In defense of "Evilbay"

[NaChase]

I know a lot of people here have horror stories to share of the "mint" camera or lens that showed up on their doorstep covered in scratches/ fungus, or that never showed up at all. Recently, however, I have had two amazing experiences. The first took place while I was deployed to Afghanistan. Having nothing better to do on nights between missions, I would often scour the web for cameras/ lenses. One such night I found an immaculate Mamiya 7II and 80mm for an equally awesome price, so I bought it. Little did I know at the time, but making a large purchase on eBay while in Afghanistan tends to send up a lot of red flags. Long story short, a transaction that should have taken 2 seconds took the better part of 2 months. But the important thing was that the seller was 100% on board with helping me out given the unique situation, and at the end of everything I had a like new Mamiya 7 when I got back the US. Fast forward to yesterday, March 1 2014, for my second stellar eBay experience. I had recently bought a 75 Summilux, and the seller, who lives nearby, decided to hand deliver the item to my house. Not only that, but we talked cameras for well over an hour and I got to play with his 0.95 Noctilux. Anyways, the bottom line is that every now and then a mere business transaction will turn into something a lot more meaningful. I will try and remember this the next time I get a battered Pentax lens masquerading as a Noctilux.

 

[mdarnton]

I do a fair amount of buying on Ebay, including taking some ridiculous risks buying expensive things with really bad descriptions (I was the only bidder, and got them cheap, though!), and have only had two problems in 300+ sales, and one of the times I'm pretty convinced the seller probably died in the middle of the transaction. All of the instances where I've had any personal contact at all have been totally positive..