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Re: [OM] OT What eBay Sellers Sometimes Have to Put Up With

Subject: Re: [OM] OT What eBay Sellers Sometimes Have to Put Up With
From: Skip Williams <skipwilliams@xxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 08:46:22 -0400
Cc: jlind@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
John,

Congrats on a nice find. I'm sure you saw Stephen Gandy's mention of this accessory at http://www.jetlink.net/~cameras/sp.htm. It's also got a 2 page write-up in Rotoloni's Nikon Rangefinder book. It was offered from 1958 to 1963 in the Nikon catalog for $18.75, but probably was never made in large numbers, hence the rarity.

The Japanese collectors will pay the big bucks for this one. I'll bet it will go for a lot over $1,000. The guy from Samy's certainly knew what he was doing, however underhanded it was. I'd let the auction run its course, and see what happens. It's not your fault. If you haven't gotten any requests to cancel the auction, it may mean that the Japanese buyers haven't yet put in their real high bids, and the $856 currently bid is just enough to cancel-out the lower bidders. Your other option, as you mention, is to cancel the entire auction and relist the item.

In any case, I'd be asking this guy from Samy's what's up, via a personal email or phone call. You deserve an explanation, especially given the lame excuse given on the bid retraction.

Skip

At 4/12/00 02:18 AM  +0000, you wrote:
I was going to post something about this auction after it closed tomorrow
night, but with the most recent turn of events I have decided not to wait.
Some on the list may be amazed at the price, but it is an incredibly rare
item sought by collectors.  Not only that, it's a very useful one too.
Nobody else has ever made an accessory like this.  Anyone on the list who
has used a rangefinder in low light can attest to having wished for
something like this.

With all that gets said about eBay auctions, little is mentioned about what
the sellers can experience.  I invite you to check out the following auction:
  http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=299443736

Note that there was a bid retraction and go to the bid history page.  The
value has dropped 15 0.000000rom $1000.  Read also an incredibly lame excuse for
a bid retraction by the person who *was* the highest bidder.  It just
doesn't fly in the face of five large photographs and a highly detailed
description of the item and its condition, plus an addendum to the auction
specifically inviting quesitons.

Note also who the highest bidder was.  No less than Robert G. Stevens of
Samys Camera in Los Angeles.  This is a nationally known camera dealer with
supposedly a good reputation, at least by what I could find in the
photo.net neighbor-to-neighbor database.

I don't think he realizes how badly he is damaging his reputation by this.
If you research the other bidders you will find among them some really "big
guns" among some truly serious collectors, and two of the highest three
bidders are from Japan.

I'm seriously thinking about cancelling the auction.  The drop in the
current high bid aside, it's not fair to the other bidders, especially to
the one who is now the highest.  *Everyone* who has been watching this
auction now knows what his maximum bid is.  He is undoubtedly livid.

Venting some steam, but also posting this because buyers aren't the only
ones who can get battered by an auction.  The sellers can and do also, and
in this case I really feel for the number two bidder who suddenly became
the high bidder.

You can bet Samys Camera (info@xxxxxxxxx) will have a *very* interesting
feedback from me some time tomorrow!

-- John

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-----------------------------------------------
Skip Williams
Westfield, NJ
skipwilliams@xxxxxxxxx
http://www.skipwilliams.com
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