Unscrupulous seller warning: The_Duke_of_Eli

[crukkh]

Hi all,

I guess I've been lucky to have had no bad experiences with buying or selling on RFD and other boards since 2004 - I guess my luck had to change :)

I bought two lenses from this ad (http://forums.redflagdeals.com/sony-minolta-gear-changing-systems-sale-updated-new-1056280/) by The_Duke_of_Eli (this very "for sale" ad was/is also posted on Dyxum).

We emailed each other and agreed to meet, he came on time and everything was looking good, except at the end, having received cash, he gave me one lens and walked away with the other. When I realized that, I ran upstairs to the parking lot and managed to find him there, he apologized and I though he was just - hmm - forgetful. He joked that this situation "didn't look good on him", and I had no hard feelings - stuff happens.

Then on my way home I decided to take a few shots with the 50mm in the subway car and realized shots at a distance were completely out of focus.

Came home and took test shots at various distances - the lens (50mm f/1.7) was working fine at close distance (up to 15-20 ft), then wouldn't confirm focus and take out of focus shots, and wouldn't work at all at longer distances/infinity. One could press the button as much as one liked, the camera wouldn't fire.

Checked my other lens and naturally all was fine.

Searched the web and found a discussion where it was said that this problem occurs if a lens was repaired and reassembled in a wrong way (lens assembly put in a wrong helical thread). Later I also asked the good people at Dyxum and it was confirmed that was most likely the case.

Emailed the seller about the problem (well, said it wasn't cool to not disclose the lens was defective) and he got back to me saying he's checked the lens before the sale and it was fine, basically saying I was lying.

I emailed back saying I just found it unusual that a pro photographer (he is an enthusiast, he mentioned he'd migrated to medium format film camera) wouldn't have noticed his lens wasn't focusing properly past 20 ft.

No reply.

I recorded a short video showing his lens with serial number working normally at a close range and not working at infinity.

No reply.

I'm not looking to get my money back (not really worth my time, I will just give this lens to a friend tomorrow) but would like to warn the community about an unscrupulous seller. Hope this helps someone!

[JAC]

Make sure you leave a rating.

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/itrader_feedback.php?u=30582
http://www.heatware.com/eval.php?id=45899

[dunderwood]

Thanks for the heads up.

[crukkh]

Left RFD feedback... now need to find time to leave Heatware feedback.

[The_Duke_Of_Eli]

There are two sides to every story.

I followed all BST and common sense guidelines. The buyer was able to fully test the item, and as he was testing the second item I habitually put it back in my bag for safe keeping while he purchased the other one. If there was problems with focusing I did not notice any at the time of the sale.

I also resent the fact that my abilities as a photographer are being put into question because I didn't notice the problem. This has nothing to do yet try to flame me and seem like a poor member. I've been buying and selling since I joined in 2005 with no problems at all. I won't have a pushy and abrasive buyer ruin my reputation.

For the buyer, here are some excerpts from the BST area:

"Make sure you know what you are purchasing. Attempt to get all the relevant information such as conditions/usage, what's included, refund possibility etc. Sometimes in the haste of getting in on a good deal, you may end up with something you didn't quite anticipate."
--> I disclosed everything I knew and you were at full liberty to test it. Buying the item was then confirmation that you were satisfied with the items, therefore I don't know what happened after the purchase.

"Clear communication - Ask questions, keep records, and above all, be specific. This applies to both seller and buyer. DON'T ASSUME
Calm communication - When you're hot and toasty mad, don't go sending that message in a hurry. Take a deep breath, heck, take ten. Think about it and try to avoid rash statements. This hinders any kind of mediation process."
--> I still have records of the angry and offensive emails. If you had contacted me calmly we could've resolved this peacefully and to a point where we're both comfortable.

In the end you can believe whatever you want, but I will not have my name defaced. I've done dozens of deals in the past without a problem and in the future I'll follow the same standards and practices that leave me with good ratings (not just on RFD). If you're hesitant dealing with me, give the benefit of the doubt and don't trust everything you read online; I always deal fairly.

[The_Duke_Of_Eli]

Left RFD feedback... now need to find time to leave Heatware feedback.

This kind of baseless flaming and vengeance is why the thread has been reported. If you had waited until I got back into the country and had access to my email we could've dealt with this privately. Now you're just making both of us look bad.

[crukkh]

If the seller had replied to my emails with a simple "I will be out of the country and we'll deal with this later" email, it would have been absolutely acceptable, but nothing of the sort happened. Since there are referring to my "angry and abrasive" emails, I will have the whole thread posted here if space permits :)

[da_way]

I'm having a hard time figuring out why you didn't test a lens at infinity.

[crukkh]

I didn't really think about it and because there was nothing to shoot at infinity (we were standing by a collector booth underground, and I took a picture of a box I had with me with the 50mm, which turned out fine). I had two lenses to test, and we were talking, too, so I guess I simply didn't think that someone who says the lens "is totally fine" and has been used for a number of years would't be disclosing a hidden problem, especially considering the low value of the package. Also, I know of typical problems with first-generation Minoltas (oily aperture, fungus) but I have not - until now - even heard of it not focussing correctly after being put back together in a wrong way.

I don't think it's a point of why I didn't test it 100% (in hindsight it was silly, but I have bought much more expensive lenses from members of this board without any issues based on their feedback and the time they'd spent on rfd), the point to me is that there is hardly a chance this defect was unknown to the seller and it wasn't disclosed, and when it was discovered, he preferred to just stop replying to my messages.

My belief is that since we hooked up at Dyxum (not redflagdeals) and I just happened to come across the very same ad on redflagdeals, the seller may have thought that once the deal is done, it's gone - Dyxum has no feedback system as far as I know.

Since I was accused of sending the seller threatening emails and having all these horrible personal traits:

--> I still have records of the angry and offensive emails.
a pushy and abrasive buyer

- I've posted the full email thread pertaining to the deal - it's complete, unabridged and unedited (well, I had to use an editor to white out full names, email addresses and phone number, so you see a watermark, but other than that this is all the emails that were exchanged). I am Constantine BTW.

HERE (http://freepdfhosting.com/31394fe71e.pdf)

[googoo]

If the focusing problem was known before listing and was never mentioned then we have a case here, but if he disclosed it and you still purchased is without seeing how big the problem was then it is your problem.

Brent

[da_way]

Seems like very civil emails. But this is now one of those hard he said she said where the sell claims it was perfect and the buy claims it was defective.

[crukkh]

to make this clear, there was no mention of any focusing problems, ever.

[googoo]

IMO that is the FIRST thing that should have been mentioned.

Brent