FSU via eBay experiences so far...

darkkavenger said:
Gotta love Prague... but still I think I'll tempt a few things on eBay, especially a Sverdlovsk-4 meter. Any experiences with these ?

Cheers from Prague!
Max
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I bought one not so long ago. Excellent meter for the price, with narrow angle of view (spot-ish) and incident capabilities. You can use pretty much any battery that gives 3.5-4.5 volts, as it has a calibration facility.

Paul
 
I actually prefer to use either Western Bid or Western Union for my purchases from the FSU. In a worst case scenario(flat out theft), I will only lose the purchase price and the dishonest seller will NOT have any access to any more $ than that.
That said, I have yet to have any thing like that happen. The one serious mis-representation I've had was for a Seagull 205 camera that I bought from a guy two states away from me here in the US. I didn't expect much from this camera but I did expect it to be funtional--the seller put the camera into a padded envelope and then put the envelope into a box so it could bounce around on it's way too me :bang: . I suspect that the damn thing never worked and he was selling to recoup his loss...I haven't left any feedback at all. A good part of this was my own fault for not looking carefully enough at his feedback prior to my bid. 100% positive. Which is fine BUT that was for all of 3 sales. :bang: He did leave me positive feedback, though.
Now I have a short list of sellers that I will happily and confidently buy from.
Over-all, I have been well treated by all of the FSU dealers I have given business to.
Now if only some of the "repaint" guys would get together with Oleg and offer "Zorki a la carte" I would be almost ecstatic!
Rob
 
atelier7 said:
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.
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Update 1 Oct 05: Kassiapeya sent me a black J8. It looks almost perfect! :) unfortunately he forgot the take up spool! arrrgh :bang:

As for confdntart, I sent him back the Fed 1. No word from him if he received it or when I'll get my refund. Fingers crossed! :(
 
"the RedJoe camera is near mint and performs extremely well.. it took 6 weeks to arrive, but other than that, I have no complaints"

I was interested to hear your comment as I have been waiting for 8 weeks now for a Zorki 1 and a Kiev 4a from Sergey at redjoe. Apparently there was a problem with customs in Russia re the Zorki as it is over 50 years old. he keeps me informed, but I hope to be in the FSU camera markey soon. He says of the J3 which was ordered afterwards, arrives first then we have a problem. I have been impressed with the open communications, even if it is a long way from Siberia to Perth WA
 
Ah, I got my friend a camera from Alex-photo for his birthday mailed directly to him. He was surprised to receive a large bright yellow Ukraine Post box, but he says it got to him in 2.5 weeks (from when I completed the online transaction on the bay) and says its smooth and great!
 
" Atelier said: Hugivza, I'm in Sydney. It took about 3 weeks to get to me".

Atelier: I understood that there was a problem with the Moscow customs for the Zorki 1 (>50 years old). I have also ordered a J3 from the same seller. I suggests that if the J3 arrives first, then there is a problem. I remain hopefully optimistic!
 
I've had pretty good experiences so far with FSU dealers:

Asterliks: 2 month delay in mailing a $9.00 shoe-mounted rangefinder. Evidently the transaction just got lost in the shuffle. He ignored a couple of my emails but was helpful once the problem was discovered.
Kubanoid: Jupiter-9 as pictured and described; quick replies and packed well.
Ostrovsky105: Lubitel as pictured and decribed; quick replies and packed well.
Sergey566: Still in the waiting place, but communication has been good.

I've learned that it's good to send a few emails to keep up with the transactions--I email when I send the payment and again in a week to make sure it arrives (I use money orders to avoid bothering my wife with unnecessary details :D). If the gear hasn't arrived after a few days past the duration the seller predicts, I email again just to check up on it. Like a previous poster said, these folks do a lot of business and it's easy to overlook a mistake.
 
My first dealings with Alex-photo for a Zorki 6 was great. The camera arrived as described. The best part is I got it in 6 days! :D
 
Bought a Fed 5b from Kaseiapeya last summer. Described as brand new and was. Somehow, the front viewfinder glass had a double crack which was not on the photo shown on Ebay of the same camera. He offered to do something, but I decided to keep the camera as it functioned perfectly and still does. Came with a never used 61/LD. Oddly, pictures are a little out of focus at the extreme upper left, but as lens works perfectly with CV cameras the problem seems to be with the film pressure plate which would not be mistaken for that of a Leica. Total cost $41.00. All in all I am satisfied.
Kurt M.
 
So far, I've only had good experiences with FSU sellers, and I've bought from a few different sellers.

The only dodgy deal was from someone in the UK who was somewhat economical with the description of the camera. Still, the sum of the parts in that meant I haven't lost out.

The interesting thing is that the taxman only seems interested in packages from the US. Stuff coming from anywhere else has never been subjected to enforced donations...
 
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With regards to other FSU ebay dealers I've had satisfactory deals with:

1. alex-photo - items as described, fastest shipping 9-12 days from Ukraine [~ 6 cameras + accessories]
2. suvorov_v - "Cameras from Russia" - items better than described and pictured
3. kassiapeya - item as described, also quick shipping from Ukraine [less than 15 days].
4. sovietepoch - good communication, excellent packing and pretty quick shipping - 18 days from end of auction coming from Russia.
 
Update 7 Oct 05: i received the refund for the broken Fed 1 from confdntart.
Meanwhile, Kassiapeya is sending me a replacement take up spool.

Maybe our sharing of experiences here is making them improve their service?

atelier7 said:
Update 1 Oct 05: Kassiapeya sent me a black J8. It looks almost perfect! :) unfortunately he forgot the take up spool! arrrgh :bang:

As for confdntart, I sent him back the Fed 1. No word from him if he received it or when I'll get my refund. Fingers crossed! :(
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At last my Zorki I (E) and Kiev 4A arrived and they were well worth waiting for. The packing for excellent - plenty of foam rubber in a strong box. The Zorki looks immaculate - I am having difficulty loading the film despite following the instructions, having never used a bottom loader before, but am delighted with it. The Kiev is about 9.5 out of 10, and the shutter, rangefinder and meter appear to be in good shape. The viewfinder is particularly crisp. Since my IIIA is currently in for adjustment to the rangefinder, I will test drive the Kiev this weekend with the recently purchased J3 so that I can compare it later with its progenitor. It's not even Christmas yet!
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7547511313&sspagename=ADME:L:RTQ:US:1

I bought this Kiev 4 from Sergey advertised as exc++. I should have looked at the pics more closely as all the visible faults are there - missing screws, chisel marks, dents, bruised shutter curtain et al and the not so obvious fact that the there is no take up spool. I don't care about the leatherette about to curl off and die. Buyer beware, my fault but the exc++rating by Sergey put on my rose colored glasses. Obviously, some one or several have had a "go" at this camera with the repair bread knife. Lots of stuff inside the J8 and tool marks so I think the repair fairy has been inside that too.
I left a negative report for Sergey and got a stream of abuse.

Mind you, first time I have had my hands on a K4 and I like the beast. I would like to get my hands on a good user as use it I would.
 
I sent a early postwar FED 1 to Oleg for new curtains. At the same time sent him two broken Red Zorki 5s and requested he turn them into one good one. Told him he could keep the second Z5 for parts or whatever. He sent back all three cameras because he said the postage for two was just as high. The Z5 works great as does the FED 1.

Oleg can't be beat. Alex_photo is always good. I haven't dealt too much recently with FSU sellers but I always had good luck with Russo20, too, although he seems to get mixed reviews overall.
 
Just got a pretty good Kiev 2 from Asterliks(NOT one of his re-pianted cameras) and I'm pretty happy with it so far--got to run some film through it--and it shipped quickest of all the FSU gear I've bought. 8 days from him to me!
Rob
 
I just bought my second FED 2. We shall not speak of what happened with the first one. :bang: I'm getting this one from Oleg. I hope it arrives soon and in 100% working condition.

I also bought a FED 3 from cupog. He has a very good rep but my camera needed horizontal adjustment when it arrived. It wasn't a big deal but I have to admit, I was a little surprised that it needed to be adjusted. Other than that, it's in very good condition as described.
 
Please write the responses about my cameras and lenses bought by you on ebay. Write the responses and wishes, it is necessary for the further good work for you!
Thank you
Ebay ID Ruscamera
 
P C Headland said:
I bought one not so long ago. Excellent meter for the price, with narrow angle of view (spot-ish) and incident capabilities. You can use pretty much any battery that gives 3.5-4.5 volts, as it has a calibration facility.

Paul
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Ah thank you for your advice!
 
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