KEH PayPal Dispute?

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fadedpastels

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Has anyone ever had to open a PayPal dispute against KEH? After 12 years of being a loyal returning customer and nothing but good service from them I have never had such terrible experiences even on ebay. I purchased a Mamiya 7 off the site but was unable to fully test it until after the 2 week return for a full refund time frame awaiting a lens to show up on the site to purchase so by the time I received one I unfortunately realized there was issues with it like the rangefinder being misaligned and the shutter button sticking. So I contacted them and was offered a warranty repair so I went along with it as my only option. Close to a month later I received the camera again but it had been roughed up a bit from what I assume is taking it apart for the needed repairs. Worst of all the camera isn't even firing at all now. During this time I had also received two EX condition lenses from them that had to be returned. The first one had large scratches in the rear element. The 2nd replacement lens had a fungus in it also sold in EX condition. Having contacted multiple KEH associates one being a manager with no response. I was only given the option to have another repair given the first experience I don't trust it at all and would likely be another month wait, I was also denied the warranty to be extended when asked. Having been sold a camera that was not functioning correctly from the get go it feels like pulling teeth working with this company. At this point I just want to return the camera for a refund so my question is would opening a PayPal dispute be as straight forward as with an ebay purchase? Or should I just keep working with KEH hoping my issue might be eventually resolved?
 

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Anyplace in the USA there is implied warrantee of merchantability, ie it works. May not be pretty ,but works.

Try PayPay first, then lawyer up.

KEH used to be very good with original owner. Thanks for the
story/warning.
 
I'm not sure what is going on with KEH of late. I too had good experiences with them for years and will occasionally get interested in an item they have for sale on the auction site. One disclaimer they always say to go along with their very minimum description of an item's condition is "Product images are of the actual item up for sale." So I took them at their word on an old Canon FD camera which looked like exactly what I needed. I bought it and three days later a totally different Canon FD camera showed up (same model, in "door stop" condition, completely frozen). I contacted them and eventually received a refund, but they were real obnoxious about it. I was surprised and probably won't be doing any more business with them.

Best,
-Tim
 
Bought a Contax Zeiss 35mm from KEH a few weeks ago and it was not in the condition as advertised. It doesn't have any fungus or haze so I kept it but it seems as though they have been trying to pass worse off gear with better condition ratings to make some extra money. They must be struggling right now with COVID but still shouldn't warrant lying to customers. I would file a dispute if I were you since you used Paypal. They're usually pretty quick and efficient with it.
 
I've never used KEH before but I recently ordered received a non-working camera from them that was listed in EX+ condition. Return went fine. Then I received another nonworking part and returned it. I've heard good things in the past but needless to say I won't be using them again.
 
I stopped buying from KEH a few years back after several purchase issues with them.
I always look at usedphotopro for gear because unlike KEH the photos of the item are what you get.
And I believe they used to work at KEH before they founded usedphotopro.
Solid place to buy gear.
 
benmacphoto said:
I stopped buying from KEH a few years back after several purchase issues with them.
I always look at usedphotopro for gear because unlike KEH the photos of the item are what you get.
And I believe they used to work at KEH before they founded usedphotopro.
Solid place to buy gear.
Click to expand...

usedphotopro is Robert's Camera, they've been around for a long time, longer than KEH. 1950's vs 1979.

I've had a few funky items from KEH over the years, but they've always been good to repair or replace. Recent purchases as of this year have been as good or better condition. Everyone makes mistakes on occasion. Sorry it's being a bear on a costly camera.

Paypal dispute it. Paypal gives you up to 6 months, no matter what KEH wants.
 
These days KEH seems inconsistent with its quality.

My very first transactions with them long ago were fine. After KEH was sold, I had two bad transactions: a mint condition Leica R series that was truly mint cosmetically, but was totally dead otherwise - a true brick. The other was a somewhat rare item, advertised as mint also, but upon arrival was totally ugly. Even then, it was rare enough I wanted to keep it - but it was also non-functional. At least KEH paid for return shipping and I was refunded.

I did buy a nice Pentax KAF lens from them earlier this year and it's been perfect. Even so, I no longer have the confidence in them I used to have.
 
I've never had any problems on ordering from KEH. But I discovered a few months ago that they also sell through Amazon and their prices through Amazon are always lower for the same quality gear listed on their website. As a plus you also get Amazon's guarantee as well as KEH's.

Over the past 15 months or so I've ordered a lot of stuff from MPB. I've been impressed with the condition of the gear, their prices and the quality of their service.
 
That's so disheartening to hear. I bought several lenses from them years ago, including both rigid and collapsible 50mm Summicrons, that were listed in "bargain" condition. To my surprise they arrived in beautiful shape, without even a single scratch or ding on the body or glass, at least that I could see with the unaided eye.
 
Just purchased a HK-7 lens hood for my 28mm F1.4 AFD Nikkor. KEH listed as E+, in reality looks like it’s new/never used. Over the years I have never been disappointed in what I received from them - only disappointed with their trade in quotes.
 
Keh

Keh

Good to know. I receive at least one e-mail per day from KEH; they are relentless; open an e-mail, and receive a follow-up saying "Did you see something you like?" And, they're hungry for used equipment - will quote virtually and pick up at your door. Purchased an M3 body item from them many years ago, and was vary satisfied. Looks like their reputation is tarnished for sure.
 
So sad, although they did replace a faulty EM10 for me about a year ago, but I brought the problem to their attention within the two week period and they happened to have another EM10 they could send.
Years ago they were a safe alternative to a more risky e-bay. Seems like that is not so anymore.
I hope they monitor these discussion boards as this type of information can be very harmful to their business if they don’t clean up their act.
 
Sounds like they probably are having staffing problems with untrained/new staff who are making mistakes, possibly. Still the fact that they "fixed" your camera and sent it to you broken, is not very encouraging. I'll be using usedphotopro
 
Over the past 15 months or so I've ordered a lot of stuff from MPB. I've been impressed with the condition of the gear, their prices and the quality of their service.
Click to expand...

I have been very pleased as well with MPB. Gear is better than expected. Fair prices too.
 
zuiko85 said:
So sad, although they did replace a faulty EM10 for me about a year ago, but I brought the problem to their attention within the two week period and they happened to have another EM10 they could send.
Years ago they were a safe alternative to a more risky e-bay. Seems like that is not so anymore.
I hope they monitor these discussion boards as this type of information can be very harmful to their business if they don’t clean up their act.
Click to expand...

I somehow overlooked that it was only a 2 week window for the refund as I thought a 180 day warranty is a no brainer.
 
Forest_rain said:
Sounds like they probably are having staffing problems with untrained/new staff who are making mistakes, possibly. Still the fact that they "fixed" your camera and sent it to you broken, is not very encouraging. I'll be using usedphotopro
Click to expand...

That is why I don't want to bother with another attempt at repair. What is the possibility that they will get it right this time around. Although on the site it does say if they are unable to repair something under warranty they will either provide an exchange for another or then refund me. At this point I just don't trust the system.
 
I've usually had OK experiences with KEH -- but never the kind you used to hear about where people manage to get near perfect BGN items.

However, I had a discouraging experience when I bought a Zeiss ZM brightline finder from them last year. It was listed as "Like New In Box" but when I got it, there was pretty obvious wear and the blue Zeiss badge was even missing. I contacted customer service, provided pictures, and told them that the product was more like BGN condition. In their response, they said that sometimes they don't check inside the box for LNIB. They also said that based on the photos I shared, they would classify it as EX, but agreed to give me a partial refund based on a BGN rating. I got what I wanted in the end, but it definitely made me wary of KEH's condition ratings.

Regarding the Mamiya 7 repair, I had a similar experience with a local shop. I bought a Mamiya 6 and I discovered that there was a problem with the film advance unlocking. I brought the camera to the shop's tech to have it "fixed" at least three times before I gave up and sent it to Precision Camera Works who specializes in repairs for the Mamiya 6 and 7. Fortunately, the local shop's owner was wiling to split the overhaul cost with me, but I doubt KEH will be so generous.
 
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