I'm looking for advice on how to resolve an issue with an eBay seller. I've purchased a lot on eBay over the years - mostly good experiences, with only a handful of bad ones. And the bad ones were obvious cases of just returning the item. But this time I may prefer to keep the item and negotiate the price (if the seller is willing).
The lens is a Sony 70-350 that was described as "like new", "mint", and "as if unopened". And the pictures on the listing were not detailed enough to reveal any damage. But when it arrived today, it had pretty significant scuffing, as if it had been dropped or scraped on concrete. And it has a little notch next to the focus ring which is so straight that it may even have been intentional - as if the previous owner wanted a notch for some reason.
I tested it out quickly, and I cannot detect any optical problems. I'm not a pro tester by any stretch, but I compared the edges to each other and can't really see any decentering. And the contrast and sharpness seem to be on par with what I was expecting. There is no trouble with zooming in/out, nor any other mechanical issue as far as I can tell. So I'm thinking the damage may be entirely cosmetic.
The lens is still under warranty until September, which is one of the reasons I pulled the trigger on this one. But I wonder whether Sony would honor a warranty claim with this sort of exterior damage. Plus, this damage will definitely affect resale value if I ever decide to sell it.
So I have two questions:
1) Should I keep the lens or return it?
2) If I keep it, what would be a fair resolution with the seller (such as percent refund, actual dollar refund, etc.)?
I consider this to be fairly severe scuffing compared to the condition I typically keep my lenses in.
These indentations appear to be from concrete or something similar.
Here's the notch which almost looks intentional.
--
-- Joe S.
If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. ~ Albert Einstein
The lens is a Sony 70-350 that was described as "like new", "mint", and "as if unopened". And the pictures on the listing were not detailed enough to reveal any damage. But when it arrived today, it had pretty significant scuffing, as if it had been dropped or scraped on concrete. And it has a little notch next to the focus ring which is so straight that it may even have been intentional - as if the previous owner wanted a notch for some reason.
I tested it out quickly, and I cannot detect any optical problems. I'm not a pro tester by any stretch, but I compared the edges to each other and can't really see any decentering. And the contrast and sharpness seem to be on par with what I was expecting. There is no trouble with zooming in/out, nor any other mechanical issue as far as I can tell. So I'm thinking the damage may be entirely cosmetic.
The lens is still under warranty until September, which is one of the reasons I pulled the trigger on this one. But I wonder whether Sony would honor a warranty claim with this sort of exterior damage. Plus, this damage will definitely affect resale value if I ever decide to sell it.
So I have two questions:
1) Should I keep the lens or return it?
2) If I keep it, what would be a fair resolution with the seller (such as percent refund, actual dollar refund, etc.)?
I consider this to be fairly severe scuffing compared to the condition I typically keep my lenses in.
These indentations appear to be from concrete or something similar.
Here's the notch which almost looks intentional.
--
-- Joe S.
If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. ~ Albert Einstein
