Buying camera on ebay... dusty camera bag, safe to buy?

[Thomas King]

Hi All,

I'm close to buying a camera on ebay after speaking a lot to the man selling it. It was his fathers who got ill shortly after he purchased it and only used it a couple of times. Its been sat in a custom branded pouch as well as a larger carry bag. The owner noted that the camera bag was covered in dust which he has not been able to get off entirely. He says that the inside of the camera bag is dust free as well as the camera itself. Do you think it's safe to buy? The camera is weather sealed but I don't know if this means that it is not at risk from dust getting trapped inside it! Also owner assures me there is no fungus (that was also a big concern due to storage) and that battery was removed years ago!

 

[railwayman3]

I've bought one-or-two cameras on Ebay over the years, some better than others, but, TBH, I wouldn't now personally buy another camera or large item without the opportunity to inspect and test it. Two which I have bought were stated "as new"....one had bad scratches and developed a major shutter fault within months, while the other kit had a strong smell of tobacco smoke (which I dislike intensely) and which has never really cleared. Possibly I expect too much, as I tend to treat my own equipment with kid gloves !

OTOH, I've successfully bought numerous smaller items from Ebay, mainly filters, darkroom items, plus a couple of lovely lenses costing "peanuts". Other than the cameras, in the whole time I had only one accessory which I had to return.....this was a genuine mistake by the seller on the size, and was immediately refunded.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Save yourself a lot of grief by learning from others. Go to brick and mortar stores like Fordes or trusted website like Dead Link Removed which does conservative ratings and has a great return, exchange or refund policy. Yes, you have to pay for overseas shipping, however KEH will stand behind the sale and they can also do repairs. I have spend thousands of US dollars with them and even when a problem arose, they stepped up and took care of it.

Other than buying camera bodies, lenses, filters and having KEH do repairs, I do not have a relationship with them.

 

[John Koehrer]

With age lubricants tend to stiffen up. That said, I've only lost out once or twice with needing service.
It's a little bit of a gamble, so how much are you willing to wager?

 

[AgX]

Save yourself a lot of grief by learning from others. Go to brick and mortar stores like... trusted website like Dead Link Removed which does conservative ratings and has a great return, exchange or refund policy.

Not true!
KEH has not such return policy for overseas customers. One would have to pay twice the overseas shipping cost. Plus the hassle with trying to get tax refunded.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Then order it and have it shipped to someone in the US. Then come to visit and pick up the camera. Customs will not notice a used film camera as a new purchase.

 

[BrianShaw]

It depends: what is it? How much? Will you be mad if you lose the bet?

I made such a bet and won three times. It depends.

 

[Eric Rose]

In the early years of eBay I bought lots of stuff. Now I won't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

 

[btaylor]

Thomas, are you over thinking this? While you haven’t revealed what the camera is— from your description probably fairly old— and it’s been stored in unknown conditions, of course you’re taking a chance. But why not? A CLA is not that expensive and will likely lead to trouble free shooting for some time into the future. For the most part if you’re buying film cameras they are going to be old, and as mechanical devices they will need service from time to time. Have fun, don’t worry too much!

 

[jim10219]

I’ve bought quite a few cameras off eBay. I always assume they’ll need work. At the least, the seals usually need replacing. I do my own repairs, so it’s not a big deal form me. In fact, I usually look for cameras that need repair to save money on the initial cost (though sometimes the cost of replacement parts bites me in the derrière). But I wouldn’t buy a used camera that hasn’t been recently serviced with the idea that it’ll work perfectly from day one. They’re delicate pieces of machinery, and there’s a lot that can go wrong.

 

[removed account4]

buy it, save your emails
have the repair guy you would take it to for a CLA
inspect it for you and make sure everythng is
nice-nice and ...if you get burned, contact paypal
don't bother with the seller, get a refund including shipping
and ship it back ... over and done with ...
i wouldn't worry too much about it
its not like the old days on ebay where a seller
would sell you something not even depicted in the images
cause they have hotlinked all their photos, they sell you something broken
and then threaten you if you say leave anything but a good feedback

 

[Johnkpap]

I use buy a lot of photo gear like that in the past 9 out of 10 times it would be in great condition and just need new battery’s and a clean. I could normally sell off the extra bits I did not need as well. Lately in the past 2 - 3 years things have changed ....There are a lot more people looking for a bargin to resell, most gear that is being offered up now is in poor condition and is usually complete rubbish. My last 2 lots I bought were not repairable, full of fungus or engraved !! I would make sure the seller will take a return first or inspect it if possible. A lot of basic repair parts are also unavailable, even the basic parts like rewind cranks ect are nolonger being sold by Nikon and Pentax

Johnkpap

 

[AgX]

Then order it and have it shipped to someone in the US. Then come to visit and pick up the camera. Customs will not notice a used film camera as a new purchase.

No reason to ridicule. For years KEH is advised here as trouble-free source, as you alway can return the item for free. What does not come true for many of us.

 

[Craig75]

So the gist is should i buy this unnamed camera from unnamed seller for unnamed price ?

 

[E. von Hoegh]

Hi All,

I'm close to buying a camera on ebay after speaking a lot to the man selling it. It was his fathers who got ill shortly after he purchased it and only used it a couple of times. Its been sat in a custom branded pouch as well as a larger carry bag. The owner noted that the camera bag was covered in dust which he has not been able to get off entirely. He says that the inside of the camera bag is dust free as well as the camera itself. Do you think it's safe to buy? The camera is weather sealed but I don't know if this means that it is not at risk from dust getting trapped inside it! Also owner assures me there is no fungus (that was also a big concern due to storage) and that battery was removed years ago!

I've bought two cameras and one lens from feepay, a Contax II which needed to be stripped down to the bare body casting, all parts cleaned ultrasonically, then reassembled with modern lubricants and new shutter ribbons - or in other words, nothing any 80 year old camera which sat unused for possibly half a century would not need. Next a Kiev 4, it needed lubricating and one minor repair, the lens needed internal cleaning, minor stuff for a 48 year old camera. The lens was a Jupiter 9, which needed internal cleaning, again par for an almost 50 year old lens. The prices were fair, the sellers honest and good to communicate with, shipping prompt with items well packed. I'm very happy. You say the bag is dusty, well it did it's job of protecting the camera, didn't it?
You gave us no information beyond dust, no fugus, and battery was removed. We can't help.
YOU have to inform youself regarding the item in question, YOU have to asess the seller, and YOU have to decide if the item is worth it. Most all people are honest, but not all are well informed regarding camera gear - so you have to do your own homework.
Ask questins of the seller, as you have, research, etc, we cant do it for you particularly because you have put it as an abstract question.

 

[btaylor]

Like EV said, really not enough information. But I have had hundreds of positive experiences with eBay sellers. But I don’t expect a 50 or 70 year old camera to be perfect either. I always budget for a CLA when I buy an old camera.

 

[railwayman3]

In the early years of eBay I bought lots of stuff. Now I won't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

Although my Ebay experiences have generally proved positive, I am sure that the bargains of, maybe, 10-15 years ago have long gone. Certainly, I have bought no expensive purchases for photography or any other hobby in recent years. Any real quality or genually unusual items now fetch high prices...while small and inexpensive items can be reasonable buys as their prices have to be realistic, and there's not much that can go wrong with, say, a branded UV filter costing not much more than a Sunday newspaper !
I think that the OP must do his own further enquiries sufficient to make up his own mind on this one; we can't do this for him, we can only quote our own experiences with Ebay, successful or otherwise.

 

[btaylor]

I still find good prices out there in eBay land, especially if one is not in a hurry.

 

[Bill Burk]

I've bought cameras and lenses that were not in cases.

Those are always worse off.