Wex Trade-in Lens Rejection

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Peter
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Hello all, I'm new to the forum.

Just wondering whether anyone has had this if they've trade in old gear with Wex. I sent in a 70-300mm and 35mm. They accepted the former offering a decent inspection value for it but rejected the latter, giving the reason as, and I quote "Moisture on the edge of the rear optic - uneconomical to repair"

When I packaged them up I first cleaned them down with Zeiss lens wipes, followed by a microfibre cloth. The 35mm didn't show any moisture so I'm not sure why they've claimed it to have. Anyway in the part exchange email I recieved Wex do offer to return the rejected equipment which I've asked to be done while accepting the cash offer on the 70-300mm lens. It'll be interesting to see wht the lens looks like when it returns. If it looks good and still works I'm going to take it in to a local London Camera Exchange.

Has anyone else had a similar experience.
 
That happened to me with a Nikon 17-55mm.... I called them and they were very reasonable and did offer to send it to fixation and deduct the cost.... seemed a good deal for them haha. I did try sending it to MPB, who said the same thing. I sent it back to Nikon in the end and paid for the full clean / service and sold it privately.

By and large, WEX are straight shooters imo - I'd be surprised if there wasn't something on the rear optic that suggested potential moisture. Did you use a torch to inspect the lens - it's amazing what shows when you vary the angle of the torch etc.
 
I had this once. I can’t remember the “problem“ with the lens. it wasn’t moisture).
Wex wanted to send it off to Fixation (they own it) for repair. I refused.
When returned I sent it off to another dealer who sold it on without any problem.
So, it may be worth a second opinion.
 
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Thanks both for the reply.

toohuge said:
That happened to me with a Nikon 17-55mm.... I called them and they were very reasonable and did offer to send it to fixation and deduct the cost.... seemed a good deal for them haha. I did try sending it to MPB, who said the same thing. I sent it back to Nikon in the end and paid for the full clean / service and sold it privately.

By and large, WEX are straight shooters imo - I'd be surprised if there wasn't something on the rear optic that suggested potential moisture. Did you use a torch to inspect the lens - it's amazing what shows when you vary the angle of the torch etc.
Click to expand...

Admittedly I didn't use a torch to check. Both lenses hadn't been used in a while but had been kept in the same padded storage case with a couple of those sachets that come with everything (always keep a few as their handy for gear in storage).

Like you I've always found Wex to be decent and straight. Last time I traded gear in with WEX I did so at their Birmingham branch, which I wish I'd done this time, then they could have shown me the problem straight away. Will be interesting to shine a torch through it when it comes back. I am really impressed that they're willing to send the rejected lens back free of delivery charge. I'll give it a thorough look and torch shining, and report back.


Peter123 said:
I had this once. I can’t remember the “problem“ with the lens. it wasn’t moisture).
Wex wanted to send it off to Fixation (they own it) for repair. I refused.
When returned I sent it off to another dealer who sold it on without any problem.
So, it may be worth a second opinion.
Click to expand...

It'll be interesting to see the lens when it returns and do as toohuge suggests shine a torch through it. Once I've given it a thorough look, as much as I trust WEX I'll take it to LCE for a second opinion.
 
Frankly, I sometimes think that dealers shoot themselves in the foot by giving reasons for rejecting stock.

About 50 years ago, when I worked in photo retail for a year, the manager (who did all the buying and part exchange) always rejected stock very politely but refused to give reasons. I asked him about this (being young and callow enough to risk it) and he told me...

"If you give a reason, the chances are the bloke will argue. You cannot win that argument. If you just say 'thanks for thinking of us but that isn't something we could offer you a sensible price for', he may not be happy, but you won't have made an enemy".

As I went through life, I found that applied to many situations.
 
Peter123 said:
I had this once. I can’t remember the “problem“ with the lens. it wasn’t moisture).
Wex wanted to send it off to Fixation (they own it) for repair. I refused.
When returned I sent it off to another dealer who sold it on without any problem.
So, it may be worth a second opinion.
Click to expand...
Exactly the same to me, Wex claimed one of my lenses had issues and wanted to fix it.
Got it back as know nothing was wrong with it, sent it to MPB and they accepted it as Mint.
Stopped using WEX since then as don't like antics like that.
 
They are going to sell the kit they buy to very fussy buyers - perhaps even to you. They need to be more fussy than a fussy buyer to retain their sales reputation.
 
Funnily enough, WEX did exactly the same to me some years ago. Claimed the lens had water damage (which I knew it hadn't as it was only a 6 weeks old and had never been out of the house). Sent it to MPB, with the classification from my side as just excellent, and they upped the classification to Mint- and gave me £40 more than their original estimate ? Go Figure.
 
john.margetts said:
They are going to sell the kit they buy to very fussy buyers - perhaps even to you. They need to be more fussy than a fussy buyer to retain their sales reputation.
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:plus1:

Wex are very fussy buyers in my experience and that makes them a good place to buy used stuff from.
MPB on the other hand don't seems as fussy so makes them a good place to sell stuff to but not as good a place to buy stuff from.

These days I mostly sell to and buy from LCE. I have built a good relationship with some branch managers and they are generally open to some haggling and discounts.
Wex just refuse to budge so I do not shop there anymore (they used to the in past but seem have become a bit a**l lately)
 
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AndrewFlannigan said:
Frankly, I sometimes think that dealers shoot themselves in the foot by giving reasons for rejecting stock.

About 50 years ago, when I worked in photo retail for a year, the manager (who did all the buying and part exchange) always rejected stock very politely but refused to give reasons. I asked him about this (being young and callow enough to risk it) and he told me...

"If you give a reason, the chances are the bloke will argue. You cannot win that argument. If you just say 'thanks for thinking of us but that isn't something we could offer you a sensible price for', he may not be happy, but you won't have made an enemy".

As I went through life, I found that applied to many situations.
Click to expand...

Today it's a no win for retailers as there will be those who argue with them whether they gave a reason or not. Personally I haven't argued with it, for one I'm not the sort to kick up a fuss unless it's absolutely necessary, and mostly because having sent the lens in to them rather than taking it to a store, it doesn't sit right to do so without seeing the lens again. As I said I didn't shine a torch into it, so there may well be something I didn't know about. At least they were willing to send it back.
 
Sootchucker said:
Funnily enough, WEX did exactly the same to me some years ago. Claimed the lens had water damage (which I knew it hadn't as it was only a 6 weeks old and had never been out of the house). Sent it to MPB, with the classification from my side as just excellent, and they upped the classification to Mint- and gave me £40 more than their original estimate ? Go Figure.
Click to expand...

Based on how I graded the 35mm for WEX who quoted £63, LCE are quoting me £60, MPB £53, and Park Cameras £55.
 
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nandbytes said:
:plus1:

Wex are very fussy buyers in my experience and that makes them a good place to buy used stuff from.
MPB on the other hand don't seems as fussy so makes them a good place to sell stuff to but not as good a place to buy stuff from.

These days I mostly sell to and buy from LCE. I have built a good relationship with some branch managers and they are generally open to some haggling and discounts.
Wex just refuse to budge so I do not shop there anymore (they used to the in past but seem have become a bit a**l lately)
Click to expand...
You're right about them being a good place to buy used gear from. Couple of years ago, I picked up a used Nikon 16-80mm f2.8-4E for less than half the price of a new one and it was graded at a 9 or 9+. Massive saving for a lens that didn't show much use at all.

Had a few problems with MPB in the past, but never anything with LCE, the only thing that stopped me going to the local store was their online quote was about £40 less than WEX. At least WEX sending the lens back to me means if it doesn't look too bad I'll take it to LCE and see what they say.
 
I've bought from all these retailers and never had a problem, goods have always been excellent.
 
Well for anyone interested. WEX accepted the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G I sent in and returned the Nikon 35mm f/1.8G. I had a look with a torch but couldn't see anything so took the latter into my local LCE.

The assistant was initially going to accept it but noticed the diaphragm looked slightly off and asked whether it had been dropped at any point. It hadn't. The manager had a look and said 'yep there's a bit of moisture in it' which meant they couldn't accept it either but the guy said to try elsewhere as other places probably would. In the car I had a good look to the edge where the blades were a bit skew-whiff and could just make out a very little sliver of something at the edge. Think of it like you've glued a couple of pieces of clear plastic together and when it's dried you notice a thin sliver where it's seeped out and dried. It was really difficult to see but there unfortunately.

On the assistant's advice I put in a quote with MPB which was initially £10 less than WEX had quoted but thought I'd give them a try. After 4 working days waiting I received an email saying they were content to accept it and had upgraded it to 'Like New' conditioning! It only added £3, making their final offer £56.
 
Star Ember said:
Hello all, I'm new to the forum.

Just wondering whether anyone has had this if they've trade in old gear with Wex. I sent in a 70-300mm and 35mm. They accepted the former offering a decent inspection value for it but rejected the latter, giving the reason as, and I quote "Moisture on the edge of the rear optic - uneconomical to repair"

When I packaged them up I first cleaned them down with Zeiss lens wipes, followed by a microfibre cloth. The 35mm didn't show any moisture so I'm not sure why they've claimed it to have. Anyway in the part exchange email I recieved Wex do offer to return the rejected equipment which I've asked to be done while accepting the cash offer on the 70-300mm lens. It'll be interesting to see wht the lens looks like when it returns. If it looks good and still works I'm going to take it in to a local London Camera Exchange.

Has anyone else had a similar experience.
Click to expand...
Yes. Sent in my, as far as I was aware, good condition Canon 5D mark iv body, which they’ve rejected, saying the top ring is slipping. I’ve never experienced any issues with it whatsoever. They offer peanuts for it, and to send it for an independent repair estimate. I have refused and asked for it to be returned to me.
 
You did seal it in plastic, right? It's autumn, cold and wet while sitting in a warehouse and travelling in unheated vehicles.
 
I had one rejected recently as it had a minor click in part of the zoom range.
 
Yes happened to me with 2 Olympus lenses with "moisture inside the lens".

That was the winter again too.

The was nothing wrong with them after I'd inspected them.

I put it down to maybe condensation after coming off a cold delivery van as @dcash29 has already suggested.

Bit thick of them if it is but I subsequently sold them for more so they lost out.
 
I have had wex reject a 50mm F1.8 Special Edition lens which I bought as excellent from MPB a few weeks ago as it had very heavy moisture around the edge of the rear optic. I like to think iam quite fussy with what I trade in and check everything. I looked at this lens as close as I could and used a torch I saw nothing of the sort present. I will have a look a this when I get it back.

They also said my Nikon DF needed to go in for repair as the front control knob was stiff. I tried explaining to them that most of them are like that and it requires a two finger approach to turn it. There is a few articles about it is just poor ergonomics. Also because they said it was an imported camera the trade in price would be £468 but this wouldn't be paid to me until the camera had gone off for an estimate and I would have to pay for the repair before they paid me. All in all not a successful trade in but not a lot I can do so will await their return. They do mention about grey imported cameras getting a lower price.
 
toohuge said:
By and large, WEX are straight shooters imo
Click to expand...
This for me. And reading the subsequent replies, is a reason I buy used from them (and places like Ffordes or WYC). The number of complaints I've seen are minimal, or just rants.

Everyone is human which sounds stupid but it applies to the folks assessing your gear. If you've got a good person looking at it, it's a double-edged sword. You get a low/no price as a seller, but if you're a buyer, you know you're probably getting good kit. If you've got a less experienced person looking at it, or a management philosophy of "sell loads and refund on complaint", then that's great as a seller but at the least, inconvenient as a buyer. Of course, if your gear is assessed on 3pm on a Friday afternoon, anything could happen!

This is why I stick with companies I know, and oddly, am (for the most part) not upset by any faults found in my own gear when I send it in.
 
I had a Tamron rejected for a large piece of debris inside the front glass. Only noticeable at f8 and above apparently. They offered to send it off for repair, I got them to send it back.
Once back I could see what they were talking about. Gave it a bit of a shake and it disappeared, never saw it again and sold it on eBay for about the same as the WEX offer.
They have been fine with other stuff before from me.
The moisture one is interesting as I can pretty much guarantee each time I go on there, to find at least one used lens on there which has moisture in it mentioned

www.wexphotovideo.com

USED Fujifilm 50-230mm f4.5-6.7 XC OIS Lens - Black | Wex Photo Video

www.wexphotovideo.com
 
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I've had a couple of things rejected by MPB for very minor "issues" they found on inspection, so lately I've taken to selling on ebay instead.

I recently sold a lens on ebay..... about 3 weeks after the buyer received it he sent me a message saying there was problems with the lens with "large dust" in the internals and sent me some poorly taken pics... I messaged him to ask if he had tried it on another camera.... Without replying to my message he then initiated the return saying item not as described, demanding a refund. When I got the lens back examined very closely with a a torch and a loupe and spotted nothing like he described and fired of a few shots with it and there was no problems with the test images....

I suspect the ebay buyer tried scamming me to get use of the lens for a project and then return it, instead of paying to hire a lens....

Rather than putting the lens on back for sale on ebay again, I decided to sell it to a "used" dealer..... After inspection the initial quote was raised which I gladly accepted....
 
Wex made an offer for a Voigtlander lens of mine and once they received it they reduced the offer. I look after my kit and it was a lightly used lens and I honestly couldn't see a mark on it plus it was complete with everything it came with and in its box.

I accepted the reduced quote (there's a lot going on in my life) but this has stuck in my mind and others have had the same happen to them. I've spend thousands with Wex over the years but after this and reading the comments of others I have no confidence in them now and I will never ever deal with them again.
 
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sent my nikon z611 to wex had a call to say it was broken. I said well it was working fine when I sent it ,and have photos to prove I tested before boxing . what annoyed me was the I don't believe you attitude ,well every one would say that.so I said have you cleaned contacts yes of course we have ,in his rather superior. voice .send it back then no I am not sending it to fixation for a quote. surprise surprise got it back cleaned the contacts worked perfect. took it lce they looked at it gave me the same as wex will never bother using them again will spend my money in my local shop and stop using internet traders rant over
 
davos said:
sent my nikon z611 to wex had a call to say it was broken. I said well it was working fine when I sent it ,and have photos to prove I tested before boxing . what annoyed me was the I don't believe you attitude ,well every one would say that.so I said have you cleaned contacts yes of course we have ,in his rather superior. voice .send it back then no I am not sending it to fixation for a quote. surprise surprise got it back cleaned the contacts worked perfect. took it lce they looked at it gave me the same as wex will never bother using them again will spend my money in my local shop and stop using internet traders rant over
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I think that is what has left a sour taste in my mouth was the attitude on email of the staff, very superior and as if they have caught me out. Once bitten and all of that I won't use them again but there are plenty of other places to trade in.
 
Wex offered less than they had originally said for a camera my daughter sent in as they said the eyepiece cover part was missing. It had definitely had it when we sent it, so we asked for it to be returned as they were knocking a silly amount off for it. It was very annoying as it had never fallen off before, so I'm sure it must have been the way they unpacked it. She bought another one and then sold it on eBay for more than they had offered.
 
When I bought my new Canon 5D4 plus 24-105mm Mkii lens from WEX, I traded in my 5D2 plus 24-105mm Mk1 lens. As I had had these from new and look after my kit, I was not surprised that they gave them both their highest rating and offered an attractive amount which I accepted. While they carefully checked the camera and lens and questioned me and I also had the original boxes and invoice, this gave me the impression that they were thorough. Though, I have no plans to buy any second hand equipment, I would be inclined to consider WEX if I did so.

Dave
 
WEX apparently require 72 hours now to check over gear, whereas in the past when you could get checks while you waited.
 
Just a quick update i have received camera and lens back and have checked the lens over asoluteley nothing wrong with it no heavy moisture whatoever or any other anamolies. It was slighly misted upon opening the box as it came into a warm environment but after five mins it was ok. The DF and the control knob the same as they all are a little akward to use with one finger no issue whatsoever with it. Never mind it happens i will leave on my shelf for a little longer i sort of missed it anyway :)
 
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dcash29 said:
WEX apparently require 72 hours now to check over gear, whereas in the past when you could get checks while you waited.
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My local will do while you wait for one lens if you are nice to them, if it is multiple items or a body its next day.

I traded 3 lenses and an Olympus body in to them recently. Dropped of at 4.30 p.m and had quote by 2.00 p.m the next day.
 
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f/2.8 said:
My local will do while you wait for one lens if you are nice to them, if it is multiple items or a body its next day.

I traded 3 lenses and an Olympus body in to them recently. Dropped of at 4.30 p.m and had quote by 2.00 p.m the next day.
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Yeah I challenged them but I was told things have changed.
 
TheFiend said:
.....I recently sold a lens on ebay..... about 3 weeks after the buyer received it he sent me a message saying there was problems with the lens with "large dust" in the internals and sent me some poorly taken pics...
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After 3 weeks of him having and using it, any problems are due to his use of 'his' lens. I wouldn't have paid him back.
 
f/2.8 said:
I guess it depend on staff availability at individual store this was only last week.
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I've said, I was told they've changed their policy, which may depend on each store or they were being an arse? Either way I'll contact the HO and ask when I have time.
 
johnty52 said:
After 3 weeks of him having and using it, any problems are due to his use of 'his' lens. I wouldn't have paid him back.
Click to expand...

He initiated a return saying "Doesn't work or is defective" which is covered by the eBay Money Back Guarantee so I basically had no choice...
 
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