In the year or so that I've been on the list I've read several tales of
what clearly sounded like the eBay "buy first and ask questions later"
syndrome. I'll admit that I was guilty of doing the same on my first lens
purchase and on purchases of a few other items. The lens seller advertised
the Vivitar zoom as being for the Oly mount. I got caught up in the
excitement of getting what I thought was a good deal and won the auction in
the last minute. Upon arrival I first noticed it was rolling around in the
box. Tiny beads of sweat began to break out accompanied by thoughts of a
broken lens. The seller loosely wrapped it in newspaper. After unpacking
I immediately tried to mount it on my OM-1N...no go. A quick look at the
mounting end revealed the letters P/K. I contacted the seller, who had an
excellent feedback rating, and explained the problem. He told me that he'd
sold one before just like it that was an OM mount and just assumed that all
of them would fit OM's. I politely educated him on the subject of
proprietary lens mounts and how to look for the engraving or other marking
that would tell which mount it was for. He was appreciative, gracious and
refunded my cost and 2 way shipping since the item was misrepresented. I
gave him positive feedback noting that he rectified an "honest" mistake.
Well, that experience got me to thinking about doing a better job of due
diligence in the future. So, I began to develop a list of questions;
mostly for lenses but adaptable to bodies or anything else for that
matter. If not stated or made clear in the description I straight out ask
about scratches, cracks, cleaning marks, fungus, fogging, haze, oil in the
blades, sticking blades, smoothness of focus and zoom rings, major
scratches, dents and dings, damage to filter threads, shipping charges and
return policy. There're actually more questions that are of a lesser
degree (to me) of importance. If the seller claims not to know what I'm
talking about I'll take the time to explain what to look for--assuming it's
something I'm really interested in. Along with the reply I take into
account the seller's feedback and my opinion that most folks are basically
honest despite occasional lapses into ignorance. The sellers who don't
reply or tell me that I've asked too many questions that they don't have
time to answer don't get my bid unless it's something I can win for such a
ridiculously low price that I can afford to shrug off a shafting. I get so
tired of reading descriptions along the lines of "I don't know anything
about cameras" and in the next paragraph stating "This is truly mint;
everything works great." I looked at one today that stated the camera
wasn't operational yet below, in their self created rating system, they
rated it 5 of 5 stars operationally. If you don't know anything about
cameras then how the f*ck do you know how well it works? I can understand
and respect those who truly don't know anything about what they're selling
and say so. I don't pay much attention to terms like "rare", "unique",
"very collectible" and the like cuz I use them all the time in my
sales. I'm looking for the steak, not the sizzle. We all know that sex
sells. Well, sh*t sells about as well. Oops, sorry, didn't mean to get
started in rant mode.
I've done pretty well with the questions and managed to pick up a few nice
lenses and other things. When it came time for me to start selling on eBay
I looked at the flip side and decided to be up front and to honestly tell
all that is known to me. Where applicable I test/use the item. In the
case of a camera or lens I test by burning some film. Having a few good
detailed pictures always helps. As a seller I welcome all questions from
potential bidders. I also guarantee what one sees and reads about is what
one gets and allow returns for nearly any reason other than buyer's
remorse. Maybe that's why I made top dollar on a boatload of very
collectible Hallmark ornaments or why I get really good prices and feedback
for the camera gear (sorry, no Oly) I've sold. If I could find more Oly
gear at garage sales I wouldn't bother bidding on eBay.
Brian (and others before you), I'm not ragging on you. You have a valid
complaint; however I'm guessing you didn't ask enough about camera's
operability/functionality. I don't claim to be perfect in that
regard--it's easy to overlook something. Hell, a few weeks ago I bought a
Nikon FE at a garage sale. The batteries were dead and it was locked
up. I forgot to take my bag of fresh batteries. Had I done so I would
have found that the body had a problem with the wind lever/cocking
mechanism and that I could have gotten it for an even better price. What I
had was a failure to do my own due diligence-in person rather than
online. Thankfully a guy in France told me how to fix it so it's back to
being worth more than I paid for it.
Just one man's take on eBay. Wishing you all safe bidding and happy
outcomes...If anyone wants a copy of my questions list just write me
offline and I'll send it as a Word attachment.
Gary (who should be taking pictures of his next round of stuff for sale)
The olympus mailinglist olympus@xxxxxxxxxx
To unsubscribe: mailto:olympus-request@xxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe
To contact the list admins: mailto:olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx?subject="Olympus
List Problem"
|