Things to check when buying a second hand lens

T

theshortstack

Suspended / Banned
Messages
23
Name
Simon
Edit My Images
Yes
Afternoon everyone - I'm potentially heading off to pick up a new lens that I purchased on eBay this afternoon.

What sort of things should I be looking for before handing over the money? I'll take a couple of shots with it to make sure that there are no scratches on the lens, but are there other things I need to be checking too?

Cheers
 
The price?...oh no too late.

If it focus' as quick as it should, are there any sluggish moments of the focus rings.

Fungus.

Any items that the lens came with.....

2nd hand gear is not brand new no matter what folk tell you.
 
If its a zoom lens check that it AF's at the long, and short end, and inbetween.
 
Dust or fungus inside glass.

Check focus ring, aperture ring (if available) is moving smoothly. Also check zoom (if it's a zoom lens and not a prime lens) is operating smoothly. Also check contact points and general wear & tear on the lens body.

Also, try it on your camera, before parting with your money.
 
Athough since you bought off ebay, I would argue you should have done your due dilligence first (IMO).
Winning an auction then renegading on the purchase is a big no-no in my books, and is one of the reasons sellers should be able to leave negative feedback.

Anyway, I'm not saying thats whats going to happen here, you really are checking that it is as described.
 
Last edited:
RacingSnake said:
Athough since you bought off ebay, I would argue you should have done your due dilligence first (IMO).
Winning an auction then renegading on the purchase is a big no-no in my books, and is one of the reasons sellers should be able to leave negative feedback.

Anyway, I'm not saying thats whats going to happen here, you really are checking that it is as described.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I totally agree with you. The seller has described it as being in mint condition and only being used half a dozen times, so I just want to make sure that I do enough tests to verify his claims.
 
despite it being an auction ebay purchase it has to be as described
if it is not you have every right to tell him you do not wish to buy it however you see fit
 
kokakaste2 said:
It really depends on the amount of dust and where in the lens the dust is. :)
Click to expand...

One guy described the inside of his lens as having "bad dandruff" but claimed his pictures were crystal clear.

There was another guy who put blobs of blu tac on his lens and was surprised to see it made very little (if any) difference to image quality.

From what i've read it would have to have a hell of lot of dust inside to make any difference.
 
Hi Terry,


Thanks for the interest - I'm going round to see it tomorrow night instead now, but spoken to the seller this evening and it sounds in very good condition. Apparently only been used a couple of times and still has 8 months warranty on it
 
Sounds good so hope it goes ok. The last time I bought a lens off ebay I met the guy locally at night so didn't get a proper look at it or test it but luckily the lens was mint.
 
theshortstack said:
Yeah, I totally agree with you. The seller has described it as being in mint condition and only being used half a dozen times, so I just want to make sure that I do enough tests to verify his claims.
Click to expand...

I want to scream every time I hear that claim of only using it 3 times or one event. I have never met anyone that has paid good money for a lens and only use it a couple of times before storing it for sale. I call BS, :bang:
 
The last lens I sold was one I bought new, used on one 10 day holiday and decided I didn't need anymore so promptly sold on the Bay for the same price I paid.
 
shaylou said:
I want to scream every time I hear that claim of only using it 3 times or one event. I have never met anyone that has paid good money for a lens and only use it a couple of times before storing it for sale. I call BS, :bang:
Click to expand...

I have two lenses in my house which are exactly that. One used for three events the other has never been out the house. :thumbsdown:

I guess I should really sell them...
 
shaylou said:
I want to scream every time I hear that claim of only using it 3 times or one event. I have never met anyone that has paid good money for a lens and only use it a couple of times before storing it for sale. I call BS, :bang:
Click to expand...

Last lens I traded in against another was very recently. It was a Sigma 150-500 OS which had been used on very few occasions and for very few shots (maybe 15.) I have also bought a second hand lens of the boards here and it genuinely hadn't been used. The original owner was a pro and couldn't afford to be without a copy of this particular lens (another Sigma, the 8mm f/4 fisheye) so had bought a spare at the same time as his copy to use. After a while, he realized that the lens was reliable so he was selling on the spare. It was still wrapped in a sealed plastic bag, so really hadn't been used at all. Come over here to the UK and meet me - you'll never be able to call BS on those sorts of claims again! ;)
 
That's my whole point, every seller has their own little story about how their lens is brand new. I cleaned one of my lenses recently and it looked brand spanking new. Sure i could come up with this great big story about how it really is a new lens or I never used it but I won't. Believe whatever makes you happy my friends.....
 
I am so glad I have the ability to actually trust people rather than assuming everyone selling anything is lying.

Jeez...
 
RichardtheSane said:
I have two lenses in my house which are exactly that. One used for three events the other has never been out the house. :thumbsdown:

I guess I should really sell them...
Click to expand...
I'm in the same boat with my 400L. Used once in a year and never been on a camera since. Not trying to sell it though, so don't care if someone thinks I'm telling porkies.:lol:
 
shaylou said:
That's my whole point, every seller has their own little story about how their lens is brand new. I cleaned one of my lenses recently and it looked brand spanking new. Sure i could come up with this great big story about how it really is a new lens or I never used it but I won't. Believe whatever makes you happy my friends.....
Click to expand...

Conversely I'd never trust someone that I haven't met who calls me 'my friend'. It has the hallmark of a salesman stamped all over it.

FWIF: Sigma 70mm Macro. Put it on the camera twice. Hated Macro. Moved it on earlier this year after leaving it wrapped in a cupboard for 18mths.

Looks like you're outnumbered so far, bucko!
 
shaylou said:
That's my whole point, every seller has their own little story about how their lens is brand new. I cleaned one of my lenses recently and it looked brand spanking new. Sure i could come up with this great big story about how it really is a new lens or I never used it but I won't. Believe whatever makes you happy my friends.....
Click to expand...

Sorry to sound rude but that sounds very much like you are calling me a liar! The chap in the shop that bought it off me didn't think so and paid me more than I was expecting in part exchange.

As for the second hand fisheye, I can't prove that it was still plastic wrapped and sealed, so You'll just have to take my word for it!

Finally, I am not and never will be your friend.
 
Nod said:
Sorry to sound rude but that sounds very much like you are calling me a liar! The chap in the shop that bought it off me didn't think so and paid me more than I was expecting in part exchange.

As for the second hand fisheye, I can't prove that it was still plastic wrapped and sealed, so You'll just have to take my word for it!

Finally, I am not and never will be your friend.
Click to expand...

Wow how rude. I wrote what I did based on the most popular method of sell things in the u.s. (Craig's list). Fact! Ever other add talks about how it has only been used two times or one outing. Fact, no one called you a lier and the term "my friend" is used to show a person respect.

Try not to take things so personal. The personal attracts are unnecessary.
 
Shane, this is a predominantly UK board and whilst we share a language with the US, we differ in the meanings on some stuff, so you perhaps need to understand that your original post did come across as a little, shall we say, 'insulting' to genuine sellers, and the the term 'my friend' can sound very patronising, if not totally sarcastic to our ears [not helped by the fact its typed, not actually heard so no tone of voice to judge on]

So, deep breaths everyone, lets return to the original point please :)
 
Yv said:
Shane, this is a predominantly UK board and whilst we share a language with the US, we differ in the meanings on some stuff, so you perhaps need to understand that your original post did come across as a little, shall we say, 'insulting' to genuine sellers, and the the term 'my friend' can sound very patronising, if not totally sarcastic to our ears [not helped by the fact its typed, not actually heard so no tone of voice to judge on]

So, deep breaths everyone, lets return to the original point please :)
Click to expand...

Thank you for sharing. I did not understand where that came from and apologize if it came across as insulting to anyone.
 
Thank you for the apology, much appreciated, Personally, I don't deal on Craig's List or E-bay since I know athere are plenty of shysters and outright liars disposing of bad copies and broken kit sold as perfect as well as an unregulated bank (PayPal) being E-bay's favoured method of payment.

While we'll never be friends, I'm sure we can co-exist on the forum without raising each other's hackles.

Yvonne, big breaths!!! (fnar, fnar!!!) Possible now the pneumonia's on its way out.
 
Nod said:
Thank you for the apology, much appreciated, Personally, I don't deal on Craig's List or E-bay since I know athere are plenty of shysters and outright liars disposing of bad copies and broken kit sold as perfect as well as an unregulated bank (PayPal) being E-bay's favoured method of payment.

While we'll never be friends, I'm sure we can co-exist on the forum without raising each other's hackles.

Yvonne, big breaths!!! (fnar, fnar!!!) Possible now the pneumonia's on its way out.
Click to expand...

Not a problem. I have had good experiences with both although I think Craig's list could had been a case of dumb luck. With eBay I stick to the highly rated companies that have sold a lot and stay far away from the ones that have not had many sells or bad scores. I have had some really good experiences from a place called 123fstop in the u.s. bought 70-200 mrk2 and 600ex rt speed lite.good price and great service.
 
I've had some good, some bad experiences with second hand purchase from private sellers. A couple of times there's been issues quite quickly that I believe the seeker knew about and I had to pay to get resolved.
However, every purchase I've made from mpb has always left me very happy as the condition is always better than described. It's my first stop now for second hand kit. With the price of kit, I'll pay just a little bit for for complete piece of mind.
 
Having bought a fair amount of second hand lenses both here and on ebay I can tell that the last one is much worse. I see it as lottery and would not buy unless I get it for a good price. Even then in many cases I have to inform the seller that the lens is not quite as good as described. Usually they know that and will offer some discount or take it back.
If they mention it is still on warranty then ask for the original receipt. No point using such info to increase the price if they can not back it up.
In general ebay is very safe for an informed buyer (in fact it is better than face to face transactions on gumtree). Just be ready to send some back every now and then! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top