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Anyone done evilpay trading with offshore sellers? (looking to buy a SQ-A or SQ-Ai)


john_newman3

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<p>Good day gents</p>

<p>(Long-winded run-up to a simple question, please consider it as my introduction to this Forum)</p>

<p>I have been stalking this (and other) film photography forums for quite a while now. I'm on the west coast of BC (Canada) and have caved in to the "pull" of going back to film photography... I'm purely an amateur photographer, work in the field of Software Engineering, and am sick & tired of the Pixel Race and the latest flavour / gadget of the moment (dealing with it on a daily basis at work, thank you very much).</p>

<p>I had a lot of fun in Medium Format back in the early 1980s when I accidentally discovered how much difference the negative size can make - someone GAVE me a Yashica Mat-124G and for giggles I put a couple of rolls throughit, developed and printed a few 8X10s (had a complete darkroom setup back then). Compared to my not-too shabby 35mm setup the gifted Yashica was miles ahead in image quality. So.... Fast forward to 2016, I already started assembling the basics of a darkroom again (bought a Omega B600 for $20 at a local community store about 5 years ago, and not realizing that the B600 will do 6X6 I then also recently bought an older B22 plus enough other B22 bits & pieces to have a fully complete and functioning Omega B22 now too. Oh well, I like the retro look of the B22 better).</p>

<p>So... I now want to buy a Bronica SQ-A/Ai or perhaps a -B setup. Suffice to say, lots of research & reading many heated arguments between the main MF SLR brand supporters etc took place. I am looking at Ebay as a potential source for a MF setup. I have done a lot of trading with Ebay sellers in the US & Canada, Australia (can take 2 months before the item arrives from Oz though!), the UK & Europe etc - but never with sellers in the Far East. Do anyone have any experience with traders in Japan etc - and what shipping times are like? I don't really want to use international courier companies, as shipping cost can very quickly double the price of the item I'm buying (it's happened to me). There are some interesting / very hard to get items available from sellers in Japan at times.</p>

<p>All opinions welcome and thank you in advance<br /> -- JN</p>

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<p>I've bought stuff from e-bayers from all over the world. I find the Japanese traders to be very meticulous in their product descriptions. They're very good in making sure that all the i's are dotted and all the t's are crossed. I would have no problem buying from Japanese sellers.</p>

<p>I've consistently had problems with Chinese sellers. They don't pay attention to what they're doing. They send the wrong product or the wrong size or the wrong this or that. It's constant aggravation, so I avoid Chinese sellers like a plague, but everyone else is ok for the most part.</p>

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<p>Ditto on Japanese eBay sellers, or rather one seller from whom I have bought MF Mamiya 6 cameras and optics (I would have to go back on the Bay to find his name), each time the description of mint or mint - was at least that, both cosmetically and functionally, and the price including shipping at least competitive or more so than most NA sources. I buy only from those with 99.9% or 100% positive ratings.</p>

<p>Makes sense from one aspect - there are or were many Japanese MF cameras in Japan or the East, possibly more than here.</p>

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<p>I bought small Chinese goodies via friends who have Paypal and plastic money on eBay from Hong Kong. (ptical flash slaves and heritage lens to x-mount adapters.<br>

I'm quite happy and content. - Stuff arrived and worked. - Those tiny items are usually listed with shipping included. No surprises beyond "Wow how is this possible at all?"</p>

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Yeah, I'll echo some of the other posters regarding buying from China. I've purchased small, extremely inexpensive items

successfully, but the one time I purchased a lens it arrived broken. The seller was wiling to take it back, but the return

shipping would have cost about half of the price of the lens itself. So be careful.

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<p>I am located in the UK and buy regularly from here and Germany, and also, when it makes economic sense with shipping charges, from the former Soviet Union, the USA, Japan and China. Experience has been probably around 99% positive, all cases of dispute have been resolved through eBay/PayPal. The worst service was with a US seller – a "4x5" Crown graphic "fully checked by our technician" turned out to be a 3 x 4 – dealt with by partial refund.<br>

A few years ago, when international sales were just starting to be popular, there was a clear tendency among certain sellers to feel that they could get away with murder – these have now learned the hard way that this is not true. Chinese suppliers offering adapters and other gadgets are particularly valuable, their prices are unbelievably low, in cases of dispute they are more than likely to make a refund but tell you not to bother returning the item.</p>

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<blockquote>

<p>Chinese suppliers offering adapters and other gadgets are particularly valuable, their prices are unbelievably low, in cases of dispute they are more than likely to make a refund but tell you not to bother returning the item.</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>That's true, except when they send you a replacement adapter, it's going to be the wrong type.</p>

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Hi,

I recently purchased several Bronica cameras and lenses from sellers in Japan. The prices were not cheap but the

lenses were near mint as were the bodies. I don't know where they are getting all this Bronica stuff from but it's like going

back into time to buy one almost new. I received my items in less than 10 days, one lens came in 5. All packed perfectly.

I received some in boxes and instruction books (too bad they were in Japanese). I am very happy with my purchases

from these sellers on EBay. BUT... read the fine print, not everything is perfect. They often offer a killer lens on a body that

has a problem. Examine the. Erred rer. R add, ask the seller questions, most will answer in less than 12 hrs. If they don't buy it from

someone else.

Rick.

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<p>@OP</p>

<p>I realize that Bronica is widely available (and quite reasonable), but I'm hoping that you have a good place to take/send if something goes ker-plunk. Well, that would be (at least for me) a larger concern than purchasing the item/s.</p>

<p>I keep hearing about good results by getting items from Japan. </p>

<p>Les</p>

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<p>@Rick Jack: I noticed the same in regards to gear from Japanese sellers. Either Japanese photographers are very meticulous about keeping their gear neat an clean, OR there are still NOS available to sellers in Japan. I have seen some VERY cruddy and dirty-looking stuff on Ebay recently - one that was memorable in a bad way was a Mamiya C330 that looked like it was left outside in the sun and rain for a couple of months.</p>

<p>@Leszek Vogt: I did end up buying a Bronica (someone's kit - included a few lenses and a whole bunch of other accessories) but right to the end I had an internal struggle on the Age Old Question - no, not if there really is a God, but if I should rather go the Hasselblad path. The way I see it is that I inherited a lot of stuff from my dad (who was also an amateur photographer), including a 70 -year old Voigtlander 6X7 view camera (not sure how to describe it) - which is still working perfectly fine. My old Pentax ME Super that I bought in the early 1980s also still works great (including the battery that I replaced 8 or 10 years ago), and so does my first camera I ever bought - a Pentax Spotmatic (the old stop-down metering one) in the early 1970s. So... it would have been fantastic to own a Hassy but.... I have seen enough images done on Bronicas over at the Bronica sub-forum @ Flickr to be firmly convinced that I still have a LONG way to go and much to learn - my problem is NOT the equipment! :D </p>

<p>I expect anything can or will go "ker-plunk" :) sooner or later. I very much expect my Canon 7D or any of the AF lenses I own to fail any moment, considering the amount of electronics in it - but I somehow have a feeling that the Bronica will end up outliving the 7D! FTM, it will probably outlive Yours Truly - I'm on the wrong side of 60 already, if I get 10 years out of the Bronica (or myself) I'll be ecstatic and die a happy man (thinking about my family AND the happy moments I captured using it).</p>

<p>-- John</p>

 

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<p>Hi,<br>

I agree with John " anything can or will go ker-plunk". Bronica equipment was fairly well made and if taken care of should almost last as long as 120 film or it's batteries do. The nice thing about the newer Bronica cameras, ETRS, SQ-A, GS-1 is they are very cheap. If something breaks it's cheaper to buy the module that gave way. I collect the older Bronica's, the good stuff is not cheap and while it can be repaired it is costly. Parts for the newer Bronica camera's are still available (but will eventually run out). There are adapters for a digital back for the SQ series, providing you want to break your piggy bank.<br>

Buy what you want. Most sales on Ebay are covered for at least 30 days. When you get your camera give it a workout and if not satisfied return it. Don't buy a "AS-IS" or from someone who will not accept a return. (this holds true for anything). You usually get what you pay for as well.<br>

regards,<br>

Rick</p>

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<p>I recently bought a 45 degree prism from a Japanese seller, described as being for my Bronica S2a. However when it arrived within a week's time it was apparent that no way was it going to mount on my camera body. The seller was willing to take it back with full refund, including my return shipping cost.Other than that, all my ebay trading has been within the US and Canada except for a Ukrainian Fed. As ebay's policies with sellers requires them to live up to every word in the description, I would have no worries regarding any future overseas purchases.</p>
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<p>Almost every thing I currently use I got from eBay and most of that from US sellers ( I am in Australia ) TBH I have never had a problem. Just keep in mind that is something sounds to good to be true then it probably is not.<br>

Do not know why it would take you so long to get items from AU, nothing I have sent to the US or the UK has ever taken that long. I get some things from the US in less than a week. </p>

<p>Bronica SQ. Great cameras, a few tips.<br>

Do not get a "B" they were the student releases and only had basic functions, the latest is the SQ-Ai and this is the body you should look for, with the SQ-Ai you can also use an SCA flash adapter to control a flash with SCA interface such as a Metz CL45, I used this set up for many years and it is amazing.<br>

The SQ-A is an older body and does not have SCA interface.<br>

Only get the PS lenses and not the S lenses, the S lenses are good but the PS are the best and in terms of sharpness are just as good as Hassleblad. </p>

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<p>A few points on eBay and Bronica , where I used SQ-Ai/SQ-B and a bagful of lenses as my main camera for more than a decade.</p>

<p>First I think Mr Newman is taking a very optimistic view of Bronica's reliability. They may last a long time, but that's not the same as saying they are always trouble free. They are the product of an era when cameras were made to need servicing, yet many of the Bronicas still around haven't seen the inside of a service shop for a very long time. It might well require attention to keep them going for the time you mention. I've had a lot fewer problems with todays dslrs than I had with Bronicas , though I liked the results and functionality of the cameras well enough to persevere. It makes sense to seek out a place that can fix them.</p>

<p>And just because Bronicas are now a cheap camera doesn't mean they're cheap or easy to fix. Indeed it is very often the case that its cheaper and faster to replace a component such as a back or body or prism or speedgrip rather than try to get them fixed. </p>

<p>The SQ-B does have a slightly reduced functionality vs the SQ-Ai, but not in any sense that I found important. If you don't use a metered prism finder its pretty much the same. Similarly the S lenses do have their uses. For example the 50mm S uses the same filter thread as the longer lenses in the range (67mm). The PS 50mm doesn't. And that 50mm doesn't seem different from the PS lenses in terms of performance- though the longer focal lengths seem to shop a performance improvement PS vs S.</p>

<p>Finally I sold all my Bronica gear on eBay with a caveat that I'd sell only to buyers in the UK. And I bought a few lenses and a body from UK sellers too. When selling I always preferred to control the cost and timescale of delivery, and formed a view, right or wrong, that you get less problems buying or selling with people that you can meet if appropriate. I did on a few occasions meet sellers so I could inspect items and pay in cash if happy. On balance I'd say that I had fewer problems with items bought that way that with things I got from used camera dealers. </p>

<p> </p>

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<p>All points noted, thank you all. David, TBH i got so nervous about the longevity of "mechanical" cameras in general (as opposed to the modern DSLR) that I looked around and found a virtually brand-new SQ-A body from KEH (it was advertised as "almost like-new" but I cannot find any sign that it's ever been used - no tell-tale scratches around the film back mounting slots, the leatherette is perfect - looks like it came out of the factory yesterday). Perversely and very ironically, the outfit I bought was from an Australian seller was delivered 6 days after being mailed in Aus. - and yet another item (metering prism) I bought around the same time from an American seller still has not turned up at all.</p>

<p>So... I withdraw everything I said about slow mail between Australia and North America, it seems like there is absolutely no hard rule.</p>

<p>Further to David's comments about the longevity of Bronica - Judging from the other gear included by the seller with my purchase I would have to guess that the previous owner was a Professional. The body (SQ-A as well) has seen some hard use judging by the cosmetic condition but it works absolutely flawlessly, fires every time, shutters on the 3 different lenses it came with works great, the shutter timing unit built into the body seems 100% accurate, everything in the manual works as advertised. I would furthermore then guess that the original owner had his gear serviced regularly, although I can't see evidence that the body was ever disassembled at all. The outfit came with 4 different film backs, (2 6X6 + 2 6X4.5) and I'm busy running some "cheap" film through it to see if any has light leaks (which I understand can be an issue as well).</p>

<p>Mark, thank you for the tips. I read just about everything I could lay my hands on in regards to the whole Bronica series (well at least the "SQ" 6X6 versions made after the old S/S2) and my impression was that the "B" model was really developed for Studio use, where hand-held light meters are used for the most part and the added cost of the AE circuitry was neither needed nor wanted... So I would assume that a SQ-B **should** theoretically be as reliable as a SQ-Ai, at least mechanically. The metal-bodied SQ series (SQ, SQ-A, SQ-AM) IMHO are a bit annoying in that you need to treat it a bit more carefully in order to preserve the cosmetic appearance - something I'm big on, but the average Pro would probably just shrug and laugh. I can't help wondering if the old Hasselblad 500 series were also prone to showing its age if it was "somewhat roughly" treated over a period of years.</p>

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  • 2 weeks later...

<p>John<br>

I hope you enjoy the camera, in there day they were a true contender and sure did give Hassleblad a run. <br>

The SQ-B was in fact a student release and priced accordingly, they are mechanically just as reliable as the SQ-A but the SQ-Ai did have a few upgrades both mechanical and electrical. <br>

The SQ-AM is the least reliable due to the motor film wind being built in and this is what would fail most of the time. <br>

Yes you can still find some very nice examples of these cameras, I still have a brand new SQ-Ai body, 80mm PS lens and film back my self that was apart of my spares from when I was doing weddings, all brand new in boxes ( sorry not for sale ) , I do not use a Bronica anymore my self as I am no longer a working professional and for what I like to do I would rather 6x9 rangefinders or large format now.<br>

In the last 2 years I have sold 3 pelican cases full of SQ gear and I get the feeling I am going to regret it in some way, but I had way to much stuff that I was just not using, I had 15 or so lenses, 30 odd film backs and 8 bodies not to mention view finders and grips and other miscellaneous bits of kit. Alot of it I bought new from around 1998 to 2004 when Bronica closed down. New price for it all would have been well over $150K , just one lens I got in 2001 cost me $19K ( PS500 ) unfortunately that lens and a lot of other gear ( my self included ) was smashed in a car crash in 2007.<br>

Hassleblads as good as they are were certainly not immune to age anymore or less than any camera and they were certainly not indestructible. </p>

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

<p>A last shot on the subject: I ordered and paid for a Bronica waist level view finder from a gentleman in Kasugai-shi, Japan on Friday evening. This afternoon (the following Wednesday, 4 1/2 days later) the item was delivered in my hands. I don't think a courier service was involved at all and the postage was no higher than what North American sellers tend to charge. The WLF itself looks like it is brand-new.<br>

So... Thank you very much for the great advice!<br>

-- Sixbysix</p>

 

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<p>Mark Tate:</p>

<p>Thank you for correcting me there. I would have loved to sit down and have a good chat about Bronica gear. At the risk of turning this thread into something else entirely: Back in the late 70s / early 80s when I was fresh out of college, I could hardly afford a 2nd hand Yashica 124G TLR I bought from a friend. I somehow recall glossy Bronica adverts in the photog. magazines of the time (my memory is probably playing tricks on me - was David Bailey using Bronica gear back then?) over which I could merely drool, dream and covet ... And now fast-forward to today, much older but absolutely no wiser at all, have some spare cash at hand and I find it very hard to NOT respond to eBay auctions where gear that was impossible for me to afford back then, is now going for a song!</p>

<p>So... I'm sort of in a Reverse Situation than you, actually - I'm beginning to think that I am going to need a Pelican case or two soon, unless I can manage to exercise some self-discipline... </p>

<p>-- JN</p>

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