buying used lens from online retailers?

PLM

Senior Member
Obviously, the price difference between new and used is a big plus, but what about the risk? An one have an opinion on buying used lenses?
 

Andy W

Senior Member
I've had pretty good luck buying used lenses. Make sure the seller has at least a 30 day return policy to be on the safe side.
 

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
Depends on where you Buy them... A lot of the camera dealers sell used lenses... they usually test them and describe them very accurately... they also warrant the lenses to be as described... with money back guarantees of some sort... using a credit card or Paypal further protects the transaction... I have 30-40 lenses, and maybe 3 were purchased new...

Buying off friends, and Craig's list usually is risky because you don't get any of the protections in the paragraph above.

Your own ability to test and accurately analyze a lens is also paramount... I can't recall how many times I've seen folks say they bought a lenses and 2 years later they say, "I just turned on Vibration Reduction and it doesn't work"...or some other equally critical feature that probably NEVER worked and they didn't know it, and now the window to do a return has passed...
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
I've purchased preowned through Allen's Camera (a local family shop that ships to other areas) and B&H. Both have been stellar with their descriptions, and both offer returns for a set amount of time.

I tried keh.com a couple times but wound up having issues with 2 different lenses. They offer returns within 30 days, but it did take a little time for those to be processed. Despite the lenses having issues - with one the aperture didn't stop down fully so overexposed images, and the other had a zoom that stuck at a certain spot - they simply put them back on their web site keeping the used ratings really high. I think both were supposed to be the best quality used they rated. However, others here have had great success with keh.

Definitely try to stick with a seller that offers a 30-day warranty. With B&H you might be able to purchase an optional extended warranty via Square Trade. That is supposed to help even if items are damaged from being dropped in addition to normal wear and tear.
 

Peter7100

Senior Member
EBay, (certainly the UK version) gives buyer protection, so if you find something as not described in the sale, you will be able to claim a full refund and in 99.9% of cases EBay will support the buyer and not the seller.
 
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