Subpar Experience with MPB

[waday]

Had a subpar first time experience buying from MPB.

The description of the item said the lens came with several accessories. Two of which I didn’t think fit the lens. It said it came with:

• Lens cap
• Back cap
• Case
• Lens hood
• Tripod collar
• Drop-in filter

I figured the tripod collar and drop-in filter were incorrect, so I contacted customer service to double check. Sure enough, she said it came with everything listed.

Well, I ordered the lens, and it shows up with nothing except front and rear caps. I’m confused, so I contact customer service. They say, “whoops, it was a mistake, but we’ll ship you a lens hood”. Customer service literally just read the webpage rather than actually checking what came with the lens.

What about a case? That question goes unanswered.

I’m left with thinking that this is a case of false advertising and/or bait and switch.

I was told that the lens hood would ship two weeks ago today and I would receive a shipping confirmation. I haven’t received anything in two weeks.

@mpbcom , I would like to get this straightened out so that my first experience won’t be my last. Can you please provide any help?

 

[Destin]

I had a very similar experience when I bought my D750 from them. It came missing the rubber cover for the battery grip port and the battery included was a beat up third party battery.

Neither was a deal breaker and they probably got it that way, but the photos showed the rubber cover in place.

Contacted them to inquire about the missing rubber cover and they told me that would have one shipped to me right away.

It’s been 6+ months and I no longe own the camera, but still haven’t seen the cover show up.

My experience was that they’re a whole lot of talk but not much actual action.

 

[Designer]

I’m left with thinking that this is a case of false advertising and/or bait and switch.

At most companies larger than say; two or three people, the people who take the orders do not know what the warehouse has. And sometimes the customer service people have no idea how the website got written.

On a related note:

I had a bad experience with The Grainger Company. I ordered disposable gloves in what I thought should be my correct size. The gloves I received were too large, (even though they were labeled in my size) and when I called customer service, all I got was "go to the B&M store (40 miles away) and try them on". I guess I was hoping the customer service person would just offer to exchange them for a different size, but that's not what was offered. I told the customer service representative that, frankly, I don't care if I ever order anything from them ever again. No service, no shoes, no shirt.

 

[SquarePeg]

@waday and @Destin

That's disappointing to hear. I had been very tempted by a used Fuji 90mm on their website a few months ago but the timing wasn't right and when I went back to look for it, it was gone. Have been sort of annoyed at myself about it but now wondering if I dodged a bullet.

 

[waday]

I had a very similar experience when I bought my D750 from them. It came missing the rubber cover for the battery grip port and the battery included was a beat up third party battery.

Neither was a deal breaker and they probably got it that way, but the photos showed the rubber cover in place.

Contacted them to inquire about the missing rubber cover and they told me that would have one shipped to me right away.

It’s been 6+ months and I no longe own the camera, but still haven’t seen the cover show up.

My experience was that they’re a whole lot of talk but not much actual action.

Very interesting. After ordering (of course), I saw a few other reviews indicating similar, negative experiences. It's sad, because they advertise so much on TPF and on other forums. I was hoping they would be another option to the other big used sellers, but I'm probably not going to use them again.

Whenever they get feedback they don't like, they tend to just not respond, which is absolutely unacceptable for any company of any employee size.

What's funny is that the lens cap that I received is a beat-up third party lens cap, which seems to be mirror your third party battery.

I’m left with thinking that this is a case of false advertising and/or bait and switch.

At most companies larger than say; two or three people, the people who take the orders do not know what the warehouse has. And sometimes the customer service people have no idea how the website got written.

On a related note:

I had a bad experience with The Grainger Company. I ordered disposable gloves in what I thought should be my correct size. The gloves I received were too large, (even though they were labeled in my size) and when I called customer service, all I got was "go to the B&M store (40 miles away) and try them on". I guess I was hoping the customer service person would just offer to exchange them for a different size, but that's not what was offered. I told the customer service representative that, frankly, I don't care if I ever order anything from them ever again. No service, no shoes, no shirt.

Sorry to hear your experiences with The Grainger Company. It's funny how sometimes the easiest solutions that would make everyone happy are the ones that companies don't want to do. Something as simple as exchanging your gloves makes so much sense, that's pretty bad customer service right there!

What made me mad about my experience with MPB was that my question was via email (so they had all the time in the world to check with their other departments), and was told positively that the accessories came with the lens. Then, when I asked where the accessories were, the response was, "oh, whoops, I should have checked". Since this is all done by email, I can get you the exact response as opposed to my paraphrased response.

@waday and @Destin

That's disappointing to hear. I had been very tempted by a used Fuji 90mm on their website a few months ago but the timing wasn't right and when I went back to look for it, it was gone. Have been sort of annoyed at myself about it but now wondering if I dodged a bullet.

Given their lack of feedback to me, and given their lack of a response on here so far, my assumption would be to avoid them like the plague.

One other thing that annoyed me during my buying process is that, yes, sometimes the products are cheaper than other used sites, but the shipping from MPB was ridiculously expensive. Most other places offer free shipping with prices over a certain amount. Shipping from MPB is NOT FREE, therefore, any savings you have from the cheaper products are eaten up by the shipping costs.

Given the issues I've had thus far, my recommendation would be to avoid them. I don't think I trust them with used equipment.

All of this could be very easily resolved if @mpbcom responds, which I hope they do.

 

[mpbcom]

Hi @waday - apologies for only getting back to you now, we were closed during the weekend and we deal with The Photo Forum from the UK (we also have offices here).

I'm really sorry to hear about your recent experience with us which is very disappointing for us to see - you should have received all the described accessories with your lens and this absolutely should not have happened!

I will message you on here now so you can send us your order reference number which I will then pass on to customer service who will follow up with you on this and get this sorted out.

Thank you for making us aware of this and we will be making sure that this does not happen again.

Clare

Had a subpar first time experience buying from MPB.

The description of the item said the lens came with several accessories. Two of which I didn’t think fit the lens. It said it came with:

• Lens cap
• Back cap
• Case
• Lens hood
• Tripod collar
• Drop-in filter

I figured the tripod collar and drop-in filter were incorrect, so I contacted customer service to double check. Sure enough, she said it came with everything listed.

Well, I ordered the lens, and it shows up with nothing except front and rear caps. I’m confused, so I contact customer service. They say, “whoops, it was a mistake, but we’ll ship you a lens hood”. Customer service literally just read the webpage rather than actually checking what came with the lens.

What about a case? That question goes unanswered.

I’m left with thinking that this is a case of false advertising and/or bait and switch.

I was told that the lens hood would ship two weeks ago today and I would receive a shipping confirmation. I haven’t received anything in two weeks.

@mpbcom , I would like to get this straightened out so that my first experience won’t be my last. Can you please provide any help?

 

[mpbcom]

I had a very similar experience when I bought my D750 from them. It came missing the rubber cover for the battery grip port and the battery included was a beat up third party battery.

Neither was a deal breaker and they probably got it that way, but the photos showed the rubber cover in place.

Contacted them to inquire about the missing rubber cover and they told me that would have one shipped to me right away.

It’s been 6+ months and I no longe own the camera, but still haven’t seen the cover show up.

My experience was that they’re a whole lot of talk but not much actual action.

Hi @Destin, thanks for letting us know about your experience with MPB. Sorry that you never received your rubber cover - I will pass on this feedback to our customer service team as we do not want that happening again, and all orders should arrive with all their described parts.

Again thank you for making us aware of this and let me know if you would like to discuss your experience further at all.

Clare

Had a subpar first time experience buying from MPB.

The description of the item said the lens came with several accessories. Two of which I didn’t think fit the lens. It said it came with:

• Lens cap
• Back cap
• Case
• Lens hood
• Tripod collar
• Drop-in filter

I figured the tripod collar and drop-in filter were incorrect, so I contacted customer service to double check. Sure enough, she said it came with everything listed.

Well, I ordered the lens, and it shows up with nothing except front and rear caps. I’m confused, so I contact customer service. They say, “whoops, it was a mistake, but we’ll ship you a lens hood”. Customer service literally just read the webpage rather than actually checking what came with the lens.

What about a case? That question goes unanswered.

I’m left with thinking that this is a case of false advertising and/or bait and switch.

I was told that the lens hood would ship two weeks ago today and I would receive a shipping confirmation. I haven’t received anything in two weeks.

@mpbcom , I would like to get this straightened out so that my first experience won’t be my last. Can you please provide any help?

 

[goooner]

Thanks for the heads up guys. Been thinking about using them since they started trading in Germany. Will think twice now.

 

[waday]

Hi @waday - apologies for only getting back to you now, we were closed during the weekend and we deal with The Photo Forum from the UK (we also have offices here).

I'm really sorry to hear about your recent experience with us which is very disappointing for us to see - you should have received all the described accessories with your lens and this absolutely should not have happened!

I will message you on here now so you can send us your order reference number which I will then pass on to customer service who will follow up with you on this and get this sorted out.

Thank you for making us aware of this and we will be making sure that this does not happen again.

Clare

Clare, Thank you for reaching out. I've provided you my order number via message.

As I said in my email, the drop-in filter and tripod collar do not exist for the lens in question. But, all other accessories do exist. To make me a satisfied customer, I need the lens hood and case.

 

[mpbcom]

Hi @waday - apologies for only getting back to you now, we were closed during the weekend and we deal with The Photo Forum from the UK (we also have offices here).

I'm really sorry to hear about your recent experience with us which is very disappointing for us to see - you should have received all the described accessories with your lens and this absolutely should not have happened!

I will message you on here now so you can send us your order reference number which I will then pass on to customer service who will follow up with you on this and get this sorted out.

Thank you for making us aware of this and we will be making sure that this does not happen again.

Clare

Clare, Thank you for reaching out. I've provided you my order number via message.

As I said in my email, the drop-in filter and tripod collar do not exist for the lens in question. But, all other accessories do exist. To make me a satisfied customer, I need the lens hood and case.

Thanks Wade - customer service will be in touch with you shortly.

Clare

 

[vintagesnaps]

I was thinking the company was out of the UK. There's a US office listed but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a registered US business. I don't know if warranty would be an issue on products.

 

[mpbcom]

I was thinking the company was out of the UK. There's a US office listed but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a registered US business. I don't know if warranty would be an issue on products.

Hi @vintagesnaps, we are registered as a US business which is separate to our Europe business. We have offices in both the UK and US. Thanks!

 

[waday]

customer service will be in touch with you shortly

Do you know about when? Are they going to contact me via email or via phone?

 

[mpbcom]

customer service will be in touch with you shortly

Do you know about when? Are they going to contact me via email or via phone?

Hi, sorry they haven't been in touch yet - your issue is currently being investigated and you'll hear from customer service this afternoon by email. Thanks

 

[vintagesnaps]

The site shows the company is registered in the UK. I wonder about warranty coverage; the site's page on warranty talks about 6 month coverage but I didn't see anything about US manufacturer warranty coverage on purchases. Scroll down to the bottom to FAQs.