Buying Equipment from KEH

David Callard

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Sep 11, 2008
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Well, I'm sad to report that as of 12/15/09 nothing has changed at the KEH site. I still can't buy anything because the checkout won't work, I can't even login to my account and there is still no-one to ask for help. I did eventually come across an email address buried deep in the "Sell your gear" pages but have not received any response. I guess it's back to ebay for me.
 

lynxkcg

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Nov 25, 2008
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I had a lot of problems with the website last week when ordering my RB67. It got sent to my address instead of my girlfriends(she's giving it to me for christmas). My order appeared after the 2nd time checking out, but showed up as "on hold". One 2 minute call to KEH got it shipped. While I didn't like the website problems, I can't argue with the quality of the product and shipping speed. The lens had flawless glass and the back was new except for a few light scratches.
 

aldevo

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Yes, they are continuing to struggle.

They seem to be having issues with both inventory management and order fulfillment on the new site.

A couple weeks ago I placed an order for a Bronica S-18 extension tube only to be told that the item I ordered turned out not to be in their inventory.

Last week I purchased an order for a 150mm S lens and was told yesterday it could well be another week before it ships due to issues they are having with issuing order fulfillment directives to their warehouse.

It's really poor timing to try to go live with a new web site just before the holiday season. My guess is that this new site was delayed due to all sorts of problems and KEH has little choice but to try to work through them during the holidays.
 

aldevo

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The exact same issue happened to my order with the 150mm S lens.

They are doing their best to try to work through the issues, but I don't envy their sales people right now.
 

DLawson

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Terence said:
Being a concrete and steel engineer and not a computer guy, I would think you'd create a mirrored test site to work out the bugs before "going live".
Click to expand...

You would be correct. Whoever was/is in charge of KEH's system roll-out (who probably isn't a KEH employee) has screwed it massively. The second sign of that is that the broken system is still public. There should have been a roll-back plan, which I can only assume was not the case.

I don't have any money to throw at them right now, so this isn't giving me problems. Hopefully they have things better in a month or two, when I might have a 6x7 budget.

Following these threads, reading as a software developer for a web based product, I just want to slap someone very hard.
 

MattKing

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wclavey

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I recently purchased something from them - - it was one of the rare instances with them when there was a problem on arrival (they took it back, credited the price & the shipping both ways, etc - - very good to work with...). But while I was talking to one of their staff, she told me that using the online system is OK for checking normal product availability but that the customer service folks generally recommend calling up to verify final availability and to place the actual order. In the end, there are fewer problems doing that. So that's what I have done for my subsequent orders. If it reduces the likelihood of problems, I'll take that extra step.
 

Sirius Glass

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This thread should be merged with the "KEH" thread.

Steve
 

Sirius Glass

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That is what I do.

Steve
 

David A. Goldfarb

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Two more threads merged into the big KEH thread.
 

David A. Goldfarb

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I'd consolidate even more of them, but it seems that the APUG search engine, which makes it easy to merge a large group of threads, doesn't like to search on three-letter words. I can find them using another tool available to the moderators, but that method isn't connected to the process of merging threads, so they would have to be merged one at a time, which is tedious. There must be six or eight old threads with the title "KEH," and maybe around thirty miscellaneous unmerged threads out there about KEH, four or five of them about problems with the website over the years.
 

David Callard

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Sep 11, 2008
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Further to my last post re the problems with the KEH website I do have some news, some good, some not so good. To get the bad over with first, no the site is still not fixed. The good is that I did finally hear from Todd who was very sympathetic and put me onto the KEH eBay store which is called "kehoutlet". They've still got their heads under the hood trying to fix the problem. But wait! there's more! Fortunately I still had the email address of the salesperson who has helped me before (Tim Smith) and he has kindly offered to put my order through manually so it looks like I will get my Bronica lens after all. Needless to say they are all fed up with the mess the IT guys have made of the site. Anyway, the good old KEH service we have all come to appreciate is still there - once we reach it.
 

robscomputer

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Jan 21, 2010
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Fremont, CA
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I bought a few items from KEH, starting in 2004, mostly film related items. Below is a Canon AE-1 that was listed as "bargin" condition I think for $125. Came with the 50mm f/1.4 and was just what I was looking for. Not a great photo but it's in very good condition and don't think there any brassing or serious scratches.



I never thought about calling to view the items before but I did make a mistake in my purchase and they were very helpful to give me a refund. I saw a Sigma 14mm f/3.5 Canon EOS mount lens for $140 "bargin" rated. Just was looking for a Canon 15mm f/2.8 and this was a great price! Turns out after making the purchase I found that the lens is only working on the film cameras and not the digital cameras. Called to KEH and they said no problem, also offered to help with issues like this in the future. The lens was clearly used but still looked clean and didn't have any major issues.

My only problem is that they use generic item photos and sometimes vague descriptions. I like to see a showcase of some select cameras and multiple views, just to see what their standard ratings really look like. But so far, I'll agree with everyone else, they rate much higher than other shops.

Just this week I made another order for my first medium format camera, a complete outfit and it was rated "excellent" I'll find out how it is next week.
 

Joe Grodis

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Nov 29, 2008
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I've been a KEH customer for years and have always been 100% satisfied. My only issue with KEH is occasional slow shipping and the price of Bronica gear seems to be going up :-( But they are still cheaper than most with a strict grading system the benefits the buyer all the time.
 

LyleB

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Jan 21, 2010
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I've bought a number of things from KEH recently. Couldn't be happier with the items. The best buy was a "BGN" Nikon N90s. Originally priced at $39.00, marked down to $29.00. I ordered it online. Wasn't expecting much, but knew that they usually rated their products very conservatively. I got the camera packed very well. When I unpacked it I was shocked. It looked like brand new. On very careful inspection, I found a couple of smudges on the rubberized coating on the back, and a couple very tiny nicks on the prism. It was very clean. If I were to venture a guess, I would say it was a display model in a good camera shop, not a big box store.

Today I took it out and ran a roll of film through it, just to test it out. Seems to work perfectly. No issue at all.

Very Happy. I just have to keep myself off of their website!!!! Even at their prices, one could easily go overboard.
 
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