Did your Ebay camera Work out of the Box?

Did your Ebay camera Work out of the Box?

  • YES! It worked Perfectly

    Votes: 425 70.7%

  • No. Did not work. It's a Paperweight.

    Votes: 45 7.5%

  • Required a minor Repair, Fixed it Myself

    Votes: 112 18.6%

  • Required a Major Repair: Paid to have the work Done.

    Votes: 73 12.1%

  • Requested a Refund.

    Votes: 46 7.7%
  • Total voters
    601
It's an interesting poll, but more for the essay answers, than the check boxes. I forget which ones I checked, but I have had no tragedies.

1 camera, a Kiev 4AM was just no good at all, I got a full refund. Bought another that was just fine. And it came with my favorite lens, ever, a Helios 103.

2 cameras needed a fix- of these, 1 was a Leica M2 that was fixed quickly upon return, the other, a Canon A-1 SLR was replaced by a camera just as good that turned out fine.

The rest, an M4, a Canon P, a Canon AE-1, a Canon EF (SLR's) were all fine, if not perfect. (well, the AE-1 meter died after a month or so, but I had it fixed at my expense)

All in all the success ratio was decent.

KEH, on the other hand, always leaves me deliriously happy with my purchase. Always.
 
jmkelly said:
... My favorite seller line: "I'm not a camera person and don't know anything about this." = paperweight, no matter how good it looks.
Click to expand...

^^ Words to live by. You can tell those people are obviously lying when you look at their selling history and see a looooong list of cameras. 🙄
 
I haven't purchased any cameras on the auction site for a couple of years, prefering to deal instead w/ KEH or members here. My auction site purchase track record for cameras is mixed (my track record for lenses is better).

Canonet GIII Q17 = perfect
Konica S2 = perfect
Canon P = needed a CLA

Nowadays, I'd only buy from *bay sellers I know and trust.
 
Lucky so far on E-Bay

Lucky so far on E-Bay

Hasselblad XPan-1 -- bought from a photographer who had shot about 100 rolls with it (10 is more typical). works perfectly.

Hasselblad 500C/M, based on the serial numbers, it was a single unit purchased at the same time, but not sold by a photographer. Works perfectly so far.

scott
 
Fed 5 worked Ok
2x Yashica Gts, one needed cleaning but the other has pad of death
Yashica 35MG OK
Ricoh 500G, needed light seals replaced (which was a pain in the ****) but everything else fine
Ricoh ME, faulty meter
Minolta Dynax 5 OK
Minolta 5xi OK
Just waiting to have a Konica C35 delivered so fingers crossed....
 
All cameras work except for one, my Olympus OM-2n, where the hotshoe wasn't working, although the seller stated everything was working fine.
 
sara said:
All cameras work except for one, my Olympus OM-2n, where the hotshoe wasn't working, although the seller stated everything was working fine.
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If non-working hotshoe means flash doesn't triggers, you can try to rub contact on top of HS with pencil eraser. I had such scenario.
 
I buy many eBay cameras, lenses and accessories.

I buy many eBay cameras, lenses and accessories.

I rarely have problems.

HOWEVER, I have a strict list of seller requirements before I buy from anyone:

1) Minimum 99.5% positive feedback and I look at the specifics of the problems on any negative feedback.
2) 100 feedbacks minimum (Or good contact with the seller in lieu of)
3) pictures of actual items. No stock photos
4) Feedback must be spread fairly evenly over at least the last 6 months.
5) Absolutely no purchases from sellers with less than ten feedbacks OR last feedback more than 6 months ago.

Old feedback that's good but not active for the last 6 months to a year smacks of a hacked account. Not always true, but I've reported auctions like this and found to be fraud.

Rarely does anything turn up on eBay that won't turn up again later from a better seller. Read the feedback and understand how to translate the little signals in feedback, and you will greatly reduce the disappointment of bad or even slightly misrepresented merchandise.

Furthermore, all feedback stays available in the system as long as the account exists. The only way feedback can be removed is by mutual request of BOTH buyer and seller and they each pay $20.
 
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Specifially - First GS, worked fine but was purchased serviced.
GSN - worked fine, purchased serviced
Yashica Lynx 14 (1) - needed servicing
Yashica Lynx 14 (2) - got cheap, not working, sacrificed for parts (above, see 1)
Yashica Lynx 14 (3) - not working, serviced by Mark Hama
Pentax Spotmatic - Ad said "working perfectly", opened box, it was junk, returned to seller after several heated emails, a "reputable seller"
Yashica Electro CC - "don't know anything about cameras" ad. Camera arrived in mint condition, worked perfectly.
Konica Auto S3, purchased serviced from a camera shop looked/worked fine (selling look for ad here at RFF)
Kiev 60 - worked fine, purchased serviced
Iskra - sent to FSU for servicing but was supposed to have been serviced at purchased
Fujica Compact Deluxe (1) - beater (but I love this camera) gave it away after getting #2.
Kiev 4AM - worked fine, purchased serviced, but sold it (didn't get on with this camera...)
Fujica Compact Deluxe (2) - Nicer sample than 1, worked perfectly/minty. Gave 1 away after getting 2. 2 promptly gave up the ghost (jammed). Grrrrrr.
Fujica Compact Deluxe (3) - Gift from a very generous forum member to whom I am eternally grateful. Serviced, works fine...
 
Well, different experiences:
Canon A1 - needed a little work (done by myself)
Canon FTB - needed new seals
Canon FTB - totally broken, sent back
Hasselblad 500c/m - needed CLA (was sold as perfect with new CLA - turned out to been years ago)
Hasselblad 500 ELX - condition as new
Hasselblad 500 ELM - broken, but was sold as broken
Rolleiflex 3,5F - in perfect condition

The other stuff I bought from members of forums such as RFF - without problem (although my Canon G-III 1,7 needs a CLA due to a sticky shutter.

Well - I always ask lots of questions if I am unsure - and do not bid if the seller says, that he has no idea what to answer. And then I mostly buy from sellers who have sold some photogear before.
 
Many years ago I bought an M6 described as Excellent. It arrived, and it was excellent, but it had a bit of mold growing inside the front of the viewfinder. I paid a good price for it, so wasn't interested in having a CLA. It had a very sweet shutter, but I don't know enough about the internals to know how serious it was, and at that time didn't know of someone knowledgable locally.

I contacted the seller, who took it back after I sent photos of the mold. There are good eBay sellers. :^)
 
I have got at least 20 FMs, FEs and K1000s, not only on eBay but here too. ONLY ABOUT HALF were working as described.

I was doing this as a favor to my students selling them at my cost. No more.

Most frustrating was the guy here on RFF who would not refund the $75 for a K1000 with a sticky shutter. He claimed it worked perfectly when he shipped it. The guy said he already spent the money on baby formula and was broke. Have not seen any subsequent ads by this guy.

All the eBay sellers issued a refund; it's just a hassle to ship the broken camera back.
 
Ha.

In the 6 months since i picked up photography, i have made about 60-70 purchases over the net, mainly through ebay.

I buy cheap because I have little recourse as I reside outside of the US. About 30% of everything I buy needs work, both cheap and expensive. So by that logic, why bother with buying things expensive when I can't return it cheaply ?

Some of them, I sent away for a CLA (around $66USD - $100), some just wasn't worth working on as I would be cheaper to buy used.

For the more expensive lens, I would buy from KEH (Summicron-r, 80mm Planar for the Hassy)

raytoei
 
Well, I've had one completely useless dud and the rest I've been happy with. But mostly I've been happy because I assume the cameras will not be perfect and have bid accordingly. And we are talking about cameras that could be 70 years old, with unknow histories. Worse still, someone could have read a do-it-yourself website and decided to charge in without really having the tools or experience needed. Just look for screw head slot damage to see what I mean...

Having bought cameras for 1, 50 and 99 pennies I'm not going to argue or bounce them back. My rule is only to pay serious money when you can see them and handle them first. It also pays to go to a dealer, who offers a guarantee, when paying out serious money.

Having said that I don't think any one can complain about (say) a FED 1 or 2 bought on ebay at a silly price and then overhauled etc by (say) Oleg. A joy to use is the best description I've read here and I'll go along with that. And who can complain about a $10 camera with Oleg's $40 added?

Regards, David
 
My experience is all mixed.

Some needed to go back. I buy anything serious stuff only with good return policy and from sellers with excellent feedback. Even if the seller refuses, Paypal/Ebay should cover it. Fortunately, I haven't used paypal/ebay protection in recent years.

Some needed a minor fix. I got either partial refund or the problem was so minor I could do it myself.

Most recent major purchase Mamiya 7 came exactly as described and working flawlessly so far. The seller was nice enough to expedite the shipping method for free so I can receive it before the weekend. Another recent purchase IIIf had one minor problem. The seller agreed that I can use my own repair guy (Youxin) and he paid for the repair. They are both good sellers and I'd buy from them again.
 
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