Duff Ebay purchase - Canon IS MKII 70-200mm f2.8

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I won a Canon MKII IS 70-200mm f2.8 on Ebay the other night (upgrading my MKI) and it arrived today, no protective packing, just the lens in it's box which was in a plastic postage bag. First thing I noticed was a couple of small marks on the body (even though it said as new) and a couple of spots on the front element and then I tried a few test shots. I was so unimpressed I took a few more with the new lens and my MKI .. all in AV mode and wide open.

Also I noticed the EXIF details varied by quite a bit even though I took the shot, turned off cameras, substituted lenses and then turned camera back on.

New Lens


MKIId by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

My lens


MKId by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

New Lens


MKIIb by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

My Lens


MKIb by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

New Lens


MKIIa by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

My lens


MKIa by Mike.Pursey, on Flickr

What do you think .. personally I'm not impressed. Have to say though it's the first time I have had a major problem with anything purchased on Ebay.

Paypal dispute already opened.
 
Doesn't sound good. An observation though (no EXIF available) but the first two sets of comparisons are clearly not at the same aperture or subject distance as the DoF is clearly way narrower on the mkII shots.

EDIT: Didn't realise they were on flickr - You have the mkI at f9.9 on the first shot, and the mkII at f/2.8. Still looks rubbish though.
 
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If it was not wrapped properly in a box marked "fragile glass" or something similar it would have been thrown around all over the place till it got to your door.

I would be getting in touch with seller with those shots and se what he/he has to say if no luck then report to ebay.
 
Hmm, obviously I wasn't as careful as I thought with that picture but even so I think the MKII should have done a little better at f2.8 1/1025 :)

Get the exact setting for both lens and get in touch like I said with seller and show them the results
 
Looks to me like it's been dropped and the internals have gone out of alignment. Get your money back. If not possible, Canon can sort it out for a few ££s.

That's exactly what I was thinking ... the seller is denying all knowledge of any problems and says I can get it repaired under warranty as he bought it from Jessops the end of last year.

Not sure if (a) Canons warranty is transferable (b) they would do it without a receipt anyway (I asked the seller to include it but he didn't)
 
How good a deal was it ? If it was a bargain price then you might be as well getting it sent off to Canon for a service.

Edit: What's the date code ? If that shows the lens is within a year old then hopefully Canon will fix it without the receipt ?
Edit 2: Warranty terms here I think http://www.canon.co.uk/Support/Warranty/Terms_Conditions/index.asp

Excerpt " The warranty is subject to proof of purchase being provided; therefore you should retain your original receipt."
 
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I would be sending those to the seller and see what he says. Leave the exif in so he can see it too.

If its still a no go with him then report, it could have been fine when it left him like he states but if its not packaged properly then he is still to blame.

Fist thing I ever do is get a photo of the packaging on something expensive for monents like this as proof also
 
Was this a business seller? Was the item a buy it now purchase? If so you are covered by distance selling.

If not, simply open a case, it will take a little time, but you will get the refund once the lens has been returned to the seller.

If you need any other help with regards to eBay, drop me a pm and I'll try and help you where I can.

Regards

Rob
 
Could it be the IS thats knackered, how about trying both lenses on a tripod with IS turned off obviously. you could check how manual and autofocus compare as well then.
 
You've paid for a lens that is certainly not as described. Contact the seller and if no joy then report to eBay
 
Maybe it just needs to be calibrated with your camera.

Can you manual focus better than that?
 
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Open a dispute on eBay and make sure all the conversations is via eBay messages and not personal email or by phone etc. and only post to the address supplied by eBay by recorded mail.
Keep all the photos of the lens and images you have taken with the lens so you can submit them to eBay.
Can't see any issues with getting a full refund..sorry minus your postage fees
Gl
 
Could it be the IS thats knackered, how about trying both lenses on a tripod with IS turned off obviously. you could check how manual and autofocus compare as well then.

^^ This

My Nikkor 70-200 had a VR unit failure and it was exactly the same. £125 to fix. Went pretty much overnight, not dropped. It just failed.

Depending on how your dispute goes you might want to investigate a repair as part of the resolution depending on how much of a bargain you bought it for.
 
when you return it, make sure its by recorded delivery or signed for.

Awful advice, it needs to be returned by Special Delivery.

All that happens with Recorded Delivery is a signature is supposed to be obtained on delivery, other than that it goes with the normal post and only has £50 compensation if lost or damaged in transit.
 
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Awful advice, it needs to be returned by Special Delivery.

All that happens with Recorded Delivery is a signature is supposed to be obtained on delivery, other than that it goes with the normal post and only has £50 compensation if lost of damaged in transit.

good point
 
Think I'd be sending it back now Mike, not the quality you'd be expecting from the lens...

Just to double check - there isn't a filter on front of the lens is there ? If so, remove it and try again...
 
That's exactly what I was thinking ... the seller is denying all knowledge of any problems

It may have worked when he sent it but if it doesn't work when you got it then it is his problem. He will need to claim it back via the delivery company and let's hope he sent it special delivery or equivalent otherwise he will be losing out.
I would open a case now as they seem like a bad eBay seller if they are claiming you need to get it fixed (under warranty or not) as they seem to be missing the point that it is their problem not yours.
 
I won a Canon MKII IS 70-200mm f2.8 on Ebay the other night (upgrading my MKI) and it arrived today,.......

.....What do you think .. personally I'm not impressed. Have to say though it's the first time I have had a major problem with anything purchased on Ebay.

Sorry, but in one sentence you say you won a 70-200 on Ebay?! and later you say its the first time you've had a problem with anything you've bought from Ebay?
 
Sorry, but in one sentence you say you won a 70-200 on Ebay?! and later you say its the first time you've had a problem with anything you've bought from Ebay?

I think he means won as is bid, the purchase being the handed over money part.

I'd send it back and inform the seller about it, if it was meant to be new then it should be new and working. I'd also pull the seller up about his packaging methods, what he provided wasn't sufficient enough to keep the goods inside safe. I know it can cost a bit more and might take some time out of peoples days to get the required materials but if a buyer is willing to buy then you might as well go the extra yard to please them, especially when spending that money.

Contact the seller, figure something out and if the worst comes to the worst just go ahead and open a case against them.
 
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Definitely send it back. If you received it damaged, you're entitled to your money back. If it turns out that it was fine before being shipped, then it's up to the seller to take issue with the courier.

Out of curiosity, of course without disclosing the seller's name or details, did you check his rating and user reviews?
 
Awful advice, it needs to be returned by Special Delivery.

All that happens with Recorded Delivery is a signature is supposed to be obtained on delivery, other than that it goes with the normal post and only has £50 compensation if lost or damaged in transit.

£46 to be exact.
 
£46 to be exact.

Went up to £50 at the beginning of April.

Royal Mail Signed For™

For stamped, metered and by account* items a postage refund plus compensation on the basis of actual loss, where evidence of posting and evidence of value can be provided. This compensation is subject to the maximum payable being the lower of the market value of the item and the maximum of £50.00.
 
Don't send it back to the seller if they're disputing what you're saying or you could be left with nothing. The way Ebay works in 99.9% of cases the buyer is always looked after with them and not the seller. If you get no joy with the seller and you paid with Paypal which hopefully you did then open a dispute and just wait until it is sorted through the dispute system. It could take up to a month but I'm pretty sure if you're patient with how the system works then you'll have your money refunded because as soon as you open a dispute then they have the amount of money that you paid frozen in there Paypal account until everything is sorted. Just make sure that you follow all the time frames that they will give you to respond to the questions that they will need answering.
If you have any problems let me know and I can put you in touch with my Sons who earn there living selling on Ebay so they know all about how it.
 
Unfortunately this happens sometimes, people sell broken stuff on Ebay without listing the fact it's broken. Ebay very much frown upon this......

You always have to remember, just like cars, people usually sell stuff when there's something wrong with it. Some people sell because they don't like the colour or it doesn't look "new" any more, some people will wait until it's falling apart.

My GF has been on the receiving end of shoes, where the seller states "only worn once", only to find they've been walked from John o'groats to Lands end and as I recall it happened once on a pair of expensive designer jeans with a broken zip.

It's about noticing the small things, trying to work out if they're selling because of something silly, rather than something serious.
 
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I read the changes and could've sworn I saw £46 given as the figure.

They have separated compensation amounts out, probably to confuse.

Normal 1st and 2nd Class has now dropped to £20

1st Class & 2nd Class

For stamped, metered and by account* items a postage refund plus compensation on the basis of actual loss, where evidence of posting and evidence of value can be provided. This compensation is subject to the maximum payable being the lower of the market value of the item and the maximum of £20.00

And this is the one that you might have seen

Articles For The Blind

Compensation on the basis of actual loss, where evidence of posting and evidence of value can be provided. This compensation is subject to the maximum payable being the lower of the market value of the item and the maximum of £46.00

Why "articles for the blind" should have a different rate of compensation isn't explained either.

From here - http://www.royalmail.com/personal/help-and-support/available-compensation-for-lost-items
 
That blind one must've been what stuck in my head, or I was just remembering the old amount, thinking it was still current.
 
Just though I should post here that I won the dispute, returned the lens a couple of days ago and just got a full refund.

Bit annoyed I had to foot the £26 return postage costs though ...

It's really not on that you had to foot the postage.,.
 
Just though I should post here that I won the dispute, returned the lens a couple of days ago and just got a full refund.

Bit annoyed I had to foot the £26 return postage costs though ...

Still, better than not getting the refund? :)
 
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