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I ordered a case from Artisan through Etsy. Never showed up and ended up having to cancel on my credit card. I then inquired about a 1/2 case from the Italian guy (whom I suspect just buys the cases from Artisan and marks them up). Suddenly my credit card was hacked for $450 and I had to cancel through my credit card company again! I give up.... finally ordered a Leica case from my dealer and got what I paid for! What’s the deal with these case guys? Im starting to think they’re all just middle men getting the cases from the same factory in China. They even use some of the same pictures. 

Edited by Jaymz
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Wasn’t Luigi Creszenzi. But another guy named Angelo or Angelina. As for Artisan , they were the most obvious. Etsy caught them using a fake tracking service available to sellers in HK to shut buyers up. They didn’t even deny it when confronted with the facts. Etsy caught them and helped me. Perhaps once reputable is now desperate because virus has almost shut them down. 

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Thank you for that information. While searching for a nice case, I noticed a few of the case manufacturers were even using the same pictures on their websites. I came to the conclusion that they are people with websites, buying wholesale from a factory in China, and reselling at twice the price. PayPal backed me up and discovered that Artisan out of Hong Kong was using a fake shipping/tracking site just to make customers think their purchase was on the way. The guy in Italy (Angelo Pell? Angelina Pello?) actually backtracked my simple email inquiry and created a fake sale, empty box shipping and all! PayPal stepped in and caught him/her. Are people that desperate these days? Anyways, my fault for not looking on the forum first and trusting the good advice/recommendations of members here. Lucky for me, I did find a shop with a few extra batteries in stock. They seem very hard to find. Again, thanks for the advice 🤪

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I second the Art Di Mano recommendation. Beautiful and functional. I have the model that allows both battery and SD Card access without removing the case.
 

I also got Art Di Mano’s 120 cm waxed cotton strap which works very well and compliments the case. The 120 cm length allows me to carry it cross body like a sling strap, or around the neck.

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After almost 2 months Artistan is still showing my case as “on the way!” The problem is... There is no SF Express!! It’s a fake shipping/tracking service that Chinese sellers are using to convince buyers their item is on the way! Etsy caught these guys. The Italian seller Angelina Pell or Pello) somehow reversed my email, created a fake order and hacked my PayPal😳. When he got caught he tried to threaten me with police?? Typical scammer switching blame but PayPal has him on their radar now. I can’t believe how desperate these guys are. Anyways....I’ll go with Art Di Mano’s product. Thanks everyone for the advice!

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5 hours ago, RoySmith said:

I second the Art Di Mano recommendation. Beautiful and functional. I have the model that allows both battery and SD Card access without removing the case.
 

I also got Art Di Mano’s 120 cm waxed cotton strap which works very well and compliments the case. The 120 cm length allows me to carry it cross body like a sling strap, or around the neck.

+1. Totally happy with my ADM case and 120 cm cotton strap. Perfect. 

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5 hours ago, RoySmith said:

I second the Art Di Mano recommendation. Beautiful and functional. I have the model that allows both battery and SD Card access without removing the case.
 

I also got Art Di Mano’s 120 cm waxed cotton strap which works very well and compliments the case. The 120 cm length allows me to carry it cross body like a sling strap, or around the neck.

The only half cases I use on my M cameras. 

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I suspect many of the sellers are Chinese companies disguised at Italian or other European artisans.  I had both the Leica case and a Chinese case (from a small shop called Ming Studio, about $120).  This Chinese case is much better than my Leica one (even the Leica store rep commented so!), which I subsequently sold.  I had a colleague buy it for me on Taobao in China.  Would not recommend buying it overseas.

There is nothing wrong with Chinese cases, and many of them are good quality.  But the hard thing is how do you distinguished from good vs. dishonest Chinese shops?  I suppose that is true with international sellers in the Europe as well.

For this kind of things (somewhat niche products), I only purchase through Amazon prime, since I know for sure that the stuff is in Amazon warehouse and things get shipped.  Additionally, you can easily return stuff.  Etsy type of sites are good ideas, and I would love to support real artisans.  But I simply don't have the patience or time to deal with the problems that you encountered, which unfortunately happens a lot in my experience.

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I am definitely buying an Atre Di Mano case. The scammer shop - Angelina Smalldore? Angelo? Anyways... they buy and sell Chinese cases pretending to be hand made in Italy.  They’re the ones who hacked my PayPal. I trust members here so I’ll go with all the good advice. Thanks

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