Tamron 28-200 Err 99 / Err 01 on 30D, 40D, etc.

I bought a Tamron 28-200 XR Di lens cheap on eBay. The seller accepted my lower price. It looked like a good lens but so far I've tried it on a Rebel XT, XSi, EOS 30D, and EOS 40D and I get the Err 99 or Err 01 message on each one. It will not work on them.

I emailed the seller and he said it worked fine on his T3i, and he wants me to pay for shipping it back to him. I feel like he should pay to ship it back. Do you agree? He didn't want to refund shipping for shipping it to me. I feel like I've been ripped off and I may file a charge back.

Is there anything I can do with this lens to make it work?

TIA for any input.

My Tamron 17-50 I got off of Ebay initially gave me the Err 01. I cleaned the contacts on the lens and my camera with alcohol and a cotton swab. Works fine now.

That's where I would start, clean your contacts. I don't know what the next step would be if that doesn't work. Maybe someone else will chime in

I had a similar problem with that lens. I picked up cheap for my brother in law. It worked fine wide open but set for any stopped down setting it gave the error. I assume its a problem with stuck aperture blades.

ebay is a dumping ground for janky lenses, which is fine if you disclose the issues but that doesn't always happen. if you cant get it to work ebay will most like side with you since they don't protect sellers any longer (won't even let a seller leave negative feedback when its warranted).