Re: [Leica] Ebay advice

["Dan Post" <dwpost@email.msn.com>]

Gary-
You didn't say if you'd found out what kind of feedback profile the seller
had?
This is always a good indication, not foolproof, but in my experience- if
there is no negative feedback, and there are at least ten positives, the
seller has established what sort of dealer he/she is. Most negative feedback
from what seemed like crokked dealers comes early in their eBay dealing, it
seems!
If you are leery about the deal- by all means, use the eBay escrow method-
if the seller has nothing to hide or is honest, he'll take it as just a part
of dealing with strangers on the internet, and accede. No big deal! I have
had over 50 transactions on eBay- and have been happy with most; my
feedback, I hope, is an indication of my integrity- but if a client wanted
to use the escrow method, I would not be offended, and would be happy to
comply- I think a reputable seller would, in any acase.
Good luck, on the IIIg- I, personally am a tad envious! I have a IIIf and
would like to have the IIIg viewfinder, myself, but you'll find the LTM
cameras are truly jewels- solid, reliable, and a heck of a lot of fun to
use. Once you get use to it, you find that you are looking at the subject-
and not fiddling with which priority mode am I in, is the camera on AF or
MF, is it this or is it that! It's like riding a bicycle- you start to see
the sights and smell the flowers as you 'cruise' along! A good handheld
meter, and understanding the 'Sunny 16' rule will make life much more
enjoyable!
I used my SL at my nieces wedding- and naturally, the battery went dead, so
I had to figure expoosure 'by guess or by God. I got 25 printable negs from
a 24 exp. roll of Reala! Some one said, "gee, that looks complicated...."
"No," I said, " It's really not- it's just a matter of two controls-
aperture and shutter speed." It doesn't get much simpler than that!
Enjoy, and let us see what it does to your photography!!
Dan   :o}~

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Gary Elshaw <gary.elshaw@vuw.ac.nz>
To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us>
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 1999 5:41 AM
Subject: [Leica] Ebay advice


> Hi Folks,
>
> I managed to buy a IIIG this morning on ebay. The truly funny thing is i'd
> never been to ebay before, until the LUG discussion last week where people
> discussed how bad it is! The bad news is, I think the camera i bought is
> possibly fictitious. I've notified the ebay security department about the
> seller, and i'm hoping they may get some answers/assurances before me.
>
> I haven't sent any cash, but there has been some suspicion from a couple
of
> the other bidders, and i really don't know what to do. This camera has
been
> a personal dream of mine for a long time and at the moment i'm not really
> willing to let it go (poor students like me are like that). I've asked the
> seller for a serial number, but that kind of information is accessable to
> most people, including myself. Do any of the luggers have suggestions of a
> course of action. The only possible thing i've come up with is getting the
> seller to send the camera to ebay before i send him/her the money. Does
> that sound reasonable?
>
> Thanks for any advice and/or light you can shed,
> Gary