I would not have sent the lens back for repair, just a credit. I have purchased a few items from KEH going back to pre-internet days. I haven't heard anything about their repair service. I, too, hope your experience was a fluke.
Jim A. > I thought I'd come out of lurk mode to share the following story which > greatly concerns me about our old favorite, KEH. I have purchased several > thousands of dollars worth of equipment from them over the past few years > and until now, was deeply impressed with their integrity and service. > > I bought an A* 200mm F4 Macro lens on December 1. It was listed on their > "In-Transit" page and I bought it within an hour of it appearing on the > site. $959. They have my money. > > It arrived on December 6, and it didn't work. Specifically, it would not > project aperture information to either my ist D nor my MZ-S. I assumed > that > the contacts were somehow defective, and after conferring with Paul > Stenquist, Mark Cassino and Ken Waller, sent it back for repair. I sent an > email explaining the problem and got the approval to return it. Several > emails ensued, all explaining what the problem was. I received notice from > UPS that it had been delivered a few days later. After waiting another two > weeks without hearing from them, I emailed them for a status. I was told > to > write again in a week. I did. They waited another week before replying > that > it was due to be worked on last Thursday, and that I would have the lens > this week. > > Well today, I came home to an email announcing that they "have received > notice from our repair department that the reason your lens will not work > in > AF mode is because it is not an Auto Focus lens." Duh. > > I've sent copies of the previous emails to remind them our earlier > communications - that the problem was in the aperture contacts. > > They made what I think to be three errors: 1. They put an item up for sale > without first testing it. 2. They didn't recheck the correspondence to > confirm the problem. 3. They arrogantly presumed their customer was > stupid. > > I've purchased two expensive lenses and two bodies from them, and this is > the first whiff of a problem, so I hope it's just a fluke. But, it > demonstrates to me that they may be losing touch with the fundamentals > that > made their reputation. It's been over a month now, with no lens in sight > > Bill Sawyer > Livonia, MI > > > >
