MW Classic Cameras Reviews 

On Sunday the 31st of January 2021 I paid for a used second-hand item advertised on the website of
(David Woodford) M W Classic Cameras, trading from Leroy House, Unit 3K, 436 Essex Road, London N1 3QP, UK
I received the usual bounce-back (a receipt showing my payment and confirmation of the order for an old manual 35mm film camera with lens. I had to wait for 2 weeks for delivery of the item.

Customer Care 4/10
Value for Money 10/10

I've been a MW CLASSIC customer for 16 years or more , and my experience is very good indeed . As a amateur "photographer" ,with a great interest in film cameras and equipment , i very often realise how fortunate I am for getting very fine engineering cameras and lenses .Some 50,60,70 years after they were manufactured.I can't,or I do not expect a camera 50-70 years old camera,for example,to be immaculate .But how many times i've got a great kit! We are all fortunate just for the fact increasingly rare and difficult to get items are available in this shop!... Call them,like i do,to arrange a visit,and you very likely will be amazed with what you see,with prices, with very friendly assistance .MW CLASSIC is an Alladin's Cave of stunning cameras,lenses ,filters ,projectors,books... It is one of the fine shops/dealers in the world. Period.

I bought from them twice,
One from Ebay and one from their online, the owner is responsive for picking up phones. I think a lot of complains are that they do not ship the item, it is also because their online stock is not updated, as a matter of fact, not sure if it is even updated. I can still see two items I bought are shown as 'in-stock' on their website.
I think their price is competitive, and the quality of item really depends on personal view, if they can update their stock list, it will be a 5 star review.

One star can not an order for payment in the past 40 days do not answer the phone, e-mail does not reply, only through paypal application for a refund.This shop is a joke. Don't waste your time.

Didn't ship order. Didn't respond to email queries. Avoid. I'm currently trying to get a refund via Paypal.

After reading so many bad reviews ,
Wanted a camera that was for sale & rare ,
So sent a email & made a phone call , on how good the camera is and working as it should ie meter etc ,
Was told all is good 94% .
After fast track shipping , turns out the camera needs a CLA ,meter not working as it should fungus & dirt in viewfinder .
In the end took many email & phone calls ,
To get half the cost of the CLA / so out of pocket by 80 euro & shipping cost on top .
What I did not like was being fobbed off & lack of customer care .if I had sent the camera back for a refund would have being one long Song & Dance .
And out of pocket on shipping back ?
Now waiting for the camera to come back from a CLA,
which takes 6 weeks .
Had it not being a rare camera would not buy from this seller ?

I have to agree with every other review. I had the same experience. Ordered an Agfa Karat IV - two weeks and an email and phone call later I was told that they 'hadn't got around' to sending it yet. Given the £10 carriage charge I would have expected it within 48 hours. It took another email (not answered) and phone call to be told 'they couldn't find it', and eventually a Paypal refund - but even that was by e-cheque so took a week. The website looks professional, the prices are fair, but the service is a shambles.

AVOID. Ordered an adapter from their website several weeks ago, and paid the extortionate £8 shipping for such a small item. After a week I called to find out where it is, and the guy on the phone said he had my order in front of him and would send it within a few days. Fast forward several weeks... They are not replying to emails, not answering the phone, and not replying to WhatsApp. I've opened a claim with PayPal and even PayPal have not had a response from them. AVOID.

I have had three orders with MW and had to chase all three after weeks of waiting.
The first order arrived - eventually - but only after mention of placing a dispute with PayPal.
The second and third orders, after chasing by emails and texts again suggesting it was time to call it a day, resulted in a phone call from the owner to inform me the camera in the third order has been sold to someone else!
Bit of a recurring theme having read other reviews here...

If you want to receive your purchase do not buy from MW Classic Cameras. Rang spoke to the owner about a moderately expensive lens paid for it and received it the next day. However my next purchase (a cheaper item) 5 weeks on has not arrived I was advised by the owner x3 that it would be posted that day or the next, never arrived. I have been been informed I will receive a refund the next day x2. No refund. Not to be trusted. Now pursuing a refund via the bank.

Do not buy from them. On 10 July 2020, I paid for 2 vintage cameras off their website. When the company did not respond to my email, I got suspicious, and checked Trust Pilot. I have to agree with the many accounts of people not getting their goods from this company. When I contacted their official email, it bounced back, indicating that there was no such address. I also called them over several days (during working hours in the UK) and no one has picked up the phone. I reported this company to the UK police (fraud reporting). It was an exhausting and frustrating ordeal to get my money back through PayPal. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

It does not ship the goods. I contacted Paypal. I will ask for a refund. Stay away
Update: he offered me a partial refund because one of the two purchased items didn't sit down. Furthermore, what came to me is unpleasant. I will try to contact Paypal again, in the meantime I asked to compensate the damage.

I have to agree with the negative reviews of this company. Just apauling service by today's standards.
I ordered a camera on their website and the same day received a confirmation email. I sent an email a week later to check the camera had been sent and I received no reply. I waited just under 2 weeks and hadn't received the camera so I phoned during opening hours and no answer. Phoned the mobile number and got through to a polite enough man who seemed to vaguely recall my order and said nothing had been done with it yet. I expressed my disappointment as it had been 13 days since I ordered he said he would get it out to me that day. Having seen the reviews I thought I'd chase up the chap who then said he hadn't got it out the cabinet yet and would have a look while I waited on the phone. He came back a few minutes later and informed me someone else had come in and bought the camera!! He said he would issue me a refund which he has just done.
I don't understand why after all the negative comments these people get they still fail miserably to run a business. Judging by my experience and the reviews of others they are totally incapable of functioning as an online business and I suggest they stick to walk in trade.
As I said to the chap on the phone I will be taking my business else where in future. Trust me, avoid!

I advise you not to buy by mail order from this firm. In mid-March I paid for three lens caps. After email reminders because nothing arrived, I got a phone call, when the owner explained that since confirming my order, he had sold one of them to someone else! We agreed on a compromise: he would send one lens cap – the other one available I didn’t really want – and refund the rest of the money. Since then I have heard nothing, despite reminders. I have reported this to the local Trading Standards.
I’m disappointed, not only because of losing money but also because I have bought nice photo kit from the firm a few years ago; since then one of the two original directors has left.
It may be OK to buy if you can go and collect, but I wouldn’t hand money over before I saw the goods.

This shop used to be disorganised but it has deteriorated further since the departure of one of the owners. Some reviews claim the business is dishonest. I do not think this is the issue. The main problem is that the website is not up to date. Some items have been on there for months or years. This means that something you attempt to purchase my no longer be there. I would advise not parting with any payment until you have spoken to the owner and checked that the item is still available. This ought to be straightforward. Unfortunately the owner may not be in the shop when you call and even if he is, he may not be able to locate the item. This often leads to a few telephone calls. It is very frustrating. However there is a high turnover of very interesting equipment and the possibility of getting a bargain. Just be careful.

Ordered a few cameras and made the payment in August. Didn’t receive anything for a month. Then in sep I got a reply & asked me to pay ( !) having already paid a month ago. I then received an Email from the owner saying they will dispatch the cameras and it’s been a month since then and I haven’t received the cameras. Despite several emails no response. Is this a fraud company?

My advice on MW Classic Cameras is to stay well clear of them as they have proven to be highly unreliable. Ordered a camera from them which I have never received. Tried calling them several times without anyone answering the phone and sent several messages via Whatsapp which were read but left unanswered. Opened a case via PayPal and only then MW Classic Cameras reacted. The money was finally refunded and this very unpleasant experience came to a good end. Could have done without the hassle though and wasted a good amount of time with them. Should have read and followed all the negative reviews about them that can be found all over the internet. Good luck to them and hopefully they will change their service and behavior if they want to stay in business.

I always find them helpful and honest in their descriptions. Reasonable prices.

Several months ago I ordered a few items from the website. My PayPal account was debited immediately. That was the last contact I ever had with MW Classic Cameras.
They ignore emails, they do not ever answer the phone. After a couple of months I raised this transaction as a dispute with PayPal who are apparently also being ignored. Hopefully I will get my money back one day.
It seems so many people have had the same experience that if you do place an order directly from their website there is a good chance that you will not receive it.
Such a shame since they have some interesting stuff for sale but I will not be back again.

I originally went to this company on recommendation from a Leica forum. Last year I put an order in of over £200. When the order status did not change in over a week I emailed them several times, but got no answer. I phoned but got no answer. Eventually I got through on a mobile number, and it turned out the major item I ordered had been sold (did not stop them taking the payment though). I ordered a cheaper alternative and the order did eventually turn up. I got a partial refund, but they did still overcharge me £4. I could not get through again and my mails where still not answered.

The items where of good quality and the prices very reasonable so I decided to forgo the £4 as it was only a small amount compared to the total.

Later on I was after a Leitz OZXVO. I looked around, silly money on eBay and not even in the UK, I searched online and found 2 in shops, the MW Classic version was a lot cheaper so I gave them another chance. Again over a week and no update on order status. I emailed several times, tried phoning all without success. In the end I open a case with PayPal.

The order status is now on hold so I have sent them another email cancelling the order. I don't think they would still be in business if they were all bad but obviously they can't cope with mail order. If I lived anywhere near their shop I may give them my custom but I can't recommend people to order from their online shop. In the end I have ordered the items from another shop and paid a little bit more; I guess you get what you pay for.