I’m wanting to put up some “dummy” cams on 5 buildings, I figure` ~4 corners/building, 2 cameras/corner I’ll need ~40 cameras minimum.
Having been a Wyze user since early 2019 and bought probably 50 cameras I’ve about 4 totally dead, and a few due to die. But if I could order a few dozen “dead” v3’s on the cheap that would go a long ways to providing better security. I’ll spread some working cams amongst them, but who is going to know the difference?
I’d like to keep them all V3’s or V3 pans.
I suggest searching sites like ebay or online marketplaces with the terms “Wyze” and “parts” and people post broken/bricked devices and say things like “parts only” or “broken” and will often say “or best offer” so you can probably offer really low for some of them, like just over shipping cost or get some in bulk. Maybe also search with the word “broken” instead or “bricked” or “not working” or “as is”. All of those are typical terms for it.
Honestly, it’s probably okay if you use other cameras besides Wyze ones if they aren’t going to work. Nobody will know if they work or not or which ones work or not.
Or go look around for the people with venting angry posts about their stuff not working and how they’re going to leave to go somewhere else and throw their Wyze stuff in the trash, and offer to buy them out really cheap instead of throwing them out.
Or go look on places like Aliexpress and buy really cheap cameras there even if you don’t plan to use them. You can probably even get some Wyze clones fairly cheap.
This made me chuckle, but I think it’s a valid suggestion, and I’ve considered doing this. 
What’s your suggested search query? 
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Great idea! If someone steals one dead cam, the joke is on them.
I have seen many statements saying “I am outta here”. I would hope you would get an offer. Sure would be good for the environment.
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Watching Reddit posts on
https://www.reddit.com/r/wyzecam/
and
https://www.reddit.com/r/Wyze/
are good places to start (reddit has a reputation for complaining, though not as much lately as in the past), but maybe not with a lot of old ones. I’m thinking more along the lines of watching for when someone posts a new vent post.
I hear Facebook has some kind of “Wyze Tech Support” group that isn’t run by Wyze and they might have more of that too.
Basically just keep an eye out for anyone saying their Wyze stuff is going in the garbage because they have connectivity issues or something and offer to buy them out instead. I know lots of people who have done that over the years and gotten lots of great stuff on the cheap.
Risks are all yours though…maybe use a payment system that allows reversals/disputes in case they try to scam you…I’m just tossing out ideas.
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Heh, I was going to suggest the same, but figured those people are usually venting/bluffing, or at the very least wouldn’t want to go to the trouble of packing and shipping.
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Maybe we should ask @Loki for a #vent tag in the Forum Operations Feedback Thread to facilitate the process…. 
In all seriousness, I think they’re good suggestions, and it’s cool to learn that you know people who have had positive experiences with this.
I’ve had those suspicions, as well. 
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Start with “suck” and “junk” 
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This has been my experience. MANY of them (but not all of them) are trying to use extreme venting and threatening to solicit bandwagoning &/or as leverage to scare the company into complying with what they want out of fear of losing a lot of business (cue “class action” and “Better Business Bureau” comments as key indicators of this). This rarely works that way though. Companies that get such threats usually AVOID discussion of the issue entirely after such vitriol. It’s not worth the risk to interact.
Over the years I’ve looked at many past accounts (on Reddit and the forums) who previously said they threw away everything and moved on completely and then months later they post again talking about ordering the latest device and all the devices they still have. I don’t call anyone out on it in public though. I don’t really believe in targeted public shaming.
Though as I said, there are DEFINITELY some that are being real, and some that will absolutely love an excuse to sell out everything without taking a total loss and switch to somewhere else, so it can’t hurt to ask and see if you catch one of those.
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Oh yes, I absolutely know MULTIPLE people who have had success doing this exact thing and both sides have been extremely mutually satisfied. So I am all for it if it makes both sides happier in meeting their needs.
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Why not get some of these?
https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-fake-camera.html?spm=a2g0o.home.auto_suggest.1.624476dbaIQ546
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I agree. maybe put 2 fake ones and 2 real ones on every building. It’s probably cheaper to buy actual fake ones than trying to buy broken ones or unwanted ones off someone. The onlookers won’t know the difference.
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I wondered about using fakes, too, but I imagine because of this specific comment…
…that the goal is probably to have the decoys seamlessly blend in with the rest of the security environment, and that makes sense to me. I don’t have any data about how effective decoy cameras are as deterrents for bad behavior, but if they’re going to be used then blending them in with the existing system probably isn’t a terrible idea and might make the more observant among the potential offenders think twice (whereas a true fake might stick out as something different in a way that doesn’t provide as much deterrence).
I don’t know what the best answer is, but it’s an interesting question, and I wonder what real-world data would suggest.
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Great idea. It reminds me of sites that sell fake cell phones for display purposes.
Ask AI.
At first I thought the same thing, but then I remembered seeing different types of cameras in malls. For example bullet style and dome style in the same environment. To be honest, cameras will not deter a professional criminal, they are good at deterring troublemakers and hooligans, which in my opinion are not very smart to think why there are there different types of cameras. Just saying
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While I agree that it can be useful for some things, I’m skeptical about its ability to give a definitive answer for a question like this, and if you’re treating this as a scientific inquiry then it’s important to know the source data and methods in order to replicate the results. I’m not confident in AI’s ability to provide that. In the world of my background, the “gold standard” for testing this would be something akin to a randomized controlled trial, and I could imagine the recruitment for participants in something like this, because the investigator conducting the trial would likely want known or potential criminals among the mix to randomize into different arms.
That makes sense, too: Different types for different perspectives/applications.
That’s my thinking, too, so it’s good to be clear about the goal and the expectations in any situation like this (not just this particular case).
I think that’s definitely a fair point, which is why I previously mentioned the observational ability of the potential troublemakers as being a variable (a likely unknown).
I don’t know. I think it may give you a good consensus, if you ask it correctly. Just like a google search.
Doesn’t hurt to try, as it costs nothing and no electrons will be harmed. 
I get that. I did a quick search out of curiosity, and the results seemed to be a lot of opinion without actual data. I think it’s an interesting question.
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Consensus is like that. Just like reviews on Amazon.