A Bad Experience with KEH!!!

[golden]

I have been reading many threads about keh on here and there grading system, I

was wanting to puchase a 180mm lens for my rb, so I began my shopping on keh,

and there one was, bargain grade at a bargain price, i read about folks

having good luck with bargain grade lenses from them plus they have a good

return policy if i dont like it, so i thought i would take the chance, I

ordered the 180mm C bargain grade lens and i got it friday. I quickly

unwrapped the bubbles layer after layer eagerly anticipating what a bargain

grade lens looked like. needless to say i was devastated. as i examined the

bargain grade lens, first looking at the bargan grade barrel then peering

through the bargain grade glass, I soon realized my whole damn system was

bargain grade! I assumed that my rb body, my other three lenses were in very

good condition, but according to KEH, my system is but bargain grade. My ego

was shot. seriously folks, dont hesitate a moment about buying a bargain

grade lens from KEH, this lens i bought from them had about 2 little

scratches on the barrel, the glass was perfect as was the shutter. The only

way I will not do business with KEH? Sell them my gear. I dont think my ego

could take it....

[blakley]

:-)

 

They are the best.

[steve_larese1]

LOL, you got me John ;)

[bradleygibson]

Thanks, that's great to know, John.

 

I look forward to being devastated myself! :)

[golden]

lol

[jeffrypittman]

The are terrific. Must have bought 30+ items through them and all have been in better

condition than they graded them (and I thought I was critical). Unlike some of the other big

retailers who often disappoint. Great story John.

[antonio_garcia_russell]

Sorry to disagree - three bad experiences with KEH. Never again!!

[d_purdy]

I had a non perfect purchase from them as well. I bought a Rollei 90 degree prism off KEH

ebay and it was rated as in good condition and had near top dollar on it. When I got it, it

had unmentioned dents in the housing and unmentioned seperation in the prism. I kept it

and was able to repair the dents but the seperation is increasing pretty rapidly and is

visible in the view. But I think the company is quite large and probably they don't spend a

lot of time analyzing stuff and for the most part grade conservatively though on occassion

don't notice flaws. So I guess that makes me a KEH apologist.

[phil_hanson]

I bought an Exc+ Hasselblad 903 from KEH which was cosmetically good, but its shutter was broken. Rather than the hassle of sending it back, I took it to my local Hasselblad repairer who fixed it for $90. I'd have thought that on big-ticket items like that, they'd have checked the basic functions.

[stwrtertbsratbs5]

I've made multiple purchases from keh. I had a problem with one item, and they promptly replaced it. AAA+++ in my book.

[rick_gerbehy1]

They are the best at adjusting pricing to market demand.

They do not buy things that might be future problems.

They are dependable with fair pricing and good customer service.

[stephen_cysewski]

I purchased a back for my Bronica ETR system, there was a light leak, the communication was good until I returned the back. I never heard from them again, I emailed multiple times. I finally emailed somebody from KEH, through eBay, and I got an answer. I never got an answer from customer service as to the status of my back. I was disappointed and surprised by the poor communication. I will not buy from them again until they resolve the communication problems. I was courteous and patient in my email, but nothing. I do not intend to order from them until I get communication about the back I returned. I eventually saw, on my VISA bill, that they returned the money, but there communication was terrible.

[savagesax]

what a funny story. I was expecting to hear that the lens was cracked and the shutter was broken!

[SCL]

I've only had excellent experiences with KEH bargain grade items...but I wouldn't touch anything in the ugly grade.

[spanky]

I too have purchased many items for my RZ from KEH. I've always stuck with EX or EX+ for my items. The reason is because they are grading on the appearance only or so it would seem. My first purchases from them lens wise was a 90mm rated EX. Yes the lens looked great however the shutter was shot. No point in a clean lens that won't function properly. So back it went, no problem getting an exchange for a 110mm. So the lesson here is to always have such things checked out. I'm sure KEH does their best but as this example proves, sometimes things slip through the cracks. I have no reservations about ordering from them again. A great place to do business with.

[v._b.]

bargain grade at a bargain price... I have just took the risk and ordered 180mm lens from KEH for my Mamiya TLR based on your bad experience... we'll see...

[mikep]

Why not just..............send it back?

 

The customer service seems first rate.

[hjoseph7]

I't's a business. Like any other business they start off with the best service, the greatest discounts, the most polite customer service reps on the plannet, until they build a Loyal customer base. That allows them to slip-up once in a while. I seen this happen over and over again.

[golden]

Actually Ive only had good experiences with them, there Ex to Ex+ looks brand new to me, thats all i ever bought from them until the bargain grade lens i bought, One person wrote that they never answered his email. solution.. call them, the number is right on the website, when i find something on there site that i want, I never order online, I call them and talk to a person, its better that way, to me anyway. My fe401 meter went bad on my mamiya pro one time and i sent it to them for repair (I didnt buy it from them) within 2 days they called me back and told me what was wrong and how much it would cost to fix it, I told them to go ahead and within a week it was back to me in perfect working order, cost me $65.00 and they paid to ship it back to me. In my opinion they are top-notch. like I said before I wouldnt sell them my gear because I dont want my feelings hurt. lol I had a mamiya pro system that in my opinion looked brand new with 6 lenses and a few other items that once again to me looked brand new. KEH offered me 900.00 for it. (I understand though that they have to make money too) I got almost 1,300 for it on the bay and the customer was very happy with it. As far as buying used camera gear I dont think I would want to go anywhere else.

[raymond_tai]

For second hand gear I only buy from KEH and they out did themselves again. I bought an

Xpan from them in EX and when it arrived it took me a few minutes under some strong

track lights to find the imperfection that kept it out of an LN- rating.

[ron_miller5]

I agree with Antonio, I just recently became one of those tat will never buy from KEH again. 2 bad experiences and that's enough for me. Poor customer service. I'm glad you're all having good experiences, recently mine have not been.

[pete_kiefer]

I bought UGLY and actually got UGLY. Go figure! It surprised me. The "BARGN" Rollei lens I bought was mint. It was for Rillei - then, Rollei's stuff is visually kind of ugly when its mint.

 

That said, I have had two bad experiences with their repair service, also with a Rolle; a lens and a body.

[james_jensen]

Great story. lol I've never been dissatisfied! Awesome company!

[v._b.]

bargain grade 180mm lens purchased from KEH at a bargain price just arrived. on ebay they rate them "mint minus"... and the "excellent" one bought on ebay had to be sent back...

[ken_wayne1]

Valdas Bernatavicius wrote:

 

bargain grade 180mm lens purchased from KEH at a bargain price just arrived. on ebay they rate them "mint minus"... and the "excellent" one bought on ebay had to be sent back...

bargain grade 180mm lens purchased from KEH at a bargain price just arrived. on ebay they rate them "mint minus"... and the "excellent" one bought on ebay had to be sent back...

 

Ken replies:

 

Valdas, would you mind being specific about what you wrote here? I sell a great deal of ( mainly Hasselblad ) camera equipment on eBay and I try very very hard to take care of my buyers. I don't intentionally charge more shipping than is required and I try my best not to overstate the condition of the items. It gets a bit disheartening when people lump every seller on eBay together and use general words such as "ebay" and "they."

 

The reason this matters is because "ebay" is comprised of individual sellers. KEH sells one ebay. B&H sells on eBay. Adorama sells on eBay. I sell on eBay. To just say, 'on eBay they rate them "mint minus,"' is not being fair to other sellers that do try very hard to rate their items fairly and to sell with integrity.

 

Ebay is only an avenue to sell. They are a company which leases space to vendors to auction or sell at a fixed or negotiated price.

 

It would be the same as accusing the building landlords for the practices of the businesses that lease their buildings.

 

Ebay is absolutely no different than going to New York City to buy gear. There are some companies in New York City that are wonderful and there are some that will stick their hand in your pocket and take your money while talking to you. It would be unfair to say, "the dealers in New York will rob you blind."

 

Also, many buyers can be just as ridiculous about things as many sellers. Thankfully, not one buyer has ever left a negative remark about me but the other day a buyer complained in his positive feedback that I had over packed something. I sold him a glass Acute Matte screen and had put it into a small box and wrapped it with plenty of tape but it was a bit flimsy. It was nearing time to ship and after looking at it again I wasn't comfortable with the small box. Not having time to re-package it I put the smaller packaged box into a box that was a little larger just to be safe and he literally complained that I had over packed. I was shocked. The sellers do not get to critique buyers and give "stars" to buyers as they do the sellers.

 

Do you know how many people buy from me and then do not communicate with me nor pay me for a week, two weeks, and even three weeks sometimes? So it goes both ways. The personal moral fiber and integrity of the buyer or seller is what counts so being specific as to whom you are referring can help a great deal to weed out the bad sellers and at the same time protect the ones that try to do a good job.