I ended up ordering a bargain priced Canon A2. The camera was priced great. After I put in my order, I quickly received an order confirmation. In the afternoon on June 6th, I sent them an e-mail asking where my tracking number was. I received a quick response saying UPS would send it to me later that night and they did. They debited my account for the exact amount. The item finally came yesterday as expected. Today, I went out to buy batteries to make sure the camera works and it does. No problems. The only thing that halfway bothers me is there is some dirt in the view finder, but it was a bargain priced item, so I didn't expect it to be perfect. Very minimal scratching on the outside of the body. I was very pleased. Packaging was fantastic. I'm impressed.

This review was modified by its author, Lynds720, on 6/28/05 2:01 PM.

I've purchased several items from KEH over the years. Always friendly,helpful sales staff. Never pushy. Prices are reasonable. They may not be the absolute cheapest,but they are close most of the time. Their rating system is as fair as one could ask for. Rest assured that the item you recieve will be in AT LEAST the condition stated. I've only bought one "bargain" item (old floppy Mavica camera) and was surprised at how good of a condition it was in. Packaging for shipping is first rate. Latest item is a Nikon D70s. I wouldn't spend that much money at any online outfit unless I trusted them to be a reputable establishment.  
 
Do yourself a favor and stick with a high rated seller on this site. KEH may not have a lot of ratings like many others do but I've had years of excellent service from them and will continue to do business with them in the future. Don't fall prey to stores that advertise those "too good to be true" prices. Stick with a reputable place like KEH. Those cheap deals can get mighty expensive when you start dealing with crooks.

I purchased a Canon 50mm f/1.8 (metal mount). I had been searching for this lens for awhile. It had been really difficult to find at a reasonable price. I didn't want to pay $125-$160 for it on eBay, especially considering the odds of getting something of questionable quality.  
 
I had read good things about KEH, B&H, and Adorama. KEH seemed to have the best used equipment prices and I felt comfortable with their rating system based on user reviews and comments from other sites. So I surfed their site for several weeks, but never saw this lens. I knew if it did show up it wouldn't be there for long. I added my email address to their "notify list" so I could be contacted when the lens came in.  
 
As luck would have it, I stumbled across the lens while visiting their site late one night. I couldn't believe it. For one thing I hadn't been "notified". For another, it was selling for $89 in excellent condition. I placed my order online after midnight on the 19th. Around 9am, I called to add an additional item before the order shipped out. The salesperson was polite and helpful. Most importantly he didn't try to sell me anything else.  
 
I was a little worried that I would receive an "out of stock" email. But later that night , I received a shipment tracking number. And two days later on the 21st, I received my lens. Definitely in excellent condition. I'd say better than excellent. In fact, all of the items I ordered (caps, filter, strap) were rated as excellent, but seemed like new. Packing was outstanding. I won't hesitate to order from them again. I wish all of my online experiences were this first rate.  
 
As to why I wasn't notified when the lens was in stock, who knows. It was first come, first served. Odds are I wouldn't have read my email in time to catch the deal anyway.

This was the latest of my purchases of both new and used gear from KEH. To start, the grading system on the used gear is very conservative, and my Ex+ gear looks brand new, and the EX gear shows only minor brassing. This purchase was for a Nikon F2AS with MD-2 and accessories.  
 
The camera was sealed in a plastic bag, that was then bubble wrapped. The wrapping was then placed in an oversized box full of peanuts. While in transit across the country, i have seen the outer box damaged by the carrier, but never have seen damage to the inner package. A fine packing job.  
 
The online site is easy to use and up to date. The ordering process was easy and the item was shipped either the same day, or the next business day. Delivery was as promised, as was the condition of the merchandise.  
 
A great merchant.

Over the past year, I've placed about 6 orders with KEH.com. Overall, my experience has been mixed. 4 of the six times, everything went smoothly. The staff was polite over the phone, the gear arrived in due time, and it worked just as described. For these orders, I couldn't have been happier. The other 2 orders are a different story.  
My first purchase was a Bronica SQ-A outfit. I purchased all of the components at "Bargain" quality - which is meant to indicate that the pieces are fully functional but cosmetically worn. I ended up with a completely broken AE prism finder and a 80mm lens with an inoperable aperture ring. Both of these problems would have been readily apparent to a professional quality control agent. My second defective order was for a Contax G2 outfit - in which I was shipped a body with a defective autofocus system.  
 
The good news is that KEH has a solid return policy and honors it. If you get a broken item, you can return it for a full refund. Moreover, the item is warrantied for 90 days and can be replaced after the 14-day return window has past. The bad news is that it's SLOW. After you ship the item, it can take up to two weeks for them to just book it into stock. After that, it's another week for the refund to be submitted and a few extra days for it to actually materialize in your account. No amount of complaining will move this along faster. However, they ultimately honored my returns with no problems. So, it's better than Ebay, as you do have some recourse.  
 
Overall, I would recommend KEH as a good source for equipment, with a few caveats:  
 
1. Don't assume that a used item, especially bargain quality, will work as it should. Test it immediately upon receipt. My Contax G2 body was definitely defective. I brought to a camera store and contrasted its autofocus ability with a new body. The one that I purchased could not focus on a face in a bright room. When I returned it, I made a big deal about this and advised them to thoroughly check the camera. Despite my best efforts, they concluded that it was user error and put the same thing back up for sale. I've been a photographer for 5 years and know my way around autofocus.  
 
2. If you return a broken item, be careful about getting an immediate replacement. They will be happy to send you out a replacement piece the moment that you complain. But you'll be charged for it (plus shipping), and you won't receive your actual refund for another four weeks.  
 
3. When you have a problem, call them directly. Don't leave a voice mail if the service agent who sold you the item is not available. I had quite a few voice mails and e-mails go completely unanswered. They have a whole team on staff, so just insist that someone else look into and resolve your order.

KEH has not served me well. After several efforts via phone and email to get them to supply what they promised when they took my order, I've initiated a credit card dispute.  
 
What I had hoped for, all along, was for KEH to supply the goods they promised on the phone. In this case, I wanted the Canon 20D camera with the USM lens. I made this entirely clear to the sales person when I placed the order.  
 
When I got the order, it did not contain the item I ordered. They had substituted an item of inferior quality which I specifically had told them I did not want, which was the non-USM lens. From my perspective, they baited me by promising one item, then switched to the inferior item. They do not deny that they did this.  
 
What is surprising to me is that they do not want to send me the item they promised, even though they have it. From my perspective, this is a shocking lack of attention to the terms of our agreement.  
 
I had purchased this item for an important job, photographing President Bush in January. I ended up using a lens I purchased elsewhere. My hope was that KEH would have some concern that they had failed to fill my order as they had promised.  
 
I feel I will win the credit card dispute, as KEH has clearly failed to hold up their end of the bargain. However, I do somewhat resent them pushing me around by baiting me with promises, then failing to meet them, resulting on me having to create all this correspondence.  
 
I hope that KEH gains an attitude that a happy customer is valuable to them.

KEH has always impressed with the quality of their products. This latest lens is in brand new condition and I got it for about the same price a used one goes for on eBay. How many eBay sellers have a money back guarantee like KEH.  
 
KEH is always extremely helpful when ordering over the phone...they are willing to go get the actual product and accurately describe it while you're on the line. I have no qualms about ordering products from them in "Bargain" condition---it's going to be like what other sellers call "Excellent." An "Excellent Minus" from KEH equals somebody elses "Mint."

I have purchased equipment from KEH a few times with positive results each time. The equipment was rated accurately and priced very reasonably.  
Recently I decided to sell off a bunch of my Nikon equipment to them. I started by getting a quote online based on the condition I rated my equipment (this is based on their condition rating scale). Then I called KEH and talked to Camille, she answered all my questions and since her quote matched the one I got online, I sent in my stuff for evaluation(nikon f100, mb-15, f2as, sb-28 flash and the grip for the f2as). Seven days after KEH recieved my package Camille called me saying that all my equipment was in the condition that I stated (excellent) and that KEH would honor their quote. four days later I had a check for $1125.  
 
I've read some complaints from people that felt KEH downgraded their equipment and selling it at a higher grade. This concerned me, but I felt confident that the biggest loss to me would have been shipping to keh (they cover shipping back to you if you refuse a quote).  
 
So there you have it, a surpisingly positive experience selling to KEH and lots of good deals purchasing from them.  
 

I bought a used Tamron 24-135mm F3.5-5.6 SP Aspherical lens for Maxxum mount. KEH had two used units: one rated "bargain" and other rated "excellent". Their "excellent" unit at $245 was priced at least $100 below retail price, so I went for the excellent. Same item USED on Adorama or BHPhoto was at least $290 thru $320 in E+ condition. Enter KEH... WoW!! Shipping was ULTRA FAST (ordered Friday Dec/10/04, received item Tuesday Dec/14/04)! Shipping/handling only $14 for 2Day UPS. Item was really in EXCELLENT++ condition. Professionally packed, lots of foam/beans, tight packing, plastic bags sealing lens, silica dehydrating packs --it even smelled new!. A bonus were the original leather lens pouch, lens hood, and front/rear Tamron lens caps. I am soooo0 happy to have ordered from KEH and not from some Ebay rippoffs (I'm getting tired of misrepresented items on Ebay and dealing w/ strangers). KEH -- you are the BEST! I highly recommend this store to others.

Great collection of used equipment and very reasonable prices. I ordered a Tamron 28-200mm LD IF Super lens for Minolta. Shipping was fast and the product quality is good too. The web-site is easy to navigate and in my opinion they do a great service by being a dependable store for used equipment that very honestly rates equipment quality. I would definitely pay a premium to KEH over any eBay buys.

Placed a web order on October 1, 2004 for a NIKON AUTO FOCUS - 50 F1.8 D (52) 35MM SLR AUTO FOCUS STANDARD ANGLE LENS.  
 
Received confirmation of order later that night. Then the next day the UPS Shipping Notification with date of delivery arrived.  
 
Everything was so quick and easy. Item arrived today and was packed perfect and looks great. I cannot say enough about this store and will continue to order in the future.  
 
Very fast, prompt, and professional. No emails asking me to upgrade and no phone calls. Class act.  
Here is my UPS Tracking number is anyone has any doubts about this company. 1Z3826340353929785

Great Fast Service. Will definitely buy from them again.

I use KEH all the time,I have only had 1 problem with them and it was resolved as soon as it was brought to thier attention, and they covered overnight shipping sence it was the salesmans error,All the products I have bought from them are as advertised, Ken the salesman I do buisness with, always looks out for my interest, And has saved me money a few times, Just wish they sold film..

This review was modified by its author, MikesproShots, on 9/13/04 2:27 AM.

As usual, fast, well-informed service.  
Percieved (by me) quality of used goods purchased met or exceeded "advertised" expectation.  
Fast delivery.

Although I have already had a couple of very satisfactory transactions with this company they have raised the bar a little more with my latest purchase. I recently won an auction with them through Ebay for three Minolta rangefinder cameras. I won all three cameras for an average price of what one camera might go for.  
 
When the package arrived today I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were four cameras with a note explaining that the forth camera was just a bonus.  
 
After all that I have read about KEH and using them a couple of times I thought that they couldn't make me any happier or dedicated, guess I was wrong. ;o)  
 
All the cameras are in great shape (for 30 year old cameras) and came well packaged and arrived when expected.  
 
Another very happy customer.