 grams with the landing gear and strobes. I registered it in my Drone Zone account just to be safe.

 

[GadgetGuy]

And you said your package is being fulfilled by Amazon too, correct? If so, I doubt you'll experience any issues.

Yes, and I was relying upon your representation to that effect, when I placed my order.

No matter what happens, it won't change my opinion of Amazon and their collaboration with scammy third party Chinese Amazon Marketplace Sellers, but if having Amazon fulfill the order keeps the scammy sellers in line for fulfilled by Amazon orders, it may be worth the risk, even though I am then also enabling these scammy Chinese crooks.

I am trusting you are correct, but not holding my breath, as these guys would otherwise not have such lousy Critical Reviews that are struck out by Amazon, because Amazon was allegedly responsible for the fulfillment, which should have prevented the complaint in the first place, if there were no issues with Amazon fulfillment.

Either "Amazon fulfillment" is not the safety clause you believe it to be, or Amazon is lying about the strikeouts, saying Amszon was responsible for the fulfillment, when they were not, as appears to be the case, based upon the nature of the statements in the Critical Reviews being struck out by Amazon, which all appear to be consistent with the lousy A to Z Guarantee when shipped by the seller, not Amazon fulfilled.

We'll see.

 

[migfigdmd]

I'm here to report that it was legit after all. I ordered one of each and all three came in today.
One thing I noted is that all three have Amazon labels that state they are Mini 4 Pro drones. This could be the reason behind such low prices. They were mislabeled.

 

[mavic3usa]

I'm here to report that it was legit after all. I ordered one of each and all three came in today.View attachment 186002
One thing I noted is that all three have Amazon labels that state they are Mini 4 Pro drones. This could be the reason behind such low prices. They were mislabeled.View attachment 186003

This is what I meant earlier about "issues" when dealing with 3rd party.

And, inventory control between Amazon and 3rd party sellers. Is Amazon counting M5P or M4P drones?

It's not me making this stuff up, these are the adverse reports from "victims." Not everyone gets screwed over but many do.

Better check to see what is actually inside those boxes.

*This could have easily been the opposite: an M5P amazon label slapped on a M4P drone box in which case you'd have to request a return for a full refund. What do you think this would look like if you bought and paid for an M5P and you return an M4P box? You.got.lucky.