Originally posted by TwoUptons I think I paid a little more than $100 for my Pentax (Cosina) FA 100mm f3.5, and that included buying the 1:1 attachment separately.
I bought the lens here from the marketplace...
The eBay auction I linked will probably sell for less (BTW, the lens is complete, with the 1:1 diopter), but buying on the marketplace forum should be more... trouble free. I'd expect an item sold by a fellow pentaxian to be fully tested and defect-free. Personally I would never sell anything minimally problematic on this forum. If I had a lens that I suspect to be a little decentered, or is a little hazy, I'd rather sell it on eBay. Not here.
I guess that most forum users would do the same.
I own many lenses, and I routinely buy a few each month, mostly on eBay. I'm fully aware of the risk involved, but most of them are low priced, so I'm not risking big money. In the end, the nice deals more than compensate for the few very bad ones.
If I had to buy a very expensive lens, I would consider buying from a forum member with good reputation.
I checked a few (finalized) eBay auction sales, and I found that Internet hype has a huge influence on the amount of money some people are willing to spend.
While a good lens like the Vivitar 90mm Macro (Komine made) sold for 89 euros, a "Bokina" has been paid €301, and a Vivitar Series 1 (Kino made) around €250!
I leave any consideration to the reader...
Cheers
Paolo