I'd rather have plastic bubble wrap protecting my expensive equipment. If you saw how packages are handled by the carriers even FedEx and UPS you would agree with me. There's nothing wrong with plastic it's what you do with it that matters. Save the wrap for other items you will invariably ship in the future. Same goes for the boxes - cut the taped seams and fold them flat for storage. Plastic bubble wrap is far better than packing peanuts those are really bad and hard to store and stick everywhere due to static. Paper doesn't really protect as well but still better than packing peanuts.
Tried KEH for the first time last week. Got a Canon 5D Mark iii, for around $300. Rated as a bargain. Few cosmetic scrapes on the bottom. Works great, shipped fast and packed very well. No complaints.
KEH stole several items that they listed as having zero value on a large sale of over 20 items. A Sinar auto shutter and a Nikor lens have no value? Really. If they have no resale potential why did they take them?
That much for a scratched lens?? Oh hell no! That’s not a “good deal.” My eBay ones were spotless. $1700 lens down to $700 in the OG box/packaging, manual, legit lens caps, no dust, no scratches, fungus nor smudges and not grey market. These deals you’re getting aren’t too great. KEH “bargain” condition vintage lens was clean and still works to this day. No scratches or anything. MPB just has lot of bad reviews lately to just stay clear. Maybe they were a good company pre-pandemic but not today. MPB also have a ridiculous rating system for camera bodies. “Like new” with 230,000 shutter count. “Excellent” with 9k shutter. Terrible. Their tech is Ray Charles??
Never had a problem with MPB. They have professionally trained specialists which investigate every nut , bolt, pin , screw and needle of anything you send them. I mainly buy lens from the UK branch. The service is amazing. I have been having banter half of the time with their staff via emails. Brilliant place and great service. Friendly staff and most importantly they are honest about their description and provide me 6 month warranty. KEH? I’m not so sure about them. Never used them.
I had a bad experience with mpb, i sold my camera and they asked for my bank details, after giving it to them they returned my camera back to me. Now my bank details are compromised. BEWARE GUYS SCAMMERS!
KEH ripped me off bigtime. They didn't honor their original quote. Sent them mint barley used gear and they said they found stuff wrong with it. The Canon R I sent them was new and unused. They said it had tripod scratch's etc. and other issues. The other two 5D's had less than 5,000 actuations. Better than mint condition as I am fastidious about my gear care. I went with them because I felt they may send me back the gear as they described it. The process was draining, and I felt set up and ripped off. Also, the sales people never got back to me when I called or e-mailed. Terrible experience. They held my gear hostage for about a month ignoring my call and e-mails. I will never use them again.
Have to admit I've just never wanted to take the risk and hassle of ordering used and risking issues and return problems. I am always willing to pay more or just save for an extra few months.
I’ve bought a lot of different items from KEH over the past 10 years. I had a a couple of issues but they took care of them with no problem. In the last 6 months I’ve bought a lens and a small bag from MPB with no issues. My favorite place to buy used gear is Used Photo Pro. I always check their site first as they do provide photos and shutter counts.
The descriptions the two companies use for the same grade names absolutely do not correspond with each other and, at least in my opinion, KEH's usage does not follow intuitively with the meanings the average person would ascribe to those terms. You may be more accustomed to the KEH system, but I think it's wonky. First of all, their description of "Excellent" to me reads "Fair." Also, their scale skips from "Bargain," which says to me "be happy that you got something fully functional for the money you spent," all the way to "Excellent." No "Fair," no "Good," no "Very good." Also, mpb goes directly from Excellent to Like new, whereas KEH has two additional grades between the two. So you have really to conduct a detailed examination of each outfit's scale to avoid apples-to-oranges comparisons. Their Excellent's are not nearly comparable, and that's just the beginning of the customer dilema. mpb's Excellent is just below "Like New," and I would have no problem purchasing an item rated thusly. KEH's Excellent is just above bargain and, per the description, I would not be comfortable buying gear rated as such from KEH. KEH's website has a page describing in detail how they go about grading gear they receive, and there's a chart comparing their ratings to what they consider corresponding ratings from B&H, Adorama, & Amazon (no mpb). An analysis of this chart might be a good topic for another video.
Very happy with KEH. I bought a 28-70 Nikon zoom lens and the zoom ring was sticking. I called them up and they exchanged it for another of the same quality. One thing I have to ding KEH for is not testing cameras for shutter count. MPB does and I just bought a mint Nikon D7000 with a 7,297 shutter count. I bought a D700 from KEH and the shutter count was over 113K, but these cameras are known for their durability, so I am not too worried about it. I have the D7000 for my day to day shooting, and the D700 for landscapes. Love the full frame with wideangle lenses. I just wish KEH included that test and listed each camera with their respective counts. I like MPB's layout. They even include a photo of the actual item. Very nice touch. MPB also ships quickly. I ordered the D7000 Monday afternoon and it arrived here in Maine on Thursday. Very happy with MPB as well. Both companies will have my business from now on.
Recently bought 2 "EX" condition lenes from KEH - Nikkor 300 f/4 PF and a 70-200 f 2.8 circa 2003 vintage AF-S (a real beast of a lens but great IQ! Made in Japan with a brass stamped plate). They were shipped promptly and were both very clean, no scratches or marks on the glass or the barrel, both work great. I am using them on my Z6ii with an FTZii adapter (new from B&H). The only sign of wear on either lens is a tiny bit of the gold lens marking worn off. I got both for a total of $1700, a great deal IMO. The 300 PF lens came with the original Nikkor case, and the 70-200 came with a nice KEH lens bag plus the tripod ring. I would recommend KEH, don't have any experience with MPB but heard good things about them. In either case get familiar with the return policies and save all packing material for several weeks at least while you're testing the items received. KEH has a 21 day return policy and a six month warranty, so that is what is important to me regarding KEH. So far very happy!
Great video bro....new to the channel...I have been looking to get some gear and will be trying out keh..thanks for the advice..can't wait fo the next pov
This is great information to have. I've been searching for a used Sony 20mm 1.8 G lens but haven't figured out where I wanna get it from. And of course constantly hoping I can find a better deal. lol.
Very interesting review. I really like that you used multiple sources for feedback and then investigated the differences between the two companies' scales for categorizing equipment. Your research revealed insight into the two companies that I found valuable. I am about to do business with one of them. I need to sell my Nikon gear now I have switched to Sony. I also will take a store credit as that returns more money. I will report back how I fared. I realize this is slightly out of scope as it concerns how they assess your gear and whether they stick to their original quotes but it is related and is useful info.
I'm lucky as there is a local camera store that gets lots of used lenses. The prices are good and it's a huge advantage being able to handle them before purchasing. Over time they get everything I want and their rating system is accurate. I just picked up a 135 f/2 DC Nikkor lens that is truly mint. No brassing on the mount, no scuffing on the barrel and the elements are beautiful. Doesn't look like it was ever mounted on a camera body. Before purchasing this lens I went onto E-Bay pricing 135 DC lenses. Most of the lenses were coming from Japan. There is one business, in Japan, that likes to grade their lenses as "Mint ++++" etcetera. Looking closely at the photos it was very clear that the lens was a far cry from mint! Lens mounts and scuffing tell the story! Be very careful when ordering on E-Bay! Make sure the photos of the lenses are of the actual item!
I'd rather have plastic bubble wrap protecting my expensive equipment. If you saw how packages are handled by the carriers even FedEx and UPS you would agree with me. There's nothing wrong with plastic it's what you do with it that matters. Save the wrap for other items you will invariably ship in the future. Same goes for the boxes - cut the taped seams and fold them flat for storage. Plastic bubble wrap is far better than packing peanuts those are really bad and hard to store and stick everywhere due to static. Paper doesn't really protect as well but still better than packing peanuts.
Tried KEH for the first time last week. Got a Canon 5D Mark iii, for around $300. Rated as a bargain. Few cosmetic scrapes on the bottom. Works great, shipped fast and packed very well. No complaints.
KEH stole several items that they listed as having zero value on a large sale of over 20 items. A Sinar auto shutter and a Nikor lens have no value? Really. If they have no resale potential why did they take them?
That much for a scratched lens?? Oh hell no! That’s not a “good deal.” My eBay ones were spotless. $1700 lens down to $700 in the OG box/packaging, manual, legit lens caps, no dust, no scratches, fungus nor smudges and not grey market. These deals you’re getting aren’t too great. KEH “bargain” condition vintage lens was clean and still works to this day. No scratches or anything. MPB just has lot of bad reviews lately to just stay clear. Maybe they were a good company pre-pandemic but not today. MPB also have a ridiculous rating system for camera bodies. “Like new” with 230,000 shutter count. “Excellent” with 9k shutter. Terrible. Their tech is Ray Charles??
Never had a problem with MPB. They have professionally trained specialists which investigate every nut , bolt, pin , screw and needle of anything you send them. I mainly buy lens from the UK branch. The service is amazing. I have been having banter half of the time with their staff via emails. Brilliant place and great service. Friendly staff and most importantly they are honest about their description and provide me 6 month warranty. KEH? I’m not so sure about them. Never used them.
I had a bad experience with mpb, i sold my camera and they asked for my bank details, after giving it to them they returned my camera back to me. Now my bank details are compromised. BEWARE GUYS SCAMMERS!
KEH ripped me off bigtime. They didn't honor their original quote. Sent them mint barley used gear and they said they found stuff wrong with it. The Canon R I sent them was new and unused. They said it had tripod scratch's etc. and other issues. The other two 5D's had less than 5,000 actuations. Better than mint condition as I am fastidious about my gear care. I went with them because I felt they may send me back the gear as they described it. The process was draining, and I felt set up and ripped off. Also, the sales people never got back to me when I called or e-mailed. Terrible experience. They held my gear hostage for about a month ignoring my call and e-mails. I will never use them again.
Have to admit I've just never wanted to take the risk and hassle of ordering used and risking issues and return problems. I am always willing to pay more or just save for an extra few months.
I’ve bought a lot of different items from KEH over the past 10 years. I had a a couple of issues but they took care of them with no problem. In the last 6 months I’ve bought a lens and a small bag from MPB with no issues. My favorite place to buy used gear is Used Photo Pro. I always check their site first as they do provide photos and shutter counts.
The descriptions the two companies use for the same grade names absolutely do not correspond with each other and, at least in my opinion, KEH's usage does not follow intuitively with the meanings the average person would ascribe to those terms. You may be more accustomed to the KEH system, but I think it's wonky. First of all, their description of "Excellent" to me reads "Fair." Also, their scale skips from "Bargain," which says to me "be happy that you got something fully functional for the money you spent," all the way to "Excellent." No "Fair," no "Good," no "Very good." Also, mpb goes directly from Excellent to Like new, whereas KEH has two additional grades between the two. So you have really to conduct a detailed examination of each outfit's scale to avoid apples-to-oranges comparisons. Their Excellent's are not nearly comparable, and that's just the beginning of the customer dilema. mpb's Excellent is just below "Like New," and I would have no problem purchasing an item rated thusly. KEH's Excellent is just above bargain and, per the description, I would not be comfortable buying gear rated as such from KEH. KEH's website has a page describing in detail how they go about grading gear they receive, and there's a chart comparing their ratings to what they consider corresponding ratings from B&H, Adorama, & Amazon (no mpb). An analysis of this chart might be a good topic for another video.
Fantastic review of both these companies! Great work here, so a big THANK YOU!
Great video as always! Thank you for giving my story a place and platform to be heard! I hope it helps others in some way, shape or form!
Great overview of the 2 companies...I enjoyed all of the video, as I am considering making a big purchase on MPB
Very happy with KEH. I bought a 28-70 Nikon zoom lens and the zoom ring was sticking. I called them up and they exchanged it for another of the same quality. One thing I have to ding KEH for is not testing cameras for shutter count. MPB does and I just bought a mint Nikon D7000 with a 7,297 shutter count. I bought a D700 from KEH and the shutter count was over 113K, but these cameras are known for their durability, so I am not too worried about it. I have the D7000 for my day to day shooting, and the D700 for landscapes. Love the full frame with wideangle lenses. I just wish KEH included that test and listed each camera with their respective counts. I like MPB's layout. They even include a photo of the actual item. Very nice touch. MPB also ships quickly. I ordered the D7000 Monday afternoon and it arrived here in Maine on Thursday. Very happy with MPB as well. Both companies will have my business from now on.
Recently bought 2 "EX" condition lenes from KEH - Nikkor 300 f/4 PF and a 70-200 f 2.8 circa 2003 vintage AF-S (a real beast of a lens but great IQ! Made in Japan with a brass stamped plate). They were shipped promptly and were both very clean, no scratches or marks on the glass or the barrel, both work great. I am using them on my Z6ii with an FTZii adapter (new from B&H). The only sign of wear on either lens is a tiny bit of the gold lens marking worn off. I got both for a total of $1700, a great deal IMO. The 300 PF lens came with the original Nikkor case, and the 70-200 came with a nice KEH lens bag plus the tripod ring. I would recommend KEH, don't have any experience with MPB but heard good things about them. In either case get familiar with the return policies and save all packing material for several weeks at least while you're testing the items received. KEH has a 21 day return policy and a six month warranty, so that is what is important to me regarding KEH. So far very happy!
Great video bro....new to the channel...I have been looking to get some gear and will be trying out keh..thanks for the advice..can't wait fo the next pov
This is great information to have. I've been searching for a used Sony 20mm 1.8 G lens but haven't figured out where I wanna get it from. And of course constantly hoping I can find a better deal. lol.
I’ve made two sales to MPB and my experience with their evaluation, payment, and customer service was perfect 👍
Very interesting review. I really like that you used multiple sources for feedback and then investigated the differences between the two companies' scales for categorizing equipment. Your research revealed insight into the two companies that I found valuable. I am about to do business with one of them. I need to sell my Nikon gear now I have switched to Sony. I also will take a store credit as that returns more money. I will report back how I fared. I realize this is slightly out of scope as it concerns how they assess your gear and whether they stick to their original quotes but it is related and is useful info.
I'm lucky as there is a local camera store that gets lots of used lenses. The prices are good and it's a huge advantage being able to handle them before purchasing. Over time they get everything I want and their rating system is accurate. I just picked up a 135 f/2 DC Nikkor lens that is truly mint. No brassing on the mount, no scuffing on the barrel and the elements are beautiful. Doesn't look like it was ever mounted on a camera body. Before purchasing this lens I went onto E-Bay pricing 135 DC lenses. Most of the lenses were coming from Japan. There is one business, in Japan, that likes to grade their lenses as "Mint ++++" etcetera. Looking closely at the photos it was very clear that the lens was a far cry from mint! Lens mounts and scuffing tell the story! Be very careful when ordering on E-Bay! Make sure the photos of the lenses are of the actual item!