[monochrome]

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I’ve had a couple ‘Not as Described’ experiences here and one Return Item (i should have stood my ground) but oddly never had one on eBay. Neither seller accepted a Return and both still list items here with similarly slightly deceptive tactics (just enough info to stand on but easy to overlook).

[pepperberry farm]

of all the lenses I've bought on eBay, only two had issues and both issues were resolved quickly by the sellers....

[stevebrot]

I’ve had a couple ‘Not as Described’ experiences here and one Return Item (i should have stood my ground) but oddly never had one on eBay. Neither seller accepted a Return and both still list items here with similarly slightly deceptive tactics (just enough info to stand on but easy to overlook).

I think I may have dealt with the same seller.


Steve

[goatsNdonkey]

It is fairly common for Konica AR mount lenses to be listed as K-mount. Also, Nikon mount lenses will sometimes be listed as K-mount. At least, with Nikon mount lenses, they can be scrunched onto a K-mount camera body and focus fairly normally, but the Registration Distance of Konica AR mount lenses is so short, they can't even be adapted (unless prohibitively expensively) to K-mount, though extended or reversed they could be used for macro purposes.

Like ChrisPlatt, I will send a message to the seller when I see mislabeled mounts. Some sellers are grateful for the info; some are not.

[Astro-Baby]

I have had some horrors on ebay, lenses described as clear and perfect ......when they got here they had;

1x Jammed focus ring..described as immaculate and fully working
2 x Jammed zoom ring...described as immaculate and as new complete with original box
4-5 x Full of crud and I am talking baaaaaad man, looked like frosted glass
3 x Apertures jammed...described as oil free and snappy. One caked in oil and two just plain wrecked.
1 x One with broken glass...
2x full of fungus.....Alexander Fleming would have been proud
1 x chunk taken out of interior glass as lens had obviously been dismantled by Fred Karnos Army
2 x scratched to hell, looked like Tonya Harding had been skating on them

On the upside in all but one case I got them sent back and refunded but I just wish people wouldnt big it up when they obviously know jack about stuff. Its obvious most of them read listings and just copy and paste stuff like ‘clear and bright with snappy aperture’ without having the faintest idea what it is they are claiming. It just wastes my time and their money as they get stuck with the return postage ha ha....that’ll learn ‘em. The quick guide to classic camera gear....do some research or get stuck paying a lot of postage charges for never a cent.

On balance zooms are by far the worst for stuff not being right plus they are a headache to fix...primes almost always easy to sort out unless they are the dreaded Canon nFD types. Zooms act like vacuum pumps and just suck up the drek though lord knows how they get as bad as some of the ones I have seen. They must have seen work shooting pictures in a Victorian flax mill.

You can mostly spot the idiots though by the misdirection in phrases like ‘looks really clean and has a nice box to keep it in’ uh huh because when I buy a TV whats uppermost in my mind is having a nice box to put it in and having it look nice....perhaps with a wooden surround and mock Georgian furniture legs, rather like some of these eBay sellers probably buy a car because the upholstery looks nice and it has a leather gear knob and is a fetching shade of puce.

On the upside I have picked up some scorchers as well but I have found by trial and error what to watch out for. The worst so far was believing somone saying it was grandads old camera. Now being rather trusting I assumed that grandad would have looked after a 1970s SLR as it would have represented a chunk of change back then. Either their grandad was a complete idiot or the seller was dishonest and the camera never did belong to dear old grandpa ( and I am inclined to the latter thought ) the camera was a horror, shutter jammed, mirror jammed, self timer jammed, camera full of crud, lens filthy, aperture jammed. To be fair to me the pics made it look clean. Seller never honored the return request and its currently in dispute with Paypal.
Seen another horror waiting to bite someones ass tonite...Nikon F described as amazing condition and it did look clean. A close look shows its taken a whap on the FTN finder.....sufficient to distort the finder casing so lord knows what grief that may have bought the prism and the metering.....and its new owner.

The story that its Grandads or Uncles treasured possession seems to crop up quite a bit, that may have been believable at one time but that tiny scratchy sound I hear these days when reading the phrase ‘it was may late fathers, uncles, grandads et all is in fact the worlds smallest violin playing. I contacted a seller recently about an item they were asking way over the odds for and they told me their dear old mum needed the cash....the address they gave would have put them in a house worth about 2 million. So you’ll not damn me for being all dollars and cents and not getting a large box of kleenex out while consoling for their supposedly pitiable situation.

One of the nasties has been Tamron Adaptall 1 lenses sold with Adaptall 2 mounts for Canon FD fitting. Theres a paucity of info on this online but a consensus on a lot of stuff is they are compatible and a lot of lenses on ebay with similar mount issues. Aint seen it yet and of the three Adaptall 2 mounts I have only one of them will work a single Adaptall 1 lens. The others dont bear down hard enough on the apertures of other Adaptall 1 lenses....the Adaptall 2s seem to have weaker springs. Took me a bit of time to suss this out. Pentax fittings are most likley ok as for a basic K mount theres not much for the adaptor to do, same for Olympus OM but FDs are tricky blighters. On the upside thats probably why I got a Tamron BBAR wide at an insane low price....seller was probably fed up with it not working reliably which it didnt with an Adaptall 2. Put an Adaptall 1 on it and it works just fine.

On the upside I have found a few scorchers sold cheap ...like the Tamron wide....but on the whole I find eBay too tiresome. Its a pain having to keep trudging to the post office to send stuff back .....you know you are doing too much of this when the guys in the Post Office raise their eyes and say ‘its ok, we know, another lens’ so now I prefer to frequent charity shops where I can see the stuff first hand and also get a small gratification in helping a charity out which salves my conscience about fibbing to partner about just how much gear I have.

[steamloco76]

I received the mistakenly purchased Sigma 120-400 Sigma Mount lens back from the buyer Wednesday. I refunded his purchase price but not the postage as we agreed. Per eBay rules, we now both have to agree to canceling the transaction or I don’t get my final value fee (10% of the sale price) returned. Buyer communication was perfect until now. Nothing.
If he doesn’t respond, I’m stuck paying eBay for a sale which I had to refund the purchase due to buyer error.

I’ve relished the lens. FIVE places in the listing it tells potential buyers “Sigma Mount lens for Sigma DSLR cameras ONLY, if you have any other brand of camera this lens will NOT fit. Also updated my returns to forbid returns because you bought the lens thinking it fit something other than a Sigma camera body.

People are stupid.

[kevinWE]

Out of nearly 1800 dealing on eBay I have had under 10 bad experiences and all of the bad experiences I had where refunded in full with NO problems. Most of the bad deals were from clueless sellers who had no clue about lenses and condition. 3 of the occasions I received a lens described as clean, slightly used, photos where posted but you couldn't see good enough into the optics to notice fungus. All 3 of the deals were on the cheap, but even so, I expected to get what was promised, so they were disappointing deals.

For the most part eBay has been stellar in my book. If you know what your looking for and ask the right questions, the odds are you will come out smiling. You also learn to trust certain sellers.

[BigMackCam]

I received the mistakenly purchased Sigma 120-400 Sigma Mount lens back from the buyer Wednesday. I refunded his purchase price but not the postage as we agreed. Per eBay rules, we now both have to agree to canceling the transaction or I don’t get my final value fee (10% of the sale price) returned. Buyer communication was perfect until now. Nothing.
If he doesn’t respond, I’m stuck paying eBay for a sale which I had to refund the purchase due to buyer error.

I’ve relished the lens. FIVE places in the listing it tells potential buyers “Sigma Mount lens for Sigma DSLR cameras ONLY, if you have any other brand of camera this lens will NOT fit. Also updated my returns to forbid returns because you bought the lens thinking it fit something other than a Sigma camera body.

People are stupid.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again... just roll with it. In the grand scheme of things, it's nothing more than a little inconvenience and a tiny financial loss - don't let it be a big deal, or a saga. Most sales aren't this difficult, but once in a while, they can be. Chalk this one down to experience, and when you next sell, confirm exact details with the buyer before shipping. You'll get there, I'm sure

[BigMackCam]

Out of nearly 1800 dealing on eBay I have had under 10 bad experiences and all of the bad experiences I had where refunded in full with NO problems. Most of the bad deals were from clueless sellers who had no clue about lenses and condition. 3 of the occasions I received a lens described as clean, slightly used, photos where posted but you couldn't see good enough into the optics to notice fungus. All 3 of the deals were on the cheap, but even so, I expected to get what was promised, so they were disappointing deals.

I think you've been remarkably fortunate, or perhaps buying a different profile of items to me. Many of my purchases are vintage lenses, and a good number of those are from other countries, often those from the former-Soviet-Union. I would estimate that 20% of my purchases haven't been exactly as described, requiring work on my part to make them right, in some cases return them, and in a few, simply end up taking the hit.

Buying from a seller in the same country with a clear listing and feedback history is usually safe enough, but it still requires care on the part of the buyer to avoid issues. Still, eBay is generally on the side of the buyer when problems occur...

[stevebrot]

One of the nasties has been Tamron Adaptall 1 lenses sold with Adaptall 2 mounts for Canon FD fitting. Theres a paucity of info on this online but a consensus on a lot of stuff is they are compatible and a lot of lenses on ebay with similar mount issues. Aint seen it yet and of the three Adaptall 2 mounts I have only one of them will work a single Adaptall 1 lens. The others dont bear down hard enough on the apertures of other Adaptall 1 lenses....the Adaptall 2s seem to have weaker springs. Took me a bit of time to suss this out. Pentax fittings are most likley ok as for a basic K mount theres not much for the adaptor to do, same for Olympus OM but FDs are tricky blighters. On the upside thats probably why I got a Tamron BBAR wide at an insane low price....seller was probably fed up with it not working reliably which it didnt with an Adaptall 2. Put an Adaptall 1 on it and it works just fine.

This is interesting. My understanding has been that adapters are essentially the same and while I don't have any Adaptal-1 lenses, I do have a Pentax-K Adaptal-1 adapter attached to my 70-210/3.5 (19AH). I just compared it to on of my PK Adaptall-2 and sure enough the aperture actuator spring to the lens side is significantly stronger on the Adaptal-1 than the Adaptal-2. As far as Pentax-K vs. Canon FD, I would expect that both adapters open close the lens aperture the same way and would have similarly strong pressure against the actuator elbow on the lens.


Steve

[kevinWE]

I think you've been remarkably fortunate, or perhaps buying a different profile of items to me. Many of my purchases are vintage lenses, and a good number of those are from other countries, often those from the former-Soviet-Union. I would estimate that 20% of my purchases haven't been exactly as described, requiring work on my part to make them right, in some cases return them, and in a few, simply end up taking the hit.

Buying from a seller in the same country with a clear listing and feedback history is usually safe enough, but it still requires care on the part of the buyer to avoid issues. Still, eBay is generally on the side of the buyer when problems occur...

My purchases are usually state side. Occasionally I get a few from Japan.Never, EVER had an issue getting refunded through eBay.

Asking the right questions before purchase always makes life easier. If a seller does not know enough about the item, they generally will tell you so, as long as you ask. Always ask about the return
policy or being refunded if you find the item not as described. make sure you are on the same page as the seller. I'm a seller also, but not of lenses.

https://www.ebay.com/str/spiralcitybooks

[Astro-Baby]

This is interesting. My understanding has been that adapters are essentially the same and while I don't have any Adaptal-1 lenses, I do have a Pentax-K Adaptal-1 adapter attached to my 70-210/3.5 (19AH). I just compared it to on of my PK Adaptall-2 and sure enough the aperture actuator spring to the lens side is significantly stronger on the Adaptal-1 than the Adaptal-2. As far as Pentax-K vs. Canon FD, I would expect that both adapters open close the lens aperture the same way and would have similarly strong pressure against the actuator elbow on the lens.


Steve

Steve, the Canon FD is a bit more complex as a mount. On a Pentax or OM fitting all the adaptor has to do is relay the stop down actuator to the lens and its a simple lever held open with a spring . On the FD adaptors theres a second spring which acts as a cushion to back off pressure on the lens side when the stop down actuator on the lens is at full stretch and the diaphragm is closed. One spring holds the actuator open the second spring acts as a relief probably to cushion the cameras actuator from a hard stop once the aperture on the lens is fully closed. This may be something to do with the way Canon designed the actuator in the camera and it may have needs...The K mount and OM mount may have been designed more robustly....thats speculation.
If you compare this spring bewteen Adaptall 1 and 2 mounts you will find the AD1 has a significantly stronger relief spring. When you couple an AD2 mount to an AD1 lens what seems to happen is the relief spring lets go far to soon so the aperture never closes down fully. I can observe this on an AE1 and an FTb .....they both fail to fully stop down using using either preview or under shutter firing and shooting with the AE1 on auto produces very erratic aperture openings.
In a nutshell I now have 7 AD2 adaptors and not one of them will work on any of the AD1 lenses apart from a very tired old AD1 zoom which has very weak springs itself. None of the minty AD1 lenses will work with the AD2 adaptors.
The basic design of the FD AD2 adaptor seems to suggest this would always be the case as the relief spring is so much weaker and its born out by me experimenting with 10 different AD2 adaptors and 5 different AD1 lenses. That was my OCD kicking in so every lens was tried with every adaptor.

[stevebrot]

On a Pentax or OM fitting all the adaptor has to do is relay the stop down actuator to the lens and its a simple lever held open with a spring .

Actually, it is a simple lever held closed by a spring. It was probably not clear, but my comment was limited to PK (Adaptall-1 vs. Adaptall-2) and I was not disagreeing with you; rather, I was offering affirmation. FWIW, I too have owned some of the more complex adapters (thinking specifically of Minolta MD) and that they work at all is a marvel in my mind. That there might be some strangeness with the FD adapters does not surprise me.


Steve

[Astro-Baby]

Sorry yes you are right, the iris closes when its removed from the camera so the spring holds it closed.
I hope you dont think I was being bolshy there.....promise I wasnt I was just trying to explain why the FD adaptor is awkward. Ther is much stuff online saying its completely backward and forward compatible and for OM and PK thats true enough but for the FD, and I suspect the Konica mount, where the adaptor seems very complex, they arent.

Its a massive pain because whenever I have bagged off an AD1 lens I am stuck trying to find an original AD1 adaptor which for the FD type means a specific aperture as well.

Lucky for me so far I have bagged them easily but some seem harder to find like the 2.8 one. Its worth bearing in mind for anyone with an FD camera.

Oh also I have read there were two types of OM adaptors as well. The OM amd the OL. The OM4 demands the OL type.

I am not a particular fan of Tamron but I now have so many bodies PK, OM, FD, Nikon pre AI lobster claws and AI the Adaptall stuff has a certain sense plus OEM kit has gotten mad on prices of late especially Pentax and Olympus.....Nikon always was so no change there. I have no love for Canon FD glass unless its the early types, the later nFDs are impossible, look horrid and completely unrepairable in most cases thanks to glue and cheap and nasty construction.

---------- Post added 08-21-19 at 10:18 AM ----------

Oh ps I should have mentioned when the AD2 adaptors are mated to an AD1 lens the aperture will stop down...it just wont stop down all the way so if you are shooting wide open you wont see a proble, it may stop down to the halfway mark so if the lens has a midpount at f8 that might work as well but it sure wont stop down to say f11 or f16 or whatever the smallest aperture may be and its may be very erratic at all settings. My FTb will make all of them stop down to about 3/4 of the way through the range but the AE1 is super erratic and all over the place.

[stevebrot]

Oh ps I should have mentioned when the AD2 adaptors are mated to an AD1 lens the aperture will stop down...it just wont stop down all the way

This makes sense. Thanks!


Steve