Buying a Canon EOS 'L' Telephoto lens

I am an amateur photographer and birdwatcher in the UK.

Ialways check outthe Canon 400mm f2.8,500mm f4 and 600mm f4 lenses(with or without IS) when they are posted for auction on EBay.

Genuine sales from private sellers seem few and far between.I have monitored ads for the past 6 months and have reported over 20 fake ads(and all but one was removed).The one that got away managed to sting a buyer for over 2000!!!

I have saved the ads and photos from all of the fakes and this makes it easy to spot them when they inevitably pop up again.

There are the obvious signs which have been mentioned in other guides such as: 1 day sales,the 99p and $0.99 starting price,no feedback,but there are othersthat regularly include some of the contents below.I have also added some additional tips.

a Selling for an ill relative (Usually 500mm f4 and 600mm f4) I have seen this 4 times

b Item located in UK the buyer is located in US? very common

c I never bid on items where people do not respond to a question

d I never respond to a direct e-mail address. Apart from the potential of the add being fake,you risk more spam in your e-mail.

e I sometimes ask if a ficticious accessory is included! The fakes often do not know their products and most often answer..'Yes'!!!

f I save 'ended' auctions and even where the sale appears to be genuine,I often find that there is no feedback(either way) after many weeks!! These may be genuine sales,but one would have thought that after buying or selling an item which may value between 1700-3000, the parties would be keen to give feedback?? Just a cautionary note this one.( 9 of these currently saved in My EBay)

g) Be wary of a whole string of feedback for items less than 5 and then suddenly the seller is offering a 3000 lens!! It is easy to develop positive feedback on numerous minor items over a relatively short time

I hope this is helpful. I will continue to monitor this type of product and always inform Ebay of any concerns.

I will add new observations as I discover new scams or identified some useful tips.

J