Recent KEH holiday sales

[Brian Legge]

I'd been considering a few KEH items recently but held back due to price. Their holiday sales were announced and I went back with the intent to buy. While the price of a few lower value items hadn't changed, the base price higher value inventory was way up... very close to the amount of the discount. Some of it is a bit silly. For example, they have an used Elmarit 28 Asph going for $2,529. The 35% discount on film gear brings it down to $1,643. That looks like a great deal ignoring the fact that the lens sells new for $1,980.

I know retailers commonly raise prices prior to sales but I don't know if I've ever noticed it in quite an extreme way as it was done at KEH.

Between this and seeing a item listed on KEH as bargain condition but described on their eBay sale page as having minor fungus, I'll be much more careful about buying from them in the future.

...

Its a bit frustrating as they've been one of my go-to places to buy used gear in the past. I hope this is just a short term hiccup and not what they'll be moving forward.

 

[madNbad]

Looked at a Leica 21 finder but the price for a used one was sixty dollars more than a new one. Been a loyal KEH buyer for years but passed on this sale.

 

[splitimageview]

Probably simple pricing errors. Did you call them?

Keh is super simple to deal with, long warranty on used gear, and no questions asked returns. No one else comes close...

 

[x-ray]

I understand King Grant sold KEH a couple of years ago. I noticed they weren't grading as conservatively after that.

 

[02Pilot]

I bought a Komura 35mm brightline finder in EXC I'd had my eye on (pardon the pun) when they ran the 50% accessories sale on Friday. Base price had not changed, so it was a legitimate half-off plus free shipping, which was a heck of a deal.

 

[Ronald M]

Got a 24 3.8 Elmar M, reduced 1900 to 1750. Sales person on phone would not give me the 35% off even from 1900.

I went on line and got it for $1215. I consider this a spectacular bargain for a LN- lens that retails for 2600 or 2700.

I have all the other lenses I want so I will not be shopping for more.

 

[Brian Legge]

Nice find!

Maybe I was just too late or looking at the wrong items. I hope so. Like I said, I've bought from KEH extensively in the past and have always happy with the result. That's why I was thrown off so much this time.

 

[benmacphoto]

I understand King Grant sold KEH a couple of years ago. I noticed they weren't grading as conservatively after that.

KEH really isn't what it used to be with grading or pricing.
But there are good finds now and then.
I picked up the Leica IIf today with the 35% off, which worked out to be a great deal.
I also noticed that it looked like they bumped the prices of a few things before these sales.

 

[Dante_Stella]

The killer deal is the Leica M battery, which is selling for <$80. With a 6-month warranty.

By the way guys, thanks for putting me up to my $230 evening. I did score some Contax 50mm rear caps, a Nikon LTM rear cap(!), and some other goodies.

Dante

 

[madNbad]

Broke down and got a take up spool and a neck strap for 52 bucks.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

KEH really isn't what it used to be with grading or pricing

Two out of the first three camera bodies I looked at, which were graded EX, were also labeled, in smaller print "inoperative". Not sure in what galaxy an inoperative camera can be realistically described as "Excellent". Guess it is like that Monty Python cheese shop which claimed to be the best cheese shop in England, even though it had no cheese, best because it was "so clean". And yes, there were more than a couple of items for theirs I had seen on eBay, which had been marked more or less enough to equal the "discount" of the "sale", an F2 body for one.

 

[plummerl]

Brian, it appears that around 10:45pm (Seattle), the Elmarit 28 ASPH (EX condition) was listed at $1701, taking it down to $1105.

 

[madNbad]

The 28 Elmarit is the older (E46) version and not the ASPH, so maybe not such a great deal.

 

[plummerl]

I missed the {46}, I only assumed because of the 6-bit coding.

 

[Brian Legge]

Heh... it looks like the 28/2.8 Asph sold. Someone bit on the markdown. For reference they still have the non-Asph Summicron 50s are still there at ~$1,750-2,050 though (with the discount bringing them down to ~$1,100-1,300 respectively). I have no problem paying a premium for the extra protection and hassle free policies they provide and after the markdowns the prices are fairly average for stores.

In the end, it does look like their selling gear at those prices so its working for them. It just threw me off as I hadn't noticed them doing it in the past. Maybe I was mostly focused on low cost items in past years which weren't worth marking up prior to the sale.

 

[Fixcinater]

I just bought a couple hundred dollars worth of cheaper items, along with a couple UG lenses, have been looking at some of the stuff for a while and hadn't noticed any jacked up prices during the sale.

No complaints here about pricing: as with anything, it pays to be a discerning consumer.

 

[Rayt]

I bought a few things on Friday and Monday and did notice KEH marked up the prices just before their sale. They didn't mark up everything but enough so I noticed.

 

[maitani]

I eyed the chrome asph 50 1.4 M summilux

it was at 3437.- (with heavy discount 35%? it was around 2200.-) great deal btw.

nobody bought it to my surpise, today it's still there at 2899.- (non discounted...)

anyway i think it's not correct to do so. or you discount, or you don't.

 

[splitimageview]

There have been some very good deals recently, including several Hexar RF kits (body, lens, flash) with presentation box for a little over $600, and a couple of 50 Jahre M4s that went for about $1100. One enterprising soul bought them to flip here on RFF.

 

[harpofreely]

I came away with an EX Fuji XE-2 and a LN Fuji 23mm f1.4 for a little under $900 shipped. Not a steal, but I've been watching both on eBay for ages and don't feel like I did too badly considering the warranty and general non-hassle.