It has always bemused me that the deal is always that the seller must be trusted first(Seawolf 66 excepted: private and kindy reference).
That is to say the buyer must send the money which is usually held (cheque or money order) until confirmed.
The buyer must trust the seller to send the item.
The seller in no way must trust the buyer to pay him/her. The money is in hand first.
In exchange for this unequal power relationship, the seller is obliged to deliver the item, on a no fault basis.
Negotiation, communication and just plain kindness may result in a satisfactory plan of action but.
At the end of the day, if the lens is lost, the buyer should not be out at all, since he/she fulfilled their part of the bargain. For the seller to say that they put it in the mailbox and that is the end of their responsilbility does not fulfill their part of the bargain to deliver it to the seller.
The greater power relationship demands greater responsilbilty.
Everything should work out here, indeed, the lens should be in the right hands at the end of the day (good on you for eyeballing ebay).
Kindest regards
Bill
Bookmarks