MPB

"Mind you having said that over the last few years I have noticed a decline in the level of service from MPB"

Not just MPB unfortunately.
 
Milo King said:
I always thought that if you did a part exchange deal with MPB then the deal is not finalised/complete until both parties are satisfied, if at any time up until that point you should be able to pull out of the deal and get your original equipment back.

At least that how it has worked each time I have done a part exchange with them.

Mind you having said that over the last few years I have noticed a decline in the level of service from MPB
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This is exactly what I thought, and what I did want to do is read though the Distance Selling Act and having to send lots of e mails to mpb and get into a toxic exchange.

Perhaps I was too naïve about this Part Ex position with mpb, even so being asked to purchase my own lens back a listed retail price is bloody harsh, and they will only burn me once !
I will not use mpb again as their conduct is questionable especially the 'scratch' on my rear element of lens and lowering the Part Ex value. This situation is like what I would expect from a moody / shady used car site / company, and I have been to some very shady car sites ! ! lol

As I have mentioned Rosie from mpb was very helpful in making sure I got my lens, perhaps she had symphony for my situation, who knows !
 
Tysonator said:
I was after a better walk around lens for my canon R7 as my sigma 17-70 f2.8-4 OSS HSM is not native to the R mount system. I noticed on the mpb website a canon efs 17-55 IS UMS which should perform like a native RF lens on the EF-RF adapter.

I traded my sigma in as like new ( because it is very, very clean and no marks ) and I was quoted a price ‘As New’.

When mpb received my lens I was notified it had a scratch on the inner rear lens, and therefore a lower price was tendered 13% lower !

I did ask fr a picture and was sent a photo od the rear lens. The so called scratch was not visible to the human eye.

I agreed and waited the EF-s to arrived and when it did it had an error code fault.

I returned the said lens and asked for my sigma to be returned, and to unwind the deal. However Mpb sales informed me I would have to buy back my lens at the full retail price on the website, as per their T&C’s and policy on used lens purchased. ! ! ! WTF !

I did buy back my own lens at full retail price on the mpb website, which was a lot more than my trade in value, minus a £10 voucher sales offered as a good will, thanks mpb
In all I paid over £70apx in all just to get my lens back from mpb !

What is the morale of this story, well never trade in your lens until you try and test the new lens from mpb.

Take lots of pictures of your trade in lens. As I had taken pictures of my sigma lens before I dispatched it and check it when it got back. I could not find the said scratch mpb informed me was on the rear lens.

I even used my 100mm L f2.8 macro lens and all I could see was micro fiber and dust from my cleaning clothe. I cleaned the rear lens it again, and small fibers where just in a different place on the rear lens.

I believe the said scratch was a fiber on the lens and at some angels it may look like a sratch ( I am trying to give mpb the benefit of the doubt )

Read up on the Distance Selling Act to make sure you know your rights.

I would like to mention that Rosie at mpb was a absolute star and helped me get my original lens back before someone could buy it on the website. With out her input I may have not managed to re-purchase my own lens back !

I had used mpb about 5 years ago to purchase a EVF for my NEX5R which I thought was a little over priced. What I was not impressed with at the time was a practically high P&P charged. Which made my purchase some what expensive !



Sorry for the essay !
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How funny, this happened exactly the same to me! But much more recently (December or so of last year) and I ended up £150 out of pocket!
 
Tysonator said:
This was last week for me,........

Strange this is not isolated incident !
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As I understand it, you entered into a contract with MPB the moment you accepted their offer for your lens, and it is at that point that the ownership of your lens was transferred to MPB.
 
L320Rio said:
As I understand it, you entered into a contract with MPB the moment you accepted their offer for your lens, and it is at that point that the ownership of your lens was transferred to MPB.
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Would the contract not be rendered null and void though if they change the terms (i.e. offered price) based on non-existent damage?
 
L320Rio said:
As I understand it, you entered into a contract with MPB the moment you accepted their offer for your lens, and it is at that point that the ownership of your lens was transferred to MPB.
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I did mention on the phone I need at least a day to review the purchased lens.
The day I received the lens I tested it, and contacted mpb by e mail and followed up with a phone call.
You may be right about the contract agreement and I will over the weekend read through it. What really p**s's me off is there was no movement on the retail price, and if I wanted it back it will be at the full retail price. Almost hostage ransom situation, no ransom money no hostage release ! ! !

Also I wonder if they actually tested the lens that I purchased as it had a error code, plus my Part Ex quote was revalued because a scratch on the rear element noticed by mpb. A scratch that I am unable to verify, as I can not locate any scratch ! ! !
I have used magnifying glass, smartphone camera zoomed in, a canon ef 100L Macro lens on my Canon R7 32.5mp camera to locate the said scratch. The picture I requested from mpb does look like a fibre hair on the lens.

Going forward I just want to make members aware of my situation, and I will not be so naïve in the future.
 
Tysonator said:
I did mention on the phone I need at least a day to review the purchased lens.
The day I received the lens I tested it, and contacted mpb by e mail and followed up with a phone call.
You may be right about the contract agreement and I will over the weekend read through it. What really p**s's me off is there was no movement on the retail price, and if I wanted it back it will be at the full retail price. Almost hostage ransom situation, no ransom money no hostage release ! ! !

Also I wonder if they actually tested the lens that I purchased as it had a error code, plus my Part Ex quote was revalued because a scratch on the rear element noticed by mpb. A scratch that I am unable to verify, as I can not locate any scratch ! ! !
I have used magnifying glass, smartphone camera zoomed in, a canon ef 100L Macro lens on my Canon R7 32.5mp camera to locate the said scratch. The picture I requested from mpb does look like a fibre hair on the lens.

Going forward I just want to make members aware of my situation, and I will not be so naïve in the future.
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Well, it seems they have to be treated with a great deal of caution.
Make sure you have serial numbers and photos of anything sent, and if they do say it is worth less because of a fault, automatically refuse the offer and tell them to send it back.

They may be legally correct, but it seems unethical, as it was their error that made you want your lens back, not your change of mind, why must you pay for their mess ups?

Unless I am despserate, I will no longer even look at their site, and well certainly stop suggesting them to others.
 
gman said:
Would the contract not be rendered null and void though if they change the terms (i.e. offered price) based on non-existent damage?
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Just to clarify, by offer I mean the offer that they make you after the item(s) have been inspected, and NOT the original quote that was made via e-mail prior to sending the item(s) to them.
 
L320Rio said:
Just to clarify, by offer I mean the offer that they make you after the item(s) have been inspected, and NOT the original quote that was made via e-mail prior to sending the item(s) to them.
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Ah ok thanks. That aside, is it not the non-existent scratch that has created a contract under false pretence and therefore the ownership transfer would not be valid?
 
Sangoma said:
Well, it seems they have to be treated with a great deal of caution.
Make sure you have serial numbers and photos of anything sent, and if they do say it is worth less because of a fault, automatically refuse the offer and tell them to send it back.

They may be legally correct, but it seems unethical, as it was their error that made you want your lens back, not your change of mind, why must you pay for their mess ups?

Unless I am despserate, I will no longer even look at their site, and well certainly stop suggesting them to others.
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I will not be using them again, and the main reason for the Part Ex the informed there would be no P&P on collecting my Part Ex or shipping the purchased lens !

At least I did not spend £150 as another member did in this thread has mention above. I believe our lenses were being held for ransom ! ! !
 
I've not had any problems with mpb, but have not used them for several years purely as I've not bought or sold anything. However I may soon be trading in/swapping some gear and the tales I've read in this thread make me think that a visit to LCE might be less stressful (or a WEX if there was a branch closer to me)
Does anyone know if LCE do valuations and deals while you wait - I assume I'll need ID but otherwise can it be done in one visit?
 
Over the years I've bought new from e-infinity, T4 Cameras, Park Cameras and Wex and a dealer in Bournemouth whose name I forget, all gave a great service. Used I've bought. from the TP forum with success and recently from WEX. Honestly I've been put off having any dealings MPB, too many bad experiences reported. Long ago I had said to my wife when I eventually pass away deal with MPB, that's now been changed. Hopefully that will be some years away, but best to be prepared. Now she will likely contact WEX, and all my kit, serial numbers, condition etc, are listed in a spread sheet.
 
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stevewestern said:
I've not had any problems with mpb, but have not used them for several years purely as I've not bought or sold anything. However I may soon be trading in/swapping some gear and the tales I've read in this thread make me think that a visit to LCE might be less stressful (or a WEX if there was a branch closer to me)
Does anyone know if LCE do valuations and deals while you wait - I assume I'll need ID but otherwise can it be done in one visit?
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If you're trading in against something they will deal with it there and then usually.
 
stevewestern said:
Does anyone know if LCE do valuations and deals while you wait - I assume I'll need ID but otherwise can it be done in one visit?
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WEX will do an online price so that you have a good idea what you are getting yourself into - then you can arrange a visit to them. I get courier anxt and prefer to do the miles rather than trust EVRi (or others).
 
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If train fairs were not so expensive I would use LCE as I am only apx 35-50min ( depending on through train or not ) train ride from London, plus I get a day out in London.
I have used MPB twice and both have not been good experiences and I do use the TP members selling forum and I have not brought anything as not describe and I have sold as well. I would say most people on here look after their kit better than their partners ! ! ! lol :oops: :$
 
I HATE selling stuff, so MPB sounded ideal, but now so glad I did a search on MPB here - was about to pull the trigger on selling my mint Nikon 70-200 VRII.

Have been tracking prices with them for a few months and watched the price rapidly decrease from an original purchase offer price of £505 at the back end of last year to a low of £425 in Feb. Honestly every time I had prices from them, it felt like they were tracking against my previous offer rather than the market, as I struggled to see a lens like that going down in price that quickly.

I thought I'd re-price it now, so used an alternative Email address. Current price I've been quoted is £520...

which I would probably have pulled the trigger on based on the hassle free service they promise. But having read this.... nah.
 
James Blonde said:
I HATE selling stuff, so MPB sounded ideal, but now so glad I did a search on MPB here - was about to pull the trigger on selling my mint Nikon 70-200 VRII.

Have been tracking prices with them for a few months and watched the price rapidly decrease from an original purchase offer price of £505 at the back end of last year to a low of £425 in Feb. Honestly every time I had prices from them, it felt like they were tracking against my previous offer rather than the market, as I struggled to see a lens like that going down in price that quickly.

I thought I'd re-price it now, so used an alternative Email address. Current price I've been quoted is £520...

which I would probably have pulled the trigger on based on the hassle free service they promise. But having read this.... nah.
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Interesting. I’ve bought and sold with them on many occasions and it’s generally been good but I’ve noticed their trade-in prices decreasing on the same items of late….will try a new account and compare.
 
gman said:
Perhaps I'm being overly cautious, but this is what really puts me off trading online. With WEX, or at least when it was Calumet, I could go into the local branch and have it pre-inspected in front of me.
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I dealt with WEX over the last couple of weeks and they were fine with the trade-in although for reasons explained in another of my threads, I ended up buying my goods through London Camera Exchange. I tend to deal only with these two companies as they have both been very good, plus I can go to my local branch of LCE in Plymouth, although they tend to stock only the very latest stuff and everything else has to be ordered.
 
Robjwilli said:
Interesting. I’ve bought and sold with them on many occasions and it’s generally been good but I’ve noticed their trade-in prices decreasing on the same items of late….will try a new account and compare.
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be curious to know how you get on! Might just have been my perception, but the prices seemed to reduce quicker than I'd expect even rapid development consumer electronics to reduce, rather than a model agnostic pro level lens.
 
Have to say my recent experience with selling to Harrison Cameras has renewed my selling experience to a retailer after the fiasco with MPB some time ago and them not being able to return my 70 200 as they sold it within 24 hrs of downgrading it. Lens was mint VR1 Nikon. NEVER used them since.
 
LASTOLITE said:
Have to say my recent experience with selling to Harrison Cameras has renewed my selling experience to a retailer after the fiasco with MPB some time ago and them not being able to return my 70 200 as they sold it within 24 hrs of downgrading it. Lens was mint VR1 Nikon. NEVER used them since.
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Fiasco, this seems to be a common theme with MPB.
 
stevewestern said:
I've not had any problems with mpb, but have not used them for several years purely as I've not bought or sold anything. However I may soon be trading in/swapping some gear and the tales I've read in this thread make me think that a visit to LCE might be less stressful (or a WEX if there was a branch closer to me)
Does anyone know if LCE do valuations and deals while you wait - I assume I'll need ID but otherwise can it be done in one visit?
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Steve, I'm presuming since you are in Cornwall you are thinking of LCE Plymouth? if so I can't reccommend them highly enough.

Over the last 40 odd years I have bought and sold through them (they are local to me) I have found that they wgive a fair price, they will do the valuation in store while you wait and pay via Bank Transfer (they don't keep cash on the premises) straight away.

If you are taking a fair nit of kit in I have found it best if the Manager is there (Martin) as sometimes the other guys need to refer to him, it is worth checking if he will be there he has one weekday off each week but I can't remember what day.
 
Topsy said:
Steve, I'm presuming since you are in Cornwall you are thinking of LCE Plymouth? if so I can't reccommend them highly enough.
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I agree.

I've dealt with LCE for decades and on the very few occasions I've had a problem, they've sorted it out fast.
 
Also can't recommend LCE highly enough. Pretty much my main dealer now for 90% of my purchases.
Never let me down on customer service and after sales support.
I even know the manager of one of the branches quite well so normally tries to look after me which is super nice.

It pays for know a LCE branch well. They seem to really value return customers (with GAS no less ;) )

Wex used to be the same but have since changed after they grew. Now it's like dealing with a computer, no one real personal touch. Feels more like Jessops now.
 
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Topsy said:
Steve, I'm presuming since you are in Cornwall you are thinking of LCE Plymouth? if so I can't reccommend them highly enough.

Over the last 40 odd years I have bought and sold through them (they are local to me) I have found that they wgive a fair price, they will do the valuation in store while you wait and pay via Bank Transfer (they don't keep cash on the premises) straight away.

If you are taking a fair nit of kit in I have found it best if the Manager is there (Martin) as sometimes the other guys need to refer to him, it is worth checking if he will be there he has one weekday off each week but I can't remember what day.
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Yes indeedy!
Thank you for your recommendation - I did in fact go in a couple of days ago to ask a few questions and get a rough idea of what my gear might be worth. I managed to walk straight past the 'new' shop to where the old one was like a buffoon..
The idea of doing it all face to face appeals although the prices are (obviously) not as good as one could get by selling on here but so much easier and totally hassle free.
It's time for me to think hard about what direction in going in...
 
stevewestern said:
Yes indeedy!
Thank you for your recommendation - I did in fact go in a couple of days ago to ask a few questions and get a rough idea of what my gear might be worth. I managed to walk straight past the 'new' shop to where the old one was like a buffoon..
The idea of doing it all face to face appeals although the prices are (obviously) not as good as one could get by selling on here but so much easier and totally hassle free.
It's time for me to think hard about what direction in going in...
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I wish they hadn't moved, it was easier for parking (my motorcycle) and they used to give me a cuppa in the old place now they are in this new one they are'nt allowed to have people drinking tea in the shop. :(

Regarding the prices we have to accept that they need to make a profit and they give a guarrantee to whoever buys it so I accept it for the convenience. Once they have bought it I can forget about it and any "buyers remorse" or other issues are theirs. TBH I'd be very reluctant to sell anything privately these days particularly on eBay etc although that said my minimal experienc of trading on here have been very good.
 
Topsy said:
I wish they hadn't moved, it was easier for parking (my motorcycle) and they used to give me a cuppa in the old place now they are in this new one they are'nt allowed to have people drinking tea in the shop. :(

Regarding the prices we have to accept that they need to make a profit and they give a guarrantee to whoever buys it so I accept it for the convenience. Once they have bought it I can forget about it and any "buyers remorse" or other issues are theirs. TBH I'd be very reluctant to sell anything privately these days particularly on eBay etc although that said my minimal experienc of trading on here have been very good.
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I've been there fairly often recently, trading in and buying, I just park my motorbike in any of the bays as apparently, so long as they are parked carefully, you can use many of the car parks and parking spaces free of charge in Plymouth. This means that, especially if I go late afternoon, there is always easy motorbike parking very near the shop.
 
ShinySideUp said:
I've been there fairly often recently, trading in and buying, I just park my motorbike in any of the bays as apparently, so long as they are parked carefully, you can use many of the car parks and parking spaces free of charge in Plymouth. This means that, especially if I go late afternoon, there is always easy motorbike parking very near the shop.
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The first time I went to the new store I had some kit I was trading, I spoke to the manager Martin (he rides too) who said it would be ok to use their loading bay out the back for my motorcycle which I did. I was in the store for about 20 minutes and when I got back to the bike I had a ticket for illegal parking. Martin was astonished as he often uses the bay for his own bike, he offered to help with a statement if I needed. I appealed to the authority on the proviso that I was unloading and loading very expensive equipment, by appointment and had receipts to prove it. My appeal was upheld and no fine but I now find a space in the motorcycle bays and walk to the shop.

Not sure about using car spaces for free certainlty in Tavistock there is a sign on the motorcycle bay that says if you use a car space you have to pay. In Plynough though there are a fair amount of motorcycle bays in the car parks.
 
seems like a lot on here have good words for LCE, and that includes me with my dealings with them at Gosforth.

MPB has for want of a better phrase "left the building" so to speak, it appears a lot are unhappy with them and the odd one that has praise for them.

And now they have no rep on here anymore if you find yourself with a complaint then good luck with there communication system.
 
Topsy said:
The first time I went to the new store I had some kit I was trading, I spoke to the manager Martin (he rides too) who said it would be ok to use their loading bay out the back for my motorcycle which I did. I was in the store for about 20 minutes and when I got back to the bike I had a ticket for illegal parking. Martin was astonished as he often uses the bay for his own bike, he offered to help with a statement if I needed. I appealed to the authority on the proviso that I was unloading and loading very expensive equipment, by appointment and had receipts to prove it. My appeal was upheld and no fine but I now find a space in the motorcycle bays and walk to the shop.

Not sure about using car spaces for free certainlty in Tavistock there is a sign on the motorcycle bay that says if you use a car space you have to pay. In Plynough though there are a fair amount of motorcycle bays in the car parks.
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For future use, have a look at this:

Bike parking Plymouth

The other thing I like about Plymouth on the motorbike is that you can use the bus lanes too.
 
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ShinySideUp said:
For future use, have a look at this:

Bike parking Plymouth

The other thing I like about Plymouth on the motorbike is that you can use the bus lanes too.
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Thanks that's useful info. (y) BTW I love the Bus Lane thing but have to be really careful on the odd occasion I go into Plymouth in the car. ;)
 
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Cobra said:
mpb are still members, but have not logged in since mid May, or posted since early March this year.
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I have been reading the latest Trust Pilot reviews and all seem to be the same problem, Quotes issue high, items gets down graded harshly, equipment purchase is fault and condition is worse than stated. Plus the usual DPD delivery and collection issue.

I am not surprised a rep has not been on here for some time as there is no not much love for MPB these days !
 
Tysonator said:
I am not surprised a rep has not been on here for some time as there is no not much love for MPB these days !
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I'm beginning to think that they have become a victim of their own success, at the very least believing their own press.
Tis a shame because they were really good at one time..
 
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