eBay wild west

[ppkarppi]

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eBay seems to be a wild west what comes to Leica camera sellers. Any bad experiences you would like to share to help others?

[ppkarppi]

I just bought a "MINT" M4 from Austria and realized that the shutter is jamming about every 5 strokes. According to this "reputable" eBay seller, it was tested by a "technician". Yeah, sure. The camera looks like it has not been used much, but it's quite an expensive paper weight when it does not work.

So, my advice to eBay buyers: Pay extra care when buying from a "well-known" seller from Austria!

Edited December 2, 2021 by ppkarppi

[spydrxx]

Well known doesn't necessarily mean honest or reliable. My Ebay experiences for over 20 years of Leica purchases and sales has been quite positive...only 2 purchases which didn't meet expectations or the description and subsequent Q&A with the seller (got refunds on both), and one sale which got weather damaged on the way to the buyer...offered him a refund, but he figured the price he paid + the cost of a repairperson correcting the issue outweighed what he would have paid locally for the same item.

[kivis]

If I buy from eBay, I always assume the used Leica will need a CLA. Pay accordingly.

[plaidshirts]

I’ve had great experiences buying from eBay since I bought a lot when Leica prices were low. I’ve had more problems selling to unscrupulous buyers and have stopped selling high value items on eBay. 

[kivis]

1 hour ago, plaidshirts said:

I’ve had great experiences buying from eBay since I bought a lot when Leica prices were low. I’ve had more problems selling to unscrupulous buyers and have stopped selling high value items on eBay. 

What kind of problems have you had selling?

[Simone_DF]

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1 hour ago, kivis said:

What kind of problems have you had selling?

I once had a user with only 3 feedbacks that attempted to buy my Q2. I did a reverse search and found out he was a 13yo kid. I canceled the sale.

The only other issue I ever had was from buyers in UK that complained about being charged import duties / VAT from Customs, depite that I clearly wrote in my ad that there was a high chance of that happening and that it is something beyond my control

[LocalHero1953]

I've had few problems buying or selling. I have never traded cameras, but quite a few lenses. The only problem I had was selling a Relleiflex T that I didn't look at hard enough; the buyer correctly rejected it because of fungus - I gave a full refund. I recently bought a mis-labelled filter on ebay from a well-known bricks-and-mortar dealer; it was returned & refunded without question. I don't call these sort of issues bad experiences - that would be when either party refuses to sort out obvious failings, which hasn't happened to me.

I don't see buying from a well-known dealer on ebay any different from buying from their online shop. Unless you are buying from a dealer you can physically visit, you have to buy remotely and be ready for deals that don't work as expected. I often buy from the rest of Europe on ebay, but only from a dealer I can check on their website. I don't recall ever buying expensive photographic items from a private individual on ebay. 

Edited December 2, 2021 by LocalHero1953

[Charles Morgan]

My purchases from Ebay have been good, I've only in 10 plus years had to seek refunds in 3 cases, and in all three they were sorted without issue.

On sales I have sold about 50 photographic items, I've had three problems. One, a scanner, went out of alignment so I happily paid for it to be redone, the shutter mechanism on my Voigtlander Vito played up after sale, so no problem, and one Hasselblad 250mm Sonnar wouldn't mount to the purchasers camera so it was returned, and a small bit of bayonet was found in the mounting.

On the other hand, the number of things I've bought from dealers with issues leads me to the conclusion that I'd rather not bother buying in person

[TeleElmar135mm]

Bought a used 135mm M - Lens by a well known seller here in Germany. The lens has some damage (resination - Verharzung and was not well gestated) but sold it as A- like new. I returned it because I don't want as repair by himself. So far so good. I returned and he got the delivery but did not pay back. So I opend a case and got an answer from Ebay first in Englisch than in a not very good  German (sorry for my English here it's a bit rusty but I'm not a dealer  ). And this a long term ebay-plus member.

So I hope I get my money back. The old Ebay was with a German customer service, now you get an International service and the the way they deal with the money is borderline. I stopped selling my things there because of their politics and now this ... and it was not the first time.

[250swb]

I don't buy much Leica equipment from eBay but after monumental failings trying to buy a IIIF mail order from two very well known Leica dealers ('yes sir, fully serviced' = sticking slow speeds, 'yes sir its in Exc++ condition' = it wasn't even a IIIF) I tried eBay. I bid on a IIIF Red Dial with 50mm Elmar and was the only bidder and got it for £180, it arrived and the condition was superb, and wrapped with it came a receipt from Malcolm Taylor dated three months earlier itemising a full service. 

The other side of the coin was a recent Yashicamat 124G purchase, it had clearly been dropped after the eBay photos had been taken. It had a very bent door which the seller must have known about, so I reported it to eBay and got a full refund within 24 hrs plus got to keep the camera. Now all I need is a door.

[Ouroboros]

I buy more stuff on EBay than I sell and it’s mainly ‘low’ value (up to around £250) things.
 

Over the past 18 months I have bought a few Nikkor ai-s lenses that I have picked up to replace those favourites that I used in the 80’s-90’s but sold a long time ago and wanted to use again.
 

Of the half dozen Nikkor ai-s lenses I’ve bought, 4 came from a known Seller that I’ve used previously and 2 came from previously unused individual Sellers.  All the lenses are as described and without issues. 

As a Seller I had one problem several years ago when a Chinese bidder successfully bid on a Nikon D3 body I was selling and then complained bitterly about the cost of shipping it to Hong Kong.  Eventually I gave him an ultimatum to pay up or I would lodge a complaint, he paid and left negative feedback in retaliation.

After the experience of dealing with that particular dickhead, I can’t be bothered with selling stuff on EBay.  
 

If I want to get rid of something, it usually goes to MPB, Wex, SoPerfect Images or Aperture,  depending who gives me the best quote. 
 

[plaidshirts]

5 hours ago, kivis said:

What kind of problems have you had selling?

The worst one I can remember is when a buyer waited until the last day to ask for a return (30 days) on an M240 saying it didn’t match the description. It was a ploy to get a discount which I gave because I didn’t want to waste more time and energy. I take pride in taking a lot of photos of my items to represent it honestly. Ebay simply gives too much power to the buyers. 

[RayD28]

21 minutes ago, plaidshirts said:

The worst one I can remember is when a buyer waited until the last day to ask for a return (30 days) on an M240 saying it didn’t match the description. It was a ploy to get a discount which I gave because I didn’t want to waste more time and energy. I take pride in taking a lot of photos of my items to represent it honestly. Ebay simply gives too much power to the buyers. 

I have stuff sitting in a closet that I'd love to sell and would not hesitate giving a 30-day guarantee because I know the condition.  My concern is 30 days is a lot of time for someone to get buyer's remorse, or to use equipment for a special project/vacation, and then want to return something near the end of the 30 days even though there is nothing wrong with the equipment and was accurately described.  

On the buying side, the 30-day return policy is great because it gives you time to identify undisclosed problems.  

[Simone_DF]

3 hours ago, Ouroboros said:

he paid and left negative feedback in retaliation.
 

Retaliation feedback is forbidden on eBay. Ebay will remove that feedback if reported

[plaidshirts]

1 hour ago, RayD28 said:

I have stuff sitting in a closet that I'd love to sell and would not hesitate giving a 30-day guarantee because I know the condition.  My concern is 30 days is a lot of time for someone to get buyer's remorse, or to use equipment for a special project/vacation, and then want to return something near the end of the 30 days even though there is nothing wrong with the equipment and was accurately described.  

On the buying side, the 30-day return policy is great because it gives you time to identify undisclosed problems.  

It's great for businesses as they have volume of sale and mechanism in place to to do that but for individuals, not so much. There are much better platforms that cater to enthusiasts for buying and selling these days.

[Sailronin]

I've bought and sold several things on ebay including Leica S lenses, all with no issues so far.  I prefer if the seller is local and can arrange for a meeting to inspect item but most of the time this is not the case.  I ask a lot of questions and if any of the answers seem the least bit sketchy I drop the contact before any purchase is made.

On high ticket items it is frustrating to wait for the funds to clear as a seller (I sold my 24mm S lens and funds were held for about a month) but it is comforting as a buyer to know you'll get your money back if the item is not as promised.

[BradS]

I've been using eBay for 21+ years. I've bought and sold hundreds of items and have had maybe a handful of issues each way. The worst financial loss I've ever suffered was return postage. I used to really enjoy selling on eBay but it has definitely lost the shine over the past five years or so. I haven't sold anything there in a year or so, and unless they change their policies, I don't think I will.

[bags27]

Never had problems with a seller. With Fedex getting stuff past customs and to my home...well, that's another story entirely. I'd rather pay a fair amount more for a domestic camera or expensive lens than one coming from Japan--even though I have great faith in the quality and care of most Japanese sellers. 

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[Danner]

I have pretty much given up on eBay.  It's a mess and I've lost all faith in the place.