"at your own risk"

[imagedowser]

Had an unfortunate purchasing experience with a member on "For Sale/Wanted" . He is now on my ignore list and if you need to know who it was, it shouldn't be too difficult to find the sale. 10x12 holders. Took the loss, the old dog can still learn the lesson. It really is "at your own risk".

[BrianShaw]

... so what was wrong with them?

[Sal Santamaura]

...It really is "at your own risk".

That's why the "For Sale/Wanted" category includes the admonition in red font. It's also why I always felt we shouldn't include that category in this forum and why I rely on venues offering buyer protection, like eBay, when purchasing used items.

[sully75]

That sucks. For the record pretty much only good experiences here. One camera whose problems were a bit more involved than I realized but otherwise only good experiences.

[BrianShaw]

What sucks?

[Eric Rose]

Gee that's really unfortunate. I'm sure you aren't the type to let it bother you to much. Thanks for the heads up.

[photobymike]

If you used paypal ... file a complaint.....if you did not use paypal your SOL... Paypal will jerk the funds out of the sellers account and refund you...

[eddie]

bill,

sorry to hear that.

steven is a good guy in my past experience. i will call you in a bit (i will wait a few to be sure you get teh appropriate amount of beauty sleep. i know you need it!) and see if i can help. i am sure steven will make it right.

get out of bed, your phone is ringing!

eddie

[rdenney]

That's why the "For Sale/Wanted" category includes the admonition in red font. It's also why I always felt we shouldn't include that category in this forum and why I rely on venues offering buyer protection, like eBay, when purchasing used items.

Sal, all life is a risk, but my experience with the for-sale forum here is that prices are usually better enough to be willing to assume a bit more risk. Also, sellers can be vetted to some extent by their history on the forum. That isn't perfect by any means, but I'd rather have the opportunity to take a risk and sometimes enjoy the reward than to be protected from it and never see the reward.

Even respectable sellers--sellers from whom I would buy again without hesitation--sometimes get it wrong. I bought a camera recently from a forum member and when it arrived, the shutter cocking portion of the film advance did not work. We talked, and he offered a refund. But his price had been good enough that we shared the risk--he refunded a portion of what it is costing to get it repaired. In the end, I paid more, but for a camera that has also received a full CLA--and it was still a fair deal. Appropriately, that alternative was mine to choose. Were I the cynical and jumpy type, I might have gone on a public rant about it (which is NOT what is happening in this thread), and prevent a more favorable outcome.

On another occasion, a fairly expensive item I bought here was a previous version of what was represented--a version with fewer features. A mistake? Possibly, though I'm a bit doubtful. But the price was still good enough to make it worth keeping, with respect to my use cases for that device. Had I pressed it, that seller would have offered a refund, too, I'm sure, without having to resort to enforcement channels.

As we can see from other threads, the only safe transaction is one where acceptable goods are put into my hands at the same time cash is put into the seller's hands. But those sorts of acquisitions limit one's options pretty severely, especially if they don't live in a hotbed of large-format activity.

What's the old saying? Ships are only safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for.

Rick "who can assess risk and (sometimes) suffer consequences on his own" Denney

[Renato Tonelli]

:Rick - that's a well-reasoned assessment of forum-based buying/selling. I haven't had a bad experience yet, either buying or selling and I have done plenty more buying than selling. Perhaps some items were not as mint as claimed but not worth quibbling about.

Nonetheless, it is a bit disappointing to hear that someone was sold an item the condition of which was misrepresented.

Renato "who always appreciates what Rick has to say" Tonelli.