[krebsy75]

when you select the lens and choose Pentax mount, the in-cart sales price is: $349.00 with free shipping and no taxes (at least not to my state).

Pretty good deal in my opinion.

Much better. They should fix that.

[Omestes]

I wish our local Craigslist was useful. I poke around on it once a month, and the only Pentax gear that ever comes up is old, dubious, 3rd party M42 gear, generally marketed to owners of NEX or MFT cameras. I've had a couple Pentax products (a KX, the 35 2.4, and a 50/2) up for over a year, at a decent price, undercutting all competition. I've also been hunting for M or LTM lenses since getting a new Voigtlander Bessa, with only MFT marketed FSU lenses being available. Phoenix, outside of my fellows here, is not a photography town, much less a Pentax one.

The only good dealings I've had locally have been with forum members, who've all been awesome and super helpful. Actually all my dealings here have been stellar.

The only other places online I'm comfortable with doing business with are KEH and B&H. I've never had issues with them, and their used gear quality rankings are very generous. If it says Excellent, it is pretty much perfect, and with KEH they generally are the cheapest you can find. Adorama has burned me, so I go to them last. And Ebay is Ebay... You never really know what you're getting into.

These are pretty much the only places I've ever actually done business with, at least with used gear.

I've almost done business with DigitalRev, but I read about some shipping horror stories, US customs fault, not theirs. I also avoid Google's "Shopping" selections like the plague, they are more dubious and scammy than even Ebay (where you might have some recourse). Sometimes Overstock.com can be useful, but mostly only for grey market items, and I'm not totally confident with them.

[Helen Oster]

......Adorama has burned me, so I go to them last. ....

I was really sorry to read that this has been your experience and would welcome the opportunity to address any outstanding issues - if you could please email me: Helen@adorama.com, with any additional details. Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.

[Omestes]

Wow, that response is rather impressive.

It isn't a big deal, and is pretty far in the past now, so it isn't really worth raising a stink over.

But, just to outline the problem, I ordered a tripod which was listed as "in stock", and it really wasn't. In fact the stock status changed within a day of me ordering it. I got someone on the phone, and they claimed it was in stock as well, well actually I had two separate people tell me that it was in stock and soon to be departing to my home. I took a lot of leg work just get a straight answer (no stock, waiting for the manufacturer to send more). It wasn't, and it took about 3 months for me to get it (that part isn't Adorama's fault). Sadly, when it arrived it was within 2 days of a Jewish holiday (I think Passover), so shipping was further delayed. I don't have an issue with the latter part, a Holiday is a Holiday, and I can't begrudge that, but it was annoying that it was there before they closed up, and thus it sat in holiday limbo for another week.

To clear the air, this was a rare boondoggle, I have ordered plenty of things from Adorama that came on time, in good condition, I just no longer trust their stock listings.

Really, looking back, Adorama only gets some of the blame, there was a lot of factors out of their control (manufacturing, the calendar), but at the time it was very frustrating.

[Helen Oster]

I have bought used from Adorama & B&H. I felt I got good merchandise where my assessment of the condition of the used item was that it was as good or better than their assessment. The peace of mind of buying used from Adorama or B&H does come at a price as used items will be priced on the high side......

Thanks! Delighted to read that your experiences of purchasing used gear from Adorama has been positive.

As you probably know, units rated N, D, E+, E and E- all come with a 6-month warranty (which includes a 30-day returns policy); and even units rated V & G have a 90-day warranty (which again includes a 30-day returns period - for refund or replacement).

I guess the little extra that you pay is for that peace of mind......

[Helen Oster]

Wow, that response is rather impressive.

It isn't a big deal, and is pretty far in the past now, so it isn't really worth raising a stink over.

But, just to outline the problem, I ordered a tripod which was listed as "in stock", and it really wasn't. In fact the stock status changed within a day of me ordering it. I got someone on the phone, and they claimed it was in stock as well, well actually I had two separate people tell me that it was in stock and soon to be departing to my home. I took a lot of leg work just get a straight answer (no stock, waiting for the manufacturer to send more). It wasn't, and it took about 3 months for me to get it (that part isn't Adorama's fault). Sadly, when it arrived it was within 2 days of a Jewish holiday (I think Passover), so shipping was further delayed. I don't have an issue with the latter part, a Holiday is a Holiday, and I can't begrudge that, but it was annoying that it was there before they closed up, and thus it sat in holiday limbo for another week.

To clear the air, this was a rare boondoggle, I have ordered plenty of things from Adorama that came on time, in good condition, I just no longer trust their stock listings.

Really, looking back, Adorama only gets some of the blame, there was a lot of factors out of their control (manufacturing, the calendar), but at the time it was very frustrating.

I agree with you 100% that it would be great if we could show immediate stock updates and apologize for the frustration that this caused.

Unfortunately the most common reason for this happening is when an item is unexpectedly popular and the orders we receive outpace our website’s inventory update system. When there is a greater demand for an item than anticipated, and we are already low on inventory and then receive several orders within just a few minutes via the various portals such as BizRate, Amazon and buy.com, plus via our own website, the 'phones and in store, it isn't immediately obvious to our stock-keeping system which customer is going to be disappointed. This is compounded because we do not ever make a charge until an item has actually shipped.

NB I wasn't clear whether this was a 'used'or 'new' issue...??

[jddwoods]

Thanks! Delighted to read that your experiences of purchasing used gear from Adorama has been positive.

As you probably know, units rated N, D, E+, E and E- all come with a 6-month warranty (which includes a 30-day returns policy); and even units rated V & G have a 90-day warranty (which again includes a 30-day returns period - for refund or replacement).

I guess the little extra that you pay is for that peace of mind......

Thanks, this is good to know. The used items I bought last year included two lenses and battery grip for for my K5. They are likely past the warranty period, but I am happy to report are all working fine with no problem issues. I also bought a new lens and that has been fine also.

Regards, John