Buying Equipment from KEH

mikebarger · Jul 11, 2009

When it is their issue I'd like them better if they paid the return shipping.

Mike

Ira Rush · Jul 11, 2009

Another Very Happy KEH Customer

Just to add my own spin on this thread.....

I have purchased from KEH for years now, and 99.5% of the time, the service, shipping and overall customer service has been excellent .

That remaining 1/2 of a percent, yes I admit, things were sent back, and either a replacement or refund was offered.

Now get this, the most recent "problem" I had with an item from them, (a Nikon Finder) well they bent over backwards to make it right . Even shipped it Fedex Overnight!

No other place I know of does that anymore, no other place anymore really even cares, they just want to sell the stuff and for you to go away.
Well not KEH, they care for the customer and they go out of their way to show it.

KEH is a great source... just my spin on this... oh and now to the following...

jd callow said:
What is a Mack warranty?

thebanana said:
I think Mack is just a brand name for a warranty re-seller. You know, kind of like going to Future Shop, buying a TV and then paying for the extended warranty, which is actually a kind of "insurance" company operation playing the odds against you ever remembering where you bought it in the first place.

Maybe I'm wrong

.... I am 99.99% sure that a Mack Warranty is from Mack Camera and Video service from Springfield, NJ ... then again maybe I'm wrong

GJA · Jul 11, 2009

I like most have found KEH very accommodating. I bought a nikon D1H from them, in BGN condition, when it arrived it hadafew very minor problems, a dented eyepiece ring and no LCD illumination on the top panel. Many would call these reasons the camera was BGN, (and BTW this is the first time i agreed with their rating normally they are much more conservative), but they happily refunded me for the entire order. I had gotten a CF card as well and when i shipped it back they didnt refund me for it. I called and Dan (who is the guy there that I always try to order from) said they coundt find the memory card, i told him that I sent it and was refunded within minutes, they probably tossed it, but i could just have easily lied and kept it.

They trust their customers and we trust them and if your honest you get honest service.

Its a bit of a hit or miss place, dispute that however i never feel like im getting the bad end of the stick or have ever been treated as if they want me to f off.

GJA · Jul 11, 2009

mikebarger said:
When it is their issue I'd like them better if they paid the return shipping.

Mike

Im glad they don't. I think people would way over abuse them and the prices would have to go up. The return shipping costs make people think before they send it back, so that buyers regret doesn't kick in. Normally if they refund you you get the entire amount including the shipping that you paid returned, so in a sense they do pay the return, just not the shipping to you.

mikebarger · Jul 11, 2009

I've returned two items, out of about 12 - 15, haven't seen a refund for return for either.

My post above stated for their issues, if something arrives not working, I don't think you should have to pay return shipping. I understand if you just don't like the looks.

Mike

TheAZGolfBum · Jul 11, 2009

Don't forget the repair service at KEH. Excellent and fair pricing.

David Pidcock
TheAZGolfBum

3 Olives · Jul 11, 2009

I've bought at least 6 items from KEH and have been pleasantly surprised on all of them. The BGN Canon A1 outfit would have been MINT on the Bay. KEH held a beautiful Contax RF with a mechanical problem until one of their techs could give a repair price. The repair was going to be as much as the Contax body, so I let it go.
I have noticed that a lot of auction sellers at the Big House are now selling AS IS.

aldevo · Jul 11, 2009

3 Olives said:
I've bought at least 6 items from KEH and have been pleasantly surprised on all of them. The BGN Canon A1 outfit would have been MINT on the Bay. KEH held a beautiful Contax RF with a mechanical problem until one of their techs could give a repair price. The repair was going to be as much as the Contax body, so I let it go.
I have noticed that a lot of auction sellers at the Big House are now selling AS IS.

You're touching on an interesting point.

Most 35mm gear is for hobbyist use in which case the BGN will probably exceed your expectations. Most MF gear, however, has been used professionally and will show the expected wear in the finish. My Bronica SQ-Ai kit was BGN and, frankly, that was an appropriate appraisal.

KEH really doesn't seem to do much functional testing of their gear. I have never received an item from them that didn't meet or beat my expectations as far as the cosmetics were concerned - but I have received lots of items that simply didn't function correctly.

They are willing to make a go of fixing my Bronica free of charge (it's within the 14 day return period) but they have made it clear to me that they probably can't do much since Tamron has not really made good on their pledge to continue supporting their MF gear until 2010.

So it looks like another return.

As for all the eBayers selling "AS IS" - well, there's a lot of desperate people out there right now looking for suckers.

Chris Nielsen · Jul 11, 2009

Have been buying for a while from them and only had a couple of hiccups, the most recent was a Rolleinar that was marked Bay 1 when clearly it was Bay II and hence didn't fit. They were very good about fixing the problem but the unhappy part is they didn't have another in stock and didn't really have much for the same price that I wanted, so I have had to pay for shipping back to them plus the difference in cost to a more expensive item, plus it's going to be like a month before the replacement item arrives. Oh well... I just hope the replacement item is correct !

nc5p · Jul 12, 2009

TheAZGolfBum said:
Don't forget the repair service at KEH. Excellent and fair pricing.

David Pidcock
TheAZGolfBum

I was briefly in the area Thursday and dropped my 35mm Mamiya lens off for a CLA. Kind of sad they don't have a store to browse but I'm sure it would have cost me a lot of money if they did.

tjaded · Jul 20, 2009

KEH

I'm not sure how many of you buy from KEH, but I really am amazed by them. I just bought a camera body from the, it arrived today. It was one of their "Bargain" items. This is the 5th time I have bought a "bargain" item from them and it is the 5th time I have received an item that would probably have been graded "excellent" by anyone else. I have no connection to KEH, just wanted to share that, at least as far as vintage items go, KEH is definitely trusted and preferred over eBay. In fact, the body that I just bought from KEH was a "replacement" for one I bought on eBay a few months ago. I guess there is something to be said for descriptions being done by people that know what a camera is supposed to do! Anyway, that's it. My little slice of good camera mojo for the week.

Krzys · Jul 20, 2009

How do their bargain lenses qualify though? Their description says it will have minor scratches ect, but does not say that it wont have fungus ect.

2F/2F · Jul 20, 2009

Krzys said:
How do their bargain lenses qualify though? Their description says it will have minor scratches ect, but does not say that it wont have fungus ect.

With their BGN stuff, it really depends. I think there are a lot of judgment calls being made on BGN items. They range anywhere from "better than ugly" to "right below excellent". That is a huge range. IMO, something like "poor, fair, good, excellent, and outstanding" make more sense than their current grading system, which has such variance in the bargain category. As it is now, BGN encompasses what would be both the "fair" and "good" categories this way.

I have generally been unhappy with my BGN purchases from them, and very pleased with EX and EX+.

thebanana · Jul 20, 2009

There are lots of threads on this subject in the archives. The general consensus is that KEH is very conservative in their ratings.

nocrop · Jul 20, 2009

I've only bought stuff from EX to LN condition from KEH, and have been pleasantly surprised several times with what I've gotten. I think the sweet spot for bargains is probably around the EX-/EX range, but I'm kind of fussy and like my gear to look "good", and EX+/LN-/LN on the KEH scale has worked for me. I would be extremely unhappy if the world didn't have a KEH available, because I hate going the e**Y route. A friend of mine bought a BGN 20mm Nikkor lens from KEH, and I thought it looked very good. It's one of my friend's favorite lenses now. There have been stories of unhappy KEH customers, but I think the vast majority are pleased they bought their gear there.

Paul Sorensen · Jul 21, 2009

I have purchased lots of stuff in bargain condition. Most have been far better than what I would have had any right to expect. Twice, once with a Pentax lens and once with an RB67 body for a backup, did I get something that was really as described. I also bought a Minolta flashmeter in Ugly and I am still using it. I would go as excellent from most folks on eBay and could not possibly be worse than bargain according to what I understand the KEH ratings to mean.

Krzys, I understand that bargain lenses are supposed to be optically without any fungus, but I agree that this is not clearly indicated in their grading description. Based on the fact that they do mention fungus and haze on their description of Ugly, I have decided that means no fungus for bargain. I could be wrong. Perhaps a call for clarification would be in order.

Sirius Glass · Jul 21, 2009

KEH has very conservative ratings. I have only had one problem, an EX filter had a scratch on it. I returned it while they sent a replacement simultaneously as I was sending the old one back.

Steve

Jeff Kubach · Jul 21, 2009

I also had bought bargain stuff from KEH that were in great shape.

Jeff

Phillip P. Dimor · Jul 21, 2009

I've bought a few bgn items, all have been fine and working. The hasselblad kit was all bargain except for the waistlevel fnder (ln). My only issue was that the insert was dented in one spot but did not affect its operation or performace at all. I was happy then and i'm still happy now. I'll keep going back to them for as long as I can.

palec · Jul 21, 2009

I've not been that lucky with my one and only KEH purchase. The description was better than actual condition and I had to return it. International shipping was not refunded even though it clearly had been KEH's fault.

Krzys · Jul 21, 2009

I need to buy a replacement for my 80mm as it is engulfed with fungus and am a bit weary of buying the bargain quality lens. Only the large shipping fee turns me off getting an EX+

mikebarger · Jul 21, 2009

Here's our weekly I love KEH thread!

Mike

wayne naughton · Jul 21, 2009

I've had one stuffup with them but it got quickly sorted out..... I find their delivery turnaround nothing short of breathtaking....5 days from Georgia to my door in melbourne, australia? Amazing! And their gradings are very conservative....I'd happily purchase a bargain from them anytime.

BradS · Jul 21, 2009

I've had a few bad experiences with them. The last one was so bad that I've never gone back.

I greatly prefer to do business with Keeble& Shuchat (fairly local), Badgergraphic and the view camera store.

Roger Krueger · Jul 21, 2009

I've gotten a couple of lemons from them, but they were both non-obvious, non-cosmetic problems that they wouldn't catch without thorough testing: A Konica Hexar with the usual intermittent shutter button and a Sunpak 322 flash with the not-uncommon full-power-at-all-settings problem. I ended up keeping both. The Hexar problem I considered an inevitable repair investment. The 322 I had a return approved and packed when I broke the foot off my other 322 and needed an instant parts source more than I needed my $15 back.

Buying Equipment from KEH

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency