Used Photo Pro - ratings/feedback?

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dourbalistar

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I've purchased from their ebay storefront as well as directly from their website. No problems from either source. I also appreciate actual photos of the item for sale. By contrast, KEH seems to post actual photos of the item for sale on their ebay storefront, but not on their website.
 

mgb74

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I've purchased a couple of items from them (via ebay) that did not work. They were prompt with a refund. I don't think most large used equipment retailers actually test the equipment beyond the obvious (wind mechanism, shutter) so I accept this as the norm. (I just bought a $35 Minolta 800si from them via ebay. That includes shipping. I can't expect them to film test a camera at that price.)

My earlier post about their condition ratings still holds (IMO). So I'm more careful with lenses.
 

MEB

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I can only say good things about them - I bought several items from them in the past three years without having any complaints. I really like that they show photos online of the actual item to be sold. Shipping was always fast and reliable. I find their rating better and more reliable than at other stores. Never had to send something back so far. 5% discount can make a nice difference, too!
 

brent8927

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Feb 27, 2005
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I've also had great experiences with them. I bought a few items. Returns are very simple as well.
 

John_Nikon_F

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Duvall, WA,
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Another seamless transaction with them. Bought a black Nikkormat FTn for $40, plus shipping. Everything was as described. That said, it seems to be cheaper to buy through their eBay account, if you have a PO Box, since they wind up giving you free shipping, even if it gets sent via Priority Mail. So, check their website for the item you're interested in, then find it on eBay and offer them the website price. They usually will accept it no problem.
 

Jim Blevins

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May 14, 2021
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Johnson City Tennessee
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I ordered a used lens from Used Photo Pro company on the 6th of May 2021. After 8 days waiting and not receiving the lens or seeing any activity on the tracking number provided, I contacted them. I spoke with a nice young lady and was told they did not know what was going on with it ? She said I might want to contact the USPS and inquire. I did so but so far heard nothing, but suddenly on the same day I complained to Used Photo Pro the shipping info was updated and the package was sent on that day to the shipping facility ?? I am now at 10 days and waiting and the item is now supposedly in New Jersey ? It was not shipped out for 8 days after purchase ! I will never do business with these folks again. It could have been taped on the back of a Possum and been here sooner !
 

mgb74

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I ordered a used lens from Used Photo Pro company on the 6th of May 2021. After 8 days waiting and not receiving the lens or seeing any activity on the tracking number provided, I contacted them. I spoke with a nice young lady and was told they did not know what was going on with it ? She said I might want to contact the USPS and inquire. I did so but so far heard nothing, but suddenly on the same day I complained to Used Photo Pro the shipping info was updated and the package was sent on that day to the shipping facility ?? I am now at 10 days and waiting and the item is now supposedly in New Jersey ? It was not shipped out for 8 days after purchase ! I will never do business with these folks again. It could have been taped on the back of a Possum and been here sooner !

I don't know what happened with your lens. Companies often provide tracking when an order is processed, as opposed to when it actually goes out their door. So it could be that they did not get it out promptly.

On the other hand, there have been cases where USPS does not update tracking immediately. I.E. the package may be at the PO but not yet processed. This seems to have been more prevalent a few months ago than now. In general, USPS performance is poor relative to it's traditional standards. A package that tracking on May 14 said would be delivered May 15 now says it's at a distribution center 100 miles away.
 

Dennis-B

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Jan 18, 2018
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Southeast Michigan
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I've had nothing but good experiences with them. I've bought several items (lenses, backs, finders) for medium format equipment, large format lenses, and a couple of nice Nikkor manual focus lenses. My best coup of late, though, was a Nikon D810 with 1450 clicks on the shutter. They described as "Excellent", but it was closer to "Mint"; not a scratch or mar anywhere. Everything has been shipped withing 24 hours, and the forwarding info was on the money. Kudos!
 

ChristopherCoy

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A package that tracking on May 14 said would be delivered May 15 now says it's at a distribution center 100 miles away.

I recently had one that made it all the way to the distribution center in Dallas - the last stop before its final leg to Houston - and then get sent all the way to Kentucky for no apparent reason. It returned to Dallas a day or two later and finished the trip.
 

villagephotog

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Jun 1, 2019
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USA
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Just for the Internet record, I've bought 2-3 items from them in the last year and was perfectly satisfied. One lens had an occasionally sticky shutter that they had not detected, but they refunded my money without any hassles whatsoever. I feel totally confident about buying from them.
 

logan2z

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Jan 11, 2019
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SF Bay Area, USA
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I've bought a couple of things from them and have had good experiences. The only minor 'glitch' (if you want to call it that) was that they included aftermarket caps on a Nikon lens I bought when I was expecting original Nikon caps. Certainly not a big deal, but it would have been nice if they had mentioned that in the listing. I'm sure it was just an oversight.
 

abruzzi

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Mar 10, 2018
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New Mexico, USA
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I’ve bought dozens of things from them and only had one bad experience. There was a listing for a Takumar 50/1.4, and it was the more desirable 8 element version. So I bought it, and when it arrived they sent me a different one. I’m guessing someone noticed it and figured they wanted it, so swapped it with a different 50/1.4 they had, because it never reappeared for sale (at least not that I saw.). They refunded me and paid return shipping, but it left a bad taste in my mouth with them, so I buy from them far less than I have in the past.
 

Pieter12

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I have bought many items from them over the years, and have always been satisfied with the purchase and service. Roberts Distributors (Roberts Camera and UsedPhotoPro) is the U.S. distributor for Ilford and Kodak.
 

MattKing

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Roberts Distributors (Roberts Camera and UsedPhotoPro) is the U.S. distributor for Ilford and Kodak.
If I understand things correctly, that is true for Ilford, but with respect to Kodak products, they are just one of many competing distributors.
 

rulnacco

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Mar 20, 2008
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249
Location
Indianapolis, IN
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Medium Format
I'll add a review. I know Used Photo Pro quite well, because I grew up in Indianapolis and visit a couple of times of year--and they are, as others have mentioned, the online presence of Roberts Cameras in Indy.

Roberts is great! Prices usually as good as B&H on new stuff, and the veterans on the sales staff, both in new and used gear, are good folks. They love cameras, and care a lot about their customers (I follow a couple of their guys on social media, as we've become friends over the years, and you can tell from their posts that they're doing exactly what they want to do, and really enjoying it). And their management are top folks, too, who want to make sure their customers are happy and satisfied--and that they come back to them for life. Some of the young folks they hire on may not have proven themselves in the same way, so some of the not-so-great experiences people had above may have come that way. The folks who face the customers in store are top notch, and whenever I drop in to fondle used gear--which I do at least a couple of time whenever I'm in town--they're completely honest about the condition.

I've bought tons of stuff from them, new and used, over three decades, in store, via their website, and on eBay (do make them an offer if you buy there--if it's reasonable, they'll almost always accept it, or make a sensible counteroffer). *Any* time you sell used gear, there will occasionally be bits that slip through a basic inspection that have flaws which only reveal themselves upon proper use in the field. As others have pointed out, when this happens, Roberts is quite willing to take it back and give a quick refund, and do their best to make things right. You really can't ask for more, I'd think, from a retail establishment where selling used gear is only a part of their business.

Also, as others have said, you're far better off buying things from Roberts that are in at least Good condition, and Excellent if you're wanting something that doesn't show some obvious signs of use. They do get in lots of used "pro" gear, that has been used in the ways and to the extremes that pros, not amateurs who fuss over everything and baby their gear, would use them. Something that Roberts sells as Fair will be somewhat battered. Poor, it will look like it's been through the literal wars and may have taken shrapnel. So once you get used to their rating system, you'll get along fine with what they send you.

If you ever do find yourself in Indianapolis, I would highly recommend a visit to the store! It's conveniently located downtown (parking can be a bit of an issue), and you'll be pleasantly surprised at how large it is and what they have on offer, especially for a mid-sized city like Indy. I lived in Atlanta for three years in the early 00s and visit there frequently, too, and overall Roberts is better than any camera store there. And for a proper retailer of a wide range of camera gear, I found it was actually far better than any store in London during the 10-plus years I lived there concluding in 2018.
 

Kodachromeguy

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Nov 3, 2016
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Olympia, Washington
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I bought a Hasselblad black type 3 A12 film back. Ex. condition, worked perfectly. Price a bit lower than quoted by the typical sellers on eBay. The photos show the real item, unlike KEH.
 
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Jeremy Mudd

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Jun 28, 2019
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541
Location
Ohio
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Multi Format
I've purchased dozen's of items from them over the years and have been very happy. Living one state over from them in Ohio means that usually I have the item in 2-3 days max. Some things have arrived at my house the next day with regular shipping.

That said, I only had one problem with them - about 4-5 years back they purchased a lot of maybe 8 or 9 GX617's from someone, and had all of them up for sale on ebay and their website. Pricing was great and under market value for that system at the time - IIRC it was $1500 for the body and 105mm lens. I bought the one that was in Excellent condition and it arrived at my house two days later. Pulling it out of the padded case that was included with it, immediately I saw that it looked like it had been dropped on the corner of the upper right portion of the body and was cracked badly, missing a piece and also showed signs that someone had attempted to glue it in the past. So to me it was obvious that it left their facility in that condition. When I contacted them, they tried to put it on UPS as damaging it, so I got out the macro gear and sent them images showing it was broken before it shipped. I had a replacement one that truly was "Excellent" in 2 days after that and they sent a call-tag for the broken one.

That was the only hiccup with them, and since it worked out OK, I don't really have any complaints.

Jeremy
 
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