KEH vs buying Auction/Forum

bibowj · Sep 25, 2011

Ive recenty sold all my digital gear (and I mean ALL) and went back to the right side with film. In the process, which Ive enjoyed graetly, Ive bought quite a few systems (Blad, RB67 etc) and have really loved the prices. However, in the process, I noticed something ...

In all my years with this habit (GAS), Ive always found KEH prices to be a little higher than what you can get from a forum or fleebay. I never had a problem with this because I knew that KEHs stuff would work and be in better condition than they described. BGN often equals EX++ online. Lately though, it seems that stuff is cheaper there than on here, or the other sites.... significantly so. For example, someone old a Mamiya 645AF for 1000 ... and several in EX are at 800 on KEH...

Just a observation... have anyone else noticed this trend? Are prices going up?

Also side note if anyones interested, I just pulled the trigger on the new Pacific Image PrimeFilm 120 negative scanner that SEEMS to be much like the Nikon 9000... once I get it, I can report my thoughts...

Jeff Kubach · Sep 25, 2011

One good thing about KEH you can return in two weeks.

Jeff

gtyler5 · Sep 25, 2011

I have noticed this to, before I place a bid I check KEH.

lxdude · Sep 25, 2011

Jeff Kubach said:
One good thing about KEH you can return in two weeks.

Jeff

Two weeks from date of invoice, not date of receipt, return for any reason. They recently increased their warranty period from the former 60 days to 6 months.

BTW Jeff, what are doing up so early on a Sunday? Are the liquor stores open already, or is it you haven't been to bed yet?

brucemuir · Sep 25, 2011

lxdude said:
BTW Jeff, what are doing up so early on a Sunday? Are the liquor stores open already, or is it you haven't been to bed yet?

In my county/state...
no hard stuff on Sundays.

ChristopherCoy · Sep 25, 2011

My experience has been exactly the opposite.

After recently deciding to go back to film less than two months ago, I set out to find a fully manual, vintage Nikon. I checked KEH first, looked around a few forums, and ended up finding my best deal on ebay. It was being sold by a neighbor of an elderly gentleman, and I only paid $34 for the near mint find. I still need to get it CLA'd, but its currently in working order.

Also, just this past week I decided that I wanted to replace the Mamiya TLR that I had lost sometimes during the party years of my 20's. I found ton's of bodies on ebay that were in my budget, but found KEH to be a bit on the higher side. After it was all said and done, I found my best deal here in APUG from another member.

With that being said, there is something to be noted for the slightly higher price from an individual or other forum member. The peace of mind knowing of where the equipment came from, what its history has been, and if there has been any damage or repairs is worth the extra few bucks for me.

Alan W · Sep 25, 2011

Have many people on here ever sold anything to KEH.I wonder how their pricing compares in that respect?

Travis Nunn · Sep 25, 2011

KEH will give you far less for an item than what you could sell it for on ebay, which should be expected.

Jeff Kubach · Sep 25, 2011

lxdude said:
Two weeks from date of invoice, not date of receipt, return for any reason. They recently increased their warranty period from the former 60 days to 6 months.

BTW Jeff, what are doing up so early on a Sunday? Are the liquor stores open already, or is it you haven't been to bed yet?

I haven't been to bed yet!

Jeff

Roger Cole · Sep 25, 2011

ChristopherCoy said:
With that being said, there is something to be noted for the slightly higher price from an individual or other forum member. The peace of mind knowing of where the equipment came from, what its history has been, and if there has been any damage or repairs is worth the extra few bucks for me.

Different ways of thinking I guess; while I've had no bad experiences with forum buys or even eBay, unless I have prior buying history from the seller or they're a well known poster with really good comments, I've always felt that paying a few extra dollars from the likes of KEH were worth it, because of the no questions return policy and 6 month warranty.

jmartelli · Sep 25, 2011

I switched to KEH after being burned a few times on fleabay. So far i have been more than happy with my purchases from KEH and their customer support. I recently purchased a mamiya 645 super kit that was labeled BGN and what i recieved was no BGN grade in my opinion it was EX+ at least. I will return to KEH for future purchases for sure.

Sirius Glass · Sep 25, 2011

My preference is to always buy from KEH if they have what I want. If not, I will look at eBay.

KEH will offer about half of what they will sell the equipment for. Worth it, if you do not want to use eBay or Craig's list.

f/16 · Sep 25, 2011

Here lately, I've noticed KEH is priced a little higher than other places. But I feel much more confident with KEH than Ebay. Many times, KEH's bargain is better than an ebay seller's mint. But KEHs photos are not photos of the actual item-they're stock photos. And you may not get the version pictured. For example, I bought a Nikon 35-135 AF. The stock photo showed the later version, but I got the early version with the narrow hard plastic focus ring

Mackinaw · Sep 25, 2011

Alan W said:
Have many people on here ever sold anything to KEH.I wonder how their pricing compares in that respect?

Back when I was doing the used camera show thing, it was "policy" for a buyer to give you 60% of an item's true worth, e.g., if a camera was worth $300.00, the buyer would pay you $180.00 for it and they would sell it for $300.00. I'm sure the same thing is going on today (KEH too), but I'm not sure what percentage is being used.

Jim B.

fmajor · Sep 25, 2011

Hey Mackinaw - didn't know "trolls" posted on the WWW?!?! LOL, i'm from about 1.5hrs south (and west) of you (not same as my sig notes).

rjs003 · Sep 25, 2011

KEH is almost a 100% assurance that the product will be as advertised. If you can return it, with little or no hassle Try that on flea bay

JonPorter · Sep 25, 2011

Yes, I too have noticed some things are higher on eBay than at KEH/Kohs/etc. This is partly due to more sellers using the buy-it now feature over the auction format. So asking prices tend to be at the same level, or higher, that similar items have sold for. I admit to being guilty of this, as I much prefer to list, sell and ship an item in 24 hours and be done with it rather than dragging an auction out over a week or more.

bdial · Sep 25, 2011

I've found that often KEH's price is about the same as average ending prices. Not true for everything though.
But when they are, it's nice to not deal with an auction and just place an order.

AnselAdamsX · Sep 25, 2011

I look at both. If I can buy from KEH I will otherwise its the bay. I got a Sinar rail from KEH for 1/2 to 1/3 the bay recently. But I've also had EX rated lenses from KEH that wouldn't auto focus. Right now I'm praying I will receive a purchase from eBay. I may have to deal with the bay over a fraud case on this one.

lxdude · Sep 25, 2011

AnselAdamsX said:
But I've also had EX rated lenses from KEH that wouldn't auto focus.

Me too!
How was I to know Auto-Nikkor didn't have anything to do with focusing?!?

Peter Simpson · Sep 25, 2011

Alan W said:
Have many people on here ever sold anything to KEH.I wonder how their pricing compares in that respect?

I sold some old Olympus OM gear of my father-in-law's to KEH. Their offer was pretty low but fair. Three bodies and a few lenses, nothing fantastic, but the offer was around $250. Their conservative grading works against a seller, of course. I thought the deal was a fair one, I had no interest in selling the stuff individually, but I could perhaps have gotten an extra $100 at the 'bay; but I don't do PayPal, and the 'bay fees are something amazing.

I've probably made that back by getting an FE2 and a FM2n for $45 each out of their as-is bin. Good shooters, one has some cosmetic corrosion around the viewfinder and both needed Jon Goodman's seal kits. I like KEH and will continue to buy stuff from them.

Sirius Glass · Sep 25, 2011

lxdude said:
AnselAdamsX said:

But I've also had EX rated lenses from KEH that wouldn't auto focus.

Click to expand...

Me too!
How was I to know Auto-Nikkor didn't have anything to do with focusing?!?

The 1918 4"x5" Auto Graflex will not auto focus either!

Leigh B · Sep 25, 2011

When I need something, I always check KEH first.

If they have it in EX or better, I buy it. If not, I wait until they do.

If I have to wait, I keep track of the forum FS listings and usually will buy from them.

- Leigh

barvas11 · Apr 7, 2012

yeah your right

jscott · Apr 7, 2012

KEH dumps their junk on flea bay with a "no return" option. This stuff is cheap but useful only for parts. I bought a camera they had vaguely described as having "multiple problems". Yeah, like everything was broken. Everything.

KEH vs buying Auction/Forum

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