Any experience/advice on buying equipment from individuals on Ebay?

[Janmc]

I have never purchased camera equipment from Ebay before.
I am looking at some products there (like new D600 camera) for some great prices from individuals selling.
The claims are often that this is the full US version, unopened (or opened just to check contents), full warranty etc and selling for well under the typical $1999 price I am currently seeing for the camera.

Any advice on buying from a seller like that? Can I trust for everything said to be true?

 

[kylesfreelance]

I'm in the same boat I am wreary.

 

[coastalconn]

I've had plenty of experience buying and selling on ebay. I would ask if they are including the original receipt and where it was purchased. Otherwise you will have no warranty. I'm not in the market for a D600 if I was I would probably grab a refurb from Cameta.com. $1700 shipped no tax if you are not in NY and 1 year warranty.. Just my humble opinion..

 

[480sparky]

Check their feedback. Not only their rating, but what they've sold in the past.

If they regularly sell photo gear, that's one thing. If, in the past six months, they've sold a size 6 dress, a set of tires and a coffee machine, I'd be wary.

Also, check their other items for sale. If you see hundreds of listings for all sorts of top-dollar stuff.... all for well-below-market-value prices.... all BuyItNow..... and/or all listed at the same time........RUN AWAY!

 

[flow]

I got our current camera on eBay. It was used, but I was able to feel confident in what the seller was telling me about extent of use and condition, etc, as well as his return/refund policy. I've bought other kinds of electronics as well ... I would say the important thing is to know exactly what you are looking for, and to email the seller with questions about absolutely anything that you are uncertain of from the description - almost to the point of being obnoxious. If they are on the level, they won't mind (they might be happier if you condense it into 1 or 2 emails though!).
A lot of people will tell you to avoid dealing with China/Hong Kong. They often do NOT list that as their location though - look for tells in the language errors in the description. Whether you do or not is up to you, but you will have a harder time with returns (if you need to return anything, you may find the seller has disappeared their account, or just won't respond, NTM shipping both ways is going to take an eon). I won't buy anything expensive/delicate/important from there, but have done for little cheap things (step up ring for example). It's almost never a problem, but you don't want the one bad experience to be on a couple grand.
And of course, read all your sellers' feedbacks. Very telling. Even if they are in China, if they've been at it for years and have fantastic score and comments, you're probably safe trusting them.

 

[MK3Brent]

PayPal is an excellent help for you as a buyer.
I've been screwed once or twice over the years on e-bay. Paypal sided with me, and my money was returned.

Recently got a TLR Rollei that had a broken film advance lever... Told e-bay, and with a copy of the shipping receipt for the return of the camera, we would be refunded once the carrier confirms delivery.

 

[flow]

PayPal is an excellent help for you as a buyer.
.

THIS. If the seller suggests they would prefer some other payment method, be very suspicious. Technically they aren't supposed to, but many will take something else if asked - but they should not be requesting it. If things go badly, & you file a dispute, Paypal will (after a month or so) return your money even if the seller has vanished & doesn't acknowledge your complaint. Only happened 2x (in over 10 years) but was glad to get it back!

 

[MK3Brent]

PayPal is an excellent help for you as a buyer.
.

THIS. If the seller suggests they would prefer some other payment method, be very suspicious. Technically they aren't supposed to, but many will take something else if asked - but they should not be requesting it. If things go badly, & you file a dispute, Paypal will (after a month or so) return your money even if the seller has vanished & doesn't acknowledge your complaint. Only happened 2x (in over 10 years) but was glad to get it back!

On the same note... (something I forgot)...
NEVER SEND "PAYMENT AS GIFT" option in PayPal to a stranger.

Say goodbye to any representation from PP after that waiver.

 

[Tuffythepug]

I've bought guitars, cameras and other photo equipment on Ebay and so far, (knock on wood) I've never been cheated or disappointed. Still, some risk is unavoidable. I stick with sellers who have lots of positive feedback

 

[KmH]

Not on eBay, but I have bought from private sellers on Amazon.com

 

[bratkinson]

I've bought a number of $100 and up items on ebay, usually without any problems. Where I got bit was in used computer components - everything from processors to hard drives to supposedly 'genuine' copies of Microsoft Office. I fell for the usual traps...if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

But I've successfully bought a used pedal steel guitar, amplifier, a Canon 30D with grip and goodies, a 200 f2.8L mark ii, and even my 80-200 f2.8L magic black pipe, and a new 580EX ii for an extraordinary price (I was nervous). I routinely buy genuine Epson ink on ebay, as it's 20-30% cheaper than going to Staples. In short, I think ebay has a wealth of bargains. As a sometimes seller (I've sold 2 lenses in the past 18 months, and other odds & ends), ebay and Paypal fees are brutal. So there BETTER be some protection for the buyer, and one of my bigger 'got ripped off' purchases, Paypal got my money back. So I have no complaints with their 'complaint department' at all.

But there are tons of scams on ebay. Whether you are buying 'mint condition' equipment or even 'new', there are as many crooks out there that either don't send the buyer anything, or what they do send is inferior, not properly described, or an imitation instead of the real deal that was paid for.

As mentioned above, it's necessary to do all the 'homework' you can on the seller. Check their feedback...at least 3-4 recent pages worth. As mentioned above, if they rarely, if ever, sell new photographic equipment and they are offering a new, in box higher-end camera, walk away. While I'd consider (and bought) a 'new, in box part of a kit' lens, I was confident that the description was accurate and it was a reputable individual (not store) seller. My 80-200 f2.8L came from a Japanese camera store with a rating in the 10s of thousands. The lens was perfectly described, the pictures were completely faithful, and I got the lens 2 days later! If there's -ANY- recent negative feedback for a seller, be doubly cautious. And if the negative feedback indicates bait-and-switch, rip-off, or condition issues not as described, buy from someone else!

As for the merchandise, for used lenses, my biggest criteria is condition as shown in the photos. Obviously, dust in the lens, if any, isn't going to show up in the photographs, so one has to trust the description. But I especially want to see the contacts, close up. The level of wear and tear on the contacts gives good proof of the lens being 'rarely used' or 'on and off the camera 100s of times'. I like 'mint' condition, personally. So I want very new-looking contacts. If the item is described as new in box and the contents are photographed, it better be complete. For a camera body, I'd look for instruction manual(s), CD, strap, battery, charger, registration, and verify all are present...unopened.

In the under $50 department, I don't have a problem dealing with overseas sellers...if they have a VERY good rating (8,000+). I had some computer parts take 4 weeks to arrive from China during the holidays. I was getting nervous, but they arrived undamaged. And if the deal is a rip off, $50 isn't going to hurt that bad.

 

[480sparky]

I've probably bought $30,00 of stuff off ebay. Only been scammed out of $80.

So the $30,00 I spent would have been more like $50,000 if I had bought it all retail.

So that $80 is really just a 'cost of doing business'.

 

[bsinmich]

I bought a Pentax ME Super that was in great condition from E-Bay and the only thing he neglected to tell me was that it had been dropped in salt water and nothing moved on it. That was $20. I also justlost out on a $3.00 hinge for the Dell laptop. Other than those 2 I have had some great buys on E-Bay. Look for a seller with a lot of positive reviews.

 

[ceeboy14]

I buy on Amazon exclusively...never had a bad deal yet.

 

[Awiserbud]

If someone advertised a new camera on ebay, only being opened to check contents, i would ask myself how did they end up with it, and why hasn't it been used? definate alarm bells ringing there. that said i use Ebay a lot, especially for photographic gear, but you have to know what to look for, always check feedback, not the positive ones, the negative ones. check the positive ones for dispatch times, this can give you an indication of whether the seller is actually in the same country as you and not in Asia somewhere. also bear in mind that if you do buy items from China very often you have to pay import tax once the item arrives (in the UK we do anyway, not sure about the US), i have been caught out a couple of times, mostly with cheap items so it wasn't a big deal but it could be if your buying an expensive camera and end up having to pay 20% on it when it arrives.
Buying from individuals is a lot easier, you can generally tell if they are genuine, ask lots of questions, the replys you get will tell you a lot about them.