Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/03/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]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