Price of a filter

Has anyone found any difference in quality in filters sold on Ebay which are relatively cheap compared to purchasing off an online retailer or high street store - I'm really looking at ND filters especially

Cheers

Brian

Hi Brian,
Are you looking for ND filters or ND Grads? I just ask to avoid confusion.
When it comes to buy from ebay, I always want to have a point of reference. I regularly see those filter offers come by, but always stay away from them. Simply because most of the time the seller doesn't mention brand names. And if......(A very BIG IF) I put some glass in front of my lenses it better be high quality also. In this case I don't think it is wise to go after the bargains.
Best regards,
Martin.

Just plaIn ND filters - quite a few are branded HOYA on Ebay but just a bit suspicious of authenticity at that price!

Brian

Well, you said it. If you can't get some guarantee from the seller, don't do it.
Good luck,
Martin.

I have bought Hoya filters cheaply off eBay - and I have no reason to suspect them of being fakes or in any way inferior to those that you would buy in a shop.

THey are cheaper because the sellers have much lower overheads and profit margins.

As Iceblinker has pointed out, most Ebay sellers are decent people and take advantage of their low overheads to keep prices low.

There are a few who spoil the fun for everyone though, and personally I don't buy anything from Ebay if it can be easily faked and I care about the brand.

I would be more inclined to go for somwhere like 7dayshop.com, or picstop. They are reputable sellers with extremely competitive prices often matching or beating those on ebay and you can be absolutly sure you'll get what you buy that way.

The main reason to be careful with ND filters is to make sure you don't get a noticable colour cast. Good ones are very close to true neutral density, bad ones may be noticably coloured.

I have a Hama 4x ND from 7dayshop and if it has a colour cast then the K10Ds auto white ballance knocks it on the head.