Anyone bought "used" photo paper from B&H before?

pentaxuser · Oct 24, 2018

Thanks for the reply,earlz. It sounds as if you probably did receive a brand new box with the outer Ilford label torn but it is disconcerting when this has happened. It raises a few "what if" kind of questions.

pentaxuser

adelorenzo · Oct 24, 2018

Well the box of used paper showed up last night. It's had something spilled on the outer box and it has been re-sealed with different tape than the factory. Feels like a full box. I haven't looked inside yet. Next time I'm working in the darkroom I'll count the sheets and try a test print.

benjiboy · Oct 25, 2018

I've never bought used printing paper, only used toilet paper

adelorenzo · Nov 11, 2018

Well I finally got a chance to print with it and the paper had clearly been opened in light. Have reached out to BH Customer Service just waiting to hear back.

AgX · Nov 12, 2018

You bought it as "used". So you had to expect something like this. I'm curious on their reply. Keep us informed.

pentaxuser · Nov 12, 2018

AgX said:
You bought it as "used". So you had to expect something like this. I'm curious on their reply. Keep us informed.

Frankly if you are a retailer then the single word "used" should not be an excuse. It has to clearly say something like "may have been opened in other than safelight or otherwise clearly give the circumstances in which it has earned the label "used" "Used" tells the buyer nothing of value and does nothing for the retailer's reputation. Yes that is his(the retailer's) lookout. I don't know what the asking price was but if it was anywhere close to the retail price for unopened and in-date paper then I'd be pretty angry

pentaxuser

AgX · Nov 12, 2018

Yes. We already discussed that people B&H may be having a problem with semantics.
But can a customer rely on his assumption, that "used" might mean something as label harmed etc. Or does he need not to take into account something worse? Or inquire in case of doubt? We should not overlook that even a completely fogged paper still may be of use for certain applications and thus still be salable with a rebate.

removed account4 · Nov 12, 2018

was "guaranteed" that each sheet was to be usable ?
if not, its kind of like buy at your own risk i would imagine ...
paper i have gotten used has be unopened or out of date from
a source i can trust ( friend, client whatever ) or didn't cost very much
and purchased on ebay ( cheap 70 year old azo where it takes a lot of bright light to expose )
i hope you didn't spend much $ on this paper or that at least some of it mid-box or 1/2 way across each sheet
is usable for small contact sheets.
i wouldn't be surprised if the store says you are SOL ...

tedr1 · Nov 12, 2018

Prompted by this thread I offered some unopened 2016 Ilford MGFB 20x16 to B&H last week and they declined to make an offer.

Bill Burk · Nov 12, 2018

That’s the top and second sheet? Looks like the ‘falloff’ is quick, maybe by the 5th sheet you’ll only lose the edge?

pentaxuser · Nov 13, 2018

tedr1 said:
Prompted by this thread I offered some unopened 2016 Ilford MGFB 20x16 to B&H last week and they declined to make an offer.

Well there's no fun for the ultimate buyer then. Unlike Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates the buyer knows what he is going to get with an unopened box

pentaxuser

adelorenzo · Nov 14, 2018

AgX said:
You bought it as "used". So you had to expect something like this. I'm curious on their reply. Keep us informed.

Yeah like I said I wasn't sure what to expect. The fact that the condition was listed as 10/10 did raise those expectations a bit.

pentaxuser said:
Frankly if you are a retailer then the single word "used" should not be an excuse. It has to clearly say something like "may have been opened in other than safelight or otherwise clearly give the circumstances in which it has earned the label "used" "Used" tells the buyer nothing of value and does nothing for the retailer's reputation. Yes that is his(the retailer's) lookout. I don't know what the asking price was but if it was anywhere close to the retail price for unopened and in-date paper then I'd be pretty angry.

I'm not angry about it but I wonder what happened here. They certainly didn't give me much in the description to go on.

jnanian said:
was "guaranteed" that each sheet was to be usable ?
if not, its kind of like buy at your own risk i would imagine ...
paper i have gotten used has be unopened or out of date from
a source i can trust ( friend, client whatever ) or didn't cost very much
and purchased on ebay ( cheap 70 year old azo where it takes a lot of bright light to expose )
i hope you didn't spend much $ on this paper or that at least some of it mid-box or 1/2 way across each sheet
is usable for small contact sheets.
i wouldn't be surprised if the store says you are SOL ...

There were no guarantees but this is not some box of 20 year old paper on eBay which is definitely buyer beware. With someone like B and H the expectations are a little different.

If I bought a used lens listed as 10/10 from B&H I wouldcertainly expect all the shutter speeds to work, for example.

Bill Burk said:
That’s the top and second sheet? Looks like the ‘falloff’ is quick, maybe by the 5th sheet you’ll only lose the edge?

That's the top sheet and then maybe 5 sheets down. The ones on the bottom have a black edge but are usable with some minor trimming.

adelorenzo · Nov 14, 2018

So, the resolution... I reached out to B&H and they offered a 50% refund. That works for me and is far easier than sending the paper back.

So in the end I paid about a quarter of retail for the box. None of the sheets are perfect but I'll definitely be able to use a lot of them with minor trimming. In the end I'm happy with the deal and with B&H. I wouldn't shy away from getting "used" paper again if the price is right.

Anyone bought "used" photo paper from B&H before?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency