Does anyone know how adorama's rating compares to keh's? like keh's BGN is second lowest rating but they are usually pretty good buys, looking at a "V" lens from adorama right now, and wondering if it's compare able to BGN (V is their third lowest rating) or closer to KEH's UG?
Thanks in advance, hope someone bought from both before,
I bought 2 used manual Nikon lenses from Adorama a month ago. One was ex- and the other was g-good. Ex- was in good condition, however the lens was adjusted non AI lens and was sold as an AI lens without mentioning about it. So the adapter was not tight. The second one had coating scratches on it, looked like it fell off. When I took photos, the colors looked washed. That lens wasn't in a good condition as they said.
Also it took like a week to send the lenses since they said they were checking them in their used department before they ship them. So I don't know how they can send that lens like that esp when they said they checked. I returned them and they returned my money. However it cost me $40 paying both ways shipping.
My experience with Keh was 3 years ago when I ordered a Canon 400mm L lens. The lens was in good condition but it came as broken 2 pieces and of course they took back. It might have been the loose shipping maybe.
So Adorama EX- was good and G body was OK, but G lens coating was gone. So V is in the middle with question. Maybe some others might have more experience.
KEH Ex+ rating has usually been good. KEH LN- condition is more suspect. The lens arrives without any issue and the optics are good. I have purchased 3 lenses from them that were EX+ and Ex rating and it was hard to tell these from new. Sharp as you could wish for and the barrel showed very little signs of use. Now when I browse their site, I keep an eye out for the "EX+" condition items..... has worked out better for me.
For the one Nikon lens I ordered from them a few years ago, it was in LN- condition. Looked great from the outside, but when mounted on a camera, the results were pretty bad - I had to stop it down to f8.0 to get anything that was worth looking at. However, they are good about the fact that they refund the $$'s minus shipping.
What I did like about KEH is when you call them up and ask them to actually look at the lens and tell you what it looks like, you get a pretty fair assessment over the phone. Depends on who you get on the other end of the line.
For used gear, depending on what you may be looking for, you may also want to try Roberts Distributors, Henry's, and Cameta. All use ratings similar to KEH and never had any major complaints with any of them.
I have purchased several used lenses from Adorama and have returned them all. I can remember two of recent that were rated as like new and were quite banged up. When i called them to discuss they offered me discount but the lenses were so off compared to their rating that I elected to return them. I may have just been unlucky because I do not believe Adorama to be a dishonest dealer and in fact, they have been very good overall in general.
Adorama and B+H in NYC get a lot of their used gear from pros and often it's been heavily used.I worked next door to Adorama for a year so had the opportunity to visit whenever I wanted.
I tried to buy used form B+H several years back but had to return everything, to say someone has problems with their eyes is an understatement.
For used go with KEH , I have bought around 15-20 items over the years without a problem, or better still visit the B/S board here.
I've been using KEH for years. MY only problem with them is that it seems that their prices for used gear has gone up over the years. When I can buy a new item for $30-$50 more than their LN-, I'm gonna pay the extra cash and get the full warranty. Several years ago I bought a Nikon F4S from Bill Hanson there (who by the way is stll employed there as of the last time I spoke with them). I think it had like a 30 days warranty and I noticed problems with my pictures after the 30 day period. It turned out to be a tear in the shutter blade. I called Bill and he said send it to us and we'll treat it like a warranty repair. They had it back to me within a week. I have been singing their praises for years. They have always gone above and beyond in customer service for me at least so I never hesitate to buy from them.
Greg
YIKES! Dang, I'm glad I read this thread... I've been contemplating getting a discontinued lens from one of these resources, but now I'm having second thoughts! Maybe I'd have just as much luck w/ E-bay!
I'd recommend the B&S forums here as well... BUT Caveat Emptor (sp?) I was lied to twice, out of less than 10 buys.
So at this point, I pretty much only buy when I can inspect the pieces before hand, or I buy new.
I've made probably close to 20 purchases from KEH in the past 10 years, maybe even more. I've only had one problem and that was quickly resolved and just involved a lens having a drop in polarizer filter instead of a clear one. Actully resolved in my favor as I kept the polarizer and then sent me a new clear on. Every other item has been delivered in better than stated condition. Their prices are not always the best but you can rely on their rating system and customer service IMHO. I tried Cameta once and that was a disaster. First body arrived dead and the replacement was in much worse shape then they stated. They were responsive though.
cad3: then you may have misread the thread, i still read it as "although it's used stuff, and not new, keh is the place to order from"
Even if the thread didn't manage to cure my worries, it didn't make it much worse, looking at a $179 EX from keh vs a $44 V(ery good) from Adorama, i took a chance and see what i get from them. (My goal are BGN from KEH, but often i cave in and buy EX or EX+)
I never had a problem with adorama on new stuff before (which oddly i see people complain about alot, when i never had a single issue), so i hope to continue my "streak"(?).
Most are not. Out of ther 10+ lenses I've bought from them I think 2 were the ones pictured.
I just got a fairly rare and spendy Olympus T8 flash and power control module in the mail from KEH, listed in EX+ condition. The actual condition was a little underwhelming for what I'm used to from them, but worse, the flash doesn't fire. I'd have to guess thast it was not tested before being shipped. I called asking them to have it picked up by UPS and they replied that they stopped doing that because of problems? Looks like I'll have to spend my time and money returning the defective flash they sent me.
I've had a couple other obvious problems weith them over the last couple years, so they seem to be a little hit and miss.
Daniel Goller wrote:
They are not actual items, i know this much.
Ordered a 17f3.5, ex rtg tokina with case from adorama last week. Recieved a 18mm3.5 sigma without case today. The lens did not work at all. I would rate it below a level ex from physical appearance alone.
I had a similar problem over a year ago with the Vivitar Series 1 28/1.9 in OM mount with caps in LN- condition. They sent me a Konica mount one, without caps, in EX condition. They said I must have ordered the wrong one!
jpeter wrote:
Ordered a 17f3.5, ex rtg tokina with case from adorama last week. Recieved a 18mm3.5 sigma without case today. The lens did not work at all. I would rate it below a level ex from physical appearance alone.
Edited by pdmphoto on Feb 20, 2008 at 06:21 PM GMT
I've been reasonably happy with Keh. I had to have a wobbly lens mount on my 35-70 fixed up (on a BGN lens), but I had infinity pulled back in the process, so I now get infinity focus properly where I didn't before. By the sounds of things, most people are happy with keh secondhand division - probably an ebay fe4edback score of 99.8% I'd reckon. Adorama sounds more like 98.3% - i.e. I wouldn't go there (though I've been happy with them for new stuff).
Edited by Justin D on Feb 21, 2008 at 12:24 PM GMT
Overall KEH is good, better than Adorama from my experience. Adorama can be a real pain to deal with after the sale.
Justin D wrote:
I've been reasonably happy with Keh. I had to have a wobbly lens mount on my 35-70 fixed up, but I had infinity pulled back in the process, so I now get infinity focus properly where I didn't before. By the sounds of things, most people are happy with keh secondhand division - probably an ebay fe4edback score of 99.8% I'd reckon. Adorama sounds more like 98.3% - i.e. I wouldn't go there (though I've been happy with them for new stuff).
Of course these figures are just made up, but seem representative of what I've heard over the past couple of years....Show more →
Daniel Goller wrote:
cad3: then you may have misread the thread, i still read it as "although it's used stuff, and not new, keh is the place to order from"
Even if the thread didn't manage to cure my worries, it didn't make it much worse, looking at a $179 EX from keh vs a $44 V(ery good) from Adorama, i took a chance and see what i get from them. (My goal are BGN from KEH, but often i cave in and buy EX or EX+)
I never had a problem with adorama on new stuff before (which oddly i see people complain about alot, when i never had a single issue), so i hope to continue my "streak"(?).
I grant that the same size here is extremely small; but between the positive and negative comments we are looking at something like what, 60% positive? Myself, I don't buy from any place that's got less than an 8 or so on reseller ratings. KEH has a 7.9 something, and B&H has a 9.6 something.
Let me follow up with the only thing(s) I'd consider getting have been discontinued, and are rare, so they cost $$$$$. The last thing I want to do is spend $$$$$ on something were I've got a 40% chance of returning. Heck, I don't want to dump that kind of money where I've got even a 10% chance that I'd return it.
