TEZillman
Well-known
Yesterday I was scanning through listings on ebay and found a Leica camera, with a poor description and no photo, listed at a very low starting bid and no reserve. The posting had been there for 6 days and was ending yesterday evening. There were no bids yet. I shot an e-mail to the seller, who had pretty extensive (98%+) good feedback, and asked about condition and functionality. He replied that the camera was fully functional and had no dents and no scratches. This was at two PM.
I entered a low bid (for no really good reason) with the expectation that I would probably be outbid on it. I checked later and ended up winning the auction at somewhat less than half of what that particular model generally sells for.
A couple hours later I received an email from the seller that he had gone to change the battery in the camera (?) and found that the old battery had corroded and the camera no longer would work. He was terribly sorry and would agree to cancel the auction or he would send the camera as is. (no discussion of a reduced price). You can imagine what I thought!
So this morning I sent him a message stating that he could have the camera repaired or obtain a repair estimate from a Leica certified repair person and reduce the price by the amount of the estimate or if the repair cost more than the sales price he could just send the camera to me at no charge. Considering that he had assured me in writing that the camera was fully functional only a few hours earlier.
I have not received a reply back yet. I really have no great need for another camera. I already have 40 or 50 of them . I strongly expect that the guy is just trying to get out of the auction. In addition to the camera selling for a very low price, he's also stuck with a winder and a lens for it that no one bid on. I'm curious what his next move will be and am also trying to decide if I should let him off the hook. Fortunately I have not paid yet, so at this point this is all at no real risk to me. Is this just a scam to get out of selling an item that I haven't run into before? Does it happen pretty regularly? Would I be smarter to just get out of the deal with no loss? What do you think?
I entered a low bid (for no really good reason) with the expectation that I would probably be outbid on it. I checked later and ended up winning the auction at somewhat less than half of what that particular model generally sells for.
A couple hours later I received an email from the seller that he had gone to change the battery in the camera (?) and found that the old battery had corroded and the camera no longer would work. He was terribly sorry and would agree to cancel the auction or he would send the camera as is. (no discussion of a reduced price). You can imagine what I thought!
So this morning I sent him a message stating that he could have the camera repaired or obtain a repair estimate from a Leica certified repair person and reduce the price by the amount of the estimate or if the repair cost more than the sales price he could just send the camera to me at no charge. Considering that he had assured me in writing that the camera was fully functional only a few hours earlier.
I have not received a reply back yet. I really have no great need for another camera. I already have 40 or 50 of them . I strongly expect that the guy is just trying to get out of the auction. In addition to the camera selling for a very low price, he's also stuck with a winder and a lens for it that no one bid on. I'm curious what his next move will be and am also trying to decide if I should let him off the hook. Fortunately I have not paid yet, so at this point this is all at no real risk to me. Is this just a scam to get out of selling an item that I haven't run into before? Does it happen pretty regularly? Would I be smarter to just get out of the deal with no loss? What do you think?
