[photolady95]

There are a lot of KEH has dropped the ball

I hate to see that coming. I've been selling and buying from them since 2004. I really hate to see what they've become.

[jcdoss]

I ordered and received two EX+ manual focus lenses recently, and both seem to live up to the rating so far. I have never bought anything from them that I thought about returning for poor quality, however I don't doubt it can happen.

[ChristianRock]

Well, if they insist on having a bad customer experience, Roberts Camera (usedphotopro.com) will probably pick up the pieces...

[grhazelton]

Its too bad about KEH. I've bought from them for 20 years or so with complete satisfaction.

But: My last purchase was an AF280T flash with case listed as Excellent. When it arrived it had Velcro strips around the flash head, apparently for the prior owner's attachments, and the little -15 down tilt switch had come adrift. I called KEH, the rep was accommodating and sent me a RMA and shipping label, and promised a replacement would be shipped. All ended up well.

I told the rep that I really didn't like the new site's setup, he said that opinion had been about 50 - 50, and that he got all the "crap." Having worked in public libraries for 40 years I could sympathize, and told him so. To me the new site makes shopping MORE difficult. It may well be prettier, but it seems far less functional. I wonder if any folks who revamp sites ever ask a "naive" user to navigate their handiwork.

I wonder if the new owners are unwittingly screwing things up. In the past I've bought BGN items which showed little wear, for example a LX which other than very minor brassing and a few baseplate minor scratches was just fine. No dents, perfect operation, etc, and a good price. Dare I trust their previously sterling ratings and reputation?

[ivanvernon]

I quit buying after they set up the new site just because I cannot find anything now.

[ChristianRock]

Regarding the new site - the search is easier now, ivanvernon, than it was when they first released the site. When the new site first came up the search would basically do an "or" instead of an "and" with your search words - i.e. if you typed "Pentax 50mm" it would bring ALL of Pentax AND ALL of 50mm lenses! They fixed that (it took them a while) but it's still not like the old site. It was quite easy to find what you wanted in the old site and now, while it's not too bad, it's not great either. But at least it's a bit easier if you are using a cell phone (which I think was their intention all along - the old site wasn't cell phone friendly).

My reason for not having bought from them in a while is that I pay a penalty for living just down the road from them. Instead of them accomodating and allowing me to come by and pick something up, they ONLY will ship it to me (and I pay full shipping just as if they were sending it to the other side of the country) AND I have to pay sales tax. If they would accomodate me, I would have by now bought quite a few cheap lenses with my lunch money, so to say...

[lytrytyr]

The previous owners liked photography.
The new owners just like money.

[stillshot2]

I once had a K30 and the pop up flash failed under warranty. KEH prompty replaced the whole camera with one that was like new. I have had a few issues of cameras and lenses arriving in worse shape than advertised, but KEH has always made it right in the end where I either had to exchange the equipment or receive a partial refund after emailing them photos to show the damage.

[MD Optofonik]

I bought an "EX" chrome MX from them recently and had two cameras arrive that were in very poor condition before they got it right, one had a viewfinder that was so dirty it was unusable and the second one had a self timer with a piece broken off. I sent an email after the first one and made a phone call after the second. The gentleman on the phone assured me someone would double check the condition of the third one before it went out and as a result I was finally sent an MX in "EX" condition.

Third time's the charm but it shouldn't have to be that way. I had a similar issue when buying a Canon QL III last summer. Even though I eventually got what I paid for in both instances I'm a bit apprehensive about buying from them again. Certainly after reading several threads indicating they are no longer the reliable, conscientious, company they once were.

[vonBaloney]

FWIW, they're rocking just above a 3 out of 10 at Reseller Ratings out of over 6,000 reviews - most from bad recent reviews, apparently.

KEH Camera Reviews - keh.com Ratings at ResellerRatings

Wow, that's bad. That must be recency-weighted. I've had to return used things from KEH that weren't up to snuff (which is to be expected -- I've had to return things to Adorama and B&H and everywhere else sometimes too) -- they always seem to bend over backwards for me. It could because I've got a buying history that is several pages long and they don't take such care if you buy one thing and then start complaining about the shipping or whatever. (They always seem to get things out the same day or next morning if it is late in the day -- never had a problem there. Now that I'm in Savannah I actually get everything the next day with standard shipping.)

They do seem to have let their grading slip a little bit. New owners probably decided "Why are we being generous? Let's just be accurate." (Hopefully they didn't actually decide to be consciously deceptive, although with recent reports of fungus lenses being in the bargain grade that's no good. They should start having BGN+ and BGN- if they are going to do that.)

And they are definitely taking a different marketing approach. New sale every couple of days for select categories, etc.

I actually have a BGN lens coming from them today. I am curious about it, as it was listed as something I don't think even exists, but we'll see if it is actually a modified lens. (That's the other reason I may do more returns than others: I often buy weird stuff that will naturally fall through the cracks.)

[wombat2go]

I find that over the last 3 years or so the old used photo gear quality has declined from all sources.
I reckon it is because us old geezers buy and hang on to all the good stuff.
That is what I did.

[vonBaloney]

I find that over the last 3 years or so the old used photo gear quality has declined from all sources.
I reckon it is because us old geezers buy and hang on to all the good stuff.
That is what I did.

I think the bad economy caused a glut of it to come to market about 5 years ago as people starting cleaning out their closets looking for things to turn into extra cash. That seems to have subsided now...

[TheLens]

I've had problems with them several times. Bought a few bodies that had issues-don't they check these things? And their grading system seems inconsistent. I've received EX lenses that had scratches on the glass. And BGN lenses that had perfect glass. And there's been more than once when I received the wrong item. But their exchange/return policy is so good(and prices are good too). I just return for refund or exchange until I'm happy. You can send something back with them paying for the shipping so it's no loss to me.

[magkelly]

I sometimes wonder just who is doing their checking. Sometimes it's perfect. Other times, not so much. Last year I bought a camera body, a digital one, and I chose "excellent" vs "bargain" and I paid like an extra $30 to get a "mint" body. I get it and it's all scratched to hell like a bargain body. I was like this was "mint" condition? REALLY? They didn't have another one at the time so I couldn't just exchange it so I sent it back, no problem, but I mean there was no excuse for that. I ended up getting that camera from Amazon later. It's gotten to the point where I trust Amazon more than I do KEH. At least on Amazon there's a good, accurate description and sometimes even pictures to see of the actual item. All you get with KEH is a stock photo and a grading system that is very questionable lately. If they would show you that exact camera it would help, but they never do...

[ChrisPlatt]

Between the kludgy new website and widely reported falloff in quality
I frankly would not be surprised if Roberts Imaging eats KEH's lunch...

Chris