martines34 wrote:
I would avoid Craig's List and leery of E-Bay.
i have no idea why you would avoid craigslist.
i've got a ton of great deals locally through craigslist.
u get to see and test the device, no sales tax, and talk to the owner and its local - and its easy to bargain.
what more do u want?
I've bought used from lensrentals.com before. Prices are reasonable and you have the benefit of purchasing gear from a very reputable seller who has carefully inspected the lens, and discloses the results. The downside is that you don't get the box, and the items have been used for two years. However, two years isn't terribly old with a good quality lens.
I always keep an eye on my local Kijiji. In the past month, I've snagged an MDP, 28-300L, and 300/2.8L IS. The latter was somewhat unexpected, but I can live with it. Of course, I'll be selling the MDP and 28-300L to help pay for the 300/2.8L IS. After all, I'm a responsible buyer.
Adorama. I bought several Canon L lenses from their used department. I've always been pleased with my purchases. There are many photographers that buy more equipment than they can realistically use. These eventually end up at B&H or Adorama. Both companies have great return policies. If you're not happy send it back.
It's been my experience that Adorama has more pre-owned equipment than B&H
I have purchased used equipment from ebay and craigslist. First was a Canon 85mm 1.8 and it had focus issues and my worst purchase was a used 1D on craigslist which had sensor issues and a shutter failure a month afterwards. The 1D I was lucky enough Canon replaced the sensor before their supplies dried up. Now I have purchased from this forum FM and been very satisfied. I will continue to purchase from here as I really have had excellent luck, go FM................
pziasd wrote:
Adorama. I bought several Canon L lenses from their used department. I've always been pleased with my purchases. There are many photographers that buy more equipment than they can realistically use. These eventually end up at B&H or Adorama. Both companies have great return policies. If you're not happy send it back.
It's been my experience that Adorama has more pre-owned equipment than B&H
We generally have around 25,000 used items of all kinds in stock at any given time!
I shoot for both NBC and Nat Geo so I have purchased close to 100K in all new gear...I love to look however and I have bought some nice like new gear off of eBay but it was with sellers with HIGH ratings and a lot of them and those dealing mainly in high end items. I have never been burned and these sellers now contact me when they have something that they think I may be interested in. With the policy eBay has you are pretty well covered if the deal goes south.
I have about the same situation with the camera stores I deal with. They know me and know I prefer new so if they get something used that rates a 9+ to a 10 they will give me a call and if it is something I want I'll look at it.
I actually have the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV, Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Canon EOS 1D Mark III, Canon 20D, Canon 550D and NikonD5000 so I often buy two to four of the same thing to cut down on changing times from camera to camera. so I am open to most well trusted dealers.
One place I've used is www.photo.net, go to the Community section, then to the Classifieds section. It's free and the people I've dealt with there have been fine.
There's pros and cons to new vs used and pros and cons to buying used through a dealer vs ebay vs other ways like here. It's pretty much a personal choice how and where you buy. FWIW, I buy both ways, depending on the item. I've bought a lot of used lenses because I can visually inspect them and conduct a simple test to make sure they're o.k. I'd be more reluctant to buy something like a digital camera used because who knows what's going on inside it. Small items like filters and similar accessories I always buy new, saving $5 or $10 just isn't worth buying used to me.
I bought a 1Ds3 recently from Adorama. I had tried B&H but they had just sold theirs. When I spoke to Adorama and told them that B&H had it for x amount they did reduce the price.
I did call them with an issue that the cap (forgotton the name but it protects a couple of prongs) was missing. They said they would look in to it but never did. I called Canon after a while and bought a couple from them. It was only about $12 but no big deal.
Normally I buy new on most other stuff but on the occasion have bought second hand. Maybe I might get an 85 1.2 if the price is right. New is just so much onf an investment.
Brit-007 wrote:
I bought a 1Ds3 recently from Adorama. I had tried B&H but they had just sold theirs. When I spoke to Adorama and told them that B&H had it for x amount they did reduce the price.
I did call them with an issue that the cap was missing. They said they would look in to it but never did.
Mike -- What are you saying? Adorama lists on ebay! Ha-ha!
I've had nothing but good results both buying and selling on ebay leading to my 1300+ transactions and 100% positive rating. I've had a few problems with purchases, but they have always resolved to a point where I was happy. And I've been happy to pass on the favor if I sell something and the buyer isn't 100% happy.
I recently bought a S95 refurb from Adorama -- great transaction.
Also buy used from KEH and FM, as well as a few sellers I've found through ebay.
I too have bought a lot of items from Adorama and several of them were on their eBay add. They are extremely FAST at getting the items to me and everything I ever received was in perfect condition. Great phone service. I can't recommend them enough.
In fact I just purchased a 67mm wide angle adapter ring for the Lee Foundation system last night.
Gunzorro wrote:
Mike -- What are you saying? Adorama lists on ebay!
We certainly do, across 4 accounts:
adoramacamera - new
adorama - used video
adorwin - used cameras
adorwin2 - used junk!
Gunzorro wroteI recently bought a S95 refurb from Adorama -- great transaction.
Thanks!
Rob573 wrote:
I too have bought a lot of items from Adorama and several of them were on their eBay add. They are extremely FAST at getting the items to me and everything I ever received was in perfect condition. Great phone service. I can't recommend them enough.
In fact I just purchased a 67mm wide angle adapter ring for the Lee Foundation system last night.
Good to hear, Rob; I've passed your f/back over to the ebay team.
I like to buy from KEH, B&H or Adorama because of their reliable business practices and return policies. I will buy from Ebay if I have a good feeling about the seller and he accepts returns.
