Anyone else been unhappy with KEH recently?

[Besk]

I recently purchased a Leica IIIf from them rated EX. I wouldn't sell that camera on E-bay and say it was excellent from just looking at it much less trying it out.

I have dealt with them for years with mostly positive results. They aren't perfect by a long shot.

 

[Cropline]

Based on what I've heard I'm aprehensive about KEH.B&H is the only one I've noticed that claims to test used equipment.I've got 2 lenses to buy.Won't be going to them.(KEH) Thinks everyone for your input.

 

[Poohblah]

KEH is actually quite great, IMHO. the bad experience stories are just made far more public than the success stories.

 

[BobbyR]

I just bought a Leica 70-180 zoom from them for what seems to be a not rock bottom but far better than average price, and I looks nearly new.
Bobby

 

[Andr3w]

I have been a KEH customer for about 5 years. I've made at least 20 purchases. Some quite large and several had to be returned. I always buy BGN, so maybe I am asking for it.

Got a Contax 159 and it broke the 2nd day out, exchanged it for a RTS II which was fine.

Got a Nikon 8000 and had it shipped to Hawaii (very expensive). DOA and I had to pay to have it shipped back. Two weeks later I get another one and this one had very dusty optics. I overhauled it and it worked fine, but this would have been very frustrating in the hands of someone not comfortable in taking apart a $1000 scanner.

Just the other day I received an Olympus OM-4 T and the spot meter didn't work. I can't believe they missed that, but they did.

I'm sure there are other instances that I can't remember. It happens often enough that my girlfriends will say "oh no, not again, that always seems to happen to you". That being said, I still buy from KEH. it's a pain, but the prices are good and I like it better than ebay.

Overall I would say at least 10% if not more of my purchase have had problems.

 

[chriscrawfordphoto]

I'll never buy from them again. I bought a hasselblad lens and an Olympus OM-4T that were both in EX condition (so they said). The Hasselblad lens looked nice but would not mount on my camera. The OM-4T was beat to hell and had electronic problems. I returned both for refund, and a month after they recieved them back I still hadn't got my refunds. The customer service people kept promising...any day now, any day now! In Spanish we call that the Mañana attitude (the word means 'tomorrow', as in I'll promise tomorrow but tomorrow never comes). I finally emailed them giving them a week before I have the bank do a chargeback. They never responded, and the good folks at Wells Fargo's credit card fraud division got my money back. Ironically, a week after the bank did the chargeback, KEH refunded my money, so my account has the refund twice in it! Its been like that a week or so and the bank hasn't given them back the chargeback money. I should call and ask them too, but hell KEH earned interest on $1000 of mine for a month. Its my turn now. I'll do it mañana...LOL

 

[Chaplain Jeff]

Hello,

I've been a KEH customer since they had a store in the Dallas area. I have purchased from them through their catalogue / email ever since. Most of my used gear comes from them. Great people and an incredible price and service. Their return policy is out of th is world - don't want it, send it back: no questions asked.

Don't know about their international sales, but I've never had a problem with them in all the years I've dealt with them. They have shipped items across country and across the world (a few to me here in Afghanistan). The only issue is that they only send out USPS (all I can receive over here) once a week and if you order after that, it will take two weeks to ship the item. As long as I know what day to expect it, that's no concern.

I have found their repair dept. to be more than adequate for Nikon and Leica repair.Once I bought a Leica M5 from them that had a loose battery compartment and they did an entire CLA / Repair on it for no charge. They did a repair on my Nikon F3HP which included structural repair / replacing a broken computer board for a very nominal fee. The camera still works like new 6 years later.

For new gear I always use B&H if I can - which is 99% of the time. My experience with their used dept. has been much less satisfactory than KEH's and after years of working with both, I avoid B&H used unless they have an item I simply cannot get anywhere else (there's a long story there and I won't go into it on a thread about KEH).

I would suggest that any "problems" with KEH come from one or the other of you not understanding the other's expectations. If you know what they want / need to do business, then there should be no conflict. If they know your expectations, they will tell you up front if they can or will meet them and then you must decide whether or not to do business with them. In the end they will be fair, even if they don't meet your expectations.

Jeff M

 

[dynachrome]

Some time back in the 1980s I went to a cameras repair place in Manhattan called Kiplings. They were in the same building as Olden Camera. Kiplings repaired some oddball cameras for me. These included a Konica Auto S which was assembled out of the working parts of three bodies I brought them, a Minolta Hi-Matic 9, a Hi-Matic 7 and other Konica RF and SLR models. Most other repair shops were afraid to work on such old cameras because they never knew what they would find when one was opened up. I understood this and did not try to ask the impossible or be too upset if something couldn't be fixed. Just last week I shot a roll of film with a Konica camera I had not used in a while. Half of the roll was very underexposed and I'm not sure why. The camera will undoubtedly be visiting Greg Weber soon for a look-see. Using old cameras is like driving a classic car. You might get stuck once in a while but if you enjoy it, it's worth the risk.

No seller of used equipment can know about every problem which may come up but I think KEH does a very good job. KEH, like other businesses , has to be careful about selling to overseas customers. As a US customer I can say I have been very happy with my KEH purchases. They are conservative in their grading system and if you don't like something they would rather take it back than lose future business.

 

[Curt]

Not recently.

 

[Eric Rose]

I really don't like the way this topic is titled. A bit of a smear tactic IMHO.

 

[jmal]

Smear tactic? Don't make assumptions about my motives. I was not trying to smear anyone. This is a forum frequented by many KEH customers and I was simply seeking some broader opinions about a retailer with whom I have had increasingly negative experiences. It was intended to see if there has been a change in their "quality" or if my experience is anomalous. The opinions here were intended to guide my future purchases and nothing else. By the way, I finally received a refund for a bad product I returned. It "only" took a month for them to perform a 15 second refund. I won't be ordering from them again.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

No problems with KEH, completely satisfied.

And as compared to ebay ....

 

[Andrew Moxom]

me either.... they have treated me very well with purchases I have made. Easily the best condition product you will ever get for your money.

 

[jmal]

Andrew, I was in NYC this past weekend and picked up a WA lens at Adorama in excellent condition. I'm not sure if it is indicative of their ratings as a whole, but the lens looks nearly new. I did have the advantage of actually holding the lens in my hand before puchasing. Their customer service is assembly line-like at best, but they too have a good return policy.

 

[nsouto]

My order mentioned below finally arrived.
Was shipped one month after the placement, but I can understand that due to their recent move.

Flash was in top nick although described as Bgn.

Once again, happy with the deal. I'll definitely be back.

 

[Brandon D.]

I haven't needed to use them recently. But I've always had excellent experiences with them! I'm sure all vendors make mistakes, though.

 

[Eric Rose]

In all my dealings with KEH I have been very happy. The equipment has always arrived promptly and in better shape than I expected.

Possibly the OP doesn't think his wording is inflammitory but maybe he would like to tell us if he's quite beating his dog. I'm not serious of course, but it's the same type of negative impact questioning.

A better title might have been "what have your experiences with KEH been lately". In the text of the posting the OP could have said KEH blows chunks and sucks big time, whatever makes him feel better getting things off his chest. Kind of like what I'm doing right now LOL.

 

[mikebarger]

My experience has always been half goes back due to some issue they missed.

They sure have a strong following here. If the title had been "Anyone else been unhappy with Kodak recently", I doubt there would have been to many come to Kodak's defense.

Mike

 

[chriscrawfordphoto]

Why wouldn't anyone defend Kodak? They make great film, and i've never known anyone to have quality issues with it. I'd defend them. I wish they still made some of their films that they've discontinued but I can't complain about the things they still make.

 

[mikebarger]

I agree, but I'd be suprised if Kodak isn't the most often bashed company on APUG.

Mike

 

[sionnac]

Just got a great Canon 50mm 1.4 FD from KEH - it was classed "bargain," and the price was right; seems better than bargain condition to me, very pleased. I've always had good luck with lenses - haven't bought a camera (yet) from them.

 

[k_jupiter]

My experience has always been half goes back due to some issue they missed.

They sure have a strong following here. If the title had been "Anyone else been unhappy with Kodak recently", I doubt there would have been to many come to Kodak's defense.

Mike

No Mike. I believe that anyone who wants 100% guarantee of 100% quality should visit their local photo outlet and pay 4x what KEH quotes.

Those of us that are by nature bottom feeders, who think that used equipment is a great deal for the bottom line i.e. takes great photos, will continue to shop KEH.

Kodak? Didn't they make film at one time?

tim in san jose

 

[Chaplain Jeff]

Hello,

Just ordered a BGN grade Minolta Maxxum 9000 w/ MD90 and BP90 - no LCD bleed - for less than the motor drive was selling for used three years ago. From past experience, I expect it will look as nice as anything sold on ebay as "EXC" or "NM".

I'll let you know when it arrives if I'm satisfied or not. Pretty sure I will be.

Jeff M

 

[Markok765]

My BGN Nikon F5 looks "well used," in my opinion. Well, its probably related to the type of camera you buy. Consumer BGN bodies won't be used as hard as pro BGN bodies.

 

[mikebarger]

And I see in your other thread it's not 100%, didn't you indicate it wasn't locking in on one of the settings as it should?

Mike