Purchase lenses from seller; how to check if their legit

[orobles]

Hello forum members

I have a question. I am considering buying a set of zeiss lenses from someone selling it to me. Just wondering if there was a way to check that their legitimate lenses. He encouraged me to check with zeiss to verify them. However zeiss informed me they could only check newer lenses. So i am stuck trying to find out how to make sure their good to buy. Its a lot of money, and i dont want to get stuck with something thats going to give me problems later.

thanks in advance

 

[480sparky]

Is this a shipped lens, or a local one you can meet somewhere and try it out?

 

[orobles]

Its local. My concern isnt if they work. My concern is that their not stolen. I heard of someone buying lenses from ebay that turned out to be stolen.

 

[480sparky]

Caveat emptor.

 

[tirediron]

Contact the vendor, ask for the serial numbers on the lenses, then pass those on to your local police department and see if they show up on any stolen property lists. If the vendor won't provide the s/n, I take that as a red flag and walk away. You can also ask for original receipts, etc, though not everyone keeps packaging and paperwork.