used lens/body condition report

[Darrell C]

Had an Issue when I sold a used lens and failing 5 weeks after purchase, sold a lens, new owner reported happy happy happy, worked great on all 3 cameras, 5 weeks later he claims I knew it was bad, and I duped him. If I had known it was bad, how did it get better leaving my hands, then he bought it and it failed 5 weeks later??. I felt bad and was going to offer to pay 1/2 of repair, but not after he went sideways on me..ended that real quick.

So my question is, for now on I would like to get a camera shop to check it out and give a condition report to give/show any future buyers of lenses and bodies, has anyone heard of that and will camera shops do that? Thanks

 

[Kingfisher]

Sounds more like someone wanted a 5 week free rental to me. My feeling on all of this is when selling a lens, or anything else, is to take clear pictures and describe accurately. Of course disclose any problems or possible issues you think you might be experiencing. You really can't do any more than that. If you take it or send it to a factory authorized repair facility you can still have issues. Bottom line, be fair and honest and don't sweat it.

For buyers, they should have reasonable expectations. They should also factor in they are buying from a private party, not Best Buy where they can use and abuse a product and take it back for a refund six months later. Buyers also should understand they are buying a used product and pay accordingly as there are no warranties in place. Also, buyer's remorse is a tough thing to deal with. If you aren't a 100% sure you want, need, or can afford what you are contemplating buying you should not buy it. The other factor that is problematic in the consumer electronics/camera segment is people got spoiled because they were allowed to buy, use, test, and return products for refund without question because they claim it was "defective" when they know it is not.

Again, bottom like, be honest and fair with people and you generally don't have problems. You can also offer a 7 day return period to cover all bases. If you don't find problems in the first week you should be fine. Above that you are just adding more layers of complication, work, and unneeded aggravation.

 

[CAJames]

To answer your direct question, I really have no idea if camera shops do that and have never heard of it (or don't recall it) being done. And I've been buying and selling camera gear on the internet since before it was "The Internet" (on rec.photo.marketplace for you old timers). In your particular case I don't know if there is anything you can do to protect yourself against a buyer who says the lens worked great and then 5 weeks later says you duped him. Sadly I have heard of that happening (not very often thankfully) for as long as I've been buying and selling gear.