Buying MF stuff from Japan?

Darko Kamer · Jan 9, 2020

Has anyone been purchasing camera gear on fleabay from Japan? How did the sale go? did the gear arrive on time? and was it in the condition described?
Need a few things for my Pentax 67 and it looks like most if not all of the local sources have dried up; but lots of stuff still on fleabay. I've heard some horror stories though.

Andrew O'Neill · Jan 9, 2020

Never had any issues ordering from Japan.

BrianShaw · Jan 9, 2020

Darko Kamer said:
... I've heard some horror stories though.

What, pray tell, does that mean?

Dan McGuire · Jan 9, 2020

Darko
I have been putting together a large format setup since August.
I have done many transactions from Japan to Canada.
Only place I could find half decent 5x7 film holders it seemed.
I had only one problem, and was refunded no problems.
Look for EMS shipping from Japan, he k some even shipped no charge.
I know, it was built into the buy it now price, but it made it feel good.
And do not tell Justin, but I never got hit with HST.
The stuff actually comes last mile by Canada post. But it is really pretty fast coming across the Pacific.
The only time I got hit with friggen customs was in a lens from Texas.
And they buggers held on to it for more than 30 days.
If you would like I can send you a list of the sellers I purchased from.
As always, Caveot Emptour, YMMV, and above all if it looks like a too good to be true deal, it is.
Oh I am in the GTA, if you are in someplace like Saskatchewbush it may take longer for the Canada Post dog sled team to get to you.

Dan

Dan McGuire · Jan 9, 2020

BrianShaw said:
What, pray tell, does that mean?

Brian
I’ll tell you one.
Bought 4 5x7 film holders
Pictures showed nice units, no ugly stains, clean intact dark slides
These were at a good price, no shipping or extra charges so I pounced
Did you know that there are three sizes of film all referred to as 5x7?
There is what I call standard 5x7, then there is 13x18cm 5x7.
This transaction landed beautiful clean 12x16.5cm 5x7 holders.
The holders are modern Fidelity’s with plastic dark slides.
Heck, the units have 5x7 embossed in them from the molds they were made with.

This is not the end of the world, I searched out where to get film, another wild world wide search.
This only really singed my fingers, but I have been back to the well fir more with good results

Dan

Darko Kamer · Jan 9, 2020

BrianShaw said:
What, pray tell, does that mean?

Coupla times Buyer purchased a camera body that was described as excellent etc. but in reality was a train wreck, buyer returned goods, but as fleabay goes; buyer needed to pay return shipping.
Myself.. I don't need those kind of problems.

StepheKoontz · Jan 9, 2020

I've bought a bunch of stuff from Japan, normally shipping is fast and only had a couple of items not as described. Look closely at the pictures is all I can say.

cbella · Jan 9, 2020

I've largely abandoned that auction site for various reasons. I mostly got tired of the randomness in terms of the description being sufficiently accurate to justify any given price, and the pictures can only tell you so much when evaluating quality of glass and camera function. With some notable exceptions, I have found Japanese camera products to be particularly overpriced and optimistic in their description, and got burned enough times that I stopped buying from there pretty early on. I don't think things have gotten much better. If you need something that is most easily found in Japan, I would contact Kumar directly (you can find him in the classified/for sale forum here) and tell him what you are looking for. My experience is that he will be able to come up with it and will give you an honest appraisal of the condition and a fair price. I've had many transactions with him and have never been dissatisfied.

Andrew O'Neill · Jan 9, 2020

Dan McGuire said:
Darko
I have been putting together a large format setup since August.
I have done many transactions from Japan to Canada.
Only place I could find half decent 5x7 film holders it seemed.
I had only one problem, and was refunded no problems.
Look for EMS shipping from Japan, he k some even shipped no charge.
I know, it was built into the buy it now price, but it made it feel good.
And do not tell Justin, but I never got hit with HST.
The stuff actually comes last mile by Canada post. But it is really pretty fast coming across the Pacific.
The only time I got hit with friggen customs was in a lens from Texas.
And they buggers held on to it for more than 30 days.
If you would like I can send you a list of the sellers I purchased from.
As always, Caveot Emptour, YMMV, and above all if it looks like a too good to be true deal, it is.
Oh I am in the GTA, if you are in someplace like Saskatchewbush it may take longer for the Canada Post dog sled team to get to you.

Dan

I got stuff in Saskatchewan from Japan faster than in Vancouver, BC.

Mainecoonmaniac · Jan 9, 2020

Darko Kamer said:
Has anyone been purchasing camera gear on fleabay from Japan? How did the sale go? did the gear arrive on time? and was it in the condition described?
Need a few things for my Pentax 67 and it looks like most if not all of the local sources have dried up; but lots of stuff still on fleabay. I've heard some horror stories though.

Neither did I. I bought a Fujifilm GW860II and a GSW680 from Japan and they arrived within a couple of weeks. I think in Japan, there's a glut of analog cameras.

cbella · Jan 9, 2020

cbella said:
I've largely abandoned that auction site for various reasons. I mostly got tired of the randomness in terms of the description being sufficiently accurate to justify any given price, and the pictures can only tell you so much when evaluating quality of glass and camera function. With some notable exceptions, I have found Japanese camera products to be particularly overpriced and optimistic in their description, and got burned enough times that I stopped buying from there pretty early on. I don't think things have gotten much better. If you need something that is most easily found in Japan, I would contact Kumar directly (you can find him in the classified/for sale forum here) and tell him what you are looking for. My experience is that he will be able to come up with it and will give you an honest appraisal of the condition and a fair price. I've had many transactions with him and have never been dissatisfied.

I should note as a follow-up to my comment that I've bought an entire Pentax 67 kit from Kumar and subsequently a bunch of accessories. I suspect he has fairly easy access to this equipment.

guangong · Jan 9, 2020

Don’t be turned off by “some dust”. For whatever reason, this is pro forma for every camera and lens description in Japan. Some parts of Japan are quite humid so fungus can be a problem. However, Japanese take care of their personal equipment so not many beaters. I recently bought a Makina 67 as in near mint condition...and it was. As for that auction site, I only buy from 100% rated sellers.

jwd722 · Jan 9, 2020

Haven't ordered from Japan much but my last order from there was amazing.
Ordered a Bronica on Nov. 29 and it arrived at my home in Michigan on Dec. 4. Shipping was $20.00. I've ordered stuff from Ohio that took longer.
This is probably an exception but I'm not worried about ordering from Japan again

Johnkpap · Jan 9, 2020

I has a. 250mm Rollei SL66 lens from Japan with a "Coating mark" I paid about half th going price :- the mark is so small you have to know it is there to find it......other than that ....the lense looks and feels like new , no dents or body marks fungus or any other crap.

The above is my best Japan bargain so far

I have bought from Japan a number of times and normally things are under stated and better than you expect. Just stay away from fungus or corroded items.

Johnkpap

Mainecoonmaniac · Jan 9, 2020

Johnkpap said:
I has a. 250mm Rollei SL66 lens from Japan with a "Coating mark" I paid about half th going price :- the mark is so small you have to know it is there to find it......other than that ....the lense looks and feels like new , no dents or body marks fungus or any other crap.

The above is my best Japan bargain so far

I have bought from Japan a number of times and normally things are under stated and better than you expect. Just stay away from fungus or corroded items.

Johnkpap

I think overall, Japanese camera dealers are pretty honest. I bought a Canon P for a good price then later discovered that the shutter speeds are way off. I think they didn't thoroughly check the camera. In Japan, it's humid. Look out for fungus in lenses.

mgb74 · Jan 9, 2020

Darko Kamer said:
Coupla times Buyer purchased a camera body that was described as excellent etc. but in reality was a train wreck, buyer returned goods, but as fleabay goes; buyer needed to pay return shipping.
Myself.. I don't need those kind of problems.

I have had a few cases of ebay purchases not working or not (objectively) being as described. I've always been able to return at the buyer's expense (unless ebay ate it, none the less, I di not pay return shipping). I don't know how it might be with a more subjective assessment (i.e. good vs excellent). But I doubt that you'd be stuck with return shipping in the case of "train wreck" vs. excellent.

What I have noticed is that the overall rating doesn't (IMO) match the details provided in the listing. As an example, a lens might be described as excellent yet the details review it has haze or even fungus.

Kumar was mentioned in an earlier post. I've never heard of a complaint about him; I'd consider him separate from other sellers out of Japan and have no hesitation buying from him.

mrosenlof · Jan 9, 2020

I've had good transactions with Kumar. I've been happy with an eBay seller "irohas" in Japan, their prices tend high, but descriptions have been right on. I've bought from one or two other Japanese sellers and consider all of them "good" transactions. Look carefully at photos, and read descriptions carefully, look for 100% positive reviews, don't worry much about "tiny dusts" and ignore "EX+++++".

cbella · Jan 9, 2020

mgb74 said:
What I have noticed is that the overall rating doesn't (IMO) match the details provided in the listing. As an example, a lens might be described as excellent yet the details review it has haze or even fungus.

That was my experience. In particular, one large format lens/shutter described as "near mint" and priced accordingly, with non-functioning shutter. Also, two "mint" (and priced as such) medium format lenses with milky haze, well hidden in the photos. Two of the three were returned successfully at no expense to me. For the third, I never heard a response from the seller and the website presumably took the hit and reimbursed me directly without my needing to return the lens. I donated it to our local camera repair shop and told them it was theirs to rehab and sell as they saw fit. I later found out they tried, but felt it was too far gone. "Mint" indeed.

Yes, I've had some good deals from the auction site's Japanese sellers and it's disingenuous to generalize too much. I've purchased far more camera equipment from that site than I'm willing to admit, with varying degrees of satisfaction. Probably just bad luck, but these are the only 3 items I've ever felt the need to return as there is also a hassle factor involved.

Kodachromeguy · Jan 9, 2020

My one experience: perfect. I bought a 50mm f/1.4 LTM lens to use on my Leica IIIC. It was only $110 or so. Seller said minor mark on front coating. The lens arrived in Mississippi in less than 2 weeks and looks gorgeous. You can see it here:

https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2019/07/1960s-excellence-canon-50mm-f14-leica.html

Good luck on your hunt.

xya · Jan 9, 2020

I buy a lot from japan. prices are hardly to beat. most sellers are very honest. as said, look closely at the pictures and at seller's other gear. you will get a feeling how honest he is. shipping was always fast and fine. problems were always solved easily, mostly via refund. if you pay via paypal, you can claim the fee for sending it back. this was only necessary for one out of about 100 items.

voceumana · Jan 9, 2020

I purchased a 45mm SMC Pentax 67 and a 300mm SMC Pentax ED/IF within the past month from Japan for my Pentax 67II body. The 45mmm was in nearly new condition and the 300mm only shows a little use on the tripod mounting plate. Lenses were from different sellers, and both were at least as good as described and I'm very happy with the transactions.

Both items were shipped in a day, tracking info was provided, and the delivery took longer than it should because of US Customs delays in Los Angeles--the first lens took a week to clear customs and the 2nd one took about 5 days.This is not a seasonal issue, just that LA Customs seems to be understaffed for the past few years, probably because of increased trade from China.

I suspect Canadian customs will be faster than USA.

Read descriptions carefully and examine the photos (use the magnify feature) and you should be OK.

Ariston · Jan 9, 2020

Here is an interesting discussion about this exact thing:

Ariston · Jan 9, 2020

We should make a thread with a list of people we've had good experiences with from Japan.

cobbu2 · Jan 9, 2020

Like most everything when purchasing on eBay, check the seller’s feedback rating, pictures of the item, and return policy. There are a few sellers from Japan I purchase Pentax 6x7 and Bronica gear from repeatedly (with perfect feedback ratings) mostly one in particular, from whom I’ve never been disappointed and haven’t ever needed to use their return policy. Having said that, I’ve made other purchases from other sellers from Japan with less-than-perfect feedback ratings without any issues.

Like raizans said above regarding the condition labels, keep that in perspective when making a purchasing decision and you should be safe.

redrockcoulee · Jan 9, 2020

mrosenlof said:
I've had good transactions with Kumar. I've been happy with an eBay seller "irohas" in Japan, their prices tend high, but descriptions have been right on. I've bought from one or two other Japanese sellers and consider all of them "good" transactions. Look carefully at photos, and read descriptions carefully, look for 100% positive reviews, don't worry much about "tiny dusts" and ignore "EX+++++".

My experience with Kumar was the lens was at least as great as the description and shipping fast even though I don't live in a major centre

Buying MF stuff from Japan?

Darko Kamer

Andrew O'Neill

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BrianShaw

Dan McGuire

Dan McGuire

Darko Kamer

StepheKoontz

cbella

Andrew O'Neill

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Mainecoonmaniac

cbella

guangong

jwd722

Johnkpap

Mainecoonmaniac

mgb74

mrosenlof

cbella

Kodachromeguy

xya

voceumana

Ariston

Ariston

cobbu2

redrockcoulee

Buying MF stuff from Japan?

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