Ebay Lenses

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I'm looking for some 'new' old lenses and was wondering whether you'd consider Ebay to generally be a good source?

With secondhand lenses, are there any pitfalls to watch out for or specific questions I should ask sellers prior to bidding?
 
eBay can be good and bad, just depends which of the 1,000s of sellers and eBay shops you buy from.
If you buy from an eBay shop they would typically offer full return policy, refund etc,. This is not the case with private sellers.
 
Never had a problem buying photographic equipment from Ebay even from as far afield as USA and Australia, always checked the feedback of the seller and remember if there is a problem with any purchase there are people there to help out if you have a question ask it and if you are not happy with anything about the seller DON'T buy look elsewhere.
 
I've bought a few bits and bobs camera-wise of ebay and only had 1 issue with a lens that stopped autofocussing virtually straight away. To be honest, any time I've had to spend a decent amount of money I've spoken privately and gone and viewed the item in person. Not exactly in keeping with the spirit of ebay, but it's my money at the end of the day.

A popular scam seems to be fake memory cards though, definitely buy from a reputable source with these
 
pooley said:
A popular scam seems to be fake memory cards though, definitely buy from a reputable source with these
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Definitely!!

But just double check on Ebay, because some of the genuine reputable retailers have their own Ebay shops, so you could still get a good deal on genuine equipment.
 
I have been looking, but what concerns me most is how much use they have had, with me looking specifically for lens with AF motors in them it's off putting to buy second hand as I have no idea if they are coming to the end of there life motor wise, also price second hand concerns me, it seems people will pay just as much for second hand from private sellers than what can be bought new for the same.
 
Ivan S said:
it seems people will pay just as much for second hand from private sellers than what can be bought new for the same.
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Yes, you do have to be careful..... Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D was £120 on Ebay, selling 2nd hand at around £100.
New, it was £92 on Amazon and £85 from DigitalRev.

There's a tonne of people in the market for lenses at the moment.
 
Thanks guys, I'll definitely make sure I'm 100% happy with what's on offer before bidding :)

I've seen a lot of sellers mention that their lenses have no mould - is this a relatively common problem found with secondhand lenses? More importantly, is it fixable?
 
Usual story with ebay, vague or non existent description, blurry pics etc = walk away no matter how interesting the lens. People who know their stuff come across as such in their descriptions. :thumbs:
 
The last 2 second hand lenses I got were from dealers as they were cheaper than the average prices on ebay.

They were old lenses for film cameras in the mid price £250 -£350 range, so not sure if typical of all glass, but certainly worth checking dealers first.

Some dealers who maintain ebay shops sell items cheaper direct, I imagine due to the large ebay fees.
 
think the key is to do your research and don't overbid

i always use ebay as a point of reference same as any other retailer online when searching for prices. if the item i want is being sold on ebay cheaper than anywhere else I've researched like for like in condition/age etc then i will buy from ebay. but only if the seller is reputable and has feedback from others on similar items, such as lens' etc.

if possible i always try to see the item before i buy as well, even if i do go through the auction. if the person is local, arrange a trial of the lens or at least a look then bid with confidence to the amount you feel is right in the current market based on other sites/retailers etc.
 
What are you meaning by old? Are you talking about vintage manual focus lenses or lenses that are just a few years old?

I have plenty of vintage lenses bought from Ebay for use on my Nikon DSLR and an Olympus micro 4/3). I have never paid much (usually the Australian dollar equivalent of around 10 or 20 pounds, occasionally more, several for less - I just scored a Rokinon 80-200 and a teleconverter, both for Nikon for 10 cents, which I think is about 7 pence). I have not had any problems and scored some really nice lenses at absolute bargain prices. Some have proven to be rubbish, but that it's down to the lens itself, not the seller. At the prices I usually pay it it's worth the gamble and they are all fun to play with at least once.

Mould or fungus can be a big issue with old lenses. I gather it can be cleaned if you have the skills to dismantle and reassemble the precision instrument that is a lens. Not worth having professionally done unless the lens it's really worth the cost. Small amounts probably won't affect your images, but carefully check photos in the listing, read the description and ask questions.

One little tip - keep an eye out for film SLRs being sold with one or more lenses. Whether you are interested in using the camera or not, you can often get the camera and lens/es for less than the lens/es on their own, sometimes much less. Stage but true.
 
MJWC1 said:
One little tip - keep an eye out for film SLRs being sold with one or more lenses. Whether you are interested in using the camera or not, you can often get the camera and lens/es for less than the lens/es on their own, sometimes much less. Stage but true.
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Ssshh...don't tell everyone, let's keep this a secret :)

This is actually a great tip.

My recent 'old' purchases were Hassleblad lenses about 30-40 years old that I got cheaper from a dealer than ebay.
 
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