"Bargain" description in KEH

Hello everyone,

I was looking at a Nikkor 28-50mm f3.5 at KEH. They have one

in "Bargain" condition at a pretty decent price. From those who have

purchased equipment from them, what exactly is "bargain". They have

a description, but I would like to hear from actual consumers. Thank

you for your help.

jc

I bought a bargain condition FE2 from them for a great price. It performs as it

should and doesn't have any dings or dents. I'm impressed. I also bought

some prime lenses in EX condition that were nearly flawless to my eye. I think

you can trust them. They also have a return policy if the lens doesn't meet

your standards.

I bought a 105mm and a 35mm, both in bargain condition. The 105mm is nearly flawless to my eye, just a little bit of brassing on the focus ring (non-ai). The glass is perfect, as are all functions. The 35mm is more of what I expected as bargain condition, heavily brassed focus ring, but the glass was also perfect. The best thing about KEH is their return policy-two weeks of no-questions asked, you can't go wrong.

Thanks for your responses everyone. It really helps a lot to hear from people who have used them to purchase things.

jc

"Bargain" is the highest KEH rating I ever look for.

 

:)=

I copied this out of another forum where I addressed the same question earlier:

<p>

Well, it varies quite a bit, but even the 'scruffy' is fine by

me. The 105/1.8

I bought last Christmas for $265 is well-used. The glass is

fine, the aperture

mechanism is fine. The paint is well scratched, but all

markings are legible.

The edge of the lens hood is 'brassing' (steeling?). The lens mount is well

worn, showing brass under the plating, doesn't hold a lens cap well. The focus

action is somewhat loose/smooth (didn't notice this until my second arrived) and

the rubber in the focus ring is not glued down well, wiggles around a little.

In short, this lens appears to have been a 'daily driver' for a working pro.

<p>

In contrast, the 105/1.8 I just bought for $225 is somebody's closet queen. I

have no idea why KEH graded it BGN, it looks EXC to me. The focus ring on this

is beautifully damped and viscous, probably the way it was intended new. Glass

is of course unmarked. If the paint has a mark on it, it's below my level of

detectability.

<p>

The 35/1.4 I bought last fall (my database says $315, that includes buying the

HN-3) is 'in between' in condition. Glass is flawless, paint and mount are in

great shape. Aperture ring has the same 'stiffness' problem as the other copy

I've owned new since 1984. I think these get a little 'out of round' from use;

perhaps they can be lubed, now that I have two I might rotate them in for

service. Mike Kovacs has seen this lens and thinks the aperture is a little on

the sluggish side. I disagree, it's one of those 'judgement call' things. It

passes my 'look through the back of a camera for leaf movement' test; both at 5

frames a second on an F3 as well as at much slower shutter speeds. I have not

seen an exposure problem with this lens.

<p>

<p>

Last time I checked, KEH still had 14 days 'no questions asked' return policy,

but you eat the shipping both ways. Actually, they do ask 'why', but I think

that's more in the nature of ascertaining what's wrong with their grading or the

equipment; they're probably on guard against people 'renting' big glass in an

unorthodox way as well.

One of these days I'm gonna buy a BGN 35/1.4 from KEH! There's one on there now for only $275. What I've seen of Todd's stuff looks plenty clean for me. A BGN 85/1.4 also looks pretty attractive at $379...something I'd love to have for available light portraiture. (and man what a sexy-looking front element)

 

I remember the 35/1.4 that Todd mentioned would stick if I actuated the stopdown lever with my finger from fully stopped down. I'd be paranoid about overexposing my slides with such a lens sooner or later even if it stops down OK on the body. Admittedly, Todd is more of a wide open type of shooter (preferring his fast glass) which offsets this type of problem to some degree.

Jeremiah,

 

As was said above, it can vary, but I have purchased *many* bargain-rated itmes from KEH and in almost every instance, the item has been in much better condition than the term 'bargain' implies. I've purchased bargain lenses that look, to my eyes, virtually new.

 

The nice thing about doing business with KEH is that you always have a 14-day return option. I've found them very good to do business with.

Can anyone expand on the KEH return policy? This is, has anyone actually returned an

item that they weren't satisfied with? And if so, what was the response from KEH, and

did that return have any bearing on future purchases from KEH?

Carl -

 

I have returned items to KEH a couple of times. One was a foray into 'ugly' (I have been so satisfied with 'bargain', I figured I owed it to myself to see what the next notch down looked like) and another was a Tokina 400/5.6 that would not shoot sharp off a monopod for me. As it happened, both were at the same time. I got educated about 'ugly', that they are in fact in need of repair; KEH's intent is that if you buy the ugly, you're interested in repairing it yourself. I was out shipping both ways, but I did not think that was too much of a hassle.

 

This was three years ago, and I have bought much from them since. I think I've had other returns over the years, but I can't think of them now.

Thanks Todd, their reputation appears to be justified. Nothing like getting it from

those with the actual experience. :o)

Thanks again for your many responses - it does give me that sense of security regarding doing business with them. I've recently become very weary on internet purchases because I've just recently been majorly screwed from a seller here in this site. I've done transactions over the net before with absolutely no difficulties... until my last transaction! Lost $900.00US!!!

jc

Jeremiah,

 

Sorry to hear you were taken, but please be sure to post the offending party's name and your experience in the neighbor to neighbor section. No sense in letting the guy take someone else's money.

 

DZ

I bought a bargain 180 2.8 from KEH for a good price and it was as described - good glass, perfectly functioning, not-so-good cosmetics.

 

I bought a N8008, too, and had the same expeience - works perfectly, has some noticible cosmetic markings.

 

The "excellent" grade equipment I've bought is closer to "like new."

Dan,

Thanks for the suggestion. I just posted it a few minutes ago.

jc