Buying Equipment from KEH

[tkamiya]

I recently called KEH because I needed some clarifications on some items. To my surprise I received very short and surprisingly rude response form one of the sales person. I'd imagine the problem with web is causing much grief and increased workload. I plan to order from them as my experience previous to this call has been vastly positive; however, I do plan to wait until the holiday season is over and web issues resolved.

[whlogan]

Whatever.... but KEH is still the best. If you want something for the next short while... call on the phone and ask for Dan Orchard and he will help you right out... things done by phone don't go thru the computer... those poor guys are on it 24/7.... let's give 'em a break here...
Logan

[Fred Aspen]

I ordered about a week ago and couldn't place the order online so I called direct. I asked if my item was in stock-yes, it was-and placed the order while commenting about the website problems I encountered. Salesman apologized, waived the shipping charge and I received the item a couple of days ago.

They seem to be doing fine in the 'work around' mode.

-F.

[Toffle]

I ordered a Luna Pro SBC the other day without difficulty and it was delivered today, one day earlier than anticipated, so in my case it appears that things worked out. (Now, if only I had been home to pay the international brokerage fees, I would have it in my damp, girlish hands... ) I say "appears" because it wasn't until I was in the final stages of checkout that I realized that the "secure content" icon (the little padlock thingy) had a red exclamation mark and displayed the message, "Contains unauthenticated content". Having twice been the victim of compromised identity on the internet, I find this a little concerning. I am hoping that this does not mean I will find untold spurious charges on my new chip-and-pin Visa.

Cheers,

[matt miller]

A phone call is definitely your best bet at this point. I placed an order online a couple of weeks ago & paid with paypal. My paypal payment went through, but the order hung up on the "submit" screen and would not process. When I called, the guy I spoke with was very pleasant and told me that phone orders are the way to go until they get their website problems fixed. I got my 105/2.5 Nikkor a few days later and just love it.

[David Callard]

Well, I'm sad to report that as of 12/15/09 nothing has changed at the KEH site. I still can't buy anything because the checkout won't work, I can't even login to my account and there is still no-one to ask for help. I did eventually come across an email address buried deep in the "Sell your gear" pages but have not received any response. I guess it's back to ebay for me.

[lynxkcg]

I had a lot of problems with the website last week when ordering my RB67. It got sent to my address instead of my girlfriends(she's giving it to me for christmas). My order appeared after the 2nd time checking out, but showed up as "on hold". One 2 minute call to KEH got it shipped. While I didn't like the website problems, I can't argue with the quality of the product and shipping speed. The lens had flawless glass and the back was new except for a few light scratches.

[aldevo]

Yes, they are continuing to struggle.

They seem to be having issues with both inventory management and order fulfillment on the new site.

A couple weeks ago I placed an order for a Bronica S-18 extension tube only to be told that the item I ordered turned out not to be in their inventory.

Last week I purchased an order for a 150mm S lens and was told yesterday it could well be another week before it ships due to issues they are having with issuing order fulfillment directives to their warehouse.

It's really poor timing to try to go live with a new web site just before the holiday season. My guess is that this new site was delayed due to all sorts of problems and KEH has little choice but to try to work through them during the holidays.

[pesphoto]

i managed to buy an lens off the site yesterday but it was a challenge for sure

[aldevo]

I had a lot of problems with the website last week when ordering my RB67. It got sent to my address instead of my girlfriends(she's giving it to me for christmas). My order appeared after the 2nd time checking out, but showed up as "on hold". One 2 minute call to KEH got it shipped. While I didn't like the website problems, I can't argue with the quality of the product and shipping speed. The lens had flawless glass and the back was new except for a few light scratches.

The exact same issue happened to my order with the 150mm S lens.

They are doing their best to try to work through the issues, but I don't envy their sales people right now.