MPB

Tysonator said:
I have been reading the latest Trust Pilot reviews and all seem to be the same problem, Quotes issue high, items gets down graded harshly, equipment purchase is fault and condition is worse than stated. Plus the usual DPD delivery and collection issue.

I am not surprised a rep has not been on here for some time as there is no not much love for MPB these days !
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And yet 93% of their reviews are 5*.
 
Topsy said:
I wish they hadn't moved, it was easier for parking (my motorcycle) and they used to give me a cuppa in the old place now they are in this new one they are'nt allowed to have people drinking tea in the shop. :(

Regarding the prices we have to accept that they need to make a profit and they give a guarrantee to whoever buys it so I accept it for the convenience. Once they have bought it I can forget about it and any "buyers remorse" or other issues are theirs. TBH I'd be very reluctant to sell anything privately these days particularly on eBay etc although that said my minimal experienc of trading on here have been very good.
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I've parked my bike in the Mayflower west or City Market car parks in the past, and if I do trade in with them I'll be taking the car as there are too many boxes to fit in my top-box!
I totally understand their need to make a profit etc, and also the ease of selling to them, but compared to prices being got for selling the same gear here I'll be loosing around a grand.
Like I said, I need to work out carefully what I want to do and how much hassle I'm prepared for - never had any real issues selling on here but some folk do ask a lot of questions and expect a lot of wise answers - I'm often not the best person to answer them.....
 
the last lens I purchased was clearly faulty as the AF wasn't working, simple to return and exchange for another lens, just annoying as they will quickly knock your quote down for the slightest problem, Also on the other hand I sold a camera last month to them and they uplifted it by £3 :ROFLMAO:
 
I prefer to handle used gear when I buy second hand, so I buy locally. I do have a couple of shops that I mail order from that seem serious. But used gear always has some element of risk. I see MPB have set up shop in Europe too. I have not used them yet.
 
James Blonde said:
I HATE selling stuff, so MPB sounded ideal, but now so glad I did a search on MPB here - was about to pull the trigger on selling my mint Nikon 70-200 VRII.

Have been tracking prices with them for a few months and watched the price rapidly decrease from an original purchase offer price of £505 at the back end of last year to a low of £425 in Feb. Honestly every time I had prices from them, it felt like they were tracking against my previous offer rather than the market, as I struggled to see a lens like that going down in price that quickly.

I thought I'd re-price it now, so used an alternative Email address. Current price I've been quoted is £520...

which I would probably have pulled the trigger on based on the hassle free service they promise. But having read this.... nah.
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That's a joke !! Since using wex for buying /selling I'll never use mpb again
 
Only a few days ago I drafted and post a review of my experience mpb on Trust Pilot, and within 4 hours I had an e mail from mpb Customer Services. Offering me a £10 discount on a £100 or more spend, as a gesture of good will ! !
WTF,....
I had received 3 mpb e mail's to rate their service and leave a comment, which I did on each of the said 3 e mails. That was many, many weeks ago and I had no contact from mpb Customer Services. So I ask the Customer Services why reach now, do you not read the automated reviews or just the public ones ! ?
The agent reply stating they were sadden I only posted a 1 Star rating, I replyed in an e mail I was also sadden by the 1 star rating as there was no option for a MINUS ONE rating !
 
As a little side question. Do companies apply to be on Trustpilot or are they on there whether they like it or not?
 
Tysonator said:
This is exactly what I thought, and what I did want to do is read though the Distance Selling Act and having to send lots of e mails to mpb and get into a toxic exchange.

Perhaps I was too naïve about this Part Ex position with mpb, even so being asked to purchase my own lens back a listed retail price is bloody harsh, and they will only burn me once !
I will not use mpb again as their conduct is questionable especially the 'scratch' on my rear element of lens and lowering the Part Ex value. This situation is like what I would expect from a moody / shady used car site / company, and I have been to some very shady car sites ! ! lol

As I have mentioned Rosie from mpb was very helpful in making sure I got my lens, perhaps she had symphony for my situation, who knows !
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But you agreed to accept the revised offer, and it is at that point that the items that you are part exchanging become the property of MPB. You do need to take responsibility for your own actions.
 
L320Rio said:
But you agreed to accept the revised offer, and it is at that point that the items that you are part exchanging become the property of MPB. You do need to take responsibility for your own actions.
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no,......

I did advise the agent once I checked over the purchased lens and I accept it, then the deal was done.
I did accept the revised offer on my Part Ex, as I had no way to challenge the findings of the inspection, only option would be to have it returned.
My big issue with mpb is having to BUY back my Part Ex at full retail price on their web site, I feel like my lens was held for ransomed !
 
I have no problems with MPB.I have used them for years,mainly for selling my equipment.I describe my gear exactlly as it is-never had any downgrades.The prices are lower than i like,however the process has always been hasslefree.
I have just bought two Olympus BHL-1 batteries for £24 each(£69 on Amazon).Ordered on Sunday,arrived Tuesday.They were manufactured in 2021 and there is no degradation at all (showing 5 out of 5 green lights in my camera).
Unhappy customers are more likely to complain on forums than happy ones.
I will continue to use them
 
I concur with the above. It's a proven fact that a negative experience it's shared far more often than a positive one.
So in an atempt to balance things out I too had (so far) a positive experience with MPB. That's not to say everything went smoothly all the time. I bought, sold and traded. I bought a Lumix DX7 rated as excellent but when received and inspected the bottom frame of the lcd screen was cracked. It looked as if the screw was overtighten. Reported it via web chat and offered a replacement straight away without even being asked to produce proof of damage.
To avoid a repeat, I went for a 'as new' condition body which was a bit more expensive and they even paid the difference. Postage was free.
When trading I had a lens quoted increased.
I only ever used the web chat as means to contact the customer service but response times and staff attitudes were great without fail. Very corteous and professional.
All this was within last couple of months.
It's not all bad but at the same time it's a shame that things are not consistently on the positive side. Like in many other areas of life, the service you receive is only as good as the person delivering it.
 
dans_shutter said:
It's not all bad but at the same time it's a shame that things are not consistently on the positive side. Like in many other areas of life, the service you receive is only as good as the person delivering it.
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I've been an interested observer on a few occassions when people have been complaining and one thing I've noticed is that the less valid the complaint appears to be, the more aggressive the complainer.

I imagine it's very difficult for a person presented with an unreasonable complaint.
 
I've used MPB approximately four times in as many months for purchases, another delivery to me expected this week

It's really refreshing to get exactly what you pay for. Description of goods is solid, postage times are solid and more importantly, I feel very trusting of them so far.

Bought a lens off eBay and it was defective when it got here. Then had the aggro of dealing with the seller who initially wanted to palm it off with a ridiculous £50 refund on a defective £400 lens that won't focus at 70mm. Who needs that aggro to save £50-100 on MPB prices..

Not me.

I'm very pleasedwith them and I will continue to use them when the need arises.
 
ShinySideUp said:
As a little side question. Do companies apply to be on Trustpilot or are they on there whether they like it or not?
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Both. You can pay them an extortionate amount to send invites or just send your own if you want to.

If somebody wants to leave a review for you regardless of you signing up to and paying TP they can.
 
Although people are more likely to leave negative reviews than positive, it has also been said that only about 4% of unhappy customers complain.

It is not that things go wrong that puts me off them, it is the way they deal with the problems. A high number of issues wouldn't put me off if they were dealt with properly.
 
Tysonator said:
I do remember processing an invoice for Trust Pilot for payment !
Perhaps it was a service for alerts of poor reviews ! !
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All TP do for you paying them an astronomical amount of money is send review invites to your customers.

As they are essentially publishing things about your business you have a right to reply and to have them investigate and remove false reviews if necessary and they have to do that for free.

We use TP for collecting reviews but we send our own invites. Doesn't cost us a penny.
We get an email every time a review is left (good or bad), we can reply and do pretty much anything that somebody who pays can do.

When TP first started they charged something like £30/month and we paid them but they got greedy and now you're looking at hundreds and even thousands each month (depending on the size of your business) just for them to send a few emails.
 
I tend not to take a lot of notice of Trustpilot reviews anyway as so many people have an axe to grind over the most trivial thing. I used to take notice of Amazon reviews but now it seems one can leave a 'rating' without leaving any words and that is just pointless, add to that the 'Vine review of a free product' and you have a complete set of almost useless words (or not).

The most useless, but amusing, review I ever saw was 1-star, it was for a Kindle book and genuinely, it said:

"Haven't read it yet so one star."

Baffling.

I do love some Amazon reviews though, one was for a stainless steel milk jug and said:

"It's a jug, there's a big hole at the top for putting stuff in and a bit on the side for letting stuff out." I think he was being sarky.

Priceless :)
 
ShinySideUp said:
I do love some Amazon reviews though,
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There is a cracking one about hair removal products, I can't remember which one,
But a guy decided it was a great idea to use it on his dangly bits :D
 
Cobra said:
There is a cracking one about hair removal products, I can't remember which one,
But a guy decided it was a great idea to use it on his dangly bits :D
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I remember reading it linked on some other forum. A very descriptive review. Had me in pieces.
 
Dale. said:
Not a twist I expected this thread to take. :LOL:
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In the words of Bachman–Turner Overdrive
You aint seen nothing yet ♪♪

:D
 
My last 3 transactions have been below par (to put it mildly).

Mavic Pro drone Fly More kit, listed as "as new" with less than 9 charges on all batteries.
Arrived and the battery with the lowest charges was 29.
After much tooing & froing with cust. services they eventually sent me a further (4th) battery (with 45 charges on it).

A couple of years go by and I see A mavic mini 2 listed "as new" with 1 charge on the battery.
So took a chance and paid.
The next day I hadn't received an email stating it was to be shipped so phoned them.
"Oh whilst it was being packed it turned out to be defective". So it wasn't checked before being offered for sale?

So last week I spied an Olympus FL600R flash spares or repairs for £39. Only issue was IR receiver non-functional.
As I only wanted it to be used on the hotshoe I messaged them and a nice chap named Josh assured me it would work on the hotshoe as it had been tested on an Olympus body.
Received the flash and didn't fire in any mode.
Got a full refund including my postage costs.


If anyone wants to buy a completely non working Olympus flash it's back on the site for the same money and still reads "IR receiver non-functional"

No I won't be buying from them again.

They are now shocking with zero quality control.

@mpb.com


They also offered me £10 off over £100.
 
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I have sold to them in the past but I'd never buy from them. I find their definition of "As New" a bit ridiculous sometimes. If there is anything at all missing, even the original box, it cannot possibly be described as being "As New". Stuff that has clearly been extensively used, covered in dust and marks described as Excellent condition.

There was a Fuji 50-140mm lens on there recently described as Excellent condition with the tripod foot missing!
 
Cobra said:
That is totally outrageous :(
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Couldn't agree more! I avoid MPB now. I had a bad time with them selling my 1dX2 in 2022.... I used the branch of LCE that we got to know well when my in-laws were still with us recently to get an R3 with a trade in.
 
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GreenNinja67 said:
My last 3 transactions have been below par (to put it mildly).

Mavic Pro drone Fly More kit, listed as "as new" with less than 9 charges on all batteries.
Arrived and the battery with the lowest charges was 29.
After much tooing & froing with cust. services they eventually sent me a further (4th) battery (with 45 charges on it).

A couple of years go by and I see A mavic mini 2 listed "as new" with 1 charge on the battery.
So took a chance and paid.
The next day I hadn't received an email stating it was to be shipped so phoned them.
"Oh whilst it was being packed it turned out to be defective". So it wasn't checked before being offered for sale?

So last week I spied an Olympus FL600R flash spares or repairs for £39. Only issue was IR receiver non-functional.
As I only wanted it to be used on the hotshoe I messaged them and a nice chap named Josh assured me it would work on the hotshoe as it had been tested on an Olympus body.
Received the flash and didn't fire in any mode.
Got a full refund including my postage costs.


If anyone wants to buy a completely non working Olympus flash it's back on the site for the same money and still reads "IR receiver non-functional"

No I won't be buying from them again.

They are now shocking with zero quality control.

@mpb.com


They also offered me £10 off over £100.
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After the grief I had had with mpb and when I left a 1 star review on Trust Pilot I was offered the same £10 off £100 or more spend if I amended my review,.....I declined the offer......
Shocking customer services.
 
Bigman80 said:
I've just purchased a Canon EF 70-300mm IS II USM in "like new" condition

It arrived today with the original box, instructions, front and rear covers.....like new.

Not a mark on it, spotless.

Very happy.
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The trend is IMO more the bad than good experiences with mpb.
In hindsight I would only sell to mpb....
 
I've just had them quote me for a film Leica, they appointed an "Account Manager for the Seller" who has emailed me and set up a 1-1 dialogue for the transaction. So far so good, I made a condition statement in my quote and sent my Account Manager for the Seller (Me) some photos. He has agreed initially with my assessment of the condition so I have booked a collection. I'll see how it goes and keep this thread updated.
 
I find this thread a little disconcerting. I have used MBP a few times as both buyer and seller and had always had a good experience but now thinking twice before committing to buy from them. I prefer to buy from WEX as I can go see it - and drop off stuff - in person
 
Tysonator said:
The trend is IMO more the bad than good experiences with mpb.
In hindsight I would only sell to mpb....
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I think people are extremely quick to voice negative experiences. I can only share a personal opinion, and I have been nothing but happy on every occasion I have dealt with them.

I will be purchasing from them again next week, and will do so with confidence.

No company gets EVERYTHING right.
 
Bigman80 said:
I think people are extremely quick to voice negative experiences. I can only share a personal opinion, and I have been nothing but happy on every occasion I have dealt with them.

I will be purchasing from them again next week, and will do so with confidence.

No company gets EVERYTHING right.
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The law of averages means there will be some negative experiences, and when it is negative it means it will be at my financial loss !
That is the problem as I can not get that loss back, or reclaimed against another party. All Mpb hav done is just offer me a £10 off £100 spend, not really going to tempt me back with offers like that, considering how much out of pocket I am ! ! !

I do hope you continue to have good experiences with mpb and any one else on here.
For any future would be customers this thread will hopefully make them aware of how to cover themselves or look out for potential issue's.
 
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Topsy said:
I've just had them quote me for a film Leica, they appointed an "Account Manager for the Seller" who has emailed me and set up a 1-1 dialogue for the transaction. So far so good, I made a condition statement in my quote and sent my Account Manager for the Seller (Me) some photos. He has agreed initially with my assessment of the condition so I have booked a collection. I'll see how it goes and keep this thread updated.
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Well, DPD picked up the package yesterday just after lunchtime, it was with MPB by lunchtime today and they have agreed their quote already so I have closed the deal. All in all a straight forward transaction that I am happy with.
 
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Traded some lenses and upgraded this week through MPB. My lenses were collected by DPD on Wednesday, and I had my new ones delivered yesterday. I didn’t pay any extra for delivery, so was very pleasantly surprised that I received them so quickly. I’ve been using MPB for years, and never had any issues with them, but this particular trade/transaction was perfect.
 
I started looking at MPB yesterday having been tempted to think about a pre-owned EOS 1DS MKII: I've been watching a few on EBay where the vendors seem competent enough to list the shutter count: a feature which is surely at least as important as cosmetic condition or functionality. MPB state that

"We aim to display as many shutter counts as possible on our camera bodies. If the shutter count is not displayed on the product page then we are not currently able to obtain one on that model. "

So owners can but MPB can't it seems.

I've asked the question through their web bot form how they think I should select one of the six bodies in stock and they're going to get back to me shortly: but that was several hours ago.
I feel the impulse ebbing away.
 
Though only a buyer I find MPB to be superb in the quality of high value and low value items received. I have found glitches in their website login but other than that (as a buyer) sheer pleasure !
 
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