terpfan wrote:
I have always purchased new from B&H. I'm considering a used Fuji 50-140 from either B&H or KEH. I have sold used equipment to KEH and been happy with them. Would I be better off buying used from KEH or B&H? Is there a rating level I should stay above? Is excellent OK for KEH or should I stick with Excellent + or better? Same for B&H 9 or 9+ or better? Or should I just bite the bullet and buy new? Thanks in advance for your replies.
Over the years I've bought used from both B&H and KEH (as well as a number of others)...
In my experience, there is little difference between the two stores. Both are EXCELLENT in terms of customer service, care in shipping, etc. They also both are conservative in their condition ratings... things are usually better than I expected.
So if you find the same item in similar condition at both, maybe just consider differences in price and warranty.
Finally, does Fuji have a factory outlet online where they offer refurbished items? I don't know because I don't shoot with modern Fuji gear (used some of their large format lenses back when I was shooting film).
The reason I ask is because Canon USA now sells refurbished gear direct via their website (they used to offer it through their largest authorized dealers such as B&H and Adorama). Stuff comes and goes there rapidly, but on more than one occasion I've seen refurbished items selling for less than used items at the retailer websites. Also Canon's warranty for their refurbished is same as new. (Nikon also now sells their refurbs direct, but doesn't offer as good warranty.)
So it might be worth investigating... Not that there is anything wrong with either B&H or KEH. Both are among the very best sources of used gear.
When it comes to rating levels... I steer clear of "poor" or "as is, no warranty" and certainly away from "parts only" rated gear! So long as the optics and functions are all good, I don't mind a little cosmetic stuff. After all, I'm going to be using the gear myself and will be putting some wear and tear on it.
I will buy the "newest" looking when there's not too big difference in price, simply because that suggests "low mileage" on the gear and/or it was given reasonably good care.
I always inspect thing carefully myself as soon as I receive it. I'm pretty sure both those stores have 14 day right of return, no questions asked, if dissatisfied in any way.
BARRY COWAN wrote:
...Nikon USA will not touch gray market regardless of where you go it...
This is no longer true of Nikon USA. They
will repair gray market items now... No warranty, of course, so it will be at the customer's expense.
However, not to worry.... Nikon USA has other restrictive policies in place regarding repairs. For one, they discontinued all their "authorized repairer agreements" a couple years ago. There were 15 or 20 of those, in addition to Nikon's own two or three USA repair facilities. Now there are only those Nikon facilities. Another policy that effects repair greatly is Nikon won't sell most parts to the public or independent repair shops. Online there's a relatively short list of mostly cosmetic, external parts such as replacement rubber grips, replacement battery covers and similar that they do offer... fewer than 100 items total. But between all the Nikon cameras and lenses, there are probably tens of thousands of parts that you cant purchase to make a repair, even if you are a trained person working in a shop. Citing a concern about maintaining repair quality, Nikon essentially does their best to monopolize the repair of their modern products, whether under warranty or not.
Don't know how Fuji compares... or doesn't.