Another questionable eBay listing

[ray_parkhurst]

The latest RF3p5x from Chendata is showing serial number 200354, so this is indeed a third lens. The listing shows "3" available, and the price is the same as I paid a while back. Highly recommended lens, though I have not made full use of it yet.

[Macro_Cosmos]

It was sold for less than $1200 USD on taobao, so he's making a comfortable $500. At least he actually owns it.

$500, is fair also. Realistically, it's $500-$180 = $320 (ebay fees and paypal fees). That's not greedy at all.

I can confirm that three copies were offered. I know the original seller, he's a surplus seller based on Zhejiang.

[ray_parkhurst]

It was sold for less than $1200 USD on taobao, so he's making a comfortable $500. At least he actually owns it.

$500, is fair also. Realistically, it's $500-$180 = $320 (ebay fees and paypal fees). That's not greedy at all.

I can confirm that three copies were offered. I know the original seller, he's a surplus seller based on Zhejiang.

You can't fault people for buying on TaoBao or other Chinese sites, which are really only accessible by Chinese-speaking folks, and then selling on eBay to a worldwide audience, even if the markup was much higher than this. I've purchased several lenses from Chendata, including my RF3p5x, 105IXL, and 85MV, and have only the best to say. More power to him in making a market for these items.

[Macro_Cosmos]

You can't fault people for buying on TaoBao or other Chinese sites, which are really only accessible by Chinese-speaking folks, and then selling on eBay to a worldwide audience, even if the markup was much higher than this. I've purchased several lenses from Chendata, including my RF3p5x, 105IXL, and 85MV, and have only the best to say. More power to him in making a market for these items.

I'm in no position to judge him. One side of my family there basically started out after Mao got replaced by travelling to Shanghai via hitch hiking in trucks to buy bicycles, and riding it back to their city to sell locally for 5 yuan more, or hopping onto another truck if they got lucky. It was still a criminal act then but no one cared anymore since Mao is gone. I've also been "buying stuff I don't really need" with stuff I do need from Chinese websites and putting them on eBay for a small markup.

I'm now wondering if I should do the same with these types of lenses. There seems to be a good market. Purchasing directly through Taobao grants me similar protection to PayPal, whereas most members here must buy it through a proxy (private shopper) and are screwed if a dud arrives. Taobao doesn't enforce "one photo for one product" policies on used goods. It's assumed duty for the buyer to ask for actual photos.

My problem would be people selling stuff they don't have, and they don't have any knowledge or ability to test it. Chendata's stuff I can recommend. 1700 isn't that bad honestly.

[RobertOToole]

The big difference with Chendata, as Macro Cosmos mentioned, is that he actually has the physical product in stock. Most chinese sellers "borrow" the images from Taobao and crop out the watermarks, without ever seeing the physical product.

My problem with the Chinese resellers, not including Chendata, is that they are out to price gouge, sometimes 50% markup over retail list prices! (APO-Rodagon 4/105 is a good example, $1500 from China, used, but less than $1000 new from a dealer)

FYI, my last Taobao purchase this summer, I did this after promising never to buy on taobao again, was through a buying agent that accepted paypal. The shipment of 5 lenses had one damaged lens (missing the front coating so contrast was too low and glare was too high) and after two months of hassles Paypal asked to return all the lenses as one package not just the bad lens, and still they did not issue credit until a week after the package was signed for. I lost UPS express shipping cost and a lot of wasted time in the transaction.

FYI, Paypal took over 2 months to credit my Paypal account!

The funny part is that I still see photos of the Taobao lenses I purchased being used by multiple sellers on eBay, that were "borrowed" from my Taobao seller this summer.

Best,

Robert

[ray_parkhurst]

The funny part is that I still see photos of the Taobao lenses I purchased being used by multiple sellers on eBay, that were "borrowed" from my Taobao seller this summer.

Sounds like you've been swimming with the sharks! I've never tried buying anything from Taobao or other Chinese-only site as I expected a similar experience to what you have described. I'll let the resellers work it out on Taobao and then give them their markup on eBay, with all the protections that affords. That said, I have not seen a situation where the price was really unreasonable, or even over list as you describe. That sounds like an extreme disconnect vs reality.

[RobertOToole]

The funny part is that I still see photos of the Taobao lenses I purchased being used by multiple sellers on eBay, that were "borrowed" from my Taobao seller this summer.

Sounds like you've been swimming with the sharks! I've never tried buying anything from Taobao or other Chinese-only site as I expected a similar experience to what you have described. I'll let the resellers work it out on Taobao and then give them their markup on eBay, with all the protections that affords. That said, I have not seen a situation where the price was really unreasonable, or even over list as you describe. That sounds like an extreme disconnect vs reality.

At least I had Paypal protection for goods not as described but even then it took more than two months to get my money back, Paypal even took almost 2 weeks to give the decision to me, even after the seller signed for the return package.

Just FYI, I've noticed over higher than list prices few times, with Rodagon F or Rodagon WAs, some are really extreme

From eBay just now:

From a Linos Distributor online at retail price:

Thats $1043 new or $1500 used from China, thats 41% over list

[Macro_Cosmos]

I've seen Mitutoyo 5x and 10x objectives listed at $1500, that's nearly as much as buying both new from Edmund Optics.

"100% test" lol. Opposed to 50% or 0% test?

[orangetang]

41% is high but isn't uncommon. Amazon can be the same way as can be anywhere an individual can set the price of what they're selling. There is stuff on Amazon several hundred times the list price as there is on eBay.
Even a 'reputable' Chevrolet dealership will sell you a 22.99 fuel filter for $67.77, I have a receipt to prove it.

It can be tricky to cross-check pricing at times, but at least we can.

The copying of stock images,other merchant images, or using the same image for multiple items really makes sorting through eBay more complicated than it should be.

[RobertOToole]

I've seen Mitutoyo 5x and 10x objectives listed at $1500, that's nearly as much as buying both new from Edmund Optics.

"100% test" lol. Opposed to 50% or 0% test?

missed the test claim!

That looks like a Zoerk MFS M42>M39 adapter ring, I would bet it is!

Yes, looks like it, here is a reference.

That image was probably lifted off google image search in the first place. Why else would it have a random M42>M39 adapter?

[RobertOToole]

.......Even a 'reputable' Chevrolet dealership will sell you a 22.99 fuel filter for $67.77, I have a receipt to prove it. ........

At least you got a new filter, the APO-Rodagon for $1500 is used

Best,

Robert

[Macro_Cosmos]

That looks like a Zoerk MFS M42>M39 adapter ring, I would bet it is!

Yes, looks like it, here is a reference.

Zrk.jpg

That image was probably lifted off google image search in the first place. Why else would it have a random M42>M39 adapter?

Yep, very very common. There's many sellers on Taobao doing the same. Kind of like those "photos for illustration only" on instant noodle packages. Depicted a flawless clean objective, and unwrapped is something that has probably been tied to a horse and dragged along a gravel road. That's why it's so important to ask Taobao sellers for actual photos, most will comply. That's not an option for most of us however due to a language barrier...