I have "Trust" Issues When Considering Buying Used Equipment. How do Y'all get over that?

[otherprof99]

I've had very positive results from Roberts Camera. Their descriptions and quality ratings are usually spot on.

My experience was also great with Robert’s.

 

[griffenn1]

I've never had a problem with KEH yet; it's Ebay that makes me nervous.

I sell on eBay and i"m nervous sometimes too. I recently bought a vintage camera from Japan which was touted as Near Mint +++++ (What the hell is THAT??) . It looked good in the photos, I bought it, and then I found out the shutter sticks.......open. Not near mint in my book.

I've never had a problem with KEH yet; it's Ebay that makes me nervous.

 

[cgw128 153]

I sell on eBay and i"m nervous sometimes too. I recently bought a vintage camera from Japan which was touted as Near Mint +++++ (What the hell is THAT??) . It looked good in the photos, I bought it, and then I found out the shutter sticks.......open. Not near mint in my book.

However reputable Japanese dealers are, they're still selling old gear, especially medium format kit. Much of it went out of production in the '90s. They aren't privy to a secret hoard of NOS jewels. Cosmetically pretty doesn't axiomatically mean mechanically sound. "Mint" looking Mamiya and Bronica gear can often be worked-to-death stuff. Early in the 2000s when I got sucked into photography, I grabbed NOS and true "mint" MF equipment then flooding the big auction site. Thought at the time, "more money than good sense," as I got stuff friends had told me to grab. They weren't wrong. Now I'd probably pass on the Japanese sellers, especially since the film ecosystem has atrophied in most places. Looking now at drifting into the big sensor Fuji universe for that big negative rush.

 

[Dale H. Cook122 16]

I bought it, and then I found out the shutter sticks.......open.

I would never buy a camera or a lens on eBay. Too many sellers are incapable or unwilling to properly test what they sell.

 

[AlanKlein92 8]

I would never buy a camera or a lens on eBay. Too many sellers are incapable or unwilling to properly test what they sell.

Buy from sellers who guarantee returns for any reason.

 

[1981eagle]

I would never buy a camera or a lens on eBay. Too many sellers are incapable or unwilling to properly test what they sell.

eBay's buyer protection is really good for items 'not as described' Even if the seller doesn't 'accept' returns, eBay will force them to take it back. In a tit-for-tat where the seller and buyer disagree eBay nearly always sides with the buyer. You can also find that large commercial sellers like Adorama have an eBay store.

 

[AlanKlein92 8]

eBay's buyer protection is really good for items 'not as described' Even if the seller doesn't 'accept' returns, eBay will force them to take it back. In a tit-for-tat where the seller and buyer disagree eBay nearly always sides with the buyer. You can also find that large commercial sellers like Adorama have an eBay store.

What are Adorama fees?

 

[1981eagle]

What are Adorama fees?

I don't understand the question - PM me if you want

 

[AlanKlein92 8]

I don't understand the question - PM me if you want

If Adorama sells its stuff through eBay, doesn't eBay get a fee? If so, how much does that add to the cost of Adoramas' sale price?

 

[1981eagle]

I get it now- I haven’t noticed that they increase their prices to offset the eBay fees. Not Adorama, but I was in the market for a lens filter from NiSi - they didn’t have my size on their eBay store and I contacted them and asked them to list it - they suggested that I buy it from their retail store and I said that I would- but through eBay they offered free shipping and their website would be 14.00 bucks shipping- the filter was the same exact price- they listed it and I bought it (your mileage may vary)

 

[petrochemist128 153]

Nearly all my kit is used. Mainly brought from sources where a return is guaranteed or where I've been able to inspect it first. The few used purchases that didn't fit these classes where cheap enough that I felt the gamble worthwhile.

On occasion the item(s) where less than I'd been hoping, but the savings from the remainder has more than made up for this.

I guess I have issues paying the premium of new kit!

 

[griffenn1]

Speaking as someone who both buys and sells cameras on eBay, I think most of us sellers realize that foisting off junk will only last one or two times before no one is willing to buy from you. That's what the feedback section is for, (although I have had instances where far-east, volume sellers on eBay have manged to erase my bad feedback a day after I left it). I sell mostly Olympus and Mamiya cameras, brands that I worked with and have knowledge of. I sell Speedotron flash equipment for the same reason. I have a test pattern that I follow to determine if a piece is working and nothing makes it out the door without being checked.

And that is why I was upset over my "winning bid" on a NM camera arriving with a sticking shutter. That should, and would have been caught when it was tested by me. Cosmetics are one thing, function is primary and mandatory.

 

[MartinCrabtree120 14]

I've been lucky buying used online. Not eBay so much, mostly on forums or KEH.

 

[Kotobukicat]

I buy little things off if ebay like filters, new batteries, lens caps etc. Lens cleaning tissue and fluid, as well. Never film. I recently bought some NOS flash cubes and flash bulbs, that the seller did not ship as hazardous. That was on him (or her), not me. I would have paid the fee.

With ebay, just expect to not get a working unit, and be happy when you do. If the gamble is to big, go to KEH, B&H etc.

Joe

 

[cgw128 153]

I stopped buying film gear--35mm and MF--after the huge sell-offs 15+ years. So much mint- stuff going for peanuts from honest sellers. Digital I bought and still buy from local cameras shops in Toronto who see screwing customers as pointless. They're picky buyers who grade and price fairly.
Frankly, the US/Cdn$ rate kills any lingering eBay temptations stone cold.
Less time these days for post-sale eBay drama.