Successful eBay deals from Japanese 'camera stores'?

[Brownie]

I'm in the market for a Minolta 80-200 2.8 APO HS. Plenty of them on the 'bay, almost all from Japanese sellers, mostly camera stores that may exist only on eBay. I've purchased a few low-dollar items from China with good success but that was all low risk. Has anyone had any experience with higher priced items? I feel a little anxious about it. I know eBay has the guarantee which helps. I'm almost as worried about the 'free returns', it's not free if I have to send it back to Japan! I am considering the Square Trade insurance just in case. I usually stay away from these things like the plague, but in this case it may be worth the $40-50, about the same cost as a return trip to the seller.

Thoughts? Advice? Admonishments?

 

[Brownie]

No help? C'mon folks, the seller sent me an offer...

Gotta' do it...

AUGHH!!!!

 

[spudhead]

No help? C'mon folks, the seller sent me an offer...

Gotta' do it...

AUGHH!!!!

Hi I think you will be fine I have bought high value items on ebay and from non ebay sites from around the world, I have bought items into the thousands on ebay, and had a few issues and they have always been sorted by ebay or paypal, I have been using ebay for 15 years and always got my money back on no show items and faulty items. The fact is if you buy on ebay and pay with paypal backed by a credit card you have 3 ways to get your funds back. About 2 years ago I was in the market for a a9 and bought one it looked a bit cheaper than others and in fact turned out to be a con ie no show, now ebay said it was not there fault and so did paypal but the credit card company did a charge back so all was good. I have done in excess of 2 thousand deals on ebay over the years and 99 percent have been good.

 

[Brownie]

Thanks...too late...pulled the trigger. Really nice one. Think I'll be fine.

 

[spudhead]

Thanks...too late...pulled the trigger. Really nice one. Think I'll be fine.

Sure it will be and you will love that lens I really enjoyed it when I had it, they are nicely built and compact, good luck

 

[Brownie]

Sure it will be and you will love that lens I really enjoyed it when I had it, they are nicely built and compact, good luck

Thanks. It really isn't my favorite focal range and I 'probably' won't use it that much. The reason for having one is in case the day runs long at the track and we get into nighttime. I'll need a faster lens with some flexibility in range. I was pretty shocked when I read the reviews and saw how well it compares to even the new offerings from Sony, logging in 4.88 out of a perfect 5. It will do everything I need for 25% of the price of a new 70-200.

 

[pointreyes]

I have had good results from the higher value Japan eBay vendors. That is the way I normally order my mint or near mint condition prime lenses. For example, a Nikkor-S 24mm f2.8 came in the Nikon box with the plastic casing and the quality was amazing.

 

[Brownie]

After saying it isn't my favorite focal range, I wish I'd had it tonight. My grandson had a 1st grade school play. The 24-105 wasn't quite long enough, and the 100-400 wasn't quite wide enough. The 80-200 would've been a good choice, and the extra stop over the 24-105's f/4 would've been nice.

 

[Brownie]

Well, the bullshit has already started. They promised expedited shipping, and now they're saying it's too expensive and they are going to send it EMS. That will take far too long and will leave the lens prone to careless handling and damage. I'm pissed. I told them to refund my money and forget the whole thing. I am opening a case with eBay.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Well, the bullshit has already started. They promised expedited shipping, and now they're saying it's too expensive and they are going to send it EMS. That will take far too long and will leave the lens prone to careless handling and damage. I'm pissed. I told them to refund my money and forget the whole thing. I am opening a case with eBay.

Grrr. I've often been tempted, and eBay do back you up, but it's hassle.

 

[Brownie]

After sending them the message demanding a refund or expedited shipping and telling them I was opening a case with eBay, I contacted eBay via chat. About all they could do was file a report and do an investigation. Since she could see all of our communication (ALWAYS communicate through eBay, never on email) she could see that they were switching up on me in mid-deal. She said they will get sanctioned, which would limit their sales and be noted on their feedback. Other than that all we could do was wait for the item to show up and hope it wasn't damaged.

While this was happening, they sent another message stating that they would ship FedEx and 'pay the difference out of their own pocket'. Huh? Isn't that why I paid $54 for expedited shipping? Ultimately she said she would contact them anyway with a warning. I told her I though it would be good if they knew eBay was involved to help keep them on a straight path for the rest of the deal. Plus they probably decided it wasn't worth risking their 100% positive feedback rating.

EMS is an international mail system that allows someone to post something in one country and it winds its way through different countries until it gets to your door. No chain of custody, careless handling. With a shipping company like FedEx, DHL, UPS etc. there is one responsible party, period. Plus, shipping via EMS is specifically non expedited, could take weeks.

Anyway, I feel better about this. I just hope it is as-advertised and I don't need to contact them again.

 

[pointreyes]

What was the rating of this vendor? The ones I have dealt with always used FedEx. The photos and description of the product I purchase always match what I get. Never had a shipping switch to EMS occur.

Now FexEx is a different story. From Hong Kong, a package from FedEx took only three days to get me (ordered on Saturday and got it on Monday) and yet a package from BHPhoto took over a week to get to my area but I never got the package, had to open up an inquiry to BHPhoto and they credited me the purchase and had the FedEx facility shipped the package back to BHPhoto. That package was at a facility about 15 miles from house but FedEx did not give the option for pickup.

And BHPhoto is a little strange. With the credit, I used it as an excuse to purchase the Fujifilm XF 70-300, that was a month ago - still waiting. For some reason, this lens is rare to find in stock. It is a new lens from March 2021. And I'm still waiting for my Heliopan filter that was ordered in October 2021. That order is non-refundable so I'm stuck waiting on it.

 

[Brownie]

100% positive, although fairly new with 150 feedback.

 

[cdd29]

Strange. I've always had good results dealing with Japanese vendors, often getting things sooner than expected (record was 3 days, faster than most domestic vendors.) Give it a week or so and pursue the issue again with ebay and if you used paypal, see if they'll do anything. Other times I've ordered overseas besides Japan, wait time is usually about 3 weeks and tracking info is usually unreliable.

 

[Brownie]

Well, after getting off to a wobbly start it looks like they stepped up. The lens was delivered today. So, purchased on Tuesday, had the shipping issue that same evening, delivered Friday. That's fast in anyone's book. Can't wait to get home and mount it to the camera, I just pray no more drama!

 

[pointreyes]

I ordered my lens on Monday and got it yesterday. It was one of the few times, I question the Mint condition. The optics is quite good though. I have tested it for color IR on the Fujifilm and Sony cameras and it was surprisingly good. The helicoid, however, is tighter than I like and the DOF button does not work but the aperture blades are clean and do work when mounted (very tight mount) to the adapter. For optics - mint, but for build - good.

 

[Brownie]

Sorry to hear. It's definitely a crap shoot.

I searched for days watching new listings, saving in my watchlist, ranking them in preferred order, etc. in an attempt to find one that was functionally, optically, and aesthetically in really nice shape. I hope I hit a home run.

 

[Brownie]

Well, it looks really nice. The case looks brand new, glass looks fantastic. A few nicks on the hood finish, and some very minor finish wear on the tripod foot, nothing you wouldn't expect for a lens of this vintage and exactly as described. I'll wait until tomorrow to try it out, but so far very satisfied.

 

[Brownie]

Some samples. Not too bad, but the focus has been baffling, sometimes the focus seems slightly in front of the subject. I think I need to learn a bit more about the adapter, I read somewhere the camera may default to specific focus modes without letting me know.

It turns out beautiful images though, color is outstanding.

DSC01720 by telecast, on Flickr

DSC01730 by telecast, on Flickr

DSC01740 by telecast, on Flickr

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

Some samples. Not too bad, but the focus has been baffling, sometimes the focus seems slightly in front of the subject. I think I need to learn a bit more about the adapter, I read somewhere the camera may default to specific focus modes without letting me know.

It turns out beautiful images though, color is outstanding.

DSC01720 by telecast, on Flickr

DSC01730 by telecast, on Flickr

DSC01740 by telecast, on Flickr

Front and back focussing issues are usually down to the distance from the lens element to the mirror being too far apart. As it's a third party lens though, you can adjust in the menu. Beautiful, saturated colours though.

 

[Brownie]

Not third party, Minolta A-Mount. There is no mirror on the LA-EA5. A-Mount lenses focus on the sensor exactly like an E-Mount.

I really think it's more me understanding the interaction between the camera and the lens. When the subject fills the frame focus is spot on. This is more an issue of understanding what happens to the focus point when the lens is attached. In the case of the 75-300, I know for a fact tracking works. Not sure here. I need to do some more testing and reading.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

There is no mirror on the LA-EA5. A-Mount lenses focus on the sensor exactly like an E-Mount. I really think it's more me understanding the interaction between the camera and the lens. When the subject fills the frame focus was spot on. This is more an issue of understanding what happens to the focus point when the lens is attached. In the case of the 75-300, I know for a fact tracking works. Not sure here. I need to do some more testing and reading.

I meant sensor, old habits etc. So adding the adaptor increases the distance from sensor to element. This could cause issues I'm sure.

 

[Brownie]

I meant sensor, old habits etc. So adding the adaptor increases the distance from sensor to element. This could cause issues I'm sure.

I seriously doubt that's the case. Since it's a Sony camera with a Sony adapter made specifically to use Sony and other A-mount lenses, it seems to me that this is the least likely scenario. Bear in mind the first Sony lenses were simply rebranded Minolta AF lenses.

These lenses were designed to operate on a camera with a mirror box. Since a mirrorless camera doesn't have that you need the adapter to move the lens back out to the correct distance. Sony just figured how to squeeze a motor in there for screw drive lenses.

But the most important point to refute the theory is that we already know my other A-Mount lenses work perfectly well. It has to be some peculiarity with this lens, or more likely me. More testing is in order.

 

[Brownie]

I think it's ok, just me. This is a full shot and as you can see, a rather large crop of the same image. Both were scaled in Darktable to 2500 pixels on the long side to make uploading faster.

DSC01753 by telecast, on Flickr

DSC01753_01 by telecast, on Flickr