Used or New? - Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8

[ChrisAdval]

I want a Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM II

On amazon they have it used for about $650 - Amazon.com: Used and New: Sigma APO 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG HSM Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

vs. NEW its about $799 and save a good chunk of $250.

Which would you recommend?

[ccting]

Well, you never know how is the coating layer on the len surface, whether it has been spoilt or otherwise..The coating on the len surface can be easily spoilt by a novince like me, when trying to clean the len.. Any particle inside the len?

how about the fungus?
etc.. I think if I wish to get the best quality of picture, then i will buy a new one rather than the used one, unless i can examine the len for coating, fungus, autofocus with various zoom and take a few pictures and crop to 100% and see whether there is any defect or not...

If the user ever take off the UV filter / clean filter from the len, I will never buy it. You may save 250 but you risk your 799-250 = $650, not worth it. It ends up with 799+650=1450.. LOL

Buy new one with warranty. The warranty worth more than 250

[homank76]

I would have him send you very detailed pictures, if you see nothing wrong I'll buy it to save some money. Most of my lenses are used, or I would not have as many.

[ChrisAdval]

Originally Posted by homank76

I would have him send you very detailed pictures, if you see nothing wrong I'll buy it to save some money. Most of my lenses are used, or I would not have as many.

where do you normally get them? I feel getting them from an actual company than a person in a private sell feels a lot better as I should have a better refund policy if things didn't work out too well.

[homank76]

I actually get 90% of my used stuff off of EBay.

I make sure that the seller is from USA and have plenty of pictures and always ask why they are selling it. I always use Auction Sniper for my bigger bids as well. That way my max price is set and it won't bid till the last five seconds, keeps the price lower that way. I've never had a problem using EBay, though I just may be extremely lucky. Even though I have over 400 feedback as a buyer.

[kirbinster]

I buy 92.7% of my gear used on craigslist.org . I tend not to buy from Amazon or other places on the web where you get shipped stuff without seeing it first. With craigslist I meet the seller in a public place and test out the gear before buying. I have always gotten great deals and have never had any problems with any of the gear.

[ChrisAdval]

do you guys have it checked by "pros" like nikon or canon? or just services that checks the internal parts are ok?

I tried searching for the lens on ebay but they have no returns accepted or one 3 day return accepted... so what do you guys do with auctions with no return policy? I would move on but for some reason I only get 3 used lenses showing up for canon.

-- http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=...p3286.c0.m1539

[jcspenny]

Originally Posted by ChrisAdval

where do you normally get them? I feel getting them from an actual company than a person in a private sell feels a lot better as I should have a better refund policy if things didn't work out too well.

It could be different with electronics, but as far as I know when you buy used on Amazon, you're not buying from the company. My mom used to sell her old books through Amazon.ca and she always shipped them directly to the buyer.

If I were buying anything expensive, I would feel a lot safer buying off of ebay where you can view the seller's feedback and see pictures of the item. Not to mention that if you pay with paypal it's pretty easy to get your money back if you get screwed.

[kirbinster]

Originally Posted by jcspenny

It could be different with electronics, but as far as I know when you buy used on Amazon, you're not buying from the company. My mom used to sell her old books through Amazon.ca and she always shipped them directly to the buyer.

If I were buying anything expensive, I would feel a lot safer buying off of ebay where you can view the seller's feedback and see pictures of the item. Not to mention that if you pay with paypal it's pretty easy to get your money back if you get screwed.

Good luck getting your money back with paypal -- its you word against the seller. He can claim it worked fine when you got it and you broke it - try to prove otherwise.

As far as expensive items, I would much rather deal with Craigslist where I meet the person and put my hands on the stuff and test it out in-person before handing over any money. Heck I just sold a BMW 740 on craigslist that way.

[ceremus]

Originally Posted by kirbinster

Good luck getting your money back with paypal -- its you word against the seller. He can claim it worked fine when you got it and you broke it - try to prove otherwise.

Paypal will side with the buyer 90% of the time for most ebay transactions. Kind of a thorn in the side of a lot of ebay sellers.