Linhof to Deardorf adaptor board, eBay ordeal

[Cristiano Abreu]

Hi,
I though I would share the truly unpleasant experience I had recently purchasing a Linhof to Deardorff adaptor board on eBay. There's always the risk for not 100% satisfaction and I'm aware of it, but at least I expect some professionalism and politeness from the seller, in case my feedback doesn't meet the seller's expectations.
I present after all the storyline for an item bought the 18th March, payed a couple minutes after purchase and received on the 14th of April; Not to mention the 2 weeks it took the seller just for going to the post office and ship it:

My feedback (NEUTRAL) leaved on eBay:
~1 month to arrive, had to sandpaper to fit, poorly finished, unaccur. squaring

Seller's response to my feedback
why didn't you ask for a full refund? because you know the item is super cheap?


My message to the seller, afterwards:

Regarding your answer to my NEUTRAL feedback:
"why didn't you ask for a full refund? because you know the item is super cheap?"
Not even close! Only because I live on the other side of the Atlantic and you don't refund shipping... am I mistaken!? Most importantly, I waited approx. 1 month to get this board in order to use a Dorff for a project. Thus, I couldn't afford the luxury to wait for a couple weeks more for you to refund me partially and more time to get another board. The board works, sure, but is poorly done and I know what I'm talking about, since my father is a retired carpenter. Maybe in the USA it's OK to think "cheap" will automat. imply a poor product, but not here. People expect a certain level of quality for a NEW article, with at least min. requirements. For ex. the board is not even squared precisely (2-3mm larger on 1 side, visible even by the naked eye). I was not expecting Dorff quality for this price for sure, but at least care on your part and good QC. Regards


To what the seller answers:

You had your opportunity to say what you think when you left me feedback, I had mine. If you don't like it then it's your problem, deal with it!, take it like a man! didn't daddy teach you how to take criticism?

Of course the board works and it is a mega deal, that's the only reason you didn't return it, I can do much better work than your father but not for 25.00 of course, it is just going to cost you more, come on over so I can give you and your father a class.

This is my last email to you. I had the last word. I will not read anymore emails from you. They are a waste of time.

Greetings from the number 1 country in the world.

And don't give me this bullshit about what is and isn't quality in the US from your piece of shit country."
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What can I say... sad and rude.
I strive to give an honest feedback to let now that things should be improved and inform other potential buyers, as I think it is the moral duty of any concerned buyer.
And I don't think 25 USD is a MEGA DEAL for a poorly finished, rough board, not even squared accurately. Not to mention I had to loose a couple of minutes grinding two corners with sandpaper just to fit the adaptor board on the Dorff... or maybe is it my Dorff that's poorly engineered... Lame.

Regards and sorry for taking your time,
Cristiano

[Ron Marshall]

Fortunately the seller is not a representative American; unfortunately for you he is a representative A-hole.

[Tim Povlick]

Hi Cristiano,

Sorry to hear this happened to you, really no excuse for not doing something right (at least square!).

Is the adapter you are describing 95mm x 100mm and looks like a Linholf lens board but has an opening that accepts an 80mm x 80mm Deardoff lens board?

Tim

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

Unfortunately you are not the first person to complain about that seller. There were some quality problems reported with that guy before, with the same sort of abuse. If only those ebay ratings meant something.

[sultanofcognac]

"Greetings from the number 1 country in the world.
And don't give me this bullshit about what is and isn't quality in the US from your piece of shit country."

Hence the reason there are so many life-long expats! That's truly a shameful experience. After almost ten years of dealing with evilbay I've only had one bad experience, but evilbay interceded and made the seller remedy the situation. The seller refused to refund about 1/3 of the money and none of the shipping costs so his paypal account had to be watched for a year and on his next sale paypal took the money and shuttled it over to my account.

$25 is an expensive lesson, but so is $2.50. . . the world is, unfortunately, full of people with no conscience.

johnny

[Cristiano Abreu]

Fortunately the seller is not a representative American; unfortunately for you he is a representative A-hole.

Don't worry Ron, I fully understand that it has nothing to do with the representative US citizen... just a sad case of "sick patriotism", for the lack of better words, from a matter that should have been kept inside the sphere of buyer/seller lexicon. Americans advanced and popularized LF and photography in general, making it a form of art and what landscape photography is today, and I give you credit for that.

[Cristiano Abreu]

Is the adapter you are describing 95mm x 100mm and looks like a Linholf lens board but has an opening that accepts an 80mm x 80mm Deardoff lens board?

Tim

Hi Tim,
It's a wooden board with round corners and external dimensions 152mm x 152mm, with a cavity of 97mm x 100mm for the Linhof lensboard and a hole of approx. 84mm diameter for the lens. It has also yellow gold hardware.

Cristiano

[Cristiano Abreu]

Unfortunately you are not the first person to complain about that seller. There were some quality problems reported with that guy before, with the same sort of abuse. If only those ebay ratings meant something.

Hi Jason,
you are right. If I'm not mistaken, at the time there was one buyer complaining about the overall quality of a different board. I gave the seller the benefit of doubt, but never expected such offensive treatment to a honest feedback.
I'm still equating if I should fill a complaint on eBay for offensive behaviour. I'm only keeping the board because I really need it to shoot. Someday, I'm going to have a carpenter shop built a new one from scratch. Only if my father was still active... having access to right tools and materials.
It makes me sad to see such poorly finished board, with the Linhof board retaining plate skewed a couple of millimeters (it's so obvious, that even my wife, which normally stays aside for everything photography related, saw it readily and became disgusted), on such a beautiful, yet used, classic camera like the Dorff V8

[Cristiano Abreu]

$25 is an expensive lesson, but so is $2.50. . . the world is, unfortunately, full of people with no conscience.

johnny

So true.

[Renato Tonelli]

Two of the things I cannot stand when dealing with people are arrogance and rudeness.

Thanks for the warning - it couldn't have come at a better time as I was contemplating purchasing the same adapter.