Buying gear on ebay from seller in Japan: Hi everyone. I am a nikon shooter, have had very good luck buying used (but well cared for) gear, occasionally shop on ebay, but have never...

rjandreoff Loc: Hawaii

Hi everyone. I am a nikon shooter, have had very good luck buying used (but well cared for) gear, occasionally shop on ebay, but have never bought anything on ebay. Several well reviewed sellers from Japan are selling gear at very good prices. My first reaction is no thanks, not worth the service support challenges with owning gray market. However....??? Has anyone been here and done that? Thanks Rod

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

rjandreoff wrote:

Hi everyone. I am a nikon shooter, have had very good luck buying used (but well cared for) gear, occasionally shop on ebay, but have never bought anything on ebay. Several well reviewed sellers from Japan are selling gear at very good prices. My first reaction is no thanks, not worth the service support challenges with owning gray market. However....??? Has anyone been here and done that? Thanks Rod

I have done that many times and never had any issues of any kind! About a dozen years ago or somewhere in that time span, I did buy a lens for $48 dollars. It was in pristine shape and it is now one of the best lenses that I own!

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

I have purchased from ebay sellers in japan on several occasions with no problem and the shipping while a touch pricey ($25.00-$30.00 for each lens) is surprisingly fast.
I only go with sellers with thousands of transactions and 99.6% posotive feedback.

Kuzano

BassmanBruce wrote:

I have purchased from ebay sellers in japan on several occasions with no problem and the shipping while a touch pricey ($25.00-$30.00 for each lens) is surprisingly fast.
I only go with sellers with thousands of transactions and 99.6% posotive feedback.

I am with you on the 99.6% positive feedback, and in addition a minimum of 100 feedbacks spread evenly over a period of time from the sellers first join date to current. More is better of course.

No problems with Japan. I have purchased a number of Fujica and Fujifilm Medium Format various 690 format camera's. They were used heavily in the tourist industry, and almost all come from Japan now. That's why the Big Texas Leica's have a short roll choice on the film count... four, eight and sixteen shots.

Have been doing international eBay for close to 20 years.... No problems, no losses if you do your research and don't violate your own rules on feedback. My last four large format camera's went to Federation of Russia for that matter.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

I've purchased from sellers in Japan, China and the UK without any problems. Ditto what BassmanBruce says about seller ratings. And, if the product is grey market, and it needs service, well then, that justifies a trip to Japan.

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

I recently purchased older Nikon AIS lenses from Japan because I couldn't find anything here with the kind of quality that some of the Japanese sellers had. Good transactions and they came in as described.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I have purchased items on ebay from Japan, China, South Arica, Lithuania, and never had a problem. The seller's rating and negative reviews (if any) are the main things I look for, then a description of the item. The description has to describe the item and it's condition.

jcboy3

rjandreoff wrote:

Hi everyone. I am a nikon shooter, have had very good luck buying used (but well cared for) gear, occasionally shop on ebay, but have never bought anything on ebay. Several well reviewed sellers from Japan are selling gear at very good prices. My first reaction is no thanks, not worth the service support challenges with owning gray market. However....??? Has anyone been here and done that? Thanks Rod

If you have a problem and have to go through eBay or PayPal to get resolution, you must ship the item back with tracking. That can be pretty expensive. For some reason, it is very cheap to ship with tracking from Asia, but very expensive to ship back.

Note also that there is also a risk of poor environmental conditions, especially humidity, in a lot of areas in Asia. This is especially a concern for older equipment that could be showing signs of fungus.

And it can take a long time for items to ship.

I have bought from Asia, but usually hardware and not electronics or lenses, for these reasons.

Math78 Loc: Scottsdale, AZ

I've bought from eBay sellers in Japan, Hong Kong, Ukraine, Russia - all with no problems. The transaction is no different from a domestic seller. Shipping may take a little longer, but I have always been given a tracking number which starts in the country of origin and then switches to a USPS tracking number after the item clears customs. I once had a lens from Japan get hung up in LA customs for two weeks. But I also had a new Nikon lens from Hong Kong arrive in just 36 hrs. Note that there is no import duty unless you're spending thousands of dollars.

BlackRipleyDog

rjandreoff wrote:

Hi everyone. I am a nikon shooter, have had very good luck buying used (but well cared for) gear, occasionally shop on ebay, but have never bought anything on ebay. Several well reviewed sellers from Japan are selling gear at very good prices. My first reaction is no thanks, not worth the service support challenges with owning gray market. However....??? Has anyone been here and done that? Thanks Rod

I bought a 28-70 f2.8nikkor from Japan recently. When I received it there was a focus problem and requested a return. I sent it back and was going to receive a full refund including the return shipping. I worked out a swap for a Gen 1 Tamron 150-600 he had in his inventory and in hindsight it was a more useful lens for my needs. Quite pleased so far. I received a refund for the cost difference.
Generally speaking, used gear from Japan is of higher quality than that from here as they tend to take care of their gear better and those examples that do show up on the market reflect that. I also noticed that the guys doing this as a business also take better pictures of their items so it is easy see each item in minute detail. The only downside is the longer shipping times.

JeffinMass Loc: MA

Here is one of the issues with buying from a country other than your own. NikonUSA will not work on that product since it didn't go through them originally. You may be able to find other sources if it needs repair. Those other sources will know that it was not purchased in the overseas too. Others here on this site may have had success in purchasing through Japan or another country. Is the reason you are wanting to get it there is because of price or availability? Personally, and I have been in the photo industry for a long time, I would only purchase Nikon or Canon USA product. Just sayin.

classic320

I've bought several (used) expensive lens from eBay vendors in Japan and Korea without any issues, and would not hesitate to do so again. Mostly the vendors are retailers who make a business of reselling lens, unlike many domestic sellers who are sometimes people who inherited, or pawn stores, or yard sale sourced and know little about what they are selling.

BlackRipleyDog

JeffinMass wrote:

Here is one of the issues with buying from a count... (show quote)

I tend to agree with you particularly with items that are technically complex such as bodies and lens that have Af-S and VR systems onboard. I have purchased older Af-D lens from overseas with few qualms. That being said, if you do purchase something in that category and something is amiss, utilize your return privileges promptly.

dragonfist Loc: Stafford, N.Y.

I would caution you to be sure when you check their ratings that it is seller ratings and not buyer ratings. It is easy to get confused if you aren't familiar with the system. Buyer ratings don't mean anything unless you are a seller.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

rjandreoff wrote:

Hi everyone. I am a nikon shooter, have had very good luck buying used (but well cared for) gear, occasionally shop on ebay, but have never bought anything on ebay. Several well reviewed sellers from Japan are selling gear at very good prices. My first reaction is no thanks, not worth the service support challenges with owning gray market. However....??? Has anyone been here and done that? Thanks Rod

I have bought most of my Zeiss manual focus Nikon lenses from them, I have also bought a Nikon 200 mm micro from them and resold it for more than I paid for it. If it is MINT, used, or refurbished, and you are not happy in any way with the product Ebay protects you and you can get your money back. I have, over the years, bought more than 20 Nikon, Zeiss, and Minolta AF lenses from Japan and have been happy with it all. Again, ebay protects you, also look at the seller's ratings and read some of them before you buy.