Need Advice Regarding Potential Auction Problem

[David Karp]

Hi all,

I have been a sometimes E-Bay purchaser. Never a seller. It has been a while for me, but all of my few successful auctions have gone well. All sellers have been easy to deal with, very straightforward.

Today I won an auction for a 210mm Caltar II-N for $202.50, plus $13 shipping. I have seen similar Sironar-N and Caltar II-N lenses going for prices in this range lately. I was the only bidder. The seller had zero feedback. I took a chance anyway. I had zero feedback once too. My feedback is 100% positive.

I sent the seller a request for payment information. (Seller wants check, money order, or cashier's check only -- No paypal.) I received the following invoice: Lens - $202.50. Shipping - $13.00. "Seller discounts (-) or charges (+)" - $215.00. Total - $431.00.

Now, giving the benefit of the doubt, I have sent the seller an E-mail inquiring about the extra $215.00 charge. There is no hint of it on the auction listing. I am hoping that since the seller has no feedback that this was an error. However, I am afraid that the seller was hoping for a bigger price and did not have a reserve price on the lens and is now trying to make up for it or cause me to just drop the auction.

In preparation for the worst, while hoping for the best, I am asking if any of you more frequent E-Bay sellers and buyers have some advice on how to handle the situation.

Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Dave Karp

[Bart Nadeau]

He is trying to play you for a sucker. Start an ebay dispute resolution.

bart

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Hi David,

If it was an automation 'typo', it should be corrected by the seller quickly, noon tomorrow.

If not, then it sounds like the seller has zero feedback for a reason and is scamming you for the lens and ebay for the reserve fee. Decide if you still want a questionable lens and start a dispute resolution at ebay.

Good luck with it.

[Dan Ingram]

Since the questionable charge is almost exactly the same as the total legitimate charge, given the zero feedback it would seem that the seller made an error. Mistakes happen, so I'd be nice about it and let him make the correction. You can always get tough with him later if he gives you any trouble, but I can't believe anyone would try overcharging such a ridiculous amount as a scam. At any rate, no money has changed hands, so there's nothing to worry about.

[Brian Ellis]

Instead of just sending you an email with the price he tried to use the confusing ebay invoice form and screwed up the entries, which is very easy to do if you haven't used the form before. I don't remember the details of that form but I remember how easy it is to misunderstand what it's asking you to enter and where you're supposed to enter it because I did the exact same thing your seller has done when I sold a lens a few months ago, entered something on the wrong line and ended up sending an invoice for double the correct amount. The form is very confusing if it's your first time using it. I happened to catch my mistake by some fluke right away and immediately sent an email message to the buyer telling him not to have a heart attack when he saw the invoice. I'm sure your seller will realize the error he's made if he hasn't already so I don't think you have anything to worry about.

[David Karp]

Thanks Brian and Dan,

I was hoping that there was something like that going on here, and Brian's experience with the form seems like it could be the explanation. Now I feel a bit better. Since it is late, even here on the west coast, I hope to receive an e-mail that will clear things up tomorrow. Will keep you all posted.

Bart and Paul, I have been reading up on E-Bay dispute resolution, just in case.

Thanks.

[Capocheny]

David,

You're putting the cart before the horse! If I were in your shoes, I'd wait until the seller responds to your email. He may well come back and acknowledge that a mistake has been made. Then, you've wasted all this time worrying over a non-issue.

However, if he comes back insisting that he wants $431 instead of the $215... then that's another story and can be dealt with at that time.

For now... relax and don't fret over the unknown!

Cheers

[David Karp]

Henry,

You are right. I guess it is just my way. I just want to be prepared for all eventualities. That way I would be able to implement whatever plan is appropriate ASAP.

Now, I plan to get some sleep and check my e-mail in the morning.

Thanks.

[Remigius]

Hi David,

This happened to mee too recently. This occurs when the seller erroneously enters the total amount in the field for discount/additional charges (as Brian was hinting). We had a short but friendly e-mail exchange in which I notified the seller that possibly he may have to pay more e-bay fees due to the erroneous total amount (I don't know, if this is really the case). He thanked me for the notice and changed the amount, as it was never his intention to charge me for the double price.

[Chris Fergus]

David,

Can you let us all know how this works out? Ebay seems to take all my spare money as I discover things I never previously knew that I wanted... but I've never come across this situation. Fingers crossed it's just a mix-up.

[David Karp]

Hello all,

Brian and Remigius were both right. It was E-Bay's form, not the seller's intent.

I have been trying to grab a Caltar II-N or its Rodenstock twin for a while since I realized that they were starting to sell for less than a Nikkor M 200 or a Xenar 210 f/6.1, and I finally found one. Then to get that E-mail after a pretty rough day was disappointing. Received a response to my e-mail this morning. The original price is the price.

Chris, I don't know how I do it. I see things I want on E-Bay all the time, but usually talk myself out of bidding. Maybe I am more afraid of trying to explain it to my wife, even though she would probably be OK with it! (She is a photographer too.)

Thanks for all your advice. I learned something new about E-Bay which will help me if I ever decide to sell something there.

I really do appreciate the collective wisdom of the folks who gather here.

Sincerely,

Dave Karp

[Capocheny]

Dave,

Good to hear! :)

Cheers

[Christopher Perez]

The II-N should be a fine lens. I'm sure you'll be happy with it at the price you paid. If it's in good condition after it arrives, these are remarkble values. That's just about $1/mm. Simply amazing for multi-coated optics in a modern shutter.

I don't know how I stumble into the deals I do, but they're definitely out there to be had. A person just needs the money ready when a deal comes up.

Conversely, I just returned from a photo swap here in town and saw nothing I couldn't live without. Usually there's at least a thing or two that makes money fly out of my wallet. Not that a $1000 Hassy 550ELX with 250 CF didn't make my head spin. But the interesting 13inch Bausch Protar series VII had a missmatched 11inch rear element set - otherwise that might have been fun. Oh, and a E1 Rollei with 75mm Planar at $200 was nearly too good to pass up. But the taking lens had a couple marks on it.

[David A. Goldfarb]

The Caltar II-N's are a great value used. They are the same as Sironar-N's. I've got a 180 and a 135 that are both great performers.

[David Karp]

Thanks to all.

Chris: It really is amazing. When I first started in LF, the Xenars seemed to be less expensive than the plasmats. Then they started creeping up. I attribute it to all of the photographers who are starting to think of weight/size for their backpacking photography trips. People have realized that the Tessar types are a great option. It is amazing that they are now going for more than the plasmats! I am sure that a good deal will come by now that I will have the Caltar, but that is OK. I am usually pretty patient. That is how I got my used Walker in such great condition.

Chris and David: I am sure that I will be very happy with the lens. I was thinking an older Fujinon W, but after reading Oren' praise of the Rodenstock lenses, plus my experience with my other Rodenstocks, I decided to look for the right Caltar. My lenses are either Caltar/Rodenstocks or Fujinons, with one Nikon (300M). I am happy with them all, so I expect to be very pleased with the new 210.

I appreciate the help of all.

[Robert Coenen]

I am going through this very thing right now. I bid on a tripod and the auction ended with a great price. I then recieved an invoice from the seller with an additional $295 charge from the seller. When I contacted Ebay about the matter, they stated that I would have to take this up with the seller and that if I did not work this out with him. That I could have a negative feedback left about me. Ebay did nothing in my case to help me, other than urge me to try and talk this out with the seller. Good luck with your auction.

[David Karp]

Hi all,

Well, the friendly USPS letter carrier delivered the lens today! It is in excellent condition. It is in an all black Copal 1 with the white aperture lever. The coating and lens surfaces are flawless. The shutter sounds good. I was going to send it to Carol Miller for a checkup or CLA, but I think I will hold off on that.

It was a little tense, because the seller e-mailed last week and said that he received the $ the day before, and that he hoped to send the lens the next day. Then no e-mails or responses to mine asking if he could supply the tracking number after he mailed the lens (to find out if it was actually sent). But now all is well and I have a new toy to stick on the end of my Cambo and Walker.

All in all, it is just very hard to believe that a lens of this caliber, in this condition, plus a 4x4 lensboard, went for just a hair over $200.

Thanks again to all. I really appreciate your comments and suggestions.

Dave Karp

[Paul Coppin]

If I see a good deal on a lens going, and I really want the lens, I'll budget an $80 CLA from Grimes into the mix. On a couple I was a bit antsy on when I received them, an extra couple of weeks to SG and a happy lens back, makes for good vibes under the cloth...