It’s a week-end full of grief and despair later because of the defect lens I got on eBay (24-70 f2.8 Nikkor with a supposedly bent inner tube => zooming not possible)
I exchanged a couple of emails with the seller. It was an eBay classic: Seller claims the item was perfetly good when he packed and shipped it, lens was broken during transport he says, I as buyer can only report that the lens was defect upon arrival. Who’s to blame…
Actually, I do not accuse the seller of pulling something fishy here on purpose. In fact, I do not care HOW or WHEN the lens was damaged. I only care about getting it repaired or replaced.
So, after several exchanged emails we agreed that I send it to Nikon service for repair. The seller showed himself quite convinced that it is a warranty case. I doubt that, but I am also kind of a pessimist in such situations. If it is in fact a warranty case, Nikon would repair or, even better, replace the lens.
If it is NOT a warranty case, he advised me to get an estimate and he will talk to his insurance. I am not sure what kind of insurance would cover such a case, but in the end I don’t care – again. If I end up with a working 24-70mm lens at the end of the day, everything is fine for me.
I’ll keep you posted.
Realizing this post is from 2011, how did it end up for you and did you get the lens issues resolved or did you get the buyer to accept a return? I just purchased the same lens on Ebay which was described as “in fantastic condition with no visible scratches or any blemished”. Upon arrival inspection, the first thing I found was a scratch of 0.5 to 1 inch long on the lens barrel that extends when zooming and I also noticed it was a grey market lens (not disclosed). Upon trying it out, the focus made a whining sound. A friends 24-70 didn’t make any sound except for a soft humming. The seller is saying that he didn’t see the scratch and that I should have asked if it were a grey version. Long story short: I have filed a case in the resolution center but there appears to be no guarantee that this case will be resolved. I feel and experience(d) your frustration first hand at the cost of $1400 🙁
Hey Peter, totally feeling with you. In my case it worked out fine. Since the lens had been bought new in a regular shop by the person from whom I bought the lens I still had warranty. I sent in the lens for repair and they fixed the problem, whatever it was (I do not know what they did, the return slip just said “lens repaired”.
I hopw you paid with PayPal, this way you can block the payment until you have found an agreement with the seller. Without being a lawyer or similiar I am quite certain about one thing: It is the _seller’s_ obligation to describe the article correctly and completely. His argument that you did not ask is invalid from my personal point of view; but eBay might have the last word on this.
Good luck !