Buying used glass? eBay?

ian-83

ian-83

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Looking to buy some used glass and been having a look on eBay and was wondering is it worth it or is it better to buy from a used camera shop?

Will I have as much comeback on eBay as if i purchased from a shop?
 
I think ebay is fine as long as you are careful.
Always check feedback on other items the seller has sold, and how long they have been selling for as well.
Only used it once so far for buying glass and got a real bargain on a legacy AI lens, but have sold loads of lenses via ebay.
 
its abit hit and miss, ive sold stuff no problems, and ive bought some L-series no problems. you can tell by how the advert is written whether they have half a clue about photography/the product which helps imo.

I got my 70-200 2.8 of the 'bay, and its an absolute peacher...mint condition, and its razor sharp - got a good copy!
 
I have bought many things from eBay but I have only bought glass once, when the lens arrived the packing was less than good but the lens did not suffer. Yes I was lucky,very lucky. I always check feed back before I buy anything,but even that is no guarantee as I have just found out this past week ( not camera related)


Rob
 
I bought second hand camera gear once - which proved to be broken with an intermittent but reproducible fault. Fortunately, I bought it from a shop with a warranty so there wasnt an issue with getting it repaired for free.

I've bought brand new gear from ebay stores that can be trusted like kerso, but I really couldn't see myself ever buying second hand on ebay. Certainly nothing big like gLass.
 
I have purchased two second hand lenses and a camera body from eBay before and had no problems. I always ask the seller a few questions beforehand (assuming they aren't stated in the auction) to confirm any marks to glass/lens body, any issues with focus/sharpness and to email me some sample photos taken with the lens. Most genuine sellers are happy to answer and send a few photos, and if satisfied, bid/buy. If the lens is not as described and the seller does not co-operate, raise an 'item not as described' dispute and the seller should be obliged to refund you.
 
wicker_man said:
I have purchased two second hand lenses and a camera body from eBay before and had no problems. I always ask the seller a few questions beforehand (assuming they aren't stated in the auction) to confirm any marks to glass/lens body, any issues with focus/sharpness and to email me some sample photos taken with the lens. Most genuine sellers are happy to answer and send a few photos, and if satisfied, bid/buy. If the lens is not as described and the seller does not co-operate, raise an 'item not as described' dispute and the seller should be obliged to refund you.
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Seems like the possible way to go but then most of the stuff has been going for similar if not more than what MPB Photographic are charging plus i get a warranty from them.
 
from a "shop" i wouldnt mind but a 2nd hand private seller is too risky - too many possibilities that could happen to be worthwhile
 
I've bought and sold several cameras, 10+ lenses, a couple of flashes and other equipment via eBay with no problems. The real risk on eBay is with selling rather than buying.

Just check feedback and check where the seller is located (on the feedback page it says "Member since: DATE in United Kingdom", people lie in their listings). If anything is wrong contact the buyer first and give them chance to reply, if they don't then raise a dispute and you'll probably win.
 
I have never had a problem with Ebay myself. Should be OK as long as the person has a lot of good feedback.

If not you can send it back to them and claim the money back anyway through Ebay or Paypal.
 
It depends on the seller. I regularly buy from Digigood and have never had a problem and they have great feedback rating. If it's from an individual, I'd suggest you look through their feedback and see what they've bought and sold in the past. If they've traded in items for a few pounds and then offer a lens or camera for over a thousand pounds I'd be very wary, but if they've regularly traded in high value items you should be safe.
If you pay by paypal you do have some cover if you don't receive the item or if it's not as advertised, but it may take you a while to get your money back if caught out. Having said that, you might be better off looking through the classifieds on here or other forums or post in the wanted forum if you can't find what you're after.
 
I got a canon 70 200 from ebay but i drove down and picked it up, i think you can do a search thou for post codes local to you, i just got lucky and found a lens 45 mins away. As for feedback i would also make sure they have traded with camera gear, not just got a large number but for selling cheap stuff
 
I found paypal buyer protection to be a waste of time. As they couldn't get the money back from the sellers account, they didn't get me my £5 back for a CD which wasn't delivered. I only buy low value items now I know the protection isn't great. Was a few years ago so don't know if it's changed.
 
eBay is great for second hand lenses I recently purchased some vintage Nikon glass for next to nothing. Be wise about it check your description, photos and seller feedback. If you are unsure still then don't buy but there are some fantastic pieces on there from every avenue of photography. You are well protected by both eBay and PayPal as they will refund you regardless of whether they get the money from the seller or not. Go for it grab yourself a bargain there's no harm in trying :)

James
 
dougie1978 said:
As they couldn't get the money back from the sellers account
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When someone claimed someone had bought something from me on their account fraudulently PayPal deducted the money from my account giving me a negative balance. That was several years ago though, they might only do it in cases of fraud.
 
I brought my 100-400 on eBay with no issues, but I would only buy from someone with 100% feedback
 
Yea as said check for Feedback, ideally local so you can go round and view. Also ask for photos of it and not just photos of the item pulled from the internet. I also way the extra for insured P&P too.
 
I have bought 3 second hand lenses from E-Bay with no problem up to now , although with the first buy I was very apprehensive .
 
I would buy from a shop unless you can go and pick the lens up personally from the ebay seller and pay cash .
As some one said, the sellers feedback is worth a study, most folks on ebay want to keep selling and so desperately want good feedback if they are genuine.
 
I prefer buying on eBay to selling. As a buyer you are pretty well covered through paypal if any problems were to arise, but equally as a seller if you get a dodgy buyer you can get screwed over.
 
redddraggon said:
I prefer buying on eBay to selling. As a buyer you are pretty well covered through paypal if any problems were to arise, but equally as a seller if you get a dodgy buyer you can get screwed over.
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Yes that is a good point , Im not an ebay expert but you are right buyers are well covered.
 
I definitely worry more when selling than buying.

Had a really strange buyer recently when selling a mobile phone - zero rating, newly registered BUT did have a confirmed paypal address so I sent the item.

He contacted me on the day of delivery offering to "sell me back" the phone for about half what he paid :(

There was no way I would do that as I expect he would have send me a damaged phone rather than the one he just brought from me and had all the hallmarks of a scam, so I simply ignored the offer and heard no more.

Luckily it's now past the 45 day paypal dispute period and I have heard nothing more, but there are some dodgy buyers about and I now ask for zero feedback buyers to message me before bidding!

I'm always amazed when sellers leave me feedback as soon as I have paid for an item. I would not dream of leaving feedback for a buyer until I'm assured that they are happy with their purchase and have left feedback to confirm they are happy.
 
boliston said:
I'm always amazed when sellers leave me feedback as soon as I have paid for an item. I would not dream of leaving feedback for a buyer until I'm assured that they are happy with their purchase and have left feedback to confirm they are happy.
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Probably because sellers can only leave positive feedback now on ebay from memory, so there's really not much you can do if a buyer shafts you :shrug: . Special delivery, restricting bidders & praying seem to be your only hope these days as a seller :|

I'm much more jittery selling than buying on ebay these days.
 
If I sell on ebay i dont accept paypal although I havent sold nething in ages ...
 
Ive sold some things on ebay rcently without incident but the comments made here are opening up my eyes to what can go wrong.
 
I had a used lens delivered this morning that i bought if the bay. No complaints. Always check for a returns policy and contact the seller with any questions you have prior to sealing the deal.
 
I bought a lens from eBay. The lens was perfect. You got to do a bit of research before bidding. The sellers feedback, the items he/she sold in the past and return policy.
 
I've bought and sold lenses (and lots of other stuff) on Ebay with no problems. But I've read plenty of horror stories too, but never suffered from them or know anyone personally that has. I think you do need to be careful in terms of checking the small print (postage, returns etc) and looking at the sellers feedback. If the pictures aren't good enough to make it very clear if there are any obvious issues with the product, I generally move on. Also in general on ebay, it can be amazing what prices things will go for when new examples may be cheaper from someone like Amazon or even Jessops. So I generally shop around a bit before getting too carried away.
 
Bought and sold a fair bit on fleabay as well... does seem to be biased in the buyers favour a bit now. Not a problem if you are the buyer, though! The seller protection seems to work quite well.

Not sure I'd agree with "only buy from sellers with 100% feedback" as even great sellers get negative feedback from muppet buyers. But if the feedback isn't high 90's I'd probably give the seller a miss. Keep your wits about you and there are good buys to be had... but +1 for the need for proper research BEFORE hitting the bid button! So easy to get carried away (been there done that!)
 
i've bought and sold a few things on ebay, one thing to do is check everything before listing. I sold a 50mm 1.8 canon lens, and when the buyer came to collected he noticed the smallest bit of dust on the lens so called off the sale.
 
I've bought and sold on Ebay, trouble-free purchases over the years including Canon 40D, Sigma 30mmm, Sigma 10-20mm and Sigma 105mm. I've always been careful to apply a bit of common sense in checking out the buyer. At least one lens came from a very low feedback seller (<10) that noone else would bid on, but it just felt right reading the description, checking other items and asking questions.

It is easier being the buyer than the seller, Ebay/Paypal favour the purchaser in any dispute.

The occasions when I have run into problems with online purchases were non-Ebay online shops, where I once didn't do the reputation Googling I should have done. Paypal to the rescue though, and full refunds arranged despite later finding out that the seller in question had a very bad refund reputation. Paying by Paypal and using a credit card to pay Paypal gives multiple layers of buyer protectio - but you should always do the basic checks yourself (Googling the suppliers name and "review" and "problem"/"problems", etc).

Amazon is the gold standard for online purchases, but with care a buyer can get just as good a service buying from Ebay. There are more careless Ebay buyers than there are dodgy Ebay sellers - there has to be, othewise the dodgy sellers couldn't make a living!
 
I have bought two lens from e-bay, both without problems but I allways look what else they are selling and their reasons for selling....and then go with instinct.
 
Frey said:
As long as you do the research and contact the seller then I don't see a problem .
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The thing I like about ebay is that there is no real need to "contact" the seller if the listing is well prepared. If the listing & photos were useless I would probably just choose another item to buy, unless it was a very rare and hard to find item.
 
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