Shop Goodwill

[kenetik]

I've looked at Shopgoodwill.Com a few times, always interesting lenses there, heavy bidding activity on the good stuff, probably not much better than E-bay. Tonight I decided to bid on a few lenses, an Osawa 28-80 3.5-4.5 and a Makinon 80-200 3.5. Good news is, I won the auctions. Bad news is, while the lenses went for 9.95 and 6.95 respectively, unfortunately with the shiping and handling they came out to more than double that price, ~36 bucks. So shipping cost more than the lenses. And, I couldn't see the glass on the Osawa nor the mount on either lens. And they're from a thrift store...

So, before you pull the trigger on something that looks very cheap on this site, keep the shipping in mind!

[philslizzy]

I bought a camera from a member in Canada which cost me, I think under £20, I paid £10 for snail mail and £11.50 tax when it got here. Not such a bargain.

[visualopsins]

I admit I did learn the tip about remembering the shipping cost the hard way too. Lucky for me I learned it early on! Ebay is no different. Similar price items cost the same to ship anyplace, yes?

[kenetik]

[Gardener]

I've shopped there a few times and found some good deals, but shipping is often high, interesting stuff causes bidding wars, and my experience with quality has been spotty - basically I would not buy there anything that does not lend itself to a complete DIY rebuild - scratches, heavy fungus, locked up focus and oily apertures are not at all uncommon, and unlike e-bay you have no recourse if the stuff turns out to be ruined.

[guardian]

[nrparsons]

I used to buy on shopgoodwill.com quite a bit. There was a lot of good-quality photo equipment coming out of the Pacific Northwest and a few other places. Then about a year or eighteen months ago the sellers all began adding handling fees to their charges--sometimes as much five or six dollars. That, the high shipping charges, and overenthusiastic bidders make the prices ridiculously high for a sight-unseen sale (or at least a sale with sight blurred by the poor-quality photos the sellers provide). Then of course there are the few sellers (one in upstate New York, particularly) that put reserve prices on almost everything they sell--even the cheapest junk.

You can still find good-condition, good-value items on shopgoodwill.com, and you can usually sense the item's condition by looking carefully at the photos and reading the description, but bid judiciously and look carefully at the handling and shipping charges listed before you place your bid.

[Tenchiro]

I have gotten most of my Takumars there and lately a Super Lentar. All the lenses have been pristine as well. Shipping is expensive and slow but I have still gotten everything cheaper or on par with the pricing at KEH.