Re: [Leica] Official soft release

[SthRosner@aol.com]

In a message dated 3/7/02 1:53:38 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
bdcolen@earthlink.net writes:

> It is truly astounding the crap people buy on that site, and the prices 
they pay 

Hello B.D.

I'm certain that there is a lot of crap on the site and at crazy prices - 
have you ever attended a Christie's classic car auction? all it takes is two 
bidders who really want a rare item to drive the price of a collector Ferrari 
quickly into sedven figures. That said, most - not all - people bidding on 
that site are not sophisticated and do not know the real value of what 
they're bidding on. But there are occasional anomalies where an item simply 
isn't seen by people who would be interested and so there are not really any 
competing bidders. Some of the items listed below fall into that category.
 
I had never even looked at the site whose name is ineffable until late last 
November. Since then I have bought through their auctions:

Leica IIf w/ 50/3,5 Elmar, mint -, fresh cla of camera and lens:          
$359. (!!!) 
35/2,8 Summaron, ex+, perfect glass, perfect function                     
$435.
35/2,8 Summaron, mint, perfect glass and function                          
$460.  
35/2,8 Summaron screwmount, not yet received but
        described as mint glass & function                                    
   $500.  (!!!) 
50/2 DR Summicron, no eyes, mint -, perfect glass & function          $408.

I bought another Leica lens that I thought was not in the condition 
described, emailed the seller in Melbourne bloody Australia (thanks Karina, 
other end of the island!!) who promptly refunded my purchase price as soon as 
he received the returned lens.

Also bought on auction from a dealer in Rome a like-new in box Leica M2S for 
I-don't-want-to-tell-you-how-much; picked up by FedEx at Rome Ciampino 
airport, scanned and logged in and out at deGaulle-Paris (I followed FedEx's 
tracking number for almost two weeks) and never reached FedEx in Memphis. Got 
a full refund of the purchase price from the Rome dealer who is now pursuing 
a claim against FedEx.

You do have to know what you're doing, to examine the history and reputation 
of the seller, to contact the seller by email with any questions, to know 
with some precision the market for the item you are after and to bid very 
carefully.

I have no interest in nor brief for eBay, but my experience has been first 
rate and some of the purchases listed have been exceptional values. 

Seth           LaK 9
- --
To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html