Canon 85/1.8 £159

Strange ad, they say its excellent condition in the title, but the detailed description seems to suggest otherwise.

This lens shows significant signs of use.

There is a small amount of dust within the lens, which would not affect optical performance at all.

The lens barrel shows some cosmetic marks.

The focus ring shows signs of wear.

The lens mount is well used and shows significant wear.
Click to expand...
 
From their website

CONDITION SPECIFICATIONS:

Condition 1: “mint-"

Looks brand new i.e. no cosmetic wear and tear

Any casings, sensor, glass, buttons and screen(s) are pristine condition

No scuffs, marks or scratches

Excellent working order

No marks / damage to glass or sensor





Condition 2: “Exc++"

Looks close to new i.e. only the lightest signs of cosmetic wear

Any casings, sensor, glass, buttons and screen(s) are excellent condition

No significant scuffs, marks or scratches

Excellent working order

No marks / damage to glass or sensor



Condition 3: “Exc+"

Good overall condition, may have some signs of cosmetic wear i.e. light scuffing to some areas / slight shiny surfaces

Any casings, sensor, glass, buttons and screen(s) are good condition

No significant chips / scratches or damage

Excellent working order

No marks / damage to glass or sensor



Condition 4: “Exc"

Well used condition, may have significant signs of cosmetic wear i.e. scuffing to some areas / shiny surfaces / marks

Any casings, sensor, glass, buttons and screen(s) are full working condition

Full working order

No marks / damage to glass or sensor unless specifically stated



Condition 5: “Exc-"

Heavily used condition, may have significant signs of cosmetic wear i.e. scuffing / shiny surfaces / marks / scratches / chipping to paint / peeling surfaces

Full working order

No marks / damage to glass or sensor unless specifically stated
 
That's a bit of a poor display from a reputable company, Exc in most descriptions would be considered by any reasonable person to it being excellent condition.

There is no way that their description of a wordplay on the word excellent matches any real world definition.

That drops them in my estimation.
 
Yeah, I was also a bit confused looking through some items marked as Exc. Not good imo, as Ive dealt with them before and service is generally very good when selling to them.
 
twist said:
Yeah, I was also a bit confused looking through some items marked as Exc. Not good imo, as Ive dealt with them before and service is generally very good when selling to them.
Click to expand...

That was my feeling when admirable posted their condition definitions, I really see that as a method of catching people who buy on impulse without trawling their terms and conditions (as many do).

Even a company with a poor online reputation like CEX have the decency to use Mint/Good/Poor to described their stock.
 
lots of camera companies use the same descriptors though - Ive bought a lot of stuff from mPB and never had a problem - you just have to have the sense to read the description on whatever you are buying.
 
big soft moose said:
lots of camera companies use the same descriptors though - Ive bought a lot of stuff from mPB and never had a problem - you just have to have the sense to read the description on whatever you are buying.
Click to expand...

A lot of people don't though, and I wouldn't expect a decent company to use devious means, if an item is used and in poor condition (as per the lens in the OP) DON'T be dishonest and use sharp practices like EXC suddenly means it's bashed and used virtually to death.

But I suppose sharp practices will become more prevalent the longer the recession continues :shake:.
 
In my experience its not really sharp practice - their description is prett self explanatory on each item, plus if you call them they are pretty upfront (and they are , reputedly, good with exchanges - aslthough its never been necessary for me)

I don't think theres any real intent to decieve
 
I think most people classify excellent as lightly used, excellent IMO can't be graded or sub categorised. Most companies I use have descriptions of mint, exc, very good and good.
 
I would ask them to email me the hi res images before purchase
 
Just for clarification, the grading system that we use from Exc- through to Mint has been an industry standard grading system which has been used for many years - it is not something that we devised.

This system is used by the majority of second hand dealers to grade equipment (Mifsuds, Ffordes to name but a few). In order to add clarification to our product condition descriptions we do the following:

The hover over on the grading gives the full breakdown on description grades.

The condition description covers all areas of the product in detail (glass, body, mount) and also exactly what is included.

In addition, every single product we sell is individually photographed from multiple angles.


We are always conservative on our gradings and aim to describe items as honestly and accurately as possible.

We have spent a lot of time and effort ensuring that our products are accurately represented as it is 100% in our interest, and that of our customers, to ensure they are fully informed about the condition of the products to be purchased.

We hope that helps to clarify the system and why it is used and we hope also that the product pages for each product are helpful and descriptive as we have spent a lot of time devising systems and processes to ensure that they are.

Thanks for the feedback - it is always gratefully received.

MPB Photographic
 
Last edited:
Where's the 'Thanks' button? Cheers MPB! I for one have never doubted you guys.
 
I've always found MPB incredibly conservative with their descriptions anyway. A few of the lens that I've bought that had mentions of minor things in the description could have been passed off as brand new, quite frankly.
 
I too have made several purchases from MPB and can attest that they are a very reputable source of new or used products. The grading system as described, is industry-standard. No one is trying to be economical with representations here and certainly not them. They are an outfit you can buy from with confidence.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top