newsgrunt
Well-known
wondering how he came up with that estimate ? if he went to a repair centre, I'd consider risking asking to speak to the tech who looked at the lens otherwise, full refund if it's not onerous to ship back to you.
Am I being had?
- Thread starter hamish_gill
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kxl
Social Documentary
I've agreed to partial refund once -- it was not a big ticket item. IIRC, the sale was for $80. The buyer sent a photo of the lens with partial front end barrel damage (either real or photo-shopped) and asked for a $30 refund. I counter-offered with 1) $15 partial refund or 2) return the lens at his cost for a full refund.
He took the partial refund. In this case, if the lens truly was damaged, getting it back and having it repaired was too much of a bother. If he were scamming me, at least it was only for the $15 partial refund.
He took the partial refund. In this case, if the lens truly was damaged, getting it back and having it repaired was too much of a bother. If he were scamming me, at least it was only for the $15 partial refund.
daveleo
what?
Return for a full refund.
Hope he doesn't purposely damage your lens before he ships it.
Hope he doesn't purposely damage your lens before he ships it.
It makes no difference to ebay whether you are being had or not.
Ebay will be on the buyer's side.
Full refund as quickly as the lens is returned and resell as quickly as possible so as not to waste more of your time.
Stephen
H
hamish_gill
Guest
Thank you for all the thoughts!
I've told him to send it back for a full refund ...
Though I did offer him £10 partial refund too. He offered me £35 in return. So I went back with £8.50. He's not replied yet. 🙂
I'll keep you posted
I've told him to send it back for a full refund ...
Though I did offer him £10 partial refund too. He offered me £35 in return. So I went back with £8.50. He's not replied yet. 🙂
I'll keep you posted
Liquid Fusion
Established
1) you don't know if he is really turning the aperture ring. It could be slick moves on his part. Do a full refund. Ask Ebay to hold your money until you are sure you get the lens back that yous sent him. Call Ebay!!!
2) as far as "Not as Described" - as a BUYER -
A) received a Leica IIIC camera body that the seller said was in "Total Excellent Condition." In reality, the Viewfinder is very faint - hardly usable. Decided to keep the camera body as a new shutter had been installed and I put the viewfinder uncoupled Voigtlander 25mm lens on it with a 25mm VF hotshoe attachment.
B) received a 50mm f 2.0 Summitar lens which has a definite fingerprint or haze on the glass - and it was described as Excellent. Seller offered a partial refund when I pointed out the defects of the lens by the Ken Rockwell flashlight test.
c) received a Leica IIIC / Sumar 50mm lens - where the lens was solidly bonded to the camera body. Sent item back + received full refund.
d) cancelled buying a Nikon when I learned the rewind knob actually fell off when rewinding film - this key information was hidden in extremely small text in an obscure part of the Ebay auction page by the Seller: it needed to be highly visible in the description section. It wasn't.
Note: Sellers need to know and correctly describe what they are selling. As both a Buyer and a Seller - I am very concerned about what goes on with Ebay. Most on my music recording studio is put together with vintage pro gear off Ebay. With my recent journey into Leica photography, I find alot of sellers on Ebay don't know what they're talking about. Some do. Usually people on this forum are accurate. Ebay - Caveat Emptor!!! Doing my homework on a buyer's / sellers history is very important.
Further: as a Seller, I ship USPS Priority Mail + Insurance + Restricted Delivery / Signature confirmation - to ensure the package goes to the right person.
Regarding ripoffs - both Buyer / Seller - again go to the persons % record and see what people say. Never sell to someone with only a few transactions - they might buy a few cheap items to build their score then go for the kill.
It's a real world on Ebay! Good luck.
Richard G
Veteran
1. Seems an unlikely fault but easily engineered I think.
2. He is turning the aperture ring. You can't fake it and keep the fingers at precisely 180 degrees apart. Watch the increased flexion of the last joint of the index finger. The tip of that finger is on the milled aperture ring as it moves for sure. The sectors travelled are also correct.
3. His bargaining down from 60 seems suspicious too.
2. He is turning the aperture ring. You can't fake it and keep the fingers at precisely 180 degrees apart. Watch the increased flexion of the last joint of the index finger. The tip of that finger is on the milled aperture ring as it moves for sure. The sectors travelled are also correct.
3. His bargaining down from 60 seems suspicious too.
__jc
Well-known
iphoenix
Well-known
If you decide to have the lens returned, make sure you specify that all the "bits" must be returned with it.
My vote is also: Scam.
My vote is also: Scam.
Krosya
Konicaze
so, what came out of this?
robry
Member
As a comment to this story:
I recently bought a pentax m 50/1,4 from a french seller, stated as fully working. It turned out to have some sound from the aperture mechanism as if something were loose in there, and one of the blades seemed retarded, only visible at f/11-16. Optics are fine and aperture is working ok, except for this issue.
So I went to the ebay complaints site, wanting to send it back, came to "claim a partial refund" option and I suddenly thought that this was appropriate,l the lens is fine, fully working but with a threat inside that might or might not cause me problems later on.
I was offered some money back which I accepted and, strangely enough, I am satisfied. Money will cover half of a repair if needed, glass is great, helicoid working etc., you cannot have everything perfect on every ebay transaction, case closed.
I just wanted to say that not every partial refund claim is a fraud, cheers, RR
I recently bought a pentax m 50/1,4 from a french seller, stated as fully working. It turned out to have some sound from the aperture mechanism as if something were loose in there, and one of the blades seemed retarded, only visible at f/11-16. Optics are fine and aperture is working ok, except for this issue.
So I went to the ebay complaints site, wanting to send it back, came to "claim a partial refund" option and I suddenly thought that this was appropriate,l the lens is fine, fully working but with a threat inside that might or might not cause me problems later on.
I was offered some money back which I accepted and, strangely enough, I am satisfied. Money will cover half of a repair if needed, glass is great, helicoid working etc., you cannot have everything perfect on every ebay transaction, case closed.
I just wanted to say that not every partial refund claim is a fraud, cheers, RR
pepeguitarra
Well-known
My two cents!
My two cents!
I may be a bit late in this post. However, I want to share what happened to me:
I bought a long-sought manual lens on Ebay. I paid $485 plus shipping for it. The seller had a disclaimer "Nothing is perfect" and the usual, a bit of dust, working in perfect order, etc. When I got it, I saw an evidente blob of fungus in the rear lens. I got a quote for $80 plus shipping, about $100 to clean the lens. I contacted the seller with the request to reimburse me the $100 before I place a formal claim on Ebay. He accussed me of trying to have him, etc. He also mentioned his "nothing is perfect" disclaimer. He also asked me to send it for a refund. He also charges a "restocking fee for all returns and does not reimburse shipping" Instead of me opening a claim or bother the seller, I took the loss, kept the lens, had it clean, and it is in perfect shape now. Probably worth more than the $585 I ended up paying for it.
The second case was with a famous Jupiter purchase from Ukraine. He said it was working fine, etc. The lens does need cleaning lots of fungae, needs a shim, etc. I could not use it. So, I told the guy I was going to return it and wanted full refund. He offered full refund of what I paid, but not the shipping (which was higher -- this is a technique used by our soviet friends). So, I got the reimbursement with the condition to give him 5 stars review. I did. So, the lens is useless and I lost my shipping, but I gave him 5 stars. Be careful playing the Russian roulette.
My two cents!
I may be a bit late in this post. However, I want to share what happened to me:
I bought a long-sought manual lens on Ebay. I paid $485 plus shipping for it. The seller had a disclaimer "Nothing is perfect" and the usual, a bit of dust, working in perfect order, etc. When I got it, I saw an evidente blob of fungus in the rear lens. I got a quote for $80 plus shipping, about $100 to clean the lens. I contacted the seller with the request to reimburse me the $100 before I place a formal claim on Ebay. He accussed me of trying to have him, etc. He also mentioned his "nothing is perfect" disclaimer. He also asked me to send it for a refund. He also charges a "restocking fee for all returns and does not reimburse shipping" Instead of me opening a claim or bother the seller, I took the loss, kept the lens, had it clean, and it is in perfect shape now. Probably worth more than the $585 I ended up paying for it.
The second case was with a famous Jupiter purchase from Ukraine. He said it was working fine, etc. The lens does need cleaning lots of fungae, needs a shim, etc. I could not use it. So, I told the guy I was going to return it and wanted full refund. He offered full refund of what I paid, but not the shipping (which was higher -- this is a technique used by our soviet friends). So, I got the reimbursement with the condition to give him 5 stars review. I did. So, the lens is useless and I lost my shipping, but I gave him 5 stars. Be careful playing the Russian roulette.
pepeguitarra
Well-known
I remember another one!
I remember another one!
I bought a large heavy zoom (Sigma) for my Pentax K5 few years ago. When the package arrived, it was all banged up, and it was so poorly packed that I opened in front of the mail man (a friend after 20 years of bringing my mail). The package had been trown or dropped (normal) for the USPS, or any other and one corner of the package was collapse. The lens had a UV filter that broke, hard to remove, but the ring of the lens was fine. The mailman told me to put a claim, but I was probably going to lose because of the packaging. So, I kept the lens. Since then, my best insurance is a good packaging. I really pack really well. I sell my handcrafted guitars via Ebay sometimes and also had one broken by Fedex many years ago (never succeeded getting a refund or payment) because it was poorly packaged.
I remember another one!
I bought a large heavy zoom (Sigma) for my Pentax K5 few years ago. When the package arrived, it was all banged up, and it was so poorly packed that I opened in front of the mail man (a friend after 20 years of bringing my mail). The package had been trown or dropped (normal) for the USPS, or any other and one corner of the package was collapse. The lens had a UV filter that broke, hard to remove, but the ring of the lens was fine. The mailman told me to put a claim, but I was probably going to lose because of the packaging. So, I kept the lens. Since then, my best insurance is a good packaging. I really pack really well. I sell my handcrafted guitars via Ebay sometimes and also had one broken by Fedex many years ago (never succeeded getting a refund or payment) because it was poorly packaged.
gdi
Veteran
You are lucky, I sold a Super Graphic to a guy in the Southwest who was evidently big into them. The camera was very cheap and I disclosed some significant issues with it. He did a best offer deal, and after I accepted he said he didn't have the cash to pay for a week, but I waited and then shipped the rig.
A good while later he sends me an email telling me it was in worse condition than described and that he had already sent it to be repaired and wanted me to refund the repair costs. Of course I said no, but he could return it in the original condition and I would give a full refund.
But that wasn't good enough for him so he refused and said he wanted to keep the camera. Then he opened a case with ebay, stated he knew I would win but he just wanted to hassle me - eventually ebay closed the case in my favor, but what a hassle....
A good while later he sends me an email telling me it was in worse condition than described and that he had already sent it to be repaired and wanted me to refund the repair costs. Of course I said no, but he could return it in the original condition and I would give a full refund.
But that wasn't good enough for him so he refused and said he wanted to keep the camera. Then he opened a case with ebay, stated he knew I would win but he just wanted to hassle me - eventually ebay closed the case in my favor, but what a hassle....
besk
Well-known
I don't sell anything on E-bay that I am not willing to take a total loss on. I would never give a partial refund. It is the principle of the thing and helps stop these people who plan to- in effect - re-negotiate the price after the item is received.
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
I'll add that from this side of the pond the biggest problem with buying from the USA is that a lot of people are convinced that the international post will only accept a large "flat rate" box at a large fee. I've had them quote this for instruction manuals that I know could go into an envelope and air mail for a fraction of their prices...
OTOH, when selling, a couple of years ago I timed how long it took to sort out the thing, photograph it, weigh it, find packing and then type out the ebay entry. Then I added the time to pack it and walk to the Post Office etc. I reckoned on an hour or more to do that. So what do I charge for the thing? Nowadays I drive 5 or 6 miles to the PO (there and back), so it's worse. And then there's all those last minute e-mails asking the postage rate to somewhere obscure...
Last year I kept a careful note of the cost of the packaging and that frightened me. Doing it properly can cost a pound for a parcel with a camera in the middle; mostly because I have to buy in those squiggly plastic filling things and so on.
Just my 2d worth.
Regards, David
I'll add that from this side of the pond the biggest problem with buying from the USA is that a lot of people are convinced that the international post will only accept a large "flat rate" box at a large fee. I've had them quote this for instruction manuals that I know could go into an envelope and air mail for a fraction of their prices...
OTOH, when selling, a couple of years ago I timed how long it took to sort out the thing, photograph it, weigh it, find packing and then type out the ebay entry. Then I added the time to pack it and walk to the Post Office etc. I reckoned on an hour or more to do that. So what do I charge for the thing? Nowadays I drive 5 or 6 miles to the PO (there and back), so it's worse. And then there's all those last minute e-mails asking the postage rate to somewhere obscure...
Last year I kept a careful note of the cost of the packaging and that frightened me. Doing it properly can cost a pound for a parcel with a camera in the middle; mostly because I have to buy in those squiggly plastic filling things and so on.
Just my 2d worth.
Regards, David
Dralowid
Michael
1) I'd never buy a lens I was actually going to USE on Ebay.
2) I only buy and sell to countries that do not require customs clearance (EU)
3) I only really use Ebay to clear the cupboard...or fill it up again.
For me, selling items that have a significant value is much best done via a dealer, either as a straight sale or on commission. OK, so the straight sale will take a chunk but is done and dusted. By the time one has finished with Ebay I'll bet the % figure is the same as a dealer's commission.
Michael
2) I only buy and sell to countries that do not require customs clearance (EU)
3) I only really use Ebay to clear the cupboard...or fill it up again.
For me, selling items that have a significant value is much best done via a dealer, either as a straight sale or on commission. OK, so the straight sale will take a chunk but is done and dusted. By the time one has finished with Ebay I'll bet the % figure is the same as a dealer's commission.
Michael
VTHokiEE
Well-known
I once received neutral feedback because the shipping label was 2/3's of the shipping price. My reply feedback was that the shipping material and my time to mail it was not free. It still frustrates me thinking about it.
SilverPix
Member
Had a similar experience on eBay. Sold a Hasselblad 80mm lens which had been working perfectly. Buyer sent me a request for an estimated $80 repair bill. I said go ahead and return it, I'll even cover postage. Buyer replied that the lens was now working fine. Amazing.
bobby_novatron
Photon Collector
Good info. I wouldn't be surprised if this has become an unethical approach for a small fraction of eBay buyers. I'm sure there are countless 'mini-scams' that are inflicted upon 100% upstanding eBay sellers.
FWIW in the past year I have bought and sold many items on eBay. In most cases I was the seller. In two cases I had foreign buyers lament that their item didn't arrive -- emails rising in a crescendo of panic, with my calm response of 'please be patient and give it more time'. Eventually the items arrived 100% to their satisfaction.
In one recent case, a buyer protested that their purchased item didn't arrive several weeks after the auction close. Nothing. Nada. It was assumed that the item was lost in the postal system -- although to be honest I doubted the likelihood of their conclusion.
The buyer launched an eBay claim against me, and I had to refund the entire amount including fees. Fortunately, it was only $50 and the item was a cheap Zenit SLR, so I wasn't upset about the loss.
Still, I felt that the eBay claim process was heavily weighted towards the buyer -- I had little to no recourse if I wanted to maintain my excellent rating history. I am now much more cautious about what I sell on eBay. As someone mentioned above, a prudent approach is to only sell items that wouldn't incur a painful loss if the auction went badly.
