I have bought from and sold to KEH over a period of four years. I have had to exchange two items and was reimbursed for the return shipping and not charged for their second shipping. Everything else went smoothly. This may be a reflection of buying EX and above. I have found their prices about the same or lower, usually lower than the Los Angeles are camera stores for cameras and lenses.
Steve
Nothing beats a great piece of glass!
I leave the digital work for the urologists and proctologists.
Picked up a packard shutter a week ago, got a good deal on it. Purchased a few other cable for flashs and had no problems.
Over the years (and as recently as last month), I've never had a problem and they've always taken it back even if I (or my wife) changed my mind.
Mike
Last month was the first time I ever purchased from them. I got a 60mm lens for the Hasselblad and I think it was probably lower than normal but I think that there are also as good bargains on eBay or the forums if you look. One of the reason I bought the lens from them is I was interested in some small items and it made sense to get them all at the same place at the same time to save lots on shipping.
The shipping out was slow as after a couple of weeks I enquired and they then shipped the next day which was much longer than is mentioned on the web page. Not sure if they were waiting for an item or what but I do wonder how much longer the shipment would have taken if I had not contacted them.
I never purchase anything outside of Canada that needs to be shipped FedEx. I know that their planes and trucks cost money but I do not want to pay for them all with my one shipment. KEH sent by USPS which meant I ended up paying Canada Post the 5 dollar handling fee to collect GST etc instead of probably $70 or more for FedEX to do the same.
I made my first purchase with KEH, a Nikon D80 over the summer...the service rep on the phone was extremely helpful. I am very happy with my camera.
KEH is overpriced? Compared to whom? The other used-camera superstores with a vast inventory and great customer service, who will return/exchange with no questions asked and generally help you out in the event of any problems with your order?
They ask fair prices for what they offer, IMHO. You'll pay less some other places, but won't find the same combination of selection and service anywhere else that I know of. They are, of course, generalists rather than specialists in, say, large format or Leica or Hasselblad, so if you need specialist knowledge you may be better served elsewhere.
Of course there are stories of people who didn't like the condition of the stuff they got, but with the volume of gear KEH deals, there will be more of those stories than with anyone else, just as there are more positive stories about great deals with KEH than most (any?) other used broker out there. And KEH has been a great help to me when I got something that wasn't functioning as advertised. Used gear from anyone will always admit the possibility that some aspect of the item isn't 100% and might have been missed in the broker's once-over.
I've had generally great experience with KEH. They are fast and the items are usually under-described. The only thing I bought that I thought was a bit sketchy was a 50mm distagon that was in BGN condition. Had some scratches in the coating. I don't think it has any practical affect but I was somewhat dissapointed with it.
Good experiences in buying from them. However, there's no way I would ever sell to them again.
only bad experience i have had with keh was to my ego. i bought a bargain grade lens from them for my rb67 when i got it, i checked it out very carefully and compared it to the rest of my rb system and realized my whole damn setup was bargain grade. all joking aside, keh is a fine company with outstanding service. i wouldnt hesitate a moment to buy from them.
"WOW! Now thats a big camera. By the way, how many megapixels is that thing?"
I have bought a lot from KEH with at least monthly orders. For a mail order house they don't do mail order very well compared to B&H used department which is very professional. KEH had sent me the wrong items, the wrong condition, packed badly, shipped late and once to the wrong customer. What they lack in professionalism is more than made up by their excellent customer service and very generous return policy. When I read about people getting mint equipment when they ordered BGN goods I think their warehouse people probably picked the wrong one off the shelves. I have bought EX+ gear that looked like BGN and vice versa.
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