Buying Equipment from KEH

[Sirius Glass]

I just received a 65mm wideangle lens on baby Pacemaker board which turns out to be quite nice. My only gripe with KEH is their use of FEDEX shipping.
Here's the box before opening: View attachment 330365

I ordered Polaroid film from KEH and I too received a crushed box like that, but the film box was undamaged.

 

[Marcelo Paniagua]

yeah, the only thing worse would be UPS shipping. More and more, I'm trying to push all shipping towards US Post--they're slower, but for me the most reliable.

Agree on all accounts.

 

[madNbad]

I started buying from KEH in 1979, shortly after the move from the original house to the place on Peachtree Street. You would call and either King Grant or another sales person would put the phone down and wander over to the shelves to check for the item. Each month a mimeograph list of current equipment would arrive in the mail. I don’t deal with them as much as I once did but they found a need and built a business around it.

 

[Donald Qualls]

on many things UPS gives packages to the local post office for actual delivery

That depends on what shipping option the shipper paid for. If I go into a UPS Store and ship something, it'll be UPS all the way to the receiver's door. If I have a business account, however, UPS Postal Partner is an option that saves considerable cost over UPS Ground but beats USPS (new service standards) by a day or two if you're going more than a day's drive away.

 

[logan2z]

UPS Postal Partner is an option that saves considerable cost over UPS Ground but beats USPS (new service standards) by a day or two if you're going more than a day's drive away.

It must be even cheaper than USPS Media Mail - which is already super cheap - because Aperture uses UPS Mail Innovations (same as Postal Partner?) to ship books, and the last mile is USPS.

 

[Dan Fromm]

Leitmeyr Munich. Glass looks great, shutter sticks at 1/10 and below.
Their pix don't do it justice:

Thanks for the reply. I b'lieve that Leitmeyr's w/a lenses were of two design types, 4/4 double Gauss and 6/2 Dagor/Angulon. Would you please count reflections and tell me which yours is. I have a 105/6.3 Leitmeyr in Prontor II in the drawer, have never used it. I just counted reflections, it is a 4/4 so yours is probably a 6/2.

And when you use it, please tell us how well it shoots. Leitmeyr lenses are uncommon and I haven't seen much about any of them.

 

[redbandit]

That depends on what shipping option the shipper paid for. If I go into a UPS Store and ship something, it'll be UPS all the way to the receiver's door. If I have a business account, however, UPS Postal Partner is an option that saves considerable cost over UPS Ground but beats USPS (new service standards) by a day or two if you're going more than a day's drive away.

Ive had items sent via UPS that required a human signature to prove ownership of the item.. that were dumped at my local postal orifice and left to rot for days before they appeared in the mail box

 

[Donald Qualls]

Aperture uses UPS Mail Innovations (same as Postal Partner?) to ship books, and the last mile is USPS.

Yep, that's the correct name, I was typing from fallible memory. What saves money is that UPS brings the items to your Postal sorting center the same way they deliver to businesses -- in bulk totes or even pallets -- and lets USPS do the final sort. They've got a negotiated rate because USPS doesn't have to actually move the mail except to the correct local zip code P.O. and from there to your mailbox, which costs them a lot less than (for instance) moving the same package from Los Angeles to Winston-Salem -- which is part of the job UPS can do cheaper than the postal service, because they do a better job of batching packages going to one place.

Aperture may actually pay a little more than they would for USPS Media Mail, but save it back in the presorting they don't have to do.

 

[madNbad]

It must be even cheaper than USPS Media Mail - which is already super cheap - because Aperture uses UPS Mail Innovations (same as Postal Partner?) to ship books, and the last mile is USPS.

The last time I had a package delivered by UPS Mail Innovations, the UPS sorter machine applied their label directly over the USPS barcode and until someone at the post office actually looked at the package, it was on it's way back to the sender. I received a package B&H sent FedEx and fortunately it was an L plate because the box was almost completely smashed. USPS is the best so far but I have had packages from Huss make it to the main post office in Portland, OR then take a side trip to Dallas, TX before finally arriving.

 

[logan2z]

Yep, that's the correct name, I was typing from fallible memory.

I think your name has a better ring to it

What saves money is that UPS brings the items to your Postal sorting center the same way they deliver to businesses -- in bulk totes or even pallets -- and lets USPS do the final sort. They've got a negotiated rate because USPS doesn't have to actually move the mail except to the correct local zip code P.O. and from there to your mailbox, which costs them a lot less than (for instance) moving the same package from Los Angeles to Winston-Salem -- which is part of the job UPS can do cheaper than the postal service, because they do a better job of batching packages going to one place.

Aperture may actually pay a little more than they would for USPS Media Mail, but save it back in the presorting they don't have to do.

That makes sense, thanks for the explanation.

 

[choiliefan]

Thanks for the reply. I b'lieve that Leitmeyr's w/a lenses were of two design types, 4/4 double Gauss and 6/2 Dagor/Angulon. Would you please count reflections and tell me which yours is. I have a 105/6.3 Leitmeyr in Prontor II in the drawer, have never used it. I just counted reflections, it is a 4/4 so yours is probably a 6/2.

And when you use it, please tell us how well it shoots. Leitmeyr lenses are uncommon and I haven't seen much about any of them.

Its a 4/4. Two bright and two dim per uncoated cell.
I also have a 120mm 6.3 Leitmeyer but unfortunately it's too cloudy internally to shoot through.
The cells are swaged at the rear elements making them impossible to open without great skill and luck.
I read somewhere these lenses are probably copies of earlier Angulons.

 

[Dan Fromm]

Its a 4/4. Two bright and two dim per uncoated cell.
I also have a 120mm 6.3 Leitmeyer but unfortunately it's too cloudy internally to shoot through.
The cells are swaged at the rear elements making them impossible to open without great skill and luck.
I read somewhere these lenses are probably copies of earlier Angulons.

Thanks again.

 

[eli griggs]

yeah, the only thing worse would be UPS shipping. More and more, I'm trying to push all shipping towards US Post--they're slower, but for me the most reliable.

Ditto!

 

[wattda]

No problem with the things I have ordered. I have had shipping as seen above. To be fair they are like amazon and use a container that is too large.

 

[Cluke95]

I've had nothing but stellar experiences both buying and selling with keh. They are very reachable for customer service every time I contact them, and always helpful.

 

[SodaAnt]

I’ve bought two cameras from KEH recently and had good experiences with both. Both cameras were rated conservatively and I was pleasantly pleased.

KEH’s packing jobs are interesting. I’m used to buying camera stuff from Japanese dealers on eBay and they pack equipment very meticulously and very well. KEH’s packing jobs are almost comical by comparison. I bought a monorail 4x5 camera from them and it was packed as if they handed the camera, some bubble wrap, and a box to a five year old and told them to pack it. The camera had one wrap of small cell bubble wrap and a few wraps of larger cell bubble wrap randomly wrapped around it and then put in a box loosely.

 

[tom williams]

A bit off topic, but regarding KEH: I asked KEH (via chat) if they could service a Bronica GS-1, noting that parts would probably be required, and the respondee said yes, and not much more. I didn't feel persuaded by the rapid answer and lack of detail. Any experience here with KEH service department, especially re GS-1?

 

[Sirius Glass]

A bit off topic, but regarding KEH: I asked KEH (via chat) if they could service a Bronica GS-1, noting that parts would probably be required, and the respondee said yes, and not much more. I didn't feel persuaded by the rapid answer and lack of detail. Any experience here with KEH service department, especially re GS-1?

So did you go to the detail listing all the parts that were needed? What did you expect for an answer?

 

[mshchem]

Doesn't KEH offer a fixed price for services. It's not cheap, they don't sell parts except as parts cameras. Still I suspect they are familiar with most cameras. My nearest repair shop is a hour drive, which isn't bad.

 

[tom williams]

So did you go to the detail listing all the parts that were needed? What did you expect for an answer?

I did specify that a repair would probably involve the sensor and the LED display, and asked if parts would be a problem if they were reqired. The respondent came back with a 'no problem' (paraphrase) reply very quickly, which made me think they hadn't actually checked. Maybe my contact was in the know on GS-1 repair and could answer off the top of their head - but I wasn't confident that I could send the camera to KEH and not end up with a 'parts not available' return from them. Maybe I should have pressed them to go check the parts bins ... I didn't think that would fly. I've sent KEH repair a more detailed email - perhaps that will help.

I'm not knocking KEH - every piece of equipment that I've bought from them has been better than advertised - but I thought there might be some experience in the forum that would help me decide that they would or would not be a good service fit for a GS-1. Not that there are so many options.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I did specify that a repair would probably involve the sensor and the LED display, and asked if parts would be a problem if they were reqired. The respondent came back with a 'no problem' (paraphrase) reply very quickly, which made me think they hadn't actually checked. Maybe my contact was in the know on GS-1 repair and could answer off the top of their head - but I wasn't confident that I could send the camera to KEH and not end up with a 'parts not available' return from them. Maybe I should have pressed them to go check the parts bins ... I didn't think that would fly. I've sent KEH repair a more detailed email - perhaps that will help.

I'm not knocking KEH - every piece of equipment that I've bought from them has been better than advertised - but I thought there might be some experience in the forum that would help me decide that they would or would not be a good service fit for a GS-1. Not that there are so many options.

That is an assumption. Are you sure it was a good one?

 

[choiliefan]

I wouldn't be surprised to find that KEH has a stockpile of parts and parts bodies for many common film cameras. I doubt they would waste your time saying they could do the job if they couldn't.

 

[Rmaydana]

Leitmeyr Múnich. El vidrio se ve muy bien, el obturador se pega a 1/10 y menos.
Su foto no le hace justicia:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/295529278229

Podes probar limpiando con aire, compre uno de 90 y por debajo de 1/10 se pegaba, la verdad que e muy sencillo, puso algo de limpia contacto (aerosol) y aire comprimido y resucito...

 

[Dan Fromm]

Ricardo, aqui nadie no habla espanol.

 

[tom williams]

I wouldn't be surprised to find that KEH has a stockpile of parts and parts bodies for many common film cameras. I doubt they would waste your time saying they could do the job if they couldn't.

That makes sense to me, and it was my attitude at first with the Bronica repair. But the GS-1 probably doesn't fit the description "common film camera". My initial correspondence (a chat and one email) with KEH got replies along the lines of 'send it in & we'll handle it", but with no commitment on parts availability. I followed up by email, mentioning that I didn't want to send my camera in if they didn't have the parts on hand, please check in-hand stock, to which they replied: "we do not have the parts for this nor are they able to be located at this time."

None of this dents my appreciation for KEH as a used components supplier. It does help me refine my approach to camera repairs.