>From: Gary Schloss <schloss@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
>Jan Steinman wrote:
>>... The difference between B&H's "9"
>>and what someone on the Internet calls "brand new in box" is probably a
>>crap shoot.
>
>I disagree. To me, "brand new in box" is as deterministic a statement
>as one can make. Unless the seller is a complete fraud (and I have no
>idea if this one is or isn't), this condition is equivalent to a "10"
>on the B&H scale...
...
>>According to Peterson's Photographic used buyer's guide, you should expect
>>to pay 25% to 35 0.000000e+00ss to an individual than to a dealer...
>
>This is probably true on ubiquitous, readily available items. Scarce,
>highly sought after toys often sell very close to their list prices,
>and sometimes even at a premium.
My arguments are based on risk, which is notoriously difficult to put a
dollars-and-cents value on. If something purchased from a dealer is not up
to your expectations, you return it. If something purchased from an
individual is not up to your expectation, you hope the seller is
reasonable, or still at the same address, or, or, or...
It is true that dealers can be bad to you as well, but the brick-and-mortar
nature and their reliance on good will makes that difficult over the long
run.
One way of looking at it is if one deal with an individual in five leaves
you wanting, you've got to get 25% better price on all of them to break
even. I'm currently beating those odds, but I just received a Minolta slide
scanner without the slide carriers, and the seller isn't answering email or
returning voice mail, so I may have just been bounced back down to breaking
even over buyfing strictly from dealers.
Also, I sent a guy a check for an OM-4T last week. He sent me email saying
it would "go right out." I'm still waiting. Maybe he sent it by camel.
Maybe he had an accident while driving to the post office. Maybe, maybe,
maybe... Doubt and uncertainty also has a value, albeit more difficult to
quantify than risk.
>>Caveat Emptor!
>
>A wonderful advice! However, I like better the following: "Nothing
>ventured -- nothing gained" :-)
Which is my point exactly: buying used gear is a gamble, and buying it from
individuals is (on average) more of a gamble than buying it from dealers. I
don't let that keep me from buying from individuals, but I expect (on
average) to get a break. I agree with Gary, if something is rare and
unusual and dealers don't normally have them, that makes the additional
risk and doubt worthwhile, but just if everything works out, NOT on
average... :-)
: Jan Steinman <mailto:jans@xxxxxxxxxxx>
: 19280 Rydman Court, West Linn, OR 97068-1331 USA
: +1.503.635.3229
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