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mini0ne

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duncan
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hi all anyone ever tried haggling with them on used goods?
 
Used them once,never again.:thumbsdown:
 
Used them twice, fantastic service, items condition better than described, excellent comms and delivery on promised day.
 
I've used them a few times and had no problems. They re really helpful on the phone - I've confirmed the state of items when the website was light on details and they were happy to give me a better rundown of the condition. I'm happy to use them again.
 
Their trade in prices are a bit of a joke, so worth haggling as they probably paid peanuts for it.
 
I have used them twice and found them reasonably priced and VERY helpful.


Heather
 
One of my local double glazing companies advertises a 99% customer satisfaction rating in the local press. I'd be part of the 1% if anyone had bothered to ask me what I thought of them, but that's opinions for you.

I'm not sure that they are competitive on new gear, but I've bought from Ffordes and sold on commission through them (as opposed to trading in) and found them fair and reasonable. Many secondhand items just don't shift nowadays and I'd always advise shopping around for a better trade-in price, but in the days when Jessops used to sell secondhand gear their staff in Inverness used to trade in their gear at Ffordes because the deal was better than the Jessops staff discount. Times obviously change, but Ffordes will be 53 years old this May according to their website and I'm guessing that they wouldn't have got there unless they had satisfied customers?
 
I Bought from the In January good Service just Parcel Force are the worst!! 24hr Delivery I paid for and it took 7 Days for the Camera to arrive there Hopeless, Royal Mail are the best by far!!
 
I've always had good service with Ffordes, both buying and commission selling through them. Their prices were bob on too.
 
I bought a used 24-70 f2.8 it arrived broken - manual focus ring wouldn't rotate, looked to be glued stuck! The box packaging had no damage, reported straight away to Ffordes, they then practically accused me of breaking the lens 'as it was fine before it left', which was clearly a lie.

Sent it back for a repair (really should have demanded a refund instead), a month later it was returned, but the barrel now had a 'droop' when extended, asked for refund, but now refused, sent back for repair, this time it took three months, and proof of optical low quality (compared with a mate's sample of the lens).
Finally arrived back, and was still a lemon. Sold it on to a local shop for £500, making a loss of £200 and countless hours.
Ended up buying new from Warehouse Express and have been happy since.

So Ffordes used gear is fine if you're lucky and get a decent sample, terrible if you have a problem - do not hesitate to return for full refund within the first 7 or 14 days!!
So here's another - never again Ffordes customer.
 
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Wow, 24-70 for 700 with a bit of lens creep, not bad considering these run 900 used. Can understand this must've been a pita though.
 
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Not overly impressed after buying a secondhand lens there last month. An unmentioned chip on the lens which I immediately phoned up about was the cause of some dispute when I returned the lens for inspection personally two weeks later after working offshore; an arrangement I had agreed with them . I don't think i'll be rushing back.
 
D-pearce92 said:
Can I ask why?
Click to expand...

The reason i will never buy from them again is their so called warranty,i had a problem with rhe focus screen on the camera i bought from them.
I phoned & e-mailed the problem to them,they said return it for repair,i did.
I only had it for about a week.they put a new focus screen in & said i had to pay i think it was about £97,i refused.
They would not post it back to me until i paid it,which i had to in the end to just get my camera back & i also had to pay the postage both ways,so another customer lost.:shrug:
 
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I sold my 500cm blad with them as a commission sale and can't speak highly enough about the whole process. They are only 20 mins up the road from me so are always helpful when I pop in too.
 
Have had no problems with Ffordes over the years. Bought a couple of things off them and used their commision service to sell - everything has gone through hassle free:thumbs:
 
I agree that buying from them is easy,but the problem i am talking about was they would not stand by the 6 month warranty when i had a problem just after a few weeks,so for that they get a big fat negative from me.:thumbsdown::nono:
 
ffordes customer service is absolutely diabolical.i for one will not be using them again !
 
I bought a lens from them as it was an absolute bargain, postage costs are a bit of a rip off though. I went to buy another lens from them too but it turns out it was out of stock but hadnt been updated on the site. Apart from that I cant complain at all.
 
Bought a D800 from them - looks like new as they advertised.

They sold my D700 on commission basis and I got a good price.

No complaints about them from me.
 
Bought quite a lot from them over the years. Had a couple of issues but they were sorted out very promptly (<1 hour between e-mail replies) and in a friendly manner.
 
Bought my FE2 from them last year, described as EX++, confirmed as near mint on the phone but the camera turned up with sticky, disintegrating light seals and the mirror buffer was so bad that the mirror stuck to it for a second or two after each shot! I called, they agreed to repair it under warranty, I returned it and finally got it back as it was originally described a week and a half later.

That said, I've bought a number of old cameras, lenses and other bits from them previously and they threw in a tripod bag for nothing on one order. I think it depends on who you speak to when you deal with them and I'd recommend calling even if you're ordering online.
 
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