FSU via eBay experiences so far...

[atelier7]

Update: the Fed1 from confdntart has shutter problems. Contacted seller.
He's asked me to send it back to him and he'll send a refund.

Meanwhile, kassiapeya has agreed to send me a working J8 and metal spool.

guess i was really lucky in my earlier experiences with FSU cameras where all of them looked great and worked really smoothly. wasn't as lucky this time round.

 

[Hlynur]

I bought my only rangefinder camera, Zorki 4 with J8, from Ruscamera on ebay after having read positive comment about this seller here on rangefinderforum. My camera was very clean and in very good working condition and it took only a week to arrive.
This forum is a valuable help when it comes to picking reliable sellers on ebay.

 

[reagan]

Just as a bump and whine 🙄 .... here's a seller I WON'T be having experience with. He's offering a $45 camera and $45 shipping. 😱

I have a body and two lenses coming same-package from FSU for $15 shipping. I understand shipping from across the big pond ain't cheap and I don't mind paying for it, but some guys seem to be trying to make a few bucks off the item and a few more from "shipping." I'll pay for shipping, but I'm not paying for an airline ticket so the seller can hand carry it to me.

 

[zpuskas]

I purchased a FED 3 from Cupog in Slovakia on Aug 28 and it arrived on Sep15. Camera was in better condition that I hoped. It was described as Excellent; and it is. Looks like new. Came with Industar 61 lens and a case that also looks--while not new---maybe better than used. Certainly would buy from him again.

 

[xayraa33]

it seems like half of what CONfdntart sells is broken, or defective, if he was not such a good talker, his negative feedback would be in the low eighties. The reason a lot of Ukrainian & Russian sellers use U.S. middlemen or companies like Western Bid, is that a lot of postal moneyorders get stolen at these FSU post offices, It makes good sense if you are an e--y seller in these countries to use a "middleman" to collect your money for a fee, and pay you safely.

 

[peter_n]

Two lenses, a J-8 and a J-11. The J-11 is good, the J-8 is excellent. It came from ruscamera in Moscow.

 

[kiev4a]

Update: the Fed1 from confdntart has shutter problems. Contacted seller.
He's asked me to send it back to him and he'll send a refund.

Meanwhile, kassiapeya has agreed to send me a working J8 and metal spool.

guess i was really lucky in my earlier experiences with FSU cameras where all of them looked great and worked really smoothly. wasn't as lucky this time round.

Over the past 3 years I've purchased about 30 FED 1s and Zorki 1s. Probably about 1/3 were in perfect operating condition and probably half of those had been overhauled fairly recently. Particularly on the FSU Leica II copies a buyer would be wise to figure after you get it you are going to have to do some work yourself or have someone else do it for you. You would probably be money ahead to try to make arrangements to have those camers sent from the seller to Oleg ofr tuning, then on to you. You should get into FSU gear if you think the cameras and lenses should always arrive in operating condition. It' just not gonna happen.

 

[hugivza]

they've arrived.

the fed1 from sergey looks exactly as described. havent tested it yet."

Atelier7 how long did it take to arrive from Sergey? I have been waiting since 4th August. for a Kiev 4A and a Zorki I from Sergey, I know that Australia is a long way from most places including Siberia.

 

[Nickfed]

Over the past 3 years I've purchased about 30 FED 1s and Zorki 1s. Probably about 1/3 were in perfect operating condition and probably half of those had been overhauled fairly recently.

OK, now I've gotta ask the question. What are you doing with that many FED/Zork-1s?

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

- one Zorki I ordered came with an instruction book - in RUSSIAN! Sorry, guys, no dice. Greek, Hebrew, or Japanese would be just as useful!!

There are people in the U.S. that speak Russian, Greek, Hebrew or Japanese, so who knows...

 

[doubs43]

Update: the Fed1 from confdntart has shutter problems. Contacted seller.
He's asked me to send it back to him and he'll send a refund.

Meanwhile, kassiapeya has agreed to send me a working J8 and metal spool.

guess i was really lucky in my earlier experiences with FSU cameras where all of them looked great and worked really smoothly. wasn't as lucky this time round.

Both sellers are on my "do not deal with" list. They each account for one of my very few bad experiences with FSU sellers. Kassiapeya sent me a particularly messed-up Iskra that was said to be in excellent condition and working. It wasn't.... either. Facts that he "forgot" to mention included a non-working film counter, a red window back and the bad shutter. When I complained, he offered to refund my money IF I first returned the camera. I elected to send just the lens & shutter to Oleg and pay to have the shutter repaired. It was cheaper than mailing the whole camera back and taking a chance on it never getting there.

Walker

 

[doubs43]

OK, now I've gotta ask the question. What are you doing with that many FED/Zork-1s?

I'd say cornering the market until the day when they bring Leica prices! 😀 😉

Walker

 

[xayraa33]

I never have bought anything off Kassiapeya (Igor) He seems to have a hard time in comrehending english when he wants to, When I asked him if the focus was smooth ,from infinity to .9 of a metre, on a Kiev he had for sale, he said that he" does not understand. "CONfdntart(Sergey) is a slick operator, a Kiev 4a that was described by him to be "excellent' & "everything works' arrived with a broken shutter & a viewfinder so cloudy, that it was hard to see your left hand, when you brought the camera to your eye, and stretch out your left arm in front of the camera. The Kiev had the same serial number as the one on the web, yet when I email him, he said he does not" Know how this could have happen." but he will refund the money if I send him back the camera( at my expense of course). How can this operator can send a buyer a piece of sh*t, and not know its a piece of sh*t, he is in the camera business after all. is beyond me. I do think some of these sellers are counting on that a buyer will not return the cr*p back, as it is not cost effective for the buyer.

 

[atelier7]

they've arrived.

the fed1 from sergey looks exactly as described. havent tested it yet."

Atelier7 how long did it take to arrive from Sergey? I have been waiting since 4th August. for a Kiev 4A and a Zorki I from Sergey, I know that Australia is a long way from most places including Siberia.

Hugivza, I'm in Sydney. It took about 3 weeks to get to me.

 

[doubs43]

I do think some of these sellers are counting on that a buyer will not return the cr*p back, as it is not cost effective for the buyer.

IMO, you're absolutely correct. I also believe that they operate on what I call the "P.T. Barnum principle"; It was Barnum (the circus Ringmaster) who became famous when he said "There's a sucker born every minute." That, in effect, assures them that someone will buy their junk no matter how bad their reputation gets because not everyone will hear about them.

Walker

 

[xayraa33]

You have to factor in that since E**y selling has been around, a lot of the good FSU photographic goods have been since sold , mostly to North Americaican & western european buyers ( when the sellers use charge a reasonable shipping cost , also) Since that time the popularity, of FSU photo gear has grown, mainly thru talk in internet forums like ours & demand by "western" users ,who like the retro feel & the low cost of the FSU goods. Now, what is left to sell is the bottom of the barrel stuff, the broken, more common grungy gear. Notice that the rare times a dealer has something nice to sell like a mint Kiev 2 or a Zorki with the slow speed dial ,seperate on the front, the price is high, supply & demand obviously. the dealers are saavy, & know these will bring in a good price. Some of the really nice FSU cameras are not ever sold & are kept by their owners, in Russia & the Ukraine, Knowing that these cameras can only go up in price & are now hard to find.

 

[zpuskas]

Received a Zorki 4 w/Jupiter-8 and case bonus Industar 50 from Konstantin (kostik_p on eBay) today. While it took almost 5 weeks, he kept me well informed--sent several e-mail asking if I had received the goods. . He checked with customs and advised me it was held several weeks. All goods arrived--very well packed-- in condition described and it all seems to work. Take up spool included!

 

[varjag]

The reason a lot of Ukrainian & Russian sellers use U.S. middlemen or companies like Western Bid, is that a lot of postal moneyorders get stolen at these FSU post offices, It makes good sense if you are an e--y seller in these countries to use a "middleman" to collect your money for a fee, and pay you safely.

Actually, I think the main reason is that most of online payment services like PayPal won't allow you to register if you reside in FSU. Just go to paypal.com and see the list of countries at the signup page.

 

[xayraa33]

A lot of the sellers like Sovietpoch , leonjazz1965, (Russia) & Kassiapeya, alex-photo (Ukraine) , and many others , actually do offer Paypal payment to there customers. now if they do it through a 'middleman" living outside the FSU countries I do not know, it matters very little if they do or not ,to the buyer, but some FSU photo gear sellers do offer Paypal for buyers pay for goods from the FSU countries

 

[varjag]

Yes, with PayPal there's usually a middleman involved.