I just wanted to relay to everyone my recent experience with Sun Camera
of San Jose and to warn people that they should be weary in dealing with
them, and Man Lee in particular. As some of you may have seen last week,
there was a series of postings to the rec.photo.marketplace newgroup
listing various equipment for sale by Sun Camera. One of the postings
contained Olympus equipment. I was interested in the 16mm/3.5 lens
that was advertised for $330 so I gave them a call. On the phone Man
described the lens as in "perfect condition, not a mark on it" and I even
asked specific questions about the front element (a common source of
damage on this lens). As he put it, "the lens is like new". Great,
we agreed on a shipping charge of $15 for a total of $345. He had some
problems getting an authorisation on my credit card so I agreed to send
him a money order. To my surprise, in the same newgroup a few days later
I saw another mint 16mm/3.5 lens advertised by Sun Camera, but this time
for $750! I sent him an email asking why mine was only $330. I got a mail
message back from him indicating that my lens has about a 1" scratch on
the front element and the diaphragm sticks. I immediatly called him on
the phone and he claimed that he didn't examine the lens closely when we
spoke on the phone and is sorry about mis-representing it. He said he
hadn't sent the lens to me yet and will return my money order when it arrives.
Now, this may all be an honest mistake on his part, but I find it highly
suspicious that he has two 16mm lenses (he's only ever advertised one at
a time) and that he didn't see a 1" scratch on the front element when he
had the lens in his hand while talking to me on the phone. He does seem
honest enough to return my money, but I think he's a bit dishonest in dealing
with people. I suspect that he priced the lens too low and happend to
realise that a few days later (I'm sure he got a lot of calls) and then
found a buyer that would give him significantly more for the lens. After
all, $330 for a mint 16mm is quite a deal. This is the last time I'll be
dealing with Sun Camera, I'd advise other people to be cautious when
dealing with them. I have no proof that he tried to cheat me, but it
sure feels that way.
-mark
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