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06-29-2016, 07:47 AM   #1
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Nothing but failures on the bay

Bought a bunch of old lenses on the famous auction site. All were duds. Even though listed as "perfect", "no fungus", "excellent", "works good", blah, blah, blah. Anybody have success?

06-29-2016, 08:11 AM   #2
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I have bought several with mixed results from perfect to downright ordinary. The worst one was an old M42 Takumar which was described as aperture blades stickyoccasionally. It turned out to aperture blades stuck permanently wide open Still it was not expensive and I did not expect a pristine lens. The glass was pretty clean however and when I get around to it I will open it up to see what the problem is. Another Takumar had been repaired by somebody and although it works, the aperture markings do not line up. Three other Takumars 50mm f1.4 135mm and 300mm were naturally used but in very good condition.

Also I have purchased more modern lenses:

Pentax 40mm f2.8 Limited Used but in original box - perfect
Sigma 70-200 Demo model - perfect . Developed a fault after 6 months and was replaced under warranty
Sigma 70-300 New - Perfect
Sigma 10-20 Used but arrived in original box - perfect

Buyer beware
06-29-2016, 08:17 AM   #3
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QuoteOriginally posted by k22 Quote
Bought a bunch of old lenses on the famous auction site. All were duds. Even though listed as "perfect", "no fungus", "excellent", "works good", blah, blah, blah. Anybody have success?
I very rarely have any problems, and when I do I usually know it is a calculated risk going in because the listing is lazy or whatever -- and the price or possibility of return usually justifies the risk. You have to evaluate/research the seller -- the listing making promises doesn't mean anything without an honest and conscientious seller behind it. (Those with over-hyped descriptions usually are not.)

Some people know nothing at all and you're not going to get them to answer questions properly either. ("estate find -- I know nothing about lenses"). Others are just high-volume sellers (pawn shops and the like) and they don't care about anything. ("Looks good, it is old, if you are picky go away").

And then there are good sellers that know what they are looking at, will answer questions, usually will take returns, and have 100% positive feedback in most cases (and when they don't you can usually tell if they are the buyer was being the jerk). I honestly really don't know why some people seem to have so much trouble, as separating the good from the bad from the unknown seems pretty obvious most of the time. (Although takes some experience I guess, but really I haven't had much trouble at all and having been dealing with ebay for almost 20 years now -- god that makes me feel old.) And you can protect yourself by only going with sellers that offer returns (even when they don't Ebay & PayPal will usually take your side as buyer and you can get a refund anyway in the case of deception or item not as promised), or where the price is right, etc. It would be interesting to see what listings you've had trouble from.

(I've sold lots of lenses there also with no complaints.)
06-29-2016, 08:18 AM   #4
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I always check seller reputation before I buy.

06-29-2016, 08:25 AM   #5
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QuoteOriginally posted by k22 Quote
Bought a bunch of old lenses on the famous auction site. All were duds. Even though listed as "perfect", "no fungus", "excellent", "works good", blah, blah, blah. Anybody have success?



lots of success - only one bomb: K55/2.0 lens described as 'clean'.....


turns out, it should have been listed as 'milky' as far as all the fog/have/fungus that was in it... it's a nice soft-focus lens, but not what I paid for....
06-29-2016, 08:25 AM   #6
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I may get booed for this, but I buy lenses off shopgoodwill.com and have had very good luck. Just picked up a Tamron first-gen Adaptall 70-150 and it came in the original lens case, with the original lens manual, and in PRISTINE condition. (I've got a spare OM adapter now, if anyone wants it.) Not every lens has been that good, but I pay attention to cosmetic condition in the pictures and send questions if needed. Shipping varies widely; some Goodwills use two-day Priority Mail and others take a week or more to get it to you.


Of course, part of it, too, is that since I'm buying from a thrift site, my expectations aren't high to begin with. So there's that. But I've been pleased generally.

Last edited by babywriter; 06-29-2016 at 08:55 AM.
06-29-2016, 08:26 AM   #7
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man, i've bought dozens of lenses, even a couple cameras on eBay and cannot remember having a bad transaction nor getting an item that was not as described.
Sorry to hear this has happened. I would suggest asking more questions, asking to see clear close ups of the glass elements, etc...and only dealing with 99%+ rated sellers.
May the odds be ever in your favor!

06-29-2016, 08:27 AM   #8
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i've gotten burned in every purchasing venue that i've ever used, that doesn't allow for examining the lens before purchase... keh, ebay, shopgoodwill, fredmiranda, etc.

keh doesn't test lenses for decentering, and if you manage to find a seller on ebay who isn't a dirtbag, he probably won't know how to inspect lenses... maybe stick to ebay camera stores?
06-29-2016, 08:30 AM   #9
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QuoteOriginally posted by k22 Quote
Bought a bunch of old lenses on the famous auction site. All were duds. Even though listed as "perfect", "no fungus", "excellent", "works good", blah, blah, blah. Anybody have success?
I have had success in several dozen lens purchases. One lens had a loose focus ring, but otherwise looked like new. I did not complain
since it was a $17 purchase. Last purchase was better than described, a maybe new old stock SMC Pentax 35/3.5 in original box for $59.

My Ebay rules: 1) never deal with anyone that has less than 99+% feedback; 2) never deal with anyone who cannot take the time to write a good description, or who says they know nothing about the item.
06-29-2016, 08:31 AM   #10
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I've bought dozens of lenses there with only 1 major issue and a couple of disappointments.

1) Check seller reputation
2) Check seller reputation
3) If it is too good to be true, walk away. Ebay is an auction and prices tend to move to the market price.
4) If you think you are grabbing a super cheap 'deal' you are likely to get taken. There are millions of bidders, and 'deal's are few and far between.
5) Look at the pictures, carefully. Read all of the text.
6) Ask questions. If the answer sounds flaky walk away.
7) Be careful of pawn shop sellers they usually know nothing and are just unloading stuff
8) Be careful of low volume sellers with "found in grandpa's attic" stuff. They know nothing and are just unloading stuff quick and don't care about their long term reputation
9) Check seller reputation

The only major issue I ever had was with a low count seller (like maybe 5 transactions), selling her grandfather's camera gear. I bought, it was junk and the seller disappeared. Ebay refused to honor their guarantee even though I escalated the case. So I was out.

Most sellers are honest and want repeat business. Buy from reputable sellers and you will have few issues. Try to score a 'deal' and you will get taken.
06-29-2016, 08:36 AM   #11
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QuoteOriginally posted by babywriter Quote
I may get booed for this, but I buy lenses off shopgoodwill.com and have had very good luck.
i've had some great experiences there also, i think the key is to identify the sellers who know how to look at lenses... sometimes they will say that the blades work, no fungus, etc... one of the oregon sellers knows camera lenses, and the prices that his store gets reflect that.

some of the sellers there don't know anything, one time i got a minolta 50/1.4 that had all of the aperture blades rusted together tore it down, cleaned it up, replaced the blades, turned out well.

when dealing with legacy glass, being able to do rudimentary disassembly and cleaning can make a huge difference.
06-29-2016, 08:39 AM - 1 Like   #12
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I bought a 14-45mm Panasonic for my GH4. Awful lens, no contrast and lots of flare issues. I've purchased used Pentax lenses from KEH and I've never had a problem. Their bargain ratings still look good, their excellent rated lenses look mint/new. They also allow returns. I'd rather pay a bit more and have peace of mind. I recently purchased a Pentax 50mm 1.4 from KEH with a bargain rating. A few scratches but otherwise looks very good and the IQ is stunning, tack sharp. This image taken with it, K1 in pixel shift mode.
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06-29-2016, 08:39 AM   #13
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I've had one sour lens on E-bay that was advertised as working well and most certainly was not. I complained politely, the seller was truly contrite, and the solution we worked out was agreeable to both parties. I am well aware I am taking a gamble on the Bay, which is why most of my old-lens and all my old-camera buying has been done in person or here in the marketplace.

On the whole, though, when someone gives you a shoot-through picture with the aperture blades wide open and the glass looks as crystal-clear as the instant some long-retired Asahi employee put the Passed sticker on it, and another where you can see the blades and they look stunningly clean... yeah, I'm prepared to take a gamble on that.

The only truly shocking camera I ever bought on E-bay was deliberately bought to be shocking - and even that one turns in the goods with a half-decent lens on the front.

I sympathise with you in your run of bad luck, OP, but it's not all doom and gloom.
(NSFW and highly un-PC language).
06-29-2016, 08:46 AM   #14
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QuoteOriginally posted by babywriter Quote
I may get booed for this, but I buy lenses off shopgoodwill.com and have had very good luck.
Nobody is going to boo you for having good luck. But I think many other people, including myself, have had very bad experiences at shopgoodwill. So congrats on your 'win', but remain vigilant there.
06-29-2016, 08:46 AM   #15
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With lenses I've had mostly good fortune on eBay. I only bid if the seller has excellent feedback (I always look at recent feedback, especially anything negative or neutral) and if the listing has both very good photos and description. Even so, I've had a few items that were disappointing, but in those cases I returned them as faulty / not matching the description, and got refunded...
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