Japanese MF eBay purchases

Trond · Mar 4, 2015

LMNOP said:
FYI - my Japanese eBay purchase turned out to be a huge success.

Glad to hear that!

Trond

Simplicius · Mar 4, 2015

I should not have read this thread... I have been browsing those Japanese ebay pages and lusting after a Texas Leica... I made up paranoid stories about poor gear, not as described to control my impulses..

LMNOP · Mar 4, 2015

Simplicius said:
I should not have read this thread... I have been browsing those Japanese ebay pages and lusting after a Texas Leica... I made up paranoid stories about poor gear, not as described to control my impulses..

I cannot stress this enough: Japanese eBay completely exceeded my expectations. Perfect condition, just as described, been through 3 rolls already! The shipping was only 15 dollars and literally took 4 days, when they projected 1-2 weeks. If only ALL of eBay was this simple. Again, check their feedback and make sure they're legit.

Sirius Glass · Mar 4, 2015

Simplicius said:
I should not have read this thread... I have been browsing those Japanese ebay pages and lusting after a Texas Leica... I made up paranoid stories about poor gear, not as described to control my impulses..

Feed the GAS; starve the bank!

wjlapier · Mar 5, 2015

Another GA645 on the way! I had some money in my Paypal account from some previous sales and wanted another GA645 but wasn't sure which. I have the 60/4. Decided on a Zi. I also contemplated more film, but the boss says there is too much in the freezer already.

What I find interesting is the personal contact from the sellers. The don't want a case to be opened against them so they contact first and suggest we discuss an alternative. I haven't had a problem. I'm just saying they contact before they ship to work around a bad situation just in case. Recent seller actually introduced himself and gave me a little history of his life in Japan. Like I said, interesting.

one90guy · Mar 5, 2015

AgX said:
GAS = Gear Aquiring Syndrom

First signs: when you have to smuggle-in your new stuff.

Use to work for me (smuggling), we both retired and now have a joint bank account

David

Sirius Glass · Mar 5, 2015

We are both retired and I bring it in the front door and unwrapping in the dinning room or living room. No smuggling here.

TheToadMen · Mar 9, 2015

I certainly believe the Japanese Ebay sellers are decent people with good aftersales.
But expressing yourself properly in a foreign language ........

I saw an ad today with this description for a Mamiya 6 (old type):

"Functional
There is no the winding dial.
Shutter is no problem.
Finder might Haze, barely safe.
Double image is shifted slightly to the left.
Bellows has become difficult to tight.

Otherwise is no problem."

You know what they say: "One image tells you more than a thousand words ..."

nwilkins · Mar 9, 2015

what's wrong? Those bellows certainly look "difficult to tight". And the seller provided that picture to help overcome any language confusion. What more did you want?

TheToadMen said:
I certainly believe the Japanese Ebay sellers are decent people with good aftersales.
But expressing yourself properly in a foreign language ........

I saw an ad today with this description for a Mamiya 6 (old type):

"Functional
There is no the winding dial.
Shutter is no problem.
Finder might Haze, barely safe.
Double image is shifted slightly to the left.
Bellows has become difficult to tight.

Otherwise is no problem."

You know what they say: "One image tells you more than a thousand words ..."

Mainecoonmaniac · Mar 9, 2015

I bought a Fuji GSW690 and a GW690 on Ebay from Japanese sellers without any issues. Impeccably packaged.

mooseontheloose · Mar 9, 2015

Ah...the joys of translation!

TheToadMen said:
"Functional
There is no the winding dial.
Shutter is no problem.
Finder might Haze, barely safe.
Double image is shifted slightly to the left.
Bellows has become difficult to tight.

Otherwise is no problem."

That being said, this particular description sounds almost haiku-like.

IloveTLRs · Mar 10, 2015

mooseontheloose said:
Ah...the joys of translation!

That being said, this particular description sounds almost haiku-like.

I've messaged a few Japanese ebay sellers - in Japanese - but they always get back to me in English :confused:

macfred · Mar 10, 2015

mooseontheloose said:
That being said, this particular description sounds almost haiku-like.

I agree !!

---

Did we mentioned those tiny gifts, Japanese sellers put in their packages ?
I've got various little dollies, a hand fan, a wristband, gummy bears and some more stuff Like it !!

Alan Gales · Mar 12, 2015

I just received a large format lens in the mail today from Ebay Seller kingtakion in Japan. I am very happy with the lens. The description, packaging, communication and shipping time were all excellent. The price wasn't bad either and I'm a cheap sob.

wjlapier · Mar 13, 2015

wjlapier said:
Another GA645 on the way! I had some money in my Paypal account from some previous sales and wanted another GA645 but wasn't sure which. I have the 60/4. Decided on a Zi. I also contemplated more film, but the boss says there is too much in the freezer already.

What I find interesting is the personal contact from the sellers. The don't want a case to be opened against them so they contact first and suggest we discuss an alternative. I haven't had a problem. I'm just saying they contact before they ship to work around a bad situation just in case. Recent seller actually introduced himself and gave me a little history of his life in Japan. Like I said, interesting.

The GA645Zi had a crack in the handgrip area I didn't see in the pics on my iPad mini. Upon closer inspection on my laptop I noticed it and immediately contacted the seller, who was more than gracious to refund me my money. They also modified their add I noticed.

So, having some money in my Paypal account I looked around for another camera and bought a GS645W! Very nice! Compact is an understatement. Smallest 645 I've seen yet. Can't wait to get a roll developed to see how it does.

Someone mentioned packaging above. That is something I've noticed too. Always very well packaged with something extra like candy or something like that.

xya · Mar 13, 2015

wjlapier said:
...bought a GS645W! Very nice! Compact is an understatement. Smallest 645 I've seen yet..

I have a GS645W(i), it's very nice indeed (it came from a japanese seller). but have a look at a Konica Pearl III, that's half the size. incredibly tiny 6x4.5, rangefinder, automatic film advance. I have 2 of them, came from japan as well... if you want more information, have a look at my site http://www.120folder.com/compa.htm

macfred · Mar 13, 2015

xya said:
I have a GS645W(i), it's very nice indeed (it came from a japanese seller). but have a look at a Konica Pearl III, that's half the size. incredibly tiny 6x4.5, rangefinder, automatic film advance. I have 2 of them, came from japan as well... if you want more information, have a look at my site http://www.120folder.com/compa.htm

I have a GA645 and a GA645Wi - like them a lot. But now I lust for a PearlIII Thank you for the link to 120folder.com !

BetterSense · Apr 13, 2015

Well, of course I would be the one with a bad experience.

I bought a GW690III from Japan on ebay, in Very Good Condition !, and the light seals are deteriorated, one of the strap loops is bent, the hardware is rusted, the bubble level is broken off and missing, the entire movable lens hood is broken off and gone, and generally looks like it was dragged behind a car.

I bought it from my smart-phone, using the broken/pointless/content-free "mobile" version of ebay's website. After I got the camera I logged in on my laptop and I have to admit the pictures show the damage and the missing/broken items are noted in the text, although I do not think the damage is consistent with "very good condition!".

The moral here is view your auction on a big monitor with the desktop version of ebay, and read the description carefully, and ignore the seller's own description of the camera's condition. By the way, I paid $328. Is this a fair price for a "keh ugly" GW690W (the glass is perfect)?

leicarfcam · Apr 13, 2015

Back in the 90's and early 2000's the Japanese were rolling in money and buying everything they could on eBay. Now that the money is drying up many are just unloading the gear they had collected. I've bought a couple of cameras and each one was non-working contrary to the description and had to be serviced ..

The problem here is the expense of having to ship the camera back and they know it so you either have to get it serviced or lose money by shipping it back..

I no longer buy outside the USA.

ozphoto · Apr 14, 2015

I'm currently considering a 5x4 purchase from Japan; have seen several that look good, have a great description and the sellers' feedbacks are all in the 99.9%-100% range.

Regardless of where I am, I'm going to have to pay postage regardless. (I envy you guys in the US - tons of gear to be had at some great prices!! )

nwilkins · Apr 14, 2015

in my experience if there is a problem Japanese sellers will often either refund the postage as well or pay for me to have it repaired locally. Recently I bought an RB67 Pro-SD body from Japan. The body is mint but one of the little pins in the rotating back adapter is bent so the pin sometimes sticks when the shutter is fired. I let the seller know and he is sending me another rotating back adapter at no cost.

Japanese MF eBay purchases

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