Where do you buy a good user folder?

[Abbazz]

I brought a 6x9 folding camera from certo6. He listed it as CLAed. After several rolls of 120 film, I realized that CLAed doesn't mean the camera is ready for picture taking. Mine probably also needs some collimation.

For certain sellers, "CLA-ed" really means "C-ed": the camera and lens have been wiped clean, while the shutter has been soaked in lighter fluid. Collimation, rangefinder calibration and shutter adjustment are often omitted, and rare are the sellers performing full testing of the camera with film.

Cheers!

Abbazz

 

[graywolf]

For certain sellers, "CLA-ed" really means "C-ed": the camera and lens have been wiped clean, while the shutter has been soaked in lighter fluid. Collimation, rangefinder calibration and shutter adjustment are often omitted, and rare are the sellers performing full testing of the camera with film.

Which is not a CLA by any stretch of the imagination. Wouldn't be cool is eBay, allowed you to send the camera off to be properly serviced and charge it to the seller?

Personally, I think that eBay should refund all costs including shipping both ways, and fine the seller if the item is not as described. But in fact eBay is more interested in those who sell thousands of cheap new items, than those who sell stuff like old cameras.

Sigh, eBay quickly became the worlds biggest flea market, but now it is run by bean counters whose only interest is the bottom line. If there were camera fairs within reasonable driving distance to me, I would not even look on eBay anymore.

I do suggest however that negative feedback is the only proper response to "item not as described".

 

[MC JC86]

For certain sellers, "CLA-ed" really means "C-ed": the camera and lens have been wiped clean, while the shutter has been soaked in lighter fluid. Collimation, rangefinder calibration and shutter adjustment are often omitted, and rare are the sellers performing full testing of the camera with film.

Cheers!

Abbazz

Save for a few sources, I'd only buy a camera that has been "CLA'd" as such if it includes paperwork from a third party (a reputable repairperson/company)

I like selling stuff on eBay, it does take a tremendous amount of time and effort to "do it right" I can't stand when sellers take days to answer questions or describe items incorrectly.

I've had almost no luck buying stuff though. At this point, I only buy camera equipment on eBay if I've already factored in the cost of the most expensive repair that may have to be made and accepted the price; regardless of the sellers description.

I do suggest however that negative feedback is the only proper response to "item not as described".

How one handles things in their transactions is, of course, their business. Sometimes I think people fail to realize that a lot of the people on eBay selling a camera item really don't know jack about cameras, or how to check them out (sadly, after over a thousand transactions, it seems that this includes even some of the sellers who only sell cameras). Perhaps it's naive, but I believe that 90% of mistakes that sellers make is due to their incompetence rather than dishonesty. It's very frustrating to buy something from an eBay seller and not get what you had hoped for, but I think it's important for people to exhaust other options before leaving negative feedback, unless downright dishonesty is indicated.

Something I think eBay needs to bring back is negative feedback for buyers. Too many times sellers get zinged by dishonest buyers with little to no recourse.

You're definitely correct about eBay not really caring about people who participate in the types of transactions we're talking about.

 

[Ken Smith]

For most folks, Ebay is a just a giant garage sell/flea market. They're able to expose their treasures to a world-wide market instead of their local community or neighborhood. With that being said - do you really expect to find a CLA'ed camera at a flea market or garage sale? And yes - not everyone selling grandpa's old photo gear is camera literate - to expect them to be knowledgable about a Voigtlander, Franka, Certo, Ikonta, or at a camera geek's level of knowledge is pretty much naivete. Yes there are some camera dealers and professional flea market raiders that play dumb in hopes of snagging a high bidding schmuck, but you can discern those from the average Joe/Jane by looking at their recent auctions. If camera gear is scarce in their past sales, then chances are they're honestly clueless as to what they have, how it works, or even if it's in usable condition.

I've walked into pawn shops and looked at cameras riddled with fungus on the front & rear elements that were priced according to what a mint one would sell on Ebay. Try explaining it's actually fungus that grows on glass without being called a BS'er.

 

[graywolf]

The worst I have had happen to me as a seller is sometimes the buyer was a little slow in paying. I can not say the same about sellers.

If you buy at a flea market or a pawn shop, you can look at it. If you do not like it you walk off and are out nothing. On eBay you are at the sellers mercy. If he does not describe the condition of the item accurately, you are at best out shipping, and I can eat for a week at the price of shipping these days. When I sell something the only warranty I give is that the item is as described, or I will refund your money and shipping both ways, why should you have to pay for my mistake? As a buyer, I expect to be treated the same way. If I lose anything because the seller was dishonest or just stupid, I will give them negative feedback. I do not even hesitate to file a dispute anymore. It used to happen maybe one in twenty times, now it happens about one in three.

On the other hand, I merely find it amusing when the seller says he doesn't know anything about what he is selling, so it is being sold as is, for 10 times what it is worth. Why? Because I am not going to bid on that item, so it does not bother me at all.

 

[MC JC86]

The worst I have had happen to me as a seller is sometimes the buyer was a little slow in paying. I can not say the same about sellers.

If you buy at a flea market or a pawn shop, you can look at it. If you do not like it you walk off and are out nothing. On eBay you are at the sellers mercy. If he does not describe the condition of the item accurately, you are at best out shipping, and I can eat for a week at the price of shipping these days. When I sell something the only warranty I give is that the item is as described, or I will refund your money and shipping both ways, why should you have to pay for my mistake? As a buyer, I expect to be treated the same way. If I lose anything because the seller was dishonest or just stupid, I will give them negative feedback. I do not even hesitate to file a dispute anymore. It used to happen maybe one in twenty times, now it happens about one in three.

On the other hand, I merely find it amusing when the seller says he doesn't know anything about what he is selling, so it is being sold as is, for 10 times what it is worth. Why? Because I am not going to bid on that item, so it does not bother me at all.

The best is people selling things that not only are poorly described, but terribly photographed too.

I'm glad you haven't had bad selling experiences, buyers on eBay do a lot of weird stuff though. Everything from trying to scam a paypal refund out after they've received the item (even with tracking info) to disassembling items, taking parts they need, and then sending the item back without said parts saying it isn't working.

The majority of transactions still work well, and the overhead that is incurred running a brick and mortar business is so much greater than the almost 20% in fees one racks up on eBay; there's really not much alternative.

 

[oftheherd]

For most folks, Ebay is a just a giant garage sell/flea market. They're able to expose their treasures to a world-wide market instead of their local community or neighborhood. With that being said - do you really expect to find a CLA'ed camera at a flea market or garage sale? And yes - not everyone selling grandpa's old photo gear is camera literate - to expect them to be knowledgable about a Voigtlander, Franka, Certo, Ikonta, or at a camera geek's level of knowledge is pretty much naivete. Yes there are some camera dealers and professional flea market raiders that play dumb in hopes of snagging a high bidding schmuck, but you can discern those from the average Joe/Jane by looking at their recent auctions. If camera gear is scarce in their past sales, then chances are they're honestly clueless as to what they have, how it works, or even if it's in usable condition.

I've walked into pawn shops and looked at cameras riddled with fungus on the front & rear elements that were priced according to what a mint one would sell on Ebay. Try explaining it's actually fungus that grows on glass without being called a BS'er.

Most pawn shop owners are pretty sharp (in all meanings of the word). If you want to test that, go into the same pawn shop with a fungus covered lens (if you have one for some reason) and try to unload it on them. See what they tell you.

 

[summar]

Hello Brian, I'd recommend Fedka, Russian camera dealer in New York, for a Moskva. He has 3 listed at present, all in the $90 range. I bought a Moskva 5 from him years ago, no problems with alignment, RF or shutter. Yuri at Fedka is very co-operative and will fix or replace faulty equipment.
I bought the Moskva because I wanted a 6x9 RF folder, and the Super Ikontas were way out of my price range. Having used the Moskva 5 for years, I'd now go for a 3 or a 4 because the VF on those is directly above the lens. Easier parallax correction.
I have no relation to Fedka, but I've bought a number of items there and have always been satisfied.

 

[Mcary]

I purchased my Zeiss 533/16 fromhttp://www.collectiblecameras.com/home.php

Physically the camera was in fairly good condition aside from a small bit of damage to the covering on the back which isn't that big of an issue to me as the things that do matter to me such as the rangefinder, focusing, shutter, aperture, film advance and sync terminal all function great.

 

[Ken Smith]

Most pawn shop owners are pretty sharp (in all meanings of the word). If you want to test that, go into the same pawn shop with a fungus covered lens (if you have one for some reason) and try to unload it on them. See what they tell you.

Guess it depends on where you live. Here in Montana, the ones in my town have never heard of such a thing, but then most no longer deal in film cameras. Same with a couple of shops I visited in the Dallas/Ft Worth area last year.