Can’t believe this! AI used to delete spot of fungus on lens for sale

[gleen41]

Looking at a 24-105mm F4 on eBay and asked the seller if there was a spot of fungus under the front element, with a screenshot.

Checked the advert and he’s clearly used AI on both pictures of the front glass to remove the fungus and removed “no fungus” from his description.

Thank god you’re at least better protected on eBay….but what a **bleep**!

[shadowsports]

Greetings, 

Purchasing camera gear from eBay poses a significant risk.  You're asking for trouble and most purchases will not end in your favor.  You'll just be buying someone else's damaged, broken or malfunctioning gear.

If you're looking to save money, buy from a reputable, used, authorized Canon dealer.  Sites like B&H, Adorama and MPB are excellent choices.  Purchases come with a warranty, right to return and inspection period.  

You're not as protected as you may think, you're going to pay the return shipping.  

Save yourself the headache and liability.  Don't buy camera gear from eBay!

[March411]

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@shadowsports wrote:

Greetings, 

Purchasing camera gear from eBay poses a significant risk.  You're asking for trouble and most purchases will not end in your favor.  You'll just be buying someone else's damaged, broken or malfunctioning gear.

If you're looking to save money, buy from a reputable, used, authorized Canon dealer.  Sites like B&H, Adorama and MPB are excellent choices.  Purchases come with a warranty, right to return and inspection period.  

You're not as protected as you may think, you're going to pay the return shipping.  

Save yourself the headache and liability.  Don't buy camera gear from eBay!

---

Absolutely, ebay the land of scam

[normadel]

I have bought and sold on eBay for years. I have never misrepresented any items I have sold, reflected in my ratings. I have received items that were less than represented, and eBay facilitated returns at the seller's expense. 

Sure, you need to be careful on eBay. Look at seller ratings, and how long they have been eBay sellers. Look at the seller's return policy, but remember that eBay provides return guarantees if misrepresentation is there. 

You don't have to fear eBay. Just do the work.

[SignifDigits]

I have been using and selling on eBay since it was called AuctionWeb in 1996 or 1997, recall chatting with Pierre once, and the sales ticker hitting selling 100,000 items.  It is like any other marketplace - FaceBook, Craigslist, and the plethora of others that are spun off, in that there are good and legitimate sellers and scammers.

When AuctionWeb first was formed there was a buyers' forum, not feedback like it has now, and if a seller was a problem the users very quickly drummed out that seller and they were removed from the site.  I was into watch collecting at the time and collectors formed a very large part of the user base.

Over the years and transition to eBay, the site became MUCH more seller-centric and less buyer-centric.  The sellers are, of course, generating the income so eBay caters to getting more and more of them.  I was shocked to see that negative feedback from a buyer could, and did, at least during some part of their history, result in buyer, not seller, being banned or restricted.

I recently bought a lens that I love off of eBay, and while it's been a while since I sold anything there, I wouldn't hesitate to do so.  Of course the fees have continued to rise over the years, but it's better than the consignment shop in that it reaches a larger audience and charges less, but it's more of a hassle as well, than, say selling to MPB.

As a buyer, you do have to be smart and know which items and sellers to avoid.  Sadly, the user community can no longer drum out bad sellers and eBay, IMO, is too tolerant.  There are awful sellers still selling there, I'm sure, though the true scammers (folks that sell at ridiculous prices, never deliver anything or the wrong thing) are probably less likely to pop up.  

I have been scammed by one that delivered a wholly different (and oddly, more valuable) item than what I ordered, then closed their account as they were under actual criminal investigation.  I used PayPal (before it was actually owned by eBay) and a credit card and was refunded.

I have really never had a substantial problem there.  There just area a few simple rules to follow. 

• Be prepared for and expect issues
• Protect your purchase via a third-party credit card
• Don't entrust any seller as being your final satisfactory resolution
• Don't entrust eBay as your final satisfactory resolution
• Don't entrust PayPal as your final satisfactory resolution
• If any deal is a better-than-average deal, the "expect issues" multiplies by ten or a hundredfold.

The fact is that eBay and PayPal can and DO resolve a large number of issues, and MANY great sellers exist on eBay that will also resolve issues, even if they list "no returns accepted".  I list that myself often.  Once I packaged a glass item poorly and it got broken and I issued a refund.  Recently we had items stolen that USPS had left beside out mailbox and one seller gave a refund for something wholly not their fault.

So I don't go for eBay bashing or eBay seller bashing as a general rule of thumb.  I don't like many of the directions that eBay has taken.  Recently, for instance, they chose to drop AmEx as a payment form.  The reason given is that AmEx has a higher merchant fee than others (true), but many also feel that the better buyer protections that AmEx offers (they are certainly the best at that in my experience) was also a factor.  The sellers now, by and large, "own" the sway at eBay.  But railing against eBay isn't useful.  It's just the reality there, and sellers should going in with their eyes open. 

But the same is true, really, of nearly any purchase - eBay, Amazon, etc.  Caveat emptor - "[Let the] buyer beware"

True, I have never had a problem with B&W or MPB, of course, but I DID have a third-party Amazon fulfiller that was also a Canon authorized reseller deliver a grey market lens on me for full US retail.  Of course Amazon made good on it, but it was a hassle.  So it's possible to have an issue even with a Canon authorized reseller.  I see others that have had problems with them when I do a search (one of which is on this site), so I'm sure there are a class of "better" and "worse" resellers for any manufacturer.

[March411]

Never sold on ebay but did pick up a couple items using the game plan normadel outlined. I recommend not purchasing items from eBay from personal experience and the last was purchased was an adapter for an M50. The sellers ratings were good, been selling for a good period of time, images displayed a perfect adapter and offered free shipping. Again, the item looked pristine in the images.

When it arrived it was a beat up mess, the pictures misrepresented the condition and both caps were cracked and would not stay on tightly. I worked with the seller on the return, they stated it functioned correctly and denied the claim for return. I escalated it to eBay with pictures of the item received and the pictures in the listing. eBay asked if it functioned and I responded it did but was not as advertised, eBay denied the claim. 

Fortunately I used PayPal and escalated it to review with both sets of images. I conveyed that the listing stated excellent condition when it should have been listed as poor, cosmetically poor but good working condition. I explained that had I seen the actual images of the item I would not have purchased it. PayPal refunded the funds due to a misrepresentation of the items condition.

If these are the rules of engagement purchasing on eBay then how can it be a trusted source for purchasing gear?

• Be prepared for and expect issues
• Protect your purchase via a third-party credit card
• Don't entrust any seller as being your final satisfactory resolution
• Don't entrust eBay as your final satisfactory resolution
• Don't entrust PayPal as your final satisfactory resolution
• If any deal is a better-than-average deal, the "expect issues" multiplies by ten or a hundredfold.

But if you are OK with the potential hassles eBay may be a good resource. YMMV

[shadowsports]

The experienced you outlined is a primary reason why I would never buy camera gear from eBay.  The seller knew full well what he was doing and he knew that eBay would likely back him up.  No one should have to deal with misrepresentation.  If this is something that someone has a tolerance for, then go for it.  I don't have time for that kind of trouble.  For every one good experience there's three bad ones.  No thank you.  I think the main point of all of this is that there's the good, the bad and the ugly of eBay.  

[SignifDigits]

I don't believe I said nor implied eBay is a "trusted source for purchasing gear".    It's more like a swap-meet or many-miles-long yard crawl, where one seller is excellent and perhaps next door is one that is terrible.  That said, blanketing every seller with "I'll never buy from you because you're on eBay" seems a bit short-sighted to me.  Not every seller there is like your adapter seller or the OP's lens seller.  I know I'm not (though I don't recall the last time I sold there, honestly).  I have a 100% positive rating dating back to 1996 or 1997 (not really, they didn't start the rating system until much later, but I don't recall when that happened).  So, implying just because I choose to sell some item on eBay I would be a smarmy low-life (and, at the the same time I do KNOW those folks are there) and couldn't represent the item accurately would be inappropriate, don't you think?

I'm wary when buying at Amazon as well, as, I'm sure are you, but I'm pretty sure both you and Rick are Amazon customers still, as am I.

I'm very happy PayPal came through for you and not surprised that eBay did not.  I do not trust eBay to do the right thing, and have not for some time.  They have demonstrated their willingness to support and tolerate sellers over buyers repeatedly.

I will tell you what I do when I purchase.   If you follow these rules perhaps it will help:

1) Buy only from someone with 100% feedback, and years of legitimate and various sales.  Scammers get 100% feedback over a few months by buying from themselves or in collusion with co-conspirators, so 100% feedback for a few months means nothing.

2) Buy from someone with a return policy.  If they don't offer returns, then at least find out that they guarantee in writing that the product matches the description (I do this but often don't offer returns - the scammers here go both ways, esp on expensive items)

3) Make sure they have extensive detailed photos and are showing you some flaws.  If someone says something is perfect, they are almost certainly lying.  Nothing used is ever perfect.  My stuff always looks better in person than what I show on eBay.  At least I shoot for that.  People flipping that paradigm are not people I want to buy from.

4) Research the sold prices of the item you're buying.  If it's offered well below that price, know there is likely a very good bad reason for that.  

5) Know that getting a slightly to significantly lower price comes with risk.  Accept the risk and expect the issues that come from buying at the flea market called eBay.

There are seller-side stories of buyers sending back beat-up and/or gray market products with a different serial number, etc.  So there are cautions for both sellers and buyers.

It's super fine that you don't buy from eBay.  It's certainly NOT for everyone.  I bought a Canon EF 18mm f/3.8 L USM Macro there in January that I'm still loving.  It's currently available on Adorama, and if that one had been there at the time I would have gotten it, but I have no regrets.  

I would encourage us to not generalize too much about eBay.  There are some great foils that choose to sell there because of the large established market share.   To quote you, for the many good sellers and buyer on eBay  "Our interests intersect more than they diverge."

Do I recommend eBay as a trusted source?  Never.  Do I buy there relatively often?  Yes.  Do I recommend others consider buying there as long as they have their eyes wide open and understand the risks?  That would be like recommending buying one stock or another - depends upon the goals, etc.

[normadel]

• There ARE good reputable businesses who have eBay stores. It is a great place to get yourself to the market. Roberts Camera/UsePhotoPro and KEH are two of them. If you go to the UPP website, either through Roberts or directly, it is their eBay store. Check it out. https://usedphotopro.com/

You can get screwed WHEREVER you buy gear....eBay, Amazon, shady mail-order dealers, even brick-and-morar stores.