Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

Has any one had experience with buying a nikon lens on ebay from international seller? it states pre-owned- near mint. but it's from Japan. The seller has a 99.6% rating. Comments welcome. Thanks in advance
Fran

Murray Loc: New Westminster

I bought a Canon G1 X from eBay - it came from China and is just fine.

mleuck

I have purchased many Nikon lenses from Japan. The Japanese Ebayers are highly professional, honest and are very accurate with their descriptions. I have never had an issue or problem with any lenses or the buying process. It usually takes about 4-5 days for the lens to arrive.

One other important fact...... Japanese photographers take very good care of their gear. A lens purchased in Japan is a great lens.

You should have no worries when buying from Jspan.

Kuzano

Seller is a Member Since when?
How many feedbacks total in that period of time.
Spread evenly over what period of time

These are pertinent. Hackers can build a palatable feedback rating in a short period of time. Yes, everybody has to get started sometime..... But not on my dime.

Minimum period of time on eBay two years
Minimum number of feedbacks, spread relatively evenly over that time-200. Positive feedback must exceed 99%, or I'm not bidding.

Nobody on eBay has the only one of any item, unless it's a son or daughter (which is illegal, even by eBay standards-You can't sell people on eBay.) No human trafficking!

Have been buying/selling on eBay close to 20 years now. Taught eBay at local Community College this last decade.

The most dishonest buyers and sellers are often right here in the good ole US of A.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

As much as the price may be better, I still do all my purchases from B&H.
I'm concerned that there have been many changes over the years regarding people selling on-line.
I'm sure there are still very reputable people out there, and I may be overly cautious, but I have reservations.

Ben's nana Loc: Chesterland, Ohio

FOLLOW UP: The seller has been with ebay since 2011, 1200 pos feedback, 3 nuetral, and 5 negative They do accept returns

seems pretty good I'm going to sleep on it
Fran

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Not seeing the info, for 5 out of 1200 they could be just grumpy people.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

I have friends who have bought vintage Nikon and Minolta manual lenses from eBay. Great prices too. Japanese sellers are suppose to be more trustworthy than American sellers, sadly to say. Autofocus lenses can also be purchased on eBay. Check seller reviews before buying though. Good luck.

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

Sound advice. I've bought dozens, maybe hundreds, of items, photographic and otherwise, on ebay for more than a decade. I've only been burned once and that was at least partly my own fault from lack of careful reading of the item description. It is silly to worry too much about it; just take reasonable precautions.

Andy

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

A while back I bought a new Canon 600 ex-rt flash from a reputable international seller on eBay for a good price. The flash unit worked fine but when I went to try some custom functions I noticed what was showing on the flash's screen didn't match the manual. One day I was reading on the Canon web site and came across a notice about counterfeit 600 ex-rt flashes. The notice listed the subtle physical differences between the real flash and the fake flash and sure enough, my flash matched the description of the fake flash. They did a good job copying the flash but it wasn't exact. I contacted eBay and they said to contact PayPal since that is how I paid for the flash. PayPal said I had the flash for too long for them to give me a full refund but they did reimburse about 80% of my money and told me to keep the flash. I put the money towards another 600 ex-rt unit that I bought from a Canon retail dealer.

The box and manual for the real unit are the same as the fake unit. Put the two units next to each other, unless you know what to look for, they are pretty much the same. I now only use the fake unit as a remote flash. I decided it's probably not a prudent idea to continue connecting the counterfeit flash to an expensive camera. The fake unit works fine as a remote.

trinhqthuan Loc: gaithersburg

I did twice all fine from Japan. Only buy near MINT.

J-SPEIGHT Loc: Akron, Ohio

I bought my 300 2.8 on ebay and no problems.

LXK0930 Loc: Souh Jersey

Over the years I have purchased many items (photo and other) on EBAY without major problems. However, I recently bought a new lens from China. A few days afterwards, I received a message from Ebay that the seller was no longer affiliated with Ebay. etc, etc. The lens never arrived, and Ebay immediately refunded my money. I then bought the lens again from a different seller. Same message from Ebay. I do not know if it will arrive, but Ebay will make good.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

My take on this, if you are buying a used lens in another country why take the risk? Very reputable stores in the camera business in this country sell used lenses and they give you a warranty. In the case of Roberts Camera you get a 6 months warranty on used lenses. I know Adorama, B&H and others also sell used lenses and you will never had an issue buying from them since they back up what they sell.

erickter Loc: Dallas,TX

Bought many lenses and other items for years on ebay. Ebay provides a near 100% buyer satisfaction guarantee. Very safe. Had one seller scam me. Ebay repaid me 100%.