Dear George,
Thanks for the insightful information below and the heads up. Word of mouth
is a good way to go...
Thanks,
Sam ...
-----Original Message-----
From: george <geanders@xxxxxxxxx>
To: olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Friday, January 21, 2000 7:23 PM
Subject: Re: [OM] eBay warning
>Zuiks;
>
>Wanted to add my 2 cents to this eBay warning talk.
>
>First, I'm not at all surprised that this kind of stuff goes on, human
>nature being what it is. Let's be careful out there!
>
>Second, It ain't limited to eBay. I (and a list member partner) ran into
it
>on Yahoo auctions. It looks like we were taken for a ride, IMHO, and have
a
>mail fraud report in the works. We did a little research, after the fact,
>unfortunately, and the positive ratings this joker had turned out to have
>been submitted ****by his wife****. The only major transaction he had
>completed was sold to *** his wife and they posted glowing feedback to each
>others' accounts ***. Here's some of the names they go by: frcphotovideo,
>Cagiscollectibles, cagis.com, Kurtis Greiner, Cheryl Greiner and who knows
>what else. Interestingly, I just checked cagiscollectibles on ebay just
>now, and they have a 0 feedback rating. Last time I checked they'd had
>hundreds of transactions completed (she deals in hot wheels and other
little
>stuff). I wonder - did they get booted off for a time and now are back
with
>a clean slate? Or did they leave and come back on their own? Just
>wondering.
>
>Third, there's a Zuiko on eBay right now that I want to warn folks about.
>I'm not accusing the seller of anything, except perhaps a low knowledge
>quotient. He's selling a 50-250 F/5 which is a lens I'm desiring. He
>describes it as "good condition, works good, glass has no scratches". I
>wanted a little more info on condition and asked several ?s via email, one
>of which was "If you look thru the lens at a lamp, does it look clear? Or
>is there any cloudiness or other stuff inside?" His answer:
>
>"Glass is kind of cloudy when you
>look through it. Not thick clouds but kind of like spider webs"
>
>Whoa! Glad I asked that question! Sounds like a fungus attack to me. On a
>zoom lens, probably not an easy clean-up job, assuming it can be cleaned.
>So if you bid on it, understand you'll most likely have to deal with
fungus.
>
>
>Lastly, I want to put in a plug for a camera store which treated me above
>and beyond the call:
>
>Ken Hansen Photo in New York City.
>
>I don't know what, if any, web presence they have. I think they're rather
a
>small store. Anyway, I purchased an expensive Zuiko (is there any other
>kind?) from them, based on a description from another list member. It had
>been converted to Leica mount and they said they'd convert it back to OM.
>So we agreed on a price. When I got the lens, it was an OM mount all
right,
>but the auto diaphragm and DOF hardware had not been restored. At this
>point, I would not have been in the mood to recommend them very highly!
But
>wait... I called them and they said, sorry, their technician had been
unable
>to complete the changeover. But that they would pay to get it fixed right.
>I contacted a more proficient OM/Zuiko repair shop and was quoted $200
>including all parts and labor (the mechanisms had been cut and hacked and
>screwed down - not an easy fix) and a CLA as well. As soon as they got the
>estimate in their hands, they cut a check for the full amount to the repair
>shop. So, I'd recommend Ken Hansen highly at this point.
>
>BTW, speaking of NY camera stores, anyone who gets Pop Photo probably saw
>Kepplers article about their check rating program being given more 'teeth'.
>They sent a strongly worded letter to all their advertisers warning them to
>treat customers right or else. Oooooh, bet they're shakin in their boots
>now. Two other things were interesting: Our buddies at Cambridge Camera
>(the biggest rip-off joint in NY, IMHO) did not have an ad in PopPhoto this
>month. Coincidence? And, paraphrasing Keppler, 'When I was at Modern
>Photo, many devious sales tactics were made known to us that our
advertisers
>were perpetrating. About 10 years later, I began thinking about this and
>how it was affecting our readers..." Wow, only took 10 years to become
>concerned. Then another 10 or 20 for the 'strongly worded letter." Now
>there's a guy and an organization that has the interests of it's customers
>in mind! Oh, and BTW Mr. Keppler, the OM-4Ti ***does have a self-timer
>with mirror prefire**.
>
>
>george
>
>
>< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
>< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
>< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
>
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|