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Re: [OM] Warning...Please read...

Subject: Re: [OM] Warning...Please read...
From: "Bill Stanke" <bstanke@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2001 11:57:31 -0700
Hi Chris:

Sorry to hear of your problems!

<rant on *-Bay buying follows>

FWIW, here are some of the things I look for in an *-Bay transaction:

Feedback.  I always review the seller's feedback.  Your seller had a rating
of 5, with no negatives.  I couldn't really tell if he was the seller in any
of these transactions.  A low rating like this would make me nervous.  His
transactions were all old enough that the link to the auctions was invalid.
This made it difficult to review the other auctions that he has participated
in, and the dollar amount of the transactions.

Description.  The description of the item was very short.  In general, this
is a pretty lazy approach to selling.  He could have described the features
of the head, the length of the legs, minimum and maximum height, (and
especially) weight, etc.  Unless a person had a Bogen catalog in hand, it
would me difficult (at least for me) to visualize the item being offered,
and whether it is suitable for my needs.

Photos.  It didn't appear that the seller included any photos of the item in
question.  I always wonder about any seller that doesn't provide photo(s) of
the item offered for sale.  When the item in question is photographic
equipment, the I REALLY question the lack of photographs.

Other peeves.  I'm reluctant to deal with anyone who writes descriptions in
"all caps". DON'T SHOUT AT ME!

The description should be fairly literate.  I'm not a very good speller
myself, but a spell-checking program will catch common mistakes, like in
"excallant (sic) condition", or "I have not used this lens alot (sic)".

Did you e-mail this guy, and ask him questions?  For instance, I would like
to know why he is selling his professional-grade tripod.  This unit should
last forever, at least in amateur hands, regardless of camera brand.  If he
told me that he did a lot of backpacking, and used his new titanium/carbon
fiber wonder, I might believe his story.  The promptness and quality of his
replies would give you more insight into the quality of the seller.  I also
try and check the seller's other auctions, if any.

I hope that you get your tripod, or get your money back.  KEH has a 3040 w/
chrome legs and a 3063 head for $159.  This more than you paid, but:
a) You WILL receive the item;
b) You CAN return the item;
c) You WILL save the lining of your stomach!

<End of rant #219>

Bill Stanke
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Charlton" <c_charlton@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2001 11:21 PM
Subject: [OM] Warning...Please read...


> Hi folks,
>
> As you may or may not know, I won a bid on E*ay 2 over
> two weeks ago for a bogen tripod with head.
<snip>


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