eBay wild west

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

[cboy]

Touch wood I haven't had really serious issues buying and selling. There's a lot more risk to sellers than buyers and the changes they've made particularly to sellers make it less appealing which is why I stopped. It more now geared towards eBay stores for high volume selling or Alibaba model. It's not anymore a auction site for one offs. At least relating to camera gear imho. The margins are just slightly higher than a pawn shop.

This is dependent on the country however. Given the custom import fees and taxes that they now have imposed on ebay . And increased shipping cost globally

Still imo a good place to buy (new)...not a great place to sell (secondhand) in terms of photo gear.

Edited December 5, 2021 by cboy

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[TeleElmar135mm]

Am 2.12.2021 um 09:40 schrieb 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.

I had to quote myself. Ebay said that it's a German dealer but had his Ebay account in the US. Since 5.12. they send me 3 more mails, saying that  I get back my money during 12-24 h. Now it's the 3rd time that nothing come within 12-24 h. The payment was mades with PayPal. Paypal said call Ebay. Great  . My next step at Monday is to ask my lawyer what to do. 

[ppkarppi]

24 minutes ago, TeleElmar135mm said:

I had to quote myself. Ebay said that it's a German dealer but had his Ebay account in the US. Since 5.12. they send me 3 more mails, saying that  I get back my money during 12-24 h. Now it's the 3rd time that nothing come within 12-24 h. The payment was mades with PayPal. Paypal said call Ebay. Great  . My next step at Monday is to ask my lawyer what to do. 

Good luck! Hope that you get your money back!

[Sailronin]

In the past 6 months I've purchased a brand new Leica MP from a shop in Hong Kong and an "Open box" store demo TS-Apo-Elmar 120 S from a dealer in the Netherlands, both items were exactly as described and arrived ahead of the promised date; from a private seller I purchased a 50mm Summicron DR for the MP. It was in much better condition than advertised.  The key to good experiences on E-Bay (for me anyway) is to deal with reputable sources (read the feedback and only use if positive is over 99%) and contact the seller for any questions before hitting the "Buy" button.

Edited December 13, 2021 by Sailronin

[M9reno]

On 12/11/2021 at 5:54 PM, TeleElmar135mm said:

IMy next step at Monday is to ask my lawyer what to do. 

Win-win for the lawyer!

[TheBestSLIsALeicaflex]

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Ebay is hit or miss, and it has become worse over the years.  Always assume a body will need a CLA and a lens a good cleaning.  Ebay pretty much always supports the buyers, but there's the hassle factor in returning an item.  I rarely buy or sell anymore, but my own policy, based on personal experience, is think twice before entering an overseas transactions.  

Having said that, there are a lot of reputable sellers and buyers on that auction site.  Check their feedback.  

[Al Brown]

18 hours ago, TheBestSLIsALeicaflex said:

Ebay is hit or miss, and it has become worse over the years.  Always assume a body will need a CLA and a lens a good cleaning.  Ebay pretty much always supports the buyers, but there's the hassle factor in returning an item.  I rarely buy or sell anymore, but my own policy, based on personal experience, is think twice before entering an overseas transactions.  

Having said that, there are a lot of reputable sellers and buyers on that auction site.  Check their feedback.  

Recently eBay has been supporting crooked sellers as well. They also say you can appeal in 30 days after they resolve the case but when you send the email with all the "additional evidence" to the address given by them they just have an automatic reply and redirect you to some useless link on their page. Caveat emptor.

 

Edited December 23, 2021 by Al Brown

[hirohhhh]

What alternatives do you know for vintage cameras and lenses? I know KEH and B&H has their "Used" section.

[oldwino]

In the USA? Tamarkin, Popflash Photo, Camera West, Samys, Roberts, UsedPhotoPro...check the classified section of Photrio. 

[Ko.Fe.]

3 hours ago, oldwino said:

In the USA? Tamarkin, Popflash Photo, Camera West, Samys, Roberts, UsedPhotoPro...check the classified section of Photrio. 

RFF as well and of course Igor camera.

Edited December 24, 2021 by Ko.Fe.

[Ko.Fe.]

On 12/1/2021 at 7:40 PM, ppkarppi said:

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

eBay is odd place these days. I just couldn't sell fully working M3, no issues for low price.

As for buying, I have ex German living in USA, who sells and service Barnacks. No issues with my IIIc from him.

[hirohhhh]

6 hours ago, oldwino said:

In the USA? Tamarkin, Popflash Photo, Camera West, Samys, Roberts, UsedPhotoPro...check the classified section of Photrio. 

Wow, I wasn't aware of many of these places, even though I own many Leica cameras and lenses for 6 years. I was always buying new in Leica Stores, and this is the first time I'm looking vintage stuff. Thanks!