dct
perpetual amateur
Apart from my first steps in the RF world, I have a years long experience buying technical collectibles thru ebay. My best buys was from pro, selling their no more used equipment or from dealers. I noticed that "mint and working" together with a normal/high street price are delivered in best working condition. Not so for very cheap "mint" gear.
Looking back the years I can say I had 98 % of good buys thru ebay. My two last aquisitions were:
P&S APS Minolta Vectis 300L (5 USD, mint and perfect working)
RF Ricoh 500GX (50 USD, declared "should work". Perfect working beside the self timer lever which is stuck)
Looking back the years I can say I had 98 % of good buys thru ebay. My two last aquisitions were:
P&S APS Minolta Vectis 300L (5 USD, mint and perfect working)
RF Ricoh 500GX (50 USD, declared "should work". Perfect working beside the self timer lever which is stuck)
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Mr_Flibble
In Tabulas Argenteas Refero
The last two I bought definitely didn't.
A Perfex Fifty-Five 'in good condition, everything works' had a broken shutter and a stuck aperture ring on the lens.
A Zorki I body was bought as "non-working", so that wasn't a big deal. Currently undergoing curtain-repair surgery.
A Perfex Fifty-Five 'in good condition, everything works' had a broken shutter and a stuck aperture ring on the lens.
A Zorki I body was bought as "non-working", so that wasn't a big deal. Currently undergoing curtain-repair surgery.
philipb
Established
My first ebay purchase: Voigtlander Vitomatic IIa (1960), won it for GBP13.
Seller claimed it had been unused for the past 30 years. I believe it too, as it's in superb order and fully functional. Takes great photos too, as I didn't buy it to be an ornament.
It has a name engraved on the back, traced to a university lecturer in Norway, so it has travelled, although I bought it in England.
Seller claimed it had been unused for the past 30 years. I believe it too, as it's in superb order and fully functional. Takes great photos too, as I didn't buy it to be an ornament.
It has a name engraved on the back, traced to a university lecturer in Norway, so it has travelled, although I bought it in England.
Brian Legge
Mentor
$100 for a Canon P in need of repair, a Canon 50mm 1.8 (w/2 Canon filters) and Canon meter.
The P has a bent light baffling which jammed the shutter but doesn't appear to have done any damage. Took the body off the camera and the shutter appears to run fine. Just need to fix the light baffling and it should be set.
The 50mm 1.8 is scratch free and has some dust but in decent optical condition. The aperture is a bit stiff though - it should probably be worked on before use. This one may be beyond my abilities as I don't know how to safely remove the front element. It looks like 1/15th and 1 may run slow but the other speeds seem fine. Hmm. I'll have to figure out 1/15, I use that part of the time.
The meter responds to light but has broken plastic internally. Good for parts at least.
No, it didn't work, but the seller was up front about it and I still think I got a pretty decent deal since I can do some of the repair myself.
The P has a bent light baffling which jammed the shutter but doesn't appear to have done any damage. Took the body off the camera and the shutter appears to run fine. Just need to fix the light baffling and it should be set.
The 50mm 1.8 is scratch free and has some dust but in decent optical condition. The aperture is a bit stiff though - it should probably be worked on before use. This one may be beyond my abilities as I don't know how to safely remove the front element. It looks like 1/15th and 1 may run slow but the other speeds seem fine. Hmm. I'll have to figure out 1/15, I use that part of the time.
The meter responds to light but has broken plastic internally. Good for parts at least.
No, it didn't work, but the seller was up front about it and I still think I got a pretty decent deal since I can do some of the repair myself.
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taskoni
Well-known
My Leica III worked as described - the longer shutter speeds were off and my M2 works like new.
The Canon A2E was super mint and the Rolleicord was perfect... So YES, all the stuff worked out of the box!
Regards,
b.
The Canon A2E was super mint and the Rolleicord was perfect... So YES, all the stuff worked out of the box!
Regards,
b.
Gregoryniss
Well-known
Ive bought like 5+ cameras off of ebay, from FSU's to Leicas to rolleiflexs. All have been as described and working well. you just need to be a smart buyer, as you would if you were buying a used camera in person.
richardhkirkando
Well-known
The one negative experience I had was buying a Toyo 4x5 monorail. The description didn't say much, but it was a good BIN price, so I bought it anyway. When I got it, the bellows had holes in EVERY corner, and one of pieces that holds the standard to the rail was cracked.
I contacted the seller about this, he said "oh, well it was sold as a student camera so it's not in great shape. And you can just throw your dark cloth over the bellows." First of all, he never said "student camera" in the description. Second, even if he would have, I never in my wildest dreams would have interpreted "student camera" to mean "broken camera".
I ended up keeping it just because it would have cost too much to ship back. Still annoying, though. I ended up getting another one in much better shape for $20 in the AS-IS section on KEH, and Frankenstein'd the two together.
I contacted the seller about this, he said "oh, well it was sold as a student camera so it's not in great shape. And you can just throw your dark cloth over the bellows." First of all, he never said "student camera" in the description. Second, even if he would have, I never in my wildest dreams would have interpreted "student camera" to mean "broken camera".
I ended up keeping it just because it would have cost too much to ship back. Still annoying, though. I ended up getting another one in much better shape for $20 in the AS-IS section on KEH, and Frankenstein'd the two together.
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Chinasaur
Well-known
Yes. But then I only buy from Frontman.
hendriphile
Well-known
I recently purchased a goggled M-lens and sent it to Sherry K.
Sherry told me that someone in the the lens' past had broken into the viewfinder attachment and messed with the optics so that it wouldn't focus properly. The lens had been sold to me in "mint" condition by an ebay dealer in Hong Kong. We speculated that the HK dealer sold the lens as mint without ever attaching it to a camera and taking pictures with it (giving the dealer the benefit of the doubt).
So it appears that at least one major HK dealer is (at best) careless with the premium-priced merchandise he sells, or at worst...[fill in the blank yourself].
Lesson learned: Henceforth I'll buy only from an RFF member (I've already had a very positive experience doing it this way), or a reputable U.S. dealer.
Sherry told me that someone in the the lens' past had broken into the viewfinder attachment and messed with the optics so that it wouldn't focus properly. The lens had been sold to me in "mint" condition by an ebay dealer in Hong Kong. We speculated that the HK dealer sold the lens as mint without ever attaching it to a camera and taking pictures with it (giving the dealer the benefit of the doubt).
So it appears that at least one major HK dealer is (at best) careless with the premium-priced merchandise he sells, or at worst...[fill in the blank yourself].
Lesson learned: Henceforth I'll buy only from an RFF member (I've already had a very positive experience doing it this way), or a reputable U.S. dealer.
Brian Legge
Mentor
...where as the Lipca Rollop w/2.8 lens I purchased had a bunch of issues. I ended up sending it back as it was at the top of what I could pay for it and it would have cost a lot more to get running.
I'm still in pain over it as something about the lens just nailed it for me. I think I'm going to be haunted by the possibilities on this one for a while.
I'm still in pain over it as something about the lens just nailed it for me. I think I'm going to be haunted by the possibilities on this one for a while.
nikon_sam
Shooter of Film...
The latest one a Vivitar 400/SL (M42) needed new seals and a battery...other than that, another "Yes" for me...
celluloidprop
Well-known
I've bought a lot of cameras on Ebay (mostly toys and Polaroids - most recent purchases were a Zeiss Ikon ZI and a Polaroid ProPack Flash, both in perfect working order).
The only dud I've had was a MF Minolta of some kind (10 years ago, details are fuzzy). Film advance was broken. I think I wound up eating the cost, as this was pre-universal Paypal.
The only dud I've had was a MF Minolta of some kind (10 years ago, details are fuzzy). Film advance was broken. I think I wound up eating the cost, as this was pre-universal Paypal.
hatidua
Established
I have bought a number of cameras from sellers on eBay and everything has been as good as described or better.
Paolo Bonello
3 from 36 on a good day.
I haven't had great luck with AE functions of old (electronic) cameras which I've bought on auction sites. Probably less than 50% were fine examples. The rest all needed work in some way. I think most Auction sales of this type are from people who have not used the equipment in a long time or simply traders who do not use the gear so although they can run through the motions of apertures and shutters speeds and hear or feel that everything is working they cannot make a quality judgement on the way it exposes unless they shoot some film through it in a controlled test.
That's why I budget for a CLA unless I just want to look at it on a shelf. Probably safe to say that electronics (meters and shutter speeds if electronic) are the achilles heel of a most old AE type cameras but that is not to say that they aren't worth buying. At the right price with an additional tune-up by a pro you could still have a lovely camera on your hands. My OM2 series Olympus' and Yashica Electro GX cameras are a few that spring to mind and some which I don't regret spending money on CLA's.
That's why I budget for a CLA unless I just want to look at it on a shelf. Probably safe to say that electronics (meters and shutter speeds if electronic) are the achilles heel of a most old AE type cameras but that is not to say that they aren't worth buying. At the right price with an additional tune-up by a pro you could still have a lovely camera on your hands. My OM2 series Olympus' and Yashica Electro GX cameras are a few that spring to mind and some which I don't regret spending money on CLA's.
ssmc
Well-known
My only eBay camera so far has been a Fuji GA645 that turned out to be even better than the pictures showed - in near-mint condition - so it's not that old to begin with. The electronic shot counter showed it only had <30 rolls through it when I got it so it's had little use. So I am one happy camper with this!
It was not an auction, though, it was a "buy it now" from a Tokyo camera store so I dunno if that still counts for the purpose of this poll.
It was not an auction, though, it was a "buy it now" from a Tokyo camera store so I dunno if that still counts for the purpose of this poll.
n5jrn
Well-known
Bought a Pentax MX off eBay for a fairly good price a number of years ago which "worked" well enough to take pictures but which I sent in for a CLA anyhow (because listing did not mention it having such). When I had the CLA done, the tech mentioned that the shutter had been off on high speeds and that he had adjusted things so it was no longer an issue, which sounded (to me) like it was a common problem in a camera that hasn't had a CLA for a while and something that should not trouble me further. So I didn't worry.
Well, it keeps coming back to haunt me every few years. Sometimes the symptom manifests itself as a shutter curtain changing speed during an exposure (which causes part of the shot to be darker). Which looks from the last roll I shot as if it might be starting to happen again. Grrrrr. A camera should be able to go longer than that between servicing.
Haven't had issues with the Olympus XA I bought off eBay, other than it gradually getting so dirty as I carried with me regularly that the finder now seriously needs cleaning.
Well, it keeps coming back to haunt me every few years. Sometimes the symptom manifests itself as a shutter curtain changing speed during an exposure (which causes part of the shot to be darker). Which looks from the last roll I shot as if it might be starting to happen again. Grrrrr. A camera should be able to go longer than that between servicing.
Haven't had issues with the Olympus XA I bought off eBay, other than it gradually getting so dirty as I carried with me regularly that the finder now seriously needs cleaning.
RFluhver
Well-known
Yep, mine certainly did. It was an M2 from Popflash, and also my first ever Leica. Worked perfectly. Problem was, back then I had not much money so it was another 4-6 months, I think from memory, before I managed to buy a lens!
Mr_Flibble
In Tabulas Argenteas Refero
Last camera I bought didn't, but then again I only bought it at that price because it didn't.
It was a Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex III, needed a new spring in the Compur-Rapid shutter and the film advance mechanism was stuck with dried grease. Need to verify the focus before I'll put some film through it.
Hans Kerensky is going to help me out with that
It was a Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex III, needed a new spring in the Compur-Rapid shutter and the film advance mechanism was stuck with dried grease. Need to verify the focus before I'll put some film through it.
Hans Kerensky is going to help me out with that
karlori
Digital Refugee
Latest Pentax MX came with dead electronics and a fogged mirror. Pictures shown and immaculate mirror and a nice camera.
It will be on it's way back tomorrow morning...
It will be on it's way back tomorrow morning...
scorpius73
Well-known
All of the camera's I have bought from eBay have worked right out of the box. Call me lucky. I sold a Nikon D200 on eBay. It was my personal camera. I never abused it. I checked everything before selling it. Nothing was broken. The winner of the camera stated that I sent him a D200 with a broken battery holder in the vertical grip. I tried to email him and ask questions. He would never answer back. I think he didnt know what he was doing and broke it himself. Needless to say. I banned him from my future auctions.
Im still a little salty over that.
Im still a little salty over that.