Need advice buying used lens

I'm in the market for a used Canon 70-200 F4 L (non IS) lens and have looked at the big sources (B&H, Adorama) and of course here, and the buy/sell forums on Naturescapes and Fred Miranda. A couple other places keep popping up when I google for used lenses: KEH and Usedcameras.com. Anyone used them? Reputable? Any other places I should be searching? I'm very leery about eBay so would rather avoid it if possible.

Thanks for any tips/advice on buying used.

B&H, Adorama and KEH are perfect places to buy lenses. Never used Usedcameras. Buying on the forums should be ok, but there's no real protection on there. I bought cameras, lenses, computers and a car off ebay and had great luck because I've bought from good sellers and paypal protects you if you follow their details.

Another lens you may check out is the "newer" Tamron that may even had better optical performance (according to DPReview and other sites) than the Canon 70-200 2.8 and it's $730.00 brand new. Slower AF and no IS, but it's got the best Minimum Focus Distance (for macro) of any 70-200 lens out there. I've shot it on a 21mp full frame and it's sharp. The Canon is very sharp also, so I'm not sure which one I'd choose.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/539396-REG/Tamron_AF001C_700_70_200mm_f_2_8_Di_LD.html

Oh, I can also sell you this from Bedfords at the same price (plus tax) and you'd have 30 days to decide if you like it.

I've had no problems with Ebay. I just always buy from sellers that have at least a 99.7-100% positive feedback. I have never used any of the other sites so I can't comment on them.

KEH has never dissappointed me

I've never used KEH, but I have bought a number of used lenses from B&H with excellent results. I've never heard of usedcameras.com.

Here are a few links that might be helpful:

KEH feedback
B&H feedback
KEH ratings
B&H ratings
usedcameras.com ratings

As you can see, there are only two ratings of usedcameras.com at resellerratings.com, which may mean it hasn't been around long enough to have much of a track record, which may be reason enough to be cautious about buying there.

KEH is a great place for used equipment. I have purchased and sold several items to them over several years. Two strong points for them are how conservative they rate equipment. Anything Ex Ex+ or LN or the like will look brand new. Even BGN level equipment is good stuff. The ugly stuff is truly rated Ugly. They also give you a short warranty on it.

So they are a place I never hesitate to buy from.

Good luck!

ps- the 70-200 f/4 is a great lens but the 70-200 f/4 IS is a better lens. I'd try to save for it as the IS is perfect in a lens like this.

I have also purchased from KEH and was satisfied with my purchase. I haven't had any problems with the equipment that I purchased from them. I have also purchased refurbished equipment from B&H and would not hesitate to buy used from them either.

Angela,

I've bought used gear from KEH, BH and Adorama. Never had any problems with any of them. I've also bought a lot of used gear off of ebay and only been burned once and I should have seen the warning signs, but I was blinded by "lens lust."

I have a 70-200 f/2.8 IS that is for sale. It may be more than you wish to spend, but if interested, send me an email. It is a great all-around lens. Works well in low light and you can add a 2.0 TC to it and still AF.

Thanks for the offer, Daniel, but I'll have to pass. The lens will be tripod mounted 99% of the time anyway so the IS really isn't needed. Besides, right now my budget doesn't have room to shell out the extra $$ for the IS.

Everyone, thanks for the recommendations. I'll probably get the lens from KEH or B&H.