Buying a new lens from ebay?

Hg80

Hg80

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Hi Folks,
The time has come for me to look at buying my first lens for my D5000.
Now I’m looking to get AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D, now my question is how trustworthy are these shops in Hong-kong on ebay offering the lens for about 15-20% less then UK sites, has anyone dealt with them? Are at the lens genuine, And is it even possible to get fakes? I have had a quick look to see if there’s a place to check Nikon lens serial numbers but had no joy.

The reason I was looking to buy from ebay was not only cost but most of the shops offered extended warranty and some shops even throw in the UV filter. However delivery is 28days+

I will probably end up buying the lens itself from the UK ie amazon or jessops (cheapest I have found in uk) but if anyone can give me some positive feedback on their experiences with such ebay shops then I will prob buy it from them and let you know how it goes.
Many thanks for any help in advance :)
 
Before you buy is autofocus important to you ?
Does it AF on your body ?
Might need to look at AFS 50G....£££'s more
 
Good spot, Trevor. The lens the OP mentions will NOT AF on his body - he will be needing the AF-S (or Sigma HSM) version which will quickly wipe out much of the saving made on the body purchase. Lob in the cost of return postage to (possibly) the Far East and the cheaper body's actually ended up costing more.
 
You could always check out the Nikon sales section if you want to save some money bearing in mind what Trevor has said about the lens not being able to auto focus on d5k.
 
AF is not that important to me i can happily deal with MF, i could spend ££££ to get the AF-S NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4G but do i need to?
All of this is new to me as you can prob tell, i was looking at the AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D as its a cheap lens and produces a good sharp image (from the reviews I've seen of it) i wanted the lens to do portrait images and play around with Depth of field while out and about.
Many thanks again!
 
The reason I was looking to buy from eBay was not only cost but most of the shops offered extended warranty and some shops even throw in the UV filter. However delivery is 28days+

It's 28 days as they are grey imports
ergo you have to return to HK for warranty repairs ..at your cost.?

the UV filter will be the cheap-as-chips one = NFG

buy UK - save the grief
 
Like any eBay purchase, new or secondhand, you need to decide for yourself whether the seller's feedback points to a 'trustworthy' seller or not. Various sellers on there such as DigitalRev, HKBNS, etc., have huge amounts of sales to gauge their acceptability.

You then have to decide upon the potential import fees in excess of the cost plus P&P, and if you'll still make a saving as opposed to driving a deal with a high street vendor. Then lastly, as others have said, the warranty issue.

There are some 'dodgy' UK-based vendors on the internet (e.g. advertise low prices yet fail to have the stock, or much worse) that you should be conscious of too if you decide to 'buy UK'. Just search for the threads.
 
Remember, DigitalRev who sell on ebay, are on this forum. If you buy from them via ebay I dont think they guarentee to pay tax/import charges - but if you buy via their web site they do.
Also OneStopDigital (also HK based) seem to be well regarded if you do a google search and also include any potential import tax charges in their prices.
As for other HK based sellers on Ebay - you pays your money and takes your choice. Best bet is dont just rely on Ebay feedback - also bung the sellers through Google, or search on here to see if others have had any dealings.

I recently bought a lens on Ebay - the seller was based abroad, but the stock was UK. I've heard that one before so I did some research before buying and lo and behold - I paid for the lens on the Friday and it arrived the very next day!

It certianly pays to do the research as there are bargains to be had.

As others have said though, there is always the potential problem when it comes to returns.

Have you tried Kerso? I know he does a lot of Canon stuff, but he does have Nikon gear as well and his prices are very competative - example was my 60D body which I got from him for £100 less than the UK high street price.

Regards

Neil
 
If you want to (potentially) save on lenses by buying from abroad I would only buy from Onestop Digital or Digital Rev. These are the only 2 grey sites I have seen mainly good reviews for, and both offer pretty decent terms (IMO).

Before you buy though make sure you read the terms on delivery/returns/import etc. They are both written in plain English and let you know exactly where you stand.

I saved £60 recently on a 18-55VR, which is a nice big saving. However for the sake of £60 on a 70-200VR I'd buy UK. Before you hit buy check the UK prices (after adding postage), some are close enough to not be worth the risk/hassle for a grey import. I have even seen the 50 1.8D cheaper in the UK than it was on DR even before you added the £15ish for shipping.

For what it's worth, I will use DR again in future if they are cheap enough, the 18-55VR was something silly like 60% off vs WEX.
 
Don't want throw a spanner in the works, but have you considered the 35mm f/1.8? Fantastically sharp lens that WILL auto-focus on your D5000. Far more useful focal length (I rarely use my 50mm now) IMHO ;)

New = £158 (non-eBay price)

S/H = £130ish
 
Naith said:
Don't want throw a spanner in the works, but have you considered the 35mm f/1.8? Fantastically sharp lens that WILL auto-focus on your D5000. Far more useful focal length (I rarely use my 50mm now) IMHO ;)

New = £158 (non-eBay price)

S/H = £130ish
Click to expand...

That would be my choice on a crop camera, I found 50mm is a touch on the long side on the D300....
 
do you mean This 35mm lens? I will look at this lens a little closer as it looks ideal and in my price range may i ask where you got the £158 price from?
Cheers!
 
Hg80 said:
do you mean This 35mm lens? I will look at this lens a little closer as it looks ideal and in my price range may i ask where you got the £158 price from?
Cheers!
Click to expand...

I bought the 35mm 1.8 afs lens from OneStopDigital a month ago for £159, it seems to have gone up a couple of quid now. Arrived in about a week and no customs charge to pay.

It's a great lens but if you don't like it, you could sell it at minimal loss.
 
I have a 50mm 1.8D with Skylight 1A filter for sale in the classifieds, its pristine, boxed etc etc :)
 
I can not yet view the classifieds as i haven't posted 100 posts yet :s
 
I'd recommend OSD as well - they're true to their word & have ordered many a lens from them in the past with no hassle what so ever - but if you want UK then I'd say Amazon (not their cheap market place traders - but Amazon themselves) only as if anything goes wrong then the aftersales is 2nd to none :thumbs:

As our Graham (blind date) says "the choice is yours" :p
 
I dont think some people realise that a 50mm lens on a croppy is effectively not a 50mm lens. I'm considering a short focal length prime for my 7D but I'll be buying something like a 28mm or a 35mm so that it's wide enough for use inside buildings where its wide aperture will allow me to take pics without the need of flash. Obviously if someone want's a prime that is effectively longer than 50mm then my comment bdoesn't apply.
 
Hg80 said:
AF is not that important to me i can happily deal with MF, ................
Click to expand...

you have a D5000

therefore ANY Nikon lens will mount, not necessarily AF nor meter

but if you dont mind MF and have a light meter [ Weston
Master V off eBay circa £25] .. you can have a lot of fun with older Nikkor lens

here's a Nikkor-H 28mm f3.5 picked off eBay for £30 IIRC on my D5000

BTW ... the optics and IQ are second-to-none
.
28mm_web.jpg
[/IMG]
 
Thank you all for all your help, this post has taught me soo much about my camera and shown me how much I still have to learn.
To summarise I learnt what ‘DX’ and ‘FX’ means and what people mean by ‘croppy’ etc and why buying the 35mm DX format lens will be a better bet over the 50mm FX format on my D5000 DX format camera, not only for the Auto focus motor on the lens but due to the 35mm and 50mm giving similar picture results/crops on my camera.

I will probably be popping into jessops this weekend to purchase the 35mm :D

Thanks
 
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Hg80 said:
Thank you all for all your help, this post has taught me soo much about my camera and shown me how much I still have to learn.
To summarise I learnt what ‘DX’ and ‘FX’ means and what people mean by ‘croppy’ etc and why buying the 35mm DX format lens will be a better bet over the 50mm FX format on my D5000 DX format camera, not only for the Auto focus motor on the lens but due to the 35mm and 50mm giving similar picture results/crops on my camera.

I will probably be popping into jessops this weekend to purchase the 35mm :D

Thanks
Click to expand...

May be worth calling your local branch first. Stock is very low on this lens nearly everywhere. I ended up buying used to avoid waiting. You may have more luck. It's a magnificent lens though. If you can find one, you'll not be disappointed.
 
Well i grabbed the 35mm lens from Warehouse express, they had 2 left in stock for £165 which isn't bad as these lens are now almost impossible to find in stock in the UK for those kind of prices.
 
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