Who has dealt with Kerso?

Mr Jones

Mr Jones

Mr Jones

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Joined
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Dubai
Be it POTN or here on OcUK, you often hear his name mentioned - for giving "good deals" and "friendly services".

Am I the only one here who just had a very crappy service from him?

Basically, I bought a 55-250mm + filter off him, after some bartering by comparing what he offered to what a competitor's bundle pack offered (plus 2 years warranty) and next day delivery. He asked me to go with the that deal but later offered me a similar deal, with no extra warranty but cheaper by 2 pounds.

I thought to myself, ok, why not since he was recommended by many.

Somehow, he's managed to misguided me that he will be posting the item on Thursday Morning (after I paid him via paypal on Wednesday night) for next day, only receiving an invoice and email on Friday afternoon that he's just posted the item!

What is the point in posting the item Special Delivery posted on a Friday when you don't honor your end of the deal for Next Day delivery with at least "Saturday delivery" (since it was his mistake). Now I'm having to wait till Monday before I get my lens AND not be able to pick up my lens as I'm going out to an exam Monday morning (usually before the postman comes).

I should have just bought off the competitor and got it yesterday for that extra couple of quid.

Kerso will see the last of my business with him.

/Rant.

So have you had any experience with him and how was it like?
His emails are usually unprofessional, often incoherent (apart from that one email about how to pay him, that was in perfect logical sense).
 
Posting something a whole day late?

I'll stick with buying stuff from him because I know he will deliver, and I don't like taking the risk with unknowns when spending £1k plus on glass
 
NinjaBill said:
Posting something a whole day late?
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Yes it is something that got on my nerve because it was part of the deal we've discussed. Because of him not holding up his end of the deal, I cannot use my lens for this weekend's outing. 1 rather "small" mistake cost 3 days worth of time.
 
In his defence, he did the opposite for me.

I had 3 days to get £1k worth of equipment before going to India in which i REALLY needed the equipment. He delivered without a flaw.

The only slight gripe I have is that the 40D he sent was US (I think) he bundled a 3 pin shaving adapter for the charger. I dont know if all 40Ds come with that charger or the is a UK one. In any case, it isnt enough to make me really upset.
 
I've never dealt with him as I'm a Pentax man myself and he doesn't seem to sell Pentax kit, although like you I have read many good things about him on various forums.

However, for the sake of £2, and knowing that delivery was time critical I'd probably have stuck to the original plan. Also, you still haven't got the 2 year warranty? That had to be worth £2?

I know it's annoying, and he really should have posted it when he said he would. From the timeline you describe, it could be he didn't have the lens in stock anyway, he ordered it Thursday for Friday delivery to him?

I don't know, but there might be a good explanation as to why he didn't post it on time. Have you asked him?
 
not everything goes silky smooth as you may wish. Hes just one man trying to get good deals out to people. He doesn't have an army of staff to do his work. I really don't think its worth making a massive fuss out of 1 day and yes ok its cost you a weekend but then order something mid week next time.
This is probably why you pay more for big companys but lets be fair, even they get it wrong from time to time.

I have had excellent service from Ian and many others have.

Sorry you feel so bitter about your experience.
 
I bought my D300, 18-200, 50mm f1.4 and some other stuff from him, and couldn't be happier with the service he privided. The 50mm f1.4 wasn't in stock, so he posted the other bits first. The outstanding lens came on the saturday as he knew I wouldn't be available to sign for the package.

I think for the volume of kit he deals with, there's bound to be some slippages, but at least he's easily contactable, and posts frequently on Talkphotography. Yes, his emails can come across as a little bit 'brief', but who cares? I'd rather he didn't waste time with email small-talk quite frankly.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him.
 
I bought my D80 from Kerso, not a single problem... He's cheaper than just about everywhere else in the UK, and if he isn't, I'd probably buy from him anyway, just for the excellent service.
 
I was going to buy my 1Ds MK3 from him, sent him the cash and then he responded saying he didn't have any in stock and it may take some time. After a week I got fidgety (it's a TON of money to me) and asked if he could transer it back until he actually got them in.

He messaged saying he can't bank xfer it back but could send a cheque as it was in his sister account now. I was a bit miffed about this but accepted the cheque, what else could I do?? Anyway, the cheque eventually got to me but it was enough to be a little wary about using him again. I wouldn't tell others not to use him as he does generally have brilliant service and I did get my money back.

I went to a local store and bought one in the end, it was basically the same price as what he was offering but without the brown pants.
 
I've bought over £1500 worth of kit off him. I've always had impeccable response times to any e-mails and his deliveries have always been prompt. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone, but you have to remember that you're comparing a one-man-band to large national companies and more established Asian e-bay companies, so you can't expect him to move the world for you.
 
the quote i got of him was more than i could find it online! i declined his offer but have still asked him for another item though!
 
I just bought a canon 70-200mm f4L is usm off this week

item delivery on the day I asked,

Email replies within minutes in many cases.

I would reccommend him to anyone

I also got the lens for £600 compared to £800 on the high street.

sid
 
i have dealt with him twice and have saved a lot of cash but i find his communication skills a bit lacking

i find it takes ages for a reply and sometimes his replies sound very abrupt kind of like he was annoyed

saying that i would still give him my business
 
JBuk said:
i have dealt with him twice and have saved a lot of cash but i find his communication skills a bit lacking

i find it takes ages for a reply and sometimes his replies sound very abrupt kind of like he was annoyed

saying that i would still give him my business
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Almost exactly as I have found myself... but I would "consider" him for future business, not always give him it.
 
I had no probs with Kerso...When I was buying my 40D off him I paid via PP around midnight on thursday and he promised me to deliver it on saturday and he did !! so he had few hours to post it on friday morning so the item would be at my doors on sat :)
I will definietly using him again to buy more staff:)
 
JBuk said:
i have dealt with him twice and have saved a lot of cash but i find his communication skills a bit lacking

i find it takes ages for a reply and sometimes his replies sound very abrupt kind of like he was annoyed

saying that i would still give him my business
Click to expand...

Kerso is doing this as a second job in his spare time. He gets bombarded with pms and emails all the time so he is slow on the replies and the messages are short and to the point.

I have dealt with him on a few occasions and his service is top notch. Even rang me from the US to discuss the purchase of a 30D and 70-200 F4 L with him, as it was my first dealings with him.

Blackvault
 
providing the football match isn't called off this weekend I'm going down to see him / family member to pick up a little lens :D
 
Obligatory ... "Holy thread revival, Batman!"

That aside, my view of Kerso hasn't changed from above, but I've added another £700 my total purchases from him since then :p
 
I've bought stuff from him without problems. He doesn't set out to be the cheapest, you can always buy cheaper from the Far East but then you have the problems of import duty etc.

The other advantage is that you have a UK receipt, useful if a body goes wrong.
 
There is a few things you should know about Kerso before making a purchase

1 - He is based in America so if you email him in the morning from the UK, don't expect an answer from email straight away. Emailing him in the evening is best. And it means his cameras ARE US plugs, my charger for my 5Dii is.

2 - His sister deals with the stock in Scotland and it appears she is the one who sends it out.

3 - Due to the above, and I would expect they communicate with each other in some electronic form, rather than calling her up with orders, I would expect a slight delay for your order.

4 - He doesn't have stock of everything, always email, check with him before ordering

So, if I were to make an order, I would do the following

1 - Email him asking if he has it in stock and price
2 - If he has, ask him to reserve it whilst you transfer monies
3 - Since he send via RMSD, I would always ask him to send it on a specfiic day. If I am sending him money on a Wedneday, I wuold give him instructions that if he FAILS to send it out on Thursday, please don't send it on Friday and wait until Monday before posting, as I have it sent to work.

Using the above, I have spent over £5k with him, and in return, he has saved me hundreds.
 
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