For sale: Iscorama 54

[Erjot]

@ Ryan: No, it was never a close call, because there was zero intention to defraud you. I didn´t even read this thread, before Stan told me about it in a private email... so it was not the angry or any other reaction of the posters here that "made me send you the money back..."

 

@ Andrew: Your advice to Stan is bordering on the silly...

 

Oh well...

[Andrew Reid]

It isn't silly at all. It isn't acceptable to use wire transfers. It isn't acceptable to solicit payments from multiple people with the intention to sell to the highest bidder. Once my own investigations into whether any criminal activity has taken place are concluded you will receive an instant ban.

[Erjot]

Fine. Investigate away...

 

Yawn...

 

(This whole thing is really getting sillier by the hour minute...)

 

 

And If you believe a crime has taken place I have some beach front property in western Georgia, US  to sell to you...

[jgharding]

It's a tough situation, because no-one likes selling on eBay, the fees are mental and buyers treat you like a full-time shop, but outside of that things can get hairy.

 

There seem to be a ton of users who don't actually chat on here or help out, but just come in with their first post trading in the Anamorphic section or advertising their eBay listing, or variously hyping up prices for duff goods. I suppose that's part of supply and demand, but it's a bit sad. I have to admit since that eBay thread turned up I stopped bothering to look for stuff there, because I assume anything mentioned there will be bought by some hyped up loony with too much money or one of those shops who try and buy everything so they can jack up the prices to stupid buy nows.

 

I agree that wire transfers are nuts, there's no trace-ability like there is between bank accounts and the like, they are best avoided. There's a reason crooks love them.

 

Something about introducing the transfer of money and goods to a community based on mutual help and everyone trying to make the best films they can on a shoestring, adds something of a sour note, so I suppose there is a case for removing such transactions from a public forum. I don't envy being in the position of having to make such a decision though...

 

With regard to this thread as soon as I saw the bidding by post I thought "this is going to go horribly wrong", and it seems to have melted down rather spectacularly. So at least putting a stop to any future thread auctions could be a good plan.

 

Have fun everyone!

[stan]

After a couple of days of fear and misunderstandings, it seems that all the money was refunded at the wrong winners and the lens is here.
There was no scam!!!

 

[sharedmedia=gallery:images:539]

[Julian]

Interesting topic... Weird read. Interesting explanations as well by you Erjot. Though I didn't see an explanation why you had different people wire you money at the same time.

Anyway - the discussion about selling is even more interesting, since this forum seems to have turned into a marketplace the last few months. Actually I like this place to buy and sell (if the members have built up some credits and a post history) I really would like to see it in a separate section.

Recently Andrew made one, but it was shut down shortly after because no one posted there and just kept spamming other forums, dubbel posting etc. with some strict moderation a separate section should work, but I can understand its trying especially you're doing it all by yourself Andrew. How about some moderators? Not for politics. Just for moving topics to where they belong.

I like the eBay anamorphic topic. Yeah it might get in your way to score that crazy deal, but the reasons for wanting to close it sound selfish to me. The information is freely available. Shutting it down smells like censoring.

Forget about finding an iscorama for $500 anyway. Even if only 5 'dealers' worldwide have put out an eBay search for it, your chance to find that crazy deal is tiny.

Since the topic has been up I've followed a few lenses on eBay and bought some for good prices. I dont report everything that I find to the topic, not if I'm trying to buy it...

Btw, what I really miss in the rules: show some damn footage! How hard is it to post a clip or upload something to YouTube/vimeo if you're selling something that expensive? That really pisses me off.

Possible solutions:

Separate selling/buying section. No more spamming in other sections/topics. Needs some strong moderation.

Section only available/visible for registered users with a certain amount of active.

Keep the eBay topic, only make it visible for registered/active users.

[Paulio]

Yep. I dunno if its the same guy but I had another person get in touch today via phone trying to sell an isco

by wire transfer only. Yeah right.

 

I think regulars should be able to post their wares on a members only thread. But the current ebay auctions

thread should really go or be at least made private. It is attracting unsavory characters and driving up prices.

[stan]

I tell you my experience here.
I was watching around for an iscorama for along time, couple of years.
A week ago I found this forum through google and in particular this topic.
I registered to partecipate at the forum, I won the iscorama from Erjot and than, suddenly, all went crazy.
In my opinion all the mess was caused by different time zones.

All the suggestions from the administrators about selling and buying are clear and easy to find here. Maybe the sellers should define a closing time for the bidding, to avoid the misunderstandings like the one that happened here.
If you don't want to buy or sell something in a forum, well, there are plenty of other topics here.
Keep this space as open as possible, because doing so it brings people into the comunity and this is, generally, great.

[Andrew Reid]

Glad you got the lens Stan, even if it seems you overpaid somewhat for it and suffered a lot of worry.

 

There's one clear outcome of this

 

No bidding on the forums.

 

The forums are not eBay. They are not designed for bidding.

 

The way the seller Ralf conducted this sale stands as an example of how not to do it.

 

Turn up with no posting history, ask for wire transfer, solicit secret bids by PM.

 

There will be no more of that thanks!

 

Seller from now on specifies clear price and honours the first person to pay, by delivering the goods. All communication should be done openly. All this mess could have been avoided by the SELLER.

 

I'm glad it turned out not to be a scam but on the other hand I think selling tactics like this undermine our peace of mind and the trust we place in the forum. Really unhappy with you Erjot. I think you owe the whole community an apology.

[Andrew Reid]

Interesting explanations as well by you Erjot. Though I didn't see an explanation why you had different people wire you money at the same time.

 

That's an explanation I'd love to hear too.

[dahlfors]

Just want to piece in my five cents about buying/selling anamorphics on EOSHD:

 

I'm a happy owner of an Iscorama thanks to the anamorphic forum. I've always loved the wide aspect ratios and anamorphics look, but didn't know much about anamorphic until I ended up buying the anamorphic guide and started lurking around here.

 

When I had the budget for an Iscorama I started bidding on a few lenses on ebay and I also added a buying post here. Fortunately enough, one guy in Europe on EOSHD had an Iscorama that he could sell. Knowing how much money was involved, I thought I might as well take a Ryanair flight and stay in a hotel for a few days to see the lens and exchange money in person. Worst thing that could happened would probably have been that I'd get a weekend vacation trip to a city I hadn't visited. 

 

The seller turned out to be a really nice & honest person and he of course had a great interest in anamorphics and film making as well - it felt like meeting up with a friend.

 

So, buying from longer time members in the forum - and making a low budget trip to exchange the goods might be a good advice to not get scammed.

 

If I'd buy/sell some anamorphic equipment in the future, this forum would be my first choice due to the helpful community. Cheers!

[Tito Ferradans]

Yeah, I already bought stuff, not here, but on DVX User, but sold multiple lenses here. Never had any stress with it, no bidding, nothing. Price described, as well as any important information about the lens and LOTS of pictures of the very same lens. I even skyped with buyers to show packing and get information about customs values.

 

I don't think selling should be forbidden, but the rules are much better now. :)

(and, before I started selling, I had some time reading and replying around. I think that's a MUST.)

[Caleb Genheimer]

@EOSHD Are we allowed to still post Ebay auctions? Although I'm not immediately in the market for anamorphics, I frequent Ebay multiple times a day, and if I see a good deal on a good anamorphic, I like to post it to the forum. There always seem to be people asking about getting into anamorphic shooting, and honestly, if my sharing an auction can help them snag a good deal on a worthwhile anamorphic, the more the merrier.

[Rudolf]

@Caleb in theory that sounds good and helpful but practically posting ebay auctions prevents snagging a good deal.

I am absolutely convinced that for example the Möller 8/19 I snagged on ebay for €650 in mint condition would have been

much more expensive and therefor not a good deal if somebody had posted it here. Same with my small Berthiot (€590,-)

Although my LA 7200 was nowhere worth it (don't like it, sold it last year) it was not that expensive (€670,-).

And that goes on with Kowa, Optex, Iscorama...

 

Anyway... probably the only way to snag a good deal is maybe on the flea market?

[moreschini]

I listed an ISCORAMA 54 1.5x MC Anamorphic Lens just now on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/252639185677