eBay for Camera equipment Poll

eBay usage - please check the closest option:


  • Total voters
    47
  • Poll closed .

Rob

TPF Noob!
Joined
Jan 29, 2005
Messages
6,217
Reaction score
134
Location
London
Website
www.ukphotographs.com
Hi people,

I'm interested to know who uses eBay, what for etc. Any anecdotal evidence, pure opinion, biassed hatred all welcome, please vote and post anything interesting.

Cheers

Rob
 
Nothing wrong with eBay. You just have to make sure what you're bidding on is ok and that the seller looks good.
 
funny enough, i was thinking of asking the exact same question as i often see really good deals on ebay, though i am a little wary (sp??) of it. at the moment i only use it for cheking prices but have bought a few things although they wer not photography related. had no problems though.
 
I agree with Frank, just be carefull.

I got a complete darkroom set (all I didnt get was tank and reel) for £60, so I like it! :D
 
I got a cracking deal on my 75-300mm Canon lens, It's worth using e-bay providing you pick the right sellers.
 
I have used ebay for a few years, to buy and sell things that are games related (Ultima Online)

Recently I bought 2 cameras.

For 21 pounds plus 5 pounds postage, I got a Minolta X300, with 1.7 lens, that is in excellent condition, and works perfectly, so far. I am delighted with it.

Emboldened by this, and wanting a flashgun and more lenses, I bought a system comprising an X300s (later model), a 24-70 zoom, a 100-200 zoom, and a bounce head flash gun. I have yet to see the results, as I am awaiting the return of a slide film. However, the 24-70 is a Vivitar, not a Minolta as stated, and it feels gritty when focussing at widest angle setting, also the iris acts strangely; the 100-200 has what appears to be spiders' webs (fungus?) on several internal lens surfaces; and the camera back doesnt seem to be tightly seated when closed, which might allow light leakage.

I am probably going to invoke ebay's "I have been cheated" system.

Several things that probably should have been significant were:

The seller stated that postage would be £5, the same as my other purchase, In view of the fact that the gear was 3 or 4 times as heavy, the seller had either (a) not had the stuff weighed, or (b) was willing to take the hit just to get rid of the stuff.

The seller referred to the fact that the gear used to belong to his father, and was working when it was stored away. This might have been decades ago!

The seller stated that the gear had been serviced and tested. When? By whom? And why sell so cheap, as servicing would have cost more than the 62 pounds I paid for the system.

I recommend that when you think of buying photography stuff, look for people with a lot of 100% good feedback, or who live close to you, or who offer a decent returns policy.

Be careful to look at their feedback as a SELLER, which is far more significant.

Try to only buy stuff stated as mint quality.

If the seller says that they don't know much about photography but are sure that the stuff works, ignore the item.

Too many fathers seem to leave camera equipment around, imho, and it is strange that their kids took absolutely no interest in the hobby... ( I suspect house clearers or car boot sale recyclers are at work here.)

Above all, try to always buy using a credit card, and via the pay pal system, as that gives you 2 or 3 levels of protection from fraud.
 
I've only bought one thing and massively regretted it.

Was a dirty filthy mould ridden piece of **it from a seller with more than 600 positive responses.

Have used ebay to sell 2 lenses - this one that I bought there and another old battered one. Was quite honest about the condition of both and still got very good prices for them both.

Just so long as everyone realises it is 'buyer beware' then by all means go ahead and use the site but you wont find me there again buying!


Good luck


Spike
 
I have bought a good amount of stuff from ebay. Really only burned once. I will watch items for a long time before bidding. I like to have an idea of the price items are going for. Then search the feedback. I just got an 28-80 sigma and an Omega enlarger and both where great deals and virtually perfect in condition.
 
The only issue that I have with eBay is that they lie. They say that all sales are final and that they will chase people up who don't follow all the rules. They don't.
I have never had a problem with them but someone I know has. Once they were ignored by eBay. The second time the response was "well, we can't make people sell the stuff if they don't want to". That second one was when they refused to take the money for an item and said that they weren't going to sell it any more.

I still stand by my "if you're careful you're fin" stance because I've been happy with everything that I've bought. That includes old cameras and a few lenses.
 
I've only bought one thing from Ebay, and the transaction was great. The price was great too. It's always a risk though. I normally prefer to buy things new, or if it's used, from a shop like keh.com or adorama's used section.
 
I've had very good luck buying cameras and darkroom equipment off Ebay.

Read every description 3 times; sometimes you miss important details the first time through
Always check the feedback
Always understand the return policy
Always assume it's in worse condition than described
Look for a good deal, but be suspicious of a deal that's too good

I check KEH.com and the completed auctions on Ebay to get an idea what the equipment is worth, and what it has been going for. If KEH is anywhere close I go with them (phone orders are handled better than internet orders at KEH). Ebay is about getting a deal, so I never bid what the item is probably really worth, unless it's rare and I just can't find it anywhere (like a freakin' Rollieflex lens hood).

I've bought cameras from $5 to $3000 from Ebay, and only been jerked around once. A guy listed an accessory as a certain model number, and it turned out to be a different model (not even something I could use), and he claimed that it was my fault for not asking questions, and refused to return my money. What question was I going to ask? "Hey, is that thing you are selling really what you say it is?" And like Ferny said, Ebay won't really help you if you get scammed.
 
All of my cameras except the 10D and Rebel 2000 are from eBay. I dig it. Have also bought a decent amount of other gear on there. Filters are a steal but you need to be real careful with those, lots of scratched ones out there if you buy used.
 
i got a 300d with lens new for £500. i have bought lots of other flashes and stuff off there. im looking to get a fisheye of there aswell. iv never had any problems with it.
 
I purchased a lense very cheap on e-bay & later found out from a camer store employee that it's worth a lot more than I paid for it. He found the lense very interesting. Got my other lense just as cheap and it's nice too. I particularly like shopping e-bay for things like lense caps, reverse rings, etc. Small stuff that ships cheap.

I've shopped e-bay for all kinds of stuff and never been dissapointed. Got a few nice surprises too.
 
So far I have been selling and buying cameras on E-bay. I sold most of my old collection of rare cameras and then bought some more. I have never had a bad experience, possibly just been lucky.

When I buy I generally like to get as much info as I can before buying. I Google a lot, read my books, whatever it takes.

So far so good...
 

Most reactions

Back
Top