As I mentioned in a previous post, I built one of those electronic shutter speed testers that essentially consist of a photo electric diode attached to a computer sound card.
I used it to test a a 300mm Schneider previously bought on Ebay but not yet used, and lo! it turns out to be damaged. The fast speeds were way off. Took it to repair shop and found out that the governor was malfunctioning and there was some other damage. The cost of fixing that was only $40 on top of the usual cost of a good CLA but still, goes to show you can't really judge a lens bought off of ebay just by sound and looks. I think it is too late to raise a stink with the seller, especially since I already gave him a positive feedback. I suppose he wrote "mint, not tested but speeds sound right" on his auction, and I suppose I can't judge badly him for failing to tell the difference of 1/250th and 1/100ht shutter speed by ear alone. but still, who should be responsible for hidden damage in that sort of circumstance? The seller or buyer? Ethically, it should be the seller, IMHo.
ANyway, seems to me that there are a lot of LF gear transactions on Ebay. Perhaps it would be a good idea for the collective LF-gear purchasing community on Ebay to sort of join up together and develop a list of voluntary "ethical guidelines" and ask sellers to to abide by them, backed by the force of our economic purchashing power. Sellers should then be encouraged to state clearly in their ebay auctions whether they (voluntarily) abide by these guidelines or not.
Whether the seller agrees to abide by the guidelines, declines to do so, or simply refuses to acknowledge them, the sellers will have an additional bit of info that they can take into consideration when making a bid- and that will result in strong encouragement for sellers to adopt the guidelines eventually.
So, as an Ebay buyer what rules or "ethical guidlines" would you like to See adopted by sellers?
1- If you're selling something on ebay, make sure you show clear photos of all sides, or at least of the side where the item is damaged (instead of trying to hide it!)
2- If you're selling it "as is" then at least descibe how it "is" clearly. If you fail to disclose a defect that is apparent, then you have to take it back even if you sold the item on an "as is" basis.
3- If there's hidden damage, the seller will accept returns even if he had no way to know about it, for a reasonable period of time.
4-...?
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