MW Classic Cameras London online shop experience/opinions/recomendations

[Arnold Layne]

Hi all.

I created an account on 25th December, placed an order of £209.00 and I have no news at all. Didn't even recived an e-mail for the order confirmation. I sent an e-mail asking for info but no answer. If I look in my account in the orders section, it just says "Processing".

What to think? Do you have any experience with them?

 

[joe bosak]

I haven't used them, but currently they are showing 92.3% positive feedback on ebay, and even some of the positives mention delays for unknown reasons. Their ebay name is mwclassic. Maybe they are better in person, they certainly have been around a long time.

 

[herr_zett]

No first hand experience, but check this thread: MW Classic cameras

 

[Dralowid]

A lot of UK businesses are closed till the 6th

 

[gordonrgw]

I placed an order with them on their website. Difficult to contact and I eventually had to contact my card provider to refund me.
They seem to be okay on Ebay, but otherwise a pain to deal with.

 

[splitimageview]

Have bought from them going back over ten years. They are inconsistent with communication but they are not scammers by any means.

 

[Mark240590]

They’re the worst I’ve ever had the displeasure of dealing with. Very cooperative until they have your money then silence. I ended up having to get my bank to retrieve my money.

I almost bought a canon 50/1.5 off their eBay last week and then realised it was them and they even have a low eBay score 🤦🏻‍♂️

Stay away.

 

[panatomic]

I ordered a Hasselblad lens once, and I waited several weeks for them to ship it. When I checked in on the status of the order, they sent a refund without asking or an explanation. Very suss.

 

[Vince Lupo]

I had pretty much the same experience as others here. I ordered something from them a number of years ago, never received any communication from them despite numerous attempts from my end. I finally had to open a case through PayPal to get my money back (matter of fact I don’t think they even responded to PayPal).

Oftentimes they have interesting items on offer and it’s tempting to give them another try, but for me it’s the ol’ once bitten, twice shy.

 

[p.giannakis]

I bought a Ikoflex Ic from them back in 2009 and had no issues.

 

[Mark240590]

I had pretty much the same experience as others here. I ordered something from them a number of years ago, never received any communication from them despite numerous attempts from my end. I finally had to open a case through PayPal to get my money back (matter of fact I don’t think they even responded to PayPal).

Oftentimes they have interesting items on offer and it’s tempting to give them another try, but for me it’s the ol’ once bitten, twice shy.

Literally this. I’ve seen things in the past and thought are shite…

 

[Sonnar Brian]

They sound like the UK version of Cambridge Camera. You can get some good things from them - but not worth the bother.

 

[Arnold Layne]

Thank you all. All this worries me a lot. I'll keep you informed.

 

[Mark240590]

Thank you all. All this worries me a lot. I'll keep you informed.

You’ll get your money back. Just wait another week I’d say then if you hear nothing I’d get your bank to start action

 

[Coldkennels]

This is such a shame.

I used to love MW Classic Cameras - had a bunch of stuff off them about a decade ago. Always really well priced, and they were reliable with shipping orders out promptly. I even went to visit their old offices a couple of times (someone in the l-camera-forum thread posted a link to a blog where someone did just that: The MW Classic ); it was borderline chaos, but they at least knew where everything was.

However, I did notice once or twice that something would be sold in person then not removed from the website for a while. If they're now selling on eBay as well, I suspect this is the root of the issue - they're not keeping track of stock properly across the two platforms.

Last time I tried to order from them online was probably in 2020 or 2021. I'd seen reports about people not getting their orders, but thought I'd give them a chance. Sure enough, months of emails but still no order. I ended up getting my money back through Paypal. Now they don't even offer Paypal as an option on the website - I'm guessing Paypal closed their account due to the amount of chargebacks they were getting.

At some point after that I tried arranging a visit to their new office in Bethnal Green to buy something in person; no one replied to my emails, the form on the website to arrange a visit didn't seem to work, and no one was answering the phone. I eventually chanced it while I was in the area. No one answered the door.

I don't know how on earth they're still in business.

 

[girdwoodINC]

Had a to get a refund via my card - sorry not a great seller

 

[Mr_Flibble]

Hi all.

I created an account on 25th December, placed an order of £209.00 and I have no news at all. Didn't even recived an e-mail for the order confirmation. I sent an e-mail asking for info but no answer. If I look in my account in the orders section, it just says "Processing".

What to think? Do you have any experience with them?

That sounds exactly like the last dealings I had with them, nearly a decade ago. It made sure it was DEFINITELY the last time I dealt with them.

That said, a few years before that incident I bought a fantastic early Graflex SLR outfit from them without issue.

 

[Trask]

I could never get them to respond to my inquiries, even when I was trying to buy something. I finally decided they weren't worth the trouble.

 

[Malcolm M]

A previous post of mine on the subject. I also have a FOKOS on order from them since 16th December, of which no sign to date.

View attachment 4838562

Paul Wolff, Meine Ehrfahrungen mit der Leica, 1934 auf Deutsch. Just arrived from MW Classic, after a 3 week wait, a reminder and a redirection (they seem to have no concept of what “Delivery address” means).

Maybe don’t quite deserve the plethora of one-star reviews on Trustpilot, but I wouldn’t give them more than two. The website is a clue to their shambolic level of organisation.

 

[James24]

I ordered a few bits totalling about £200 from these people a couple of years ago. Nothing showed up and there was no response to my email enquiries. I had to get a refund through my card. Never again!