buying hassy gear on ebay

[david_rothchild]

I have no experience with this, I usually buy very inexpensive items from

ebay, and usually from "power sellers" or people who sell large quantities and

have good feedback. However, I've noticed some good hassy gear being sold by

individuals with no feedback, who have never sold anything. Hereﾒs an example

from a recent auction:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hasselblad-205-FCC-Body-110-FE-Lens-E12-

Back_W0QQitemZ330011523441QQihZ014QQcategoryZ3351QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZV

iewItem

 

 

The pictures are good, showing good clean equipment, and I'm wondering if

anyone has any advice about buying items like this. How risky is this? It

could be people like me trying to sell their cameras, I don't have any feed

back and have never sold anything on there myself, but my camera equipment is

immaculate and would be a great purchase for someone looking to buy.

 

Thanks for your advice,

[david_rothchild]

sorry, the hyperlink did not work,

 

try this one:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hasselblad-205-FCC-Body-110-FE-Lens-E12-Back_W0QQitemZ330011523441QQihZ014QQcategoryZ3351QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[mflorey]

Hello David

I've bought quite a bit of Hassy equipment on Ebay and I've not been disappointed. However be careful of the seller with few or no feedbacks particularly if they're in Eastern Europe. That is where more than one scam has originated involving high-end photo gear. Just remember the old saw "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is".

Mike

[William Kahn]

Very risky. Seller is (allegedly) in the UK, not registered with eBay, no track record. Also, the photos don't show diddly squat about the quality of the gear. Pricewise, it looks attractive, but scams usually do. I'd pass.....

[leicaglow]

I've bought lots of stuff that looked great and rated very high from a condition standpoint, only to have to put money into a good CLA. I bought a 80mm (Compur type) from one of the bigger sellers, and was basically told to go fly a kite when I got the lens and 1 second was about 12 seconds exposure. It was fine after the CLA and $125 later, but the rating was way off.

 

Actually, I find as good of deals at my local shops for used equipment.

[db1]

I would avoid this seller.

 

Also, ask for the serial numbers and for a photo of the camera on todays newspaper. Chances are, you won't get either.

[gary_ferguson1]

David, be careful and follow a few simple rules (such as requesting a photo on today's

newspaper) and you can get some great bargains. But it's just a fact of Ebay life that the

lower the feedback the higher the risk.

 

However, current Ebay problems aren't limited to the actual auction transaction itself. In

the past fortnight I've received two very authentic looking "spoof" emails. One was a

supposed "second chance" offer (if you're not familiar with Ebay procedure this is where

you failed to win an item but the winning bidder didn't complete the purchase for

whatever reason, so the seller offers it back to you at your original bid price), the second

"spoof" email purportedly came direct from Ebay to validate some account details and

requested bank details.

[BrianS1664879711]

I can't believe that there were actually 31 bids on this item. Maybe it is a legit person who just happens to be new, but why conceal the identity of bidders? I've heard that sometimes this is done to facilitate shill bidding. I'd be suspicious... and besides, there are lots more Hassy's available so keep looking.

[nolan_ross]

Ebay is a buyer beware type thing. The shoppers are people looking for something that is to good to be true. You are already set up to be a victim because you are there for the super special deal. It does happen and so does the super special rip off. You have little help if you become a victim. Try and contact someone on ebay and see how far that gets you. My advice is purchase at a reputable dealer either locally or someplace like KEH.com. Keep ebay for items less than a $100.00 dollars....Consider shipping cost if you need to return your defective item and the refund policy.....Nolan

[stephen_kruft]

I would not take the risk in those circumstances. This being said, I have never had a problem with camera equipment that I have bought on eBay, including Hasselblad.

[stp]

Personally, I stick with photo.net and fred miranda for buying and selling, and I've

never had a problem over about 5 years.

[v_m_laitinen]

Personally I don't buy anything worth more than 100USD from a seller with feedback below 100. If item can be picked up and checked before paying then it is a different matter.

 

Member Profile: ceryuings (0)

No longer a registered user

[david_henderson]

I've bought ( and sold) medium format equipment on eBay and my experience has been very positive. Mostly, what I've bought has been at least up to the expectations created by the sellers comments, and on balance I've had an equivalent experience buying this way than from used MF dealers.

 

Like others I'm suspicious of low (or most especially no) feedback; of sellers indicating great quality when they have little track record of selling photo.gear ( how do they know??); of sellers who choose to make their feedback private( not a good sign, that); and of business sellers with low or no feedback (makes me think they've changed their identity). If the seller/buyer has any neutral or negative feedback then I will explore those circumstances including forming a view on the people who left the negative. Quite a bit of the negative feedback on ebay is undeserved -retaliatory or left by people with stupidly unrealistic expectations. On balance if I explore these things I can usually form a view that satisfies me. If I'm in doubt then I may well fire a question at them to see both how long it takes them to reply and whether their response indicates sufficient knowledge to give their descriptions credibility.

 

Beware of percentages. A frequent seller with 5000 transactions and say 98% positive has p----d off 100 customers. You can bet that some of that will be real problems. On the other hand someone with 10 transactions and 90% feedback has upset only one person and this -whilst demanding scrutiny- may not be justified or relevent.

 

Also, I do quite often ask if I can meet up and pay cash rather than have items posted. I may not actually want to do that, but I reckon that if someone is prepared to meet me and have me cast an eye over the goods before paying then they're more likely to be straight. Easier in the UK, I know.

[paulhu54]

STAY AWAY!!! Some points to consider: 1. Seller has ZERO feedback(not purchasing or selling experience with ebay) 2. Seller is not a registered ebay user(no protection from ebay) 3. Seller has no other items for sale, except this one time sale of this professional grade camera 4. Seller is overseas(out of US jurisdiction).

[jkhansen]

I have not looked at the item you are considering, but I will share my experiences. I have

bought two things on EBay worth a few hundred dollars - one was a Bronica with lens and

accessories, and one was a sculpture. The Bronica seller swore that the camera spent its

life on a tripod in a studio and was in immaculate condition. The pictures seemed to

confirm this. He had little feedback, but it was positive. He was very responsive to my

questions and even went out of his way to hand write some instructions for me because

the manual was missing. I got the camera, and it had all kinds of problems with the

shutter, the lens, and one back. I spent another couple hundred getting it fixed. I had an

equally bum experience with the scuplture, but I'll spare you the details as this is not the

place to discuss art (but of course, photography IS an art). Bottom line for me is that I'll

never buy a high ticket item on EBay again, regardless of the feedback.

[jay_miao1]

Very suspicious. "Stay Away!" is the only answer to this particular item on the bay no matter how great the deal is.

[jean-louis llech]

Irrespective of the feedback - to which I pay a great attention - there is something else which helps me to decide of the credibility of a seller : the informations the seller gives on a camera, a lens or an accessory. But first and foremost the number, quality and size of pictures which are on line.<br>

When the pictures are too small, or blurry, or when <u>all sides</u> of a camera, or the front and rear elements of a lens are not presented, I stay away.<br>

The transparency of an item sold on ebay is binary : either the seller has nothing to hide, (and he is not bothered to publish 6 to 12 large pictures), or, if I see only a "group picture", or two or three small ones (like this 205FCC), I "go my way".<br>

Most of the time, I prefer the sellers who propose a few months of warranty and a delay to give the item back. They have nothing to fear about the items they sell.<br>

I bought several cameras and lenses by a "half-professional" seller, and I was never unsatisfied.<br>

Once, I had a problem with a lens, I returned it to the seller. he lens was quickly repaired and I received it a few weeks later. The seller paid all shipping costs, and the lens works nice since that. A great seller, and I am totally confident.<br>

[v_m_laitinen]

I wonder if this is same person: items 160019616070, 260016140213, 260019411169. Common factors: Hasselblad, zero feedback, UK.