Would you buy a lense on ebay??

[NellyG]

I'm looking to buy a Nikon 70-300 and it's seems as if ebay is the least expensive way to go... I have never bought anything off eBay before so I wanted to get some opinions... it's it safe to buy a lens off eBay or not??

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[Dinardy]

Theres one here for sale if I'm not mistaken, by bcsteve. Not sure if it has sold or not but it might be worth a look.

 

[manny212]

Bought a 70-200 2.8 years ago , as well as my D700 and both came in shape described , have never had an issue with either .

 

[Tailgunner]

I have bought camera gear both from TPF and Ebay and with great success. Personally, I start with the forum buy/sell section first but that's me.

 

[480sparky43 42]

I've probably bought half a dozen chunks of glass off ebay... never gotten burned. My latest ebay deal was the Tokina 17/3.5.

 

[manicmike]

Buy and sell all the time on ebay. Only had a problem once in the last 250 or so transactions. Guy was a whiner.

 

[ShaneF]

I just dropped 4 grand on 2 lenses from ebay a few weeks ago, as long as the seller has a good rating and feed back there should be no worries. Always make sure to read the description carefully and always pay with paypal so you are covered up to $10.000.

I have bought tones of stuff of ebay over the years the only problem i have ever had was somthing getting shipped to the wrong address and was rectified very quickly.

I dont give it a second thought purchasing from ebay.

 

[table1349]

NO!

 

[astroNikon]

All my lens, tripods, grip, flashes etc are from eBay except my D7000 w/kit lens which was from BestBuy

 

[goodguy]

I bought and sold many things of ebay.
Ebay has its own rules and unwriten rules of what to do and what not to do.

When you buy then it is very important to get all the info before you buy so you will not have "Bad" surprises.
Also very important to see good positive feedback off seller, I usually will not buy if feedback is under 99%

I bought only one lens off ebay, wasnt very happy and seller on he spot told me he will give me full money back but after a long thought I decided to keep lens.
Overall I recommend using ebay as a source for lens but as I said be sure to know you know what you are getting and be sure the seller has good feedback rating.

 

[Modifeye]

I've bought a few high-end lenses on ebay in the past with no problems. As the others suggested, make sure you do a thorough check on the seller and their rating. I tend to avoid ads with limited information and gravitate more towards actual licensed sellers with stores set up or sellers that have sold tons of camera stuff in the past. I like to read the customer feedback of previous camera related sales.

Pictures are also key. If all they can provide is stock photos then I'm not interested. Or if they barely know anything about what they have - usually you can tell just by the description, then there is a good chance that it could be stolen. Seen TONS of those.

Overall, ebay can be a sketchy place to make big purchases, but it can also be a fantastic place to score some killer deals if you're careful. Good luck!

 

[Smokeyr67]

In the past month or so I've bought a sigma 28-70 F2.8, 105 macro, 17-35 F1.4 and saved enough to get a 50mm f1.4. All where brand new in perfect condition, came from the same seller, after the first one arrived I just went crazy on the rest because our dollar is falling and the prices will rise. I'll probably pick up an 85mm f1.4 this week, and I'm considering replacing my old sigma 70 - 200 f2.8 with a new stabilised one, and both will be from the same ebay dealer.

 

[bratkinson]

I bought two used Canon L lenses on ebay. But I did my homework first.

First, the seller has to have an outstanding rating, especially if farther than a 2-3 hour drive from where I live. I bought an 80-200 f2.8L from a Japanese retailer that had a rating over 10,000. I had the lens in my hands 2 days later...and I'm in New England, USA. The EF 200 f2.8L ii I bought was from a seller with a rating less than 500, but had sold a number of higher-priced items, including some photography equipment, and had a 100% rating. Note, too, that some very reputable, highly regarded photography equipment retailers such as Adorama sell on ebay, too.

The second thing I look for is condition. Pristine or very nearly so is what I am looking for. Dents, dings, scratches, no thanks. Well worn contacts at the rear of the lens, no thanks. (Look VERY carefully at pix of the contacts!). Any visible or noted flaws in the optics, no thanks. Missing original packaging (retail or part of a kit, I don't care), no thanks. I'm very picky when it comes to spending 100s of my dollars! For what it's worth, I bought my 30D and 2 EF-S lenses on ebay when I first moved up to a DSLR. I was just as picky then as now.

I've also sold the EF-S lenses and a couple of Ls I didn't use enough to justify on ebay. I sold them in the same condition as I bought them...pristine...original packaging, and even the original store receipt for lenses I bought at B&H Photo.

 

[Edsport]

The first place i look when i need to buy something is Ebay. If you use paypal to pay for the purchase Ebay guarantees that you will get the item as described or it will refund your money. As mentioned earlier, you need to buy from someone with a very high percentage of good feedback/transactions and you shouldn't have a problem. If you do, these people with high transactions will want to fix the problem so that they can keep a high percetange...

 

[CoBilly]

Absolutely. I've bought all of my gear from eBay or Amazon. But, like its been stated already, you need to do some homework before you pull the trigger