Sad day for my "brand new?" Rolleicord III

[silverscape]

I don't know if they deliberately shipped it to you knowing that it was broken. But they definitely didn't check the camera. Anyone who knows anything about cameras (even me) could have taken 2 minutes to check that the shutter fires, then set the shutter on the B setting and look through the lens and be sure that the aperture works. It literally would take 2 minutes to do.

 

The worst rip-off I ever had was when I bought an 8mm movie camera one time on eBay. I've bought a bunch of cameras on eBay before and never really had a problem. But this guy outright lied. He said he had a lot of experience with 8mm and 16mm cameras, and in the picture the camera looked fine. So I believed him. When the camera arrived, I noticed right away that it was in horrible shape. Cosmetically, the body was okay. But the aperture dial was jammed, and the pressure plate was completely worn out. He completely lied. If he had known anything at all about cameras and really did use 8mm cameras, he would have seen that right away. He said in the description that the camera was in good working condition. What a huge load of bull. Luckily, I didn't pay that much. I just ended up throwing it away.

 

Whenever I buy an old camera from a camera shop, the first thing I do is check the shutter and aperture. It takes just a couple of minutes. And if I buy a camera on eBay, the description has to be detailed and specific...that the seller actually checked the camera. I don't expect them to actually test it with film, but at least check that mechanically everything works and that the lens is clear. So really there isn't any excuse. Even if they didn't actually deliberately ship a broken camera to you, they definitely didn't check it and that was their responsibility. I highly doubt that it coincidentally broke the day they shipped it to you.

[sg_adams]

Good point, doesn't even take two minutes. More like thirty seconds...

But we were not present when the folks packed up the camera; don't know what transpired before it was sold, or any history of the camera itself.

And they did accept an imediate return, and the only harm I see is inconvenience, and some let down on the part of the OP.

And we are talking about a vintage camera low down on the collector list and not worth any large sum of money. That said, a good working Rolleicord with a clean lens is a very nice camera worth using and taking care of, and if capable, worth the time to refurbish.

[golden]

ya, once i figured out how the shutter worked, (strange one) it didnt take me a min or two to figure out there was somethng wrong with the aperature dial, (aperature says 3.5, blades look like a pin hole) just didnt seem like it was connected to the blades in any way. I probably wouldnt have been so p*ssed off if the fellow i talked to on the phone hadnt said that they inspected the camera one last time before shipping it. then when i called and complained about he problem, he said "well on these old cameras, what worked yesturday wouldnt necessarily work today" I called again friday evening and actually talked to one of there techs, and he told me judging from what it sounds like he should be able to fix it pretty quick and get it back to me. maybe toward the end of next week. so we will see. I got burned on the auction once also, but that was due to ignorance on my part, it was an estate auction which now i have read several threads concerning buying old cameras that are sold as "estate auction" cameras. i bought an old graphic 35, it read, " LOOKS NICE, SHUTTER SEEMS FINE", " WE ARE NOT CAMERA EXPERTS SO SOLD AS IS." when it got it, it basically fell apart in my hands,

[silverscape]

yup, if they say "we are not camera experts" or "I don't know anything about cameras" that should be a red flag right away. I won't even bother bidding on it unless it's going for really cheap and I'm willing to gamble. Usually, when they say things like that in the description it's just to cover their butt.

 

I have had mostly good experiences though. I got my Yashica A on eBay, and the seller actually tested everything...he said specifically that the shutter fired smooth, the lens was clear with no fugus or scratches, and the aperture worked smoothly at all stops. Any time you buy something on eBay it's a gamble...but at least it was obvious that the seller knew something about cameras so I was confident. The more specific and detailed the description, the better.

 

That's really a major let-down that this actually happened with a camera shop though. Yeah, things happen but still something just doesn't sound right about all this. I guess you can still give them the benefit of the doubt and see if they really do fix it. I know how you feel though...waiting anxiously for something and then getting a major disappointment like this. That sucks.

[golden]

ya Chris i have always had good luck on ebay except for that one time, one other time i thought i was going to get burned on an omega d2 enlarger, i got the delivery and about half of it was missing, took about 3 more weeks but i got the rest of it and it worked great. I get way too anxious over these things, like a little kid., when i see that something has been shipped, its like counting down the days till Christmas. : )

[golden]

An update on the Rolleicord, they got the camera today and according to the guy on the phone there tech person had it fixed in about 20 min. Now its on its way back to me should be here by friday. : )

[sg_adams]

Good to hear, and just you wait and see how good that little Xenar treats you.