I have ordered from Keh several times in the past and been satisfied each time. My most recent experience, though, has been very disappointing. I placed an order on the website (which they "updated" a few months back and has run very slowly ever since) for two teleconverters. The order was completed and I received my confirmation. Later that evening, I received an email that the main TC I wanted was actually not available. In the email conversation that followed I learned that Keh's inventory system updates every three hours and their phone sales and web sales are not tied together in real time. As another reviewer mentioned, if a phone customer purchases an item that had already been ordered online prior to the next update, apparently the phone customer gets priority and the web customer gets a "we are sorry for the inconvenience" email.  
 
I pleaded with Keh to hold my money and simply ship me the next matching item that came in stock, even if it meant a wait of a few months. Keh would not budge, my choices were to complete the order for the item I had not been preempted on or cancel the order altogether.  
 
I elected to still have them deliver the other item, even though it was not the main reason for the order. I have not received it yet, so I cannot comment on the grading or quality. I have had several past orders with Keh and have never had a complaint with the actual equipment I purchased.  
 
I will never make another order from Keh's website. I may order from Keh again, but you can bet it will be by phone. If I can get the same item elsewhere, though, I will do so. The customer service in this incident has completely changed my opinion of Keh and left a bad taste in my mouth. If I want to gamble on my orders, I can do that on ebay.

I've ordered about 6 times from KEH, usually when I need something used and ebay's prices are similar to KEH's.  
 
Condition: KEH's ratings are overall very good, very accurate, and very helpful. The only downside is that when selling used equipment, there is inevitably variation. Within the BGN rating things can vary a lot. I ordered 4 of the same item, a flash, all in BGN condition in 3 orders over the last year. 3 of them are in pretty darn nice condition, I'd describe them as 'very good condition with normal wear, a few scratches' were I selling them online. The other one was more used, worked perfectly, but was very very worn. Each was fairly priced, and only once did I get one of the same flash on ebay for a lower price, but there is no perfect ratings system for used equipment. BGN lenses I've bought have not had any optical flaws that I'd even bother describing if I were selling the item, and EX lenses just have less wear on the barrel etc. Keep in mind that most lenses will state 'w/caps' if they have caps, and otherwise do not come with front or rear caps.  
 
Prices: These people are experts at pricing used equipment, you won't find big 'bargains', you'll just find fair prices without auction hassles. Their prices for the newest gear are not worthwhile for me, but when I'm looking for an older lens or flash etc I check KEH, then ebay, then online forums. I'm a photographer, not a collector, so a BGN lens of classic nature (particularly manual focus Nikkors) is very often easier, safer, and faster than ebay.  
 
Shipping: They're not speed demons; don't expect adorama/b&h shipping. I've found 2 business days to be average before orders ship.  
 
Service: I've never had to return anything, nor have any items I've ordered been sold to others, but I've called a few times to inquire about ordering multiples of one item, to find out why something is 'UG', etc, and they've been helpful. Definitely call before buying a 'UG' lens though, just to find out what's wrong...sometimes it's a scratch on the front element of a tele lens (not a big deal) or a very loose focus ring, but sometimes it's a scratch on the wrong element (back for tele/front for wide) or other major issues.  
 
Website: AWFUL. The old site wasn't perfect but it worked. The new site is a debacle. It's just as hard to find things (ie to get to nikon flashes you have to pick '35mm'...why? and what does 'digital' mean?), but checking out is a complete disaster. Server errors, forgetting my information, logging me out, just hanging for an hour, randomly rejecting one of my credit cards for hours, it's awful. If you don't have the patience of a saint just find what you want online, add it to your cart, and call them.

This is the second time I've ordered from KEH, and unfortunately, it wasn't a good one. I ordered a lens on Sunday 12/6 via their web site, which I was amazed by, since I had tried several times in the days before and kept getting session timeouts, declined cc, etc. They have acknowledged problems with their web site... ok, fine. So I placed the order, and on Tuesday got a call from them stating that the lens I had ordered was already sold. Apparently someone over the phone was able to preempt my online order... the fact that that happened has me scratching my head already as to their level of competence in e-commerce.  
 
I called back, expecting that they'd at least throw me a bone for their mess up... well, I was mistaken. All they offered was the choice of another lens that they did have in-stock, no expedited shipping, no shipping refund, just treat it like a plain ol' order. Not good as far as I'm concerned, and the delay which was caused by their system means I now have to wait til next week to get the lens. I specifically ordered it from them on Sunday, knowing how long it takes them to process normal orders, intending to receive it by the weekend. If I had known there would be this delay, I would have just ordered one from an outfit on eBay... one that I know ships same day even.  
 
Ah well... this time around, KEH failed me. Doubtful I'll ever order from them again.

On 11/19/2009, I ordered two items from KEH's on-line site. The total with shipping was $22.44, which I paid by PayPal. Immediately after I made the PayPal payment, the site crashed with a "Time Out" message. I got a PayPal email receipt, and immediately emailed Keh with a copy of that email receipt recording my payment. I requested the status of my order. No response. On 11/23/2009, I repeated that request, but again I got no response. I also haven't received any merchandise. Basically, these guys took $22.44 of my money and refuse to acknowledge any communication from me. I think that either they are incompetent or worse -- you make your own call.

My experience is similar to the posting by rchocobo for my latest order with KEH. I ordered a lens from them and was shipped the wrong one. It had been labeled incorrectly in the warehouse. When I called the company I was treated courteously and instructed how to return it. To expedite the shipment of the correct model I agreed to be charged for the new one so I now had 2 lenses on my credit card. I was told that a credit would be issued after they received the first one and that the mistake was indeed theirs.  
 
The only problem that I had was the amount of time that it took to issue the credit (3 weeks after they received the return). I called my credit card company and they said that this was a common occurrence with many vendors and not to be concerned.  
 
This was my 4th and 5th orders from KEH and things have always been very smooth and uneventful. The packaging has always been excellent and the shipping exactly on time. The shipping charges have been less than quoted at checkout and the products have been exactly as described. KEH refunded the price of the original lens and the shipping charge and sent the replacement lens without charging me a shipping charge.  
 
In order to see what was going on with the refund  
I called 5 times to ask about it and was treated courteously each time.  
 
I find their prices usually lower than on E-Bay with less risk.

I ordered the lens as condition of Bargain on August 2. After I read the reviews in this site, I was a little worry about it. The lens came in today and it is better than I expected. I am very happy about it and sure will buy from them again.

first time ordering from KEH. shipped to my pretty quickly, everything went smoothly... got my lens. found out it did not want to work very well with my camera. naturally, i shipped it back for a refund. i did not recieve a refund until today. nearly two weeks after they recieved it. i called them about it and they were quite rude about it. i emailed them the night before also.. took them a week to respond. nice.

Excellent product, fast shipping, and solid warranty. Purchased a second hand Canon 85L F1.2 lens in EX condition. Condition of lens was EX or better. Focus is spot on with my my 1D MK II and it is super sharp even wide open. Glass is clean. There is some dust on the inside of the lens but it doesn't affect picture quality. Already having lots of fun with this lens. It can do things nothing else in my bag can do. This is not my first purchase from KEH and it sure as heck won't be my last.  

I ordered a 4x5 camera from KEH recently because of KEH stated 14 day return policy andI was convinced by the salesperson I was not taking the risk of purchasing the same item on Ebay because of this. I was not given any description of the item except a vague idea of what it was NOT. Here's the rub with this business; Salesman told me I had 14 days to assess my purchase. WRONG! I only have 6 days within which I have to have the item returned, since the KEH return policy fine print states 14 day return from INVOICE DATE! That is ludicrous, and completely misleading. Judging from the reports of KEH on this website, which are either GLOWING or NEGATIVE, I would BEWARE of this business. I am unable to recommend purchasing from KEH as a result of being mislead about this fundamental stipulation of their return policy which is utterly BOGUS.  
UPDATE: 3/2/2009: 4x5 camera arrived in a beat up box with crumpled paper and one layer of thin bubble wrap separating SOME of the parts of the expensive Swiss made 4x5. The camera was shipped to me with a badly scratched etched ground glass, incorrect 3rd party replacement bellows, incorrect old-style base clamp, leaking bubble level, a missing metal cap on the standard frame, and last but not least, 6 or 8 spring loaded pins for locking and unlocking the lensboards, back, and bellows were corroded and frozen closed. All told, the camera requires at least $500 of repairs and replacement parts. KEH assured me that their camera ratings are conservative and reflect only cosmetic effects such as scuffs, mars, paint loss, but NEVER usability and function, which is TESTED and quality assured to be in good working order. I was completely BAMBOOZLED by KEH and am going to pursue legal alternatives to their unethical and highly probable illegal false advertising and bad-faith dealings. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING from KEH, unless you get a statement of condition IN WRITTEN FORM, signed off by the salesperson, which will NEVER happen at KEH, because they will not communicate ANYTHING in writing, I've found from experience. SHAME on KEH!

This review was modified by its author, boscoevich, on 3/2/09 11:57 PM.

Ordered a couple of cheap items and of course they did not have one of them. Instead of sending me an e-mail they just shipped the item they had and cancelled the other.

This review was modified by its author, hndlebrkng, on 1/19/09 4:51 PM.

I've made only two orders from KEH yet and what they send me is quite expectable. However, in my opinion their quality control is not quite perfect. My second order included a lens in "EX" (excellent) condition which means glass has no marks and wear is moderate. After checking and cleaning the lens I've discovered front element has minor and cosmetic but noticeable coating defect in the form of a ring. I've tried both Eclipse cleaning liquids but with no success. Moreover, filter thread of the lens turned out to be relatively stiff and after some checking I've found a deformation of lens barrel - the lens has been definitely dropped in the past. Of course, these defects (especially when combined) can justify only "BGN" (bargain) condition so I should assume they avoided attention of KEH QC. I order from abroad so KEH return policy does not work for me as EMS is too slow here. Fortunately, the lens functions well thanks to the lack of any plastic.

Excellent company. I bought and EX+ rated Sigma 70-200mm EX f/2.8 APO lens from them for $600 an it came today, 6 days after the original order, in near perfect new condition. I would say the ratings are very conservative.

I bought a Nikon 80-200 2.8 AFS for a price that was a bit less than I would have paid on eBay. The service was excellent--very friendly and knowledgeable, and called me back promptly with an answer to a question. The shipping cost was totally reasonable, and the lens shipped that day. It arrived, exactly as advertised, right on time. I definitely couldn't have been happier about this deal.

This is my second order with KEH, but my first problem which has turned into a complete nightmare.  
I placed the order on-line Monday, October 6, 2008 12:07 AM.  
After I twice requested shipping information I was advised the order shipped Wednesday 10/8 by UPS ground, but KEH could not advise me of the UPS tracking number.  
After a week on Monday October 13th the KEH sales manager at KEH stated by email, "I have been unable to locate your shipment. KEH will be refunding your purchase amount. Sorry for the inconvenience." In my opinion the order probably never did ship.  
Today Oct 17th the refund has yet not shown up in my credit card account.  
I also noticed today a camera identical to the one I ordered is a new listing for sale on the KEH web page for sale, what a coincidence. There is no question in my mind that the camera I bought never shipped but was lost in house.

This review was modified by its author, georgek911, on 10/20/08 12:13 PM.

I have dealt with KEH for years, always got conservatively described  
items and great service so yesterday I ordered a new Nikon D300 with  
Nikon 18-200 lens. Dan Orchard could not have given better service,  
great price, immediate order number verified by email, called back to  
see if I was completely satisfied and sure about order.Was patient  
while I resolved a debit card issue. Was knowledgeable. Helped nicely  
on some extra items I needed...Shipped FedEX ground. FedEx emailed  
last night saying they had product and as of noon today I have a brand  
new finely packed , US Nikon warranted D300 in my hands. impossible to  
beat that . I just went online and ordered some more stuff from KEH !!  
Down right happy with this transaction...!  
Just received my second order within a week. Price was super. The 'Exe" product ( Filters) arrived more like "LN" No signs of wear. Deliver was prompt. Could not be improved..  
 
 
Gaines Blackwell

This review was modified by its author, Spot55, on 8/18/08 8:26 PM.