Would you return a item to a charity shop?
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I personally wouldn't have a moral problem with it, so long as it wasn't labelled or clearly identified as not working.
If you bought any other electronic item like a blender or whatever and took it home and it didn't work you'd return it, no?
Not sure how charity shops in general deal with returns though, I imagine they have to accept them?
If you bought any other electronic item like a blender or whatever and took it home and it didn't work you'd return it, no?
Not sure how charity shops in general deal with returns though, I imagine they have to accept them?
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It is not up to scratch. Don't buy it. Plenty of photographic retailers who will give you a warranty.
And for this very reason many charities will not sell electrical equipment unless they have a qualified electrician to test the stuff. Next you will want the charity to have a computerised inventory system to know what it sold so it can take it back. The mind boggles...
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No
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I would be very surprised if you didn't see dust in a lens of that era (assuming era).
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If I bought from a charity shop and found it didn't work, I would take the hit. If you think £40 is a big risk, which it is, don't buy it or be prepared to sell the bits on to recoup your losses. But no, don't take it back for a refund. I doubt they would be in a position to say it was fully working anyway.
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Dust inside lenses won't show on an image. Either way, I'm not sure I'd return a charity shop purchase.
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I am led to believe second hand electrical goods are supposed to be tested to ensure they meed the legal standards.
Yes! Else charities will not/should not sell them. What we buy on Ebay is another story.
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Big dust! Lol debris might be a better word, i need to take a better look and take an adapter down.I would be very surprised if you didn't see dust in a lens of that era (assuming era).
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I think there is an exemption for electrical goods selling for less than £15. Think this was brought in a few years back specifically becasue of the problem that charity shops have in getting items tested and still being able to sell them at a profit without testing fees taking all the proceeds.
(I might be wrong though - I hav been known to be wrong: occasionally!)
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And no. I wouldn't take it back.
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Take your camera with you, test the lenses. If you find anything wrong with them, inform the shop so that they know the issues too. If you buy something from a charity shop that you wouldn't expect the person at the counter to know how to test, then test it yourself.
Edit: I would consider it poor form to return an item to a charity shop. If you're worried it might not work, raise your concerns before you buy it and they should tell you if they have a returns policy.
Edit: I would consider it poor form to return an item to a charity shop. If you're worried it might not work, raise your concerns before you buy it and they should tell you if they have a returns policy.
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Charity shops operate to the consumer rights act 2015 like any other shop selling second hand goods.
In fact you have no different rights than if you were buying new! If the camera is broken or not fit for purpose then you can (in theory at least) take it back. Personally I'd save yourself some hassle and look elsewhere.
Don't forget charity shops are commercial business's that pay rent, staff wages, pay their CEO a huge salary and send some of their profits to the respective charities.
In fact you have no different rights than if you were buying new! If the camera is broken or not fit for purpose then you can (in theory at least) take it back. Personally I'd save yourself some hassle and look elsewhere.
Don't forget charity shops are commercial business's that pay rent, staff wages, pay their CEO a huge salary and send some of their profits to the respective charities.
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I wouldn't take it back. Not sure the Zenit has any electronics, does it. ?
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Zenit E has a selenium meter with very minimal electronics. Later Zenits had TTL metering with more sophisticated electronics but none (as far as I know) have electronic control of shutter.
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just to clear up a few things (I have been head of retail for a hospice charity for a few years)
Of course you can take it back, up to you if you would want to.
Many charities do sell electrical bits and pieces, they have to be PAT tested and we, and many others, have volunteers who are PAT trained and come in and do it FOC. Trouble is the volume of donations exceeds the resources to test them.
I had a zenit E, it had no battery so we certainly wouldn't PAT test it. We would though try and check it worked, if it didn't it would go on eBay as Spares or Repair.
In retail we do pay full commercial rent and 20% of normal business rates and pay for the manager and assistant, warehouse and vans and a minimal management structure. Almost everyone else is a volunteer. The biggest overhead in any charity is the wage bill but around 87% of our income is used for the charity's purposes. If you aren't sure your chosen charity is spending their money wisely you can check on the Charity Commission website, you can also see how many people earn over £60k. It wont be many unless you look at the national charities.
Of course you can take it back, up to you if you would want to.
Many charities do sell electrical bits and pieces, they have to be PAT tested and we, and many others, have volunteers who are PAT trained and come in and do it FOC. Trouble is the volume of donations exceeds the resources to test them.
I had a zenit E, it had no battery so we certainly wouldn't PAT test it. We would though try and check it worked, if it didn't it would go on eBay as Spares or Repair.
In retail we do pay full commercial rent and 20% of normal business rates and pay for the manager and assistant, warehouse and vans and a minimal management structure. Almost everyone else is a volunteer. The biggest overhead in any charity is the wage bill but around 87% of our income is used for the charity's purposes. If you aren't sure your chosen charity is spending their money wisely you can check on the Charity Commission website, you can also see how many people earn over £60k. It wont be many unless you look at the national charities.
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I would give the lenses a quick check, focus and aperature rings move smoothly, no major scratches on the glass, and no major fungus before buying them but I would not consider returning them later to a charity shop.
Most old lenses are quite easy to take apart and clean, so mild fungus wouldn't be a concern, and dust gets inside all lenses but will rarely affect image quality.
Buy them, you're lucky to have found some old Zenit lenses in a charity shop, I couldn't find any in the charity shops in several towns when I was looking so had to go to Ebay!!
Most old lenses are quite easy to take apart and clean, so mild fungus wouldn't be a concern, and dust gets inside all lenses but will rarely affect image quality.
Buy them, you're lucky to have found some old Zenit lenses in a charity shop, I couldn't find any in the charity shops in several towns when I was looking so had to go to Ebay!!
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Sucks that you got crappy lenses but I wouldn't take them back. People in charity shops are usually giving their time for free, and if it's legit then any profit will go to a good home. Think of it as a [pricey] good deed
You could try taking them apart and cleaning them, there's tutorials for that about on youtube
You could try taking them apart and cleaning them, there's tutorials for that about on youtube
We have a local charity shop for local people, they tend to automatically give you a receipt for electronic/higher value items, and they make it clear you can bring it back if upon testing at home you find it doesn't work.
I would ask the duty manage if it is a concern.
I would ask the duty manage if it is a concern.
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The aperture and focus are perfect its what I could see in/on the lenses when holding them to the light. I'll speak to them tomorrow thank you.
One lens is the Meyer optik 30mm f3.5 which seems to sell well on ebay even in untested state so not much of a gamble really. I'll snap it up tomorrow if no one else has.
One lens is the Meyer optik 30mm f3.5 which seems to sell well on ebay even in untested state so not much of a gamble really. I'll snap it up tomorrow if no one else has.
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'We didn't burn him!'
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I can't say I would.
Mr Badger
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It would have to have been seven and twelfty pounds
You want to return it? We'll have no trouble here!
Forum sanity warning: The above link-quoted posts will make absolutely no sense at all unless you watched 'The League of Gentlemen' on TV all those years ago!
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I recently took a chance and bought a Pentacon 135 from a charity shop for not too much money. Looked fine in the shop but when I got it home, a small patch of fungus was visible when looking through a loupe. Even though they offered a 14 day return, there was no way that I was prepared to take it back. When I made the purchase i told myself that it was a donation to the charity. As it happens, I've subsequently disassembled the lens and hopefully removed the fungus.
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It's easy enough to establish at the point of purchase what the returns policy is and to establish on what basis the goods are being sold (checked to be working or as-is) - so what's all the fuss about?
Do you think that te mould was only on the glass? It's just as likely to be anywhere on internal and external surfaces - mostly it's on lens elements that it gets noticed. But you might have earned yourself a decade or two of use before further treatment is needed. The truth is that decay of some kind sets in from the time that something is made. Remember King Canute? All's in motion. Possessions are temporary things.
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Sucks that you got crappy lenses but I wouldn't take them back. People in charity shops are usually giving their time for free, and if it's legit then any profit will go to a good home. Think of it as a [pricey] good deed
You could try taking them apart and cleaning them, there's tutorials for that about on youtube
Like the bosses six figure salaries? Very little of the profit from these charities actually makes it to the people who need it.
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Common misconception that every charity is set up for the financial benefit of the CEO, whilst it may have credibility in a few cases the majority of (particularly) small charities do a very good job at raising much needed cash for those who need the help.
Marc
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And where do you think the rest of the profit goes?
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Wrong. I've been involved in fund raising for our daughter, and I can assure you, when it comes to anything charity related there will be at least 6 signatures provided to the bank for any withdrawal. On top of that you have the ever suspicious public to deal with who question everything, and imagine all sorts ...