Buying 2nd Hand Pentax Equipment....BE CAREFUL.

Hi All,

Just a new post, really to answer an earlier item asking where to buy used Pentax...my thoughts....

Ebay is great, but be very careful and If in doubt ALWAYS ask the seller clear specific questions BEFORE you bid.

MXV and FFordes have lots of stock, however, be careful here too, I have had to return 3 items to these dealers in the last month, all described as near mint and all faulty!!!...do buy from them, just check items closely. They both refunded all my costs, so they are worth dealing with.

Camera fairs are well worth visiting ( I both visit and stand at one), however most 'dealers' at these are amateur enthusiasts and their stock often is old and well used and not many scarce and interesting items come up at fairs...but some do!!. I also find a lot of these amateur dealers are out of touch with current pricing and lots overcharge, so haggle with them and stick to your guns.

I am going to winge now, as someone mentioned Jessops. I am very un-willing to buy anything from them. They have just spent 10 years buying up old established retailers, destroying them and then turning them into glorified computer shops. Very few of their shops now sell used items and the company shows very little interest in any customers wanting used items. I visited Jessops main shop in Oxford St, London only last month.... There were no less than 13 !! staff behind the digital counter and only 2 manning the used counter, even though customers were 3 deep and getting VERY annoyed, I walked out along with several others, after complaining. They recently stated in AP magazine to use their website to find used items...any one tried?...I did, it was poinless as the site must be the worst of any photo retailer....ok I'm done on that now, sorry all.

One last tip...do not be afraid to buy from over-seas, I have bought lots now, I am very careful, but have also made several very nice and friendly contacts. Bear in mind, items bought from within the EU member states attract no customs charges.

Hope all this helps a few of you. Steve.M.

I think "CAVEAT EMPTOR" applies to buying anything second-hand, not just Pentax cameras.

George

PS: I am not surprised Jessops are down-playing the second-hand market. Most cameras shops are awash with old kit that they cannot sell.

There is no doubt that you should be careful when buying second hand gear, but not so careful that you miss the many potential bargains to be found....

It is useful to know what you are looking for, which comes with time, but there is so much beautiful mint hardly used equipment out there. It's just a matter of learning to recognise the good bets from the bad.

Worth a go, IMHO.

I agree with John here. There are some great bargains to be had if you are willing to take a chance. Sometimes on ebay if the description and photo is poor then an item will not attract much interest. It's then a case of reading between the lines, asking questions and being braver than the rest.

In the past 6 months I have managed to obtain,

Pentax 20-35mm FA Mint- for £140
Tamron 90mm SP Mint- for £95
Pentax 28mm FA Mint for £85

£1000 worth of lens for £300

Regards
Andy

I wish I'd noticed that 20-35mm!

John,

The 20-35mm FA gave me a bit of a sleepless night. The photo on ebay was not of the actual lens but taken off the pentax website. In the end I took a chance and thankfully it is spot on.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4688&item=38803...

Andy

Hi,
I must say that I find Jessops very useful and have bought quite a bit of Pentax kit from them. It is easy to search the web and a quick phone call will get the item sent to the local branch. The guys in Lincoln are most helpful and there is no pressure to buy the item. At least then you can check the item out and I have never had a problem with their 12 month warranty. a couple of items have developed a minor problem but they have either sorted the problem quickly or replaced the item. All this, no postal charges and quite often at prices half the price of eBay. Sorry Steve, the London branch may have problems but as a group, I have been using them for 30 years and have found them to be excellent.

Kim

I have had problems when trying to contact Jessops. A lot of their stores have an 0845 telephone number which gives a choice of options. The High Street Belfast branch had a lens I was interested in, so I tried the number five times. Twice it redirected me to the fax machine, and three times I got a message telling me they were busy and was then cut off. If ever you call someone and don’t get through but instead they cut you off, you will realise how annoying it is. I won’t be using any branch of Jessops for used items again.

With regard to eBay, it's very easy to get carried away and not end up with quite the bargain you'd hoped for - it's all part of the auction experience but you really need to know where to draw the line!

The majority of my purchases have been perfectly satisfactory but I've cocked up a couple of times. I've just bought a used lens that I'm very happy with, it was still quite a lot of money but I figured it was a decent buy.......and then I was stung for nearly £18 customs charge, which more or less cancelled out the savings.

I've learned my lesson - be aware of import duty when purchasing goods from non-ec countries!

I don't think you can blame customs duties on Ebay. You'd have got stung if you bought the lens from a New York store.

In fact, given the reputation of some NY stores, you might have been stung twice over.

Absolutely, it was my oversight - just thought I'd warn/remind others!