All Forum Comments
Cecil Jacobs are the only ones selling current Pentax gear at the NEC show (just got back). The 645D is £9999 with what I assume is some older lens thrown in...looked like a 40-150? I know little about the 645 system.
Comment by bretbysteve posted on Is anyone going to Focus on Imaging? at 06/03/2011 - 19:13
Hi all,
Just been to Focus NEC today, here are some of the prices on the Cecil Jacobs stand:
K5 body - £879 YES....879.
K7 body - £579
KX & 18-55 - £329
KR & 18-55 - sorry didnt write it down!
12-24mm - £729
21 DA - £429
40 DA - none
70 DA - £449
35 macro DA - £369
35/2.4 - £129
200/2.8 - £729
16-50 - £699
50-135 - £899
16-45 - £249
18-135 - £479
....but oh the Pentax stand...what a disaster. Let me just be clear, I am very fond of the quality of Pentax products and their lenses in particular, but the total ineptitude of Pentax UK beggars belief.
They actually have a large (and therefore expensive) stand at the UK's largest trade show and what do they do with it? NOTHING.
The stand is by far the worst at the show excluding the small manufacturers. It is sparser than sparse and looks like it was done last night in a spare half hour. The lens display cabinet looks like something knocked up in a garden shed. They are (unbelievably) giving out a Pentax lens brochure that must be at least two years out of date, as NONE of the WR lenses are even in it!
They (at last) have a FANTASTIC new camera, the K5, almost universally praised to the heavens and Pentax UK see fit to do NO special K5 display, NO special K5 marketing, NO nothing specifically to promote the K5....NOTHING.
The Pentax UK marketing people need shooting.
The Pentax stand was almost deserted for large portions of the day, the LOVELY Fuji X100 by itself was unfortunately drawing more punters than the whole Pentax stand most of the day.
No Canon, No Olympus, No Ricoh.
But still worth going to...
cheers Steve.M.
Just been to Focus NEC today, here are some of the prices on the Cecil Jacobs stand:
K5 body - £879 YES....879.
K7 body - £579
KX & 18-55 - £329
KR & 18-55 - sorry didnt write it down!
12-24mm - £729
21 DA - £429
40 DA - none
70 DA - £449
35 macro DA - £369
35/2.4 - £129
200/2.8 - £729
16-50 - £699
50-135 - £899
16-45 - £249
18-135 - £479
....but oh the Pentax stand...what a disaster. Let me just be clear, I am very fond of the quality of Pentax products and their lenses in particular, but the total ineptitude of Pentax UK beggars belief.
They actually have a large (and therefore expensive) stand at the UK's largest trade show and what do they do with it? NOTHING.
The stand is by far the worst at the show excluding the small manufacturers. It is sparser than sparse and looks like it was done last night in a spare half hour. The lens display cabinet looks like something knocked up in a garden shed. They are (unbelievably) giving out a Pentax lens brochure that must be at least two years out of date, as NONE of the WR lenses are even in it!
They (at last) have a FANTASTIC new camera, the K5, almost universally praised to the heavens and Pentax UK see fit to do NO special K5 display, NO special K5 marketing, NO nothing specifically to promote the K5....NOTHING.
The Pentax UK marketing people need shooting.
The Pentax stand was almost deserted for large portions of the day, the LOVELY Fuji X100 by itself was unfortunately drawing more punters than the whole Pentax stand most of the day.
No Canon, No Olympus, No Ricoh.
But still worth going to...
cheers Steve.M.
Comment by bretbysteve posted on Pentax prices at Focus NEC show & the Pentax stand... at 06/03/2011 - 19:05
"The assessment given to all camera brands tested is fair and unbiased.
The balance of subjects is always good, with sound information"
...Yep, I think you are reading a different magazine. At one point I had to email AP on three consecutive weeks due to the 'technical' writers making simple errors, the likes of which Geoffrey Crawley would never have made. They clearly seem to have embarassingly large gaps in their photographic technical knowledge.
And regards any bias, it is very clear to me that Angela Nicholson DOES have bias and has trouble hiding it in some of the NOT very balanced reviews.
The balance of subjects is always good, with sound information"
...Yep, I think you are reading a different magazine. At one point I had to email AP on three consecutive weeks due to the 'technical' writers making simple errors, the likes of which Geoffrey Crawley would never have made. They clearly seem to have embarassingly large gaps in their photographic technical knowledge.
And regards any bias, it is very clear to me that Angela Nicholson DOES have bias and has trouble hiding it in some of the NOT very balanced reviews.
Comment by bretbysteve posted on Amateur Photographer at 04/03/2011 - 12:23
"Since most people only buy AP for the ads, why don't they omit the editorial altogether?"
G..an utterly fantastic idea....
Since the adverts contain facts (hopefully) and the editorial is a load of blind/ignorant/biased nonsense this would be one huge improvement.
I got hacked off with AP years ago and the current so-called AP 'experts' and so-called 'technical' writers look like they have not started to shave yet and it shows in every copy of AP with dubious and flawed information trotted out regularly.
The worst must be Angela Nicholson (who I am fairly certain does not shave yet) who is just plain biased and shows limited grasp of marketing and the photo market in general.
Steve.M.
G..an utterly fantastic idea....
Since the adverts contain facts (hopefully) and the editorial is a load of blind/ignorant/biased nonsense this would be one huge improvement.
I got hacked off with AP years ago and the current so-called AP 'experts' and so-called 'technical' writers look like they have not started to shave yet and it shows in every copy of AP with dubious and flawed information trotted out regularly.
The worst must be Angela Nicholson (who I am fairly certain does not shave yet) who is just plain biased and shows limited grasp of marketing and the photo market in general.
Steve.M.
Comment by bretbysteve posted on Amateur Photographer at 03/03/2011 - 13:30
Hi David,
Do you still have any of the items?
cheers Bongo!
Do you still have any of the items?
cheers Bongo!
Comment by bretbysteve posted on How to get MAX prices on auction sites... at 03/03/2011 - 13:16
"Something else to bear in mind is taking a note of the serial numbers of anything you send out - to avoid unscrupulous people returning already broken items"
I always made sure that my photo of the lens front showed clearly the serial number, so the evidence was on the listing.
John..I tried 7 day listings, but kept coming back to 10 day ones as I just got higher prices. I think with worldwide sales the advantage is that a 10 day listing covers two whole weekends, giving more bidders the chance to see the item.
cheers all.
I always made sure that my photo of the lens front showed clearly the serial number, so the evidence was on the listing.
John..I tried 7 day listings, but kept coming back to 10 day ones as I just got higher prices. I think with worldwide sales the advantage is that a 10 day listing covers two whole weekends, giving more bidders the chance to see the item.
cheers all.
Comment by bretbysteve posted on How to get MAX prices on auction sites... at 01/03/2011 - 11:42
Hiya,
The lists of countries on my listings were not 100% 'set in stone' and certainly were not exhaustive....it was always meant to be a guide. It is totally impossible to list all the countries that I would ship to, I just mentioned the few that were most likely to generate bidders on my items....a full list would make the listing five pages long!
The list of countries I would not ship to are not neccessarlly ones that I consider 'criminal', 'dodgy' or 'pose a threat'...a rather dark wording John!
I composed the list of countries not shipped to mainly based on those with dubious postal systems, OR long delivery times, OR ones that the Royal Mail will not cover for more than £250. The lists never were based on crime stats or possibility of crime.
In fact, try reading the lists that the Royal Mail produce for overseas parcels, most are covered with up to £500 insurance with Royal mail, but some are only up to £250, so presumably the Royal mail prefer some countries to others as regards risk.
Out of interest I did ship to Sri Lanka on a couple of occasions. The 'Middle East' was an error and corrected on later listings. It should have said 'Far East'...excepting the specific ones in the 'ship to list'.
In fact, the two countries that seemed to have the most obvious dubious postal services were France & Italy...both from personal experience and that of many others.
" I have sent lots of things to the Russian Federation with no problems or delays"
John, I excluded Russia after dealing with three Russian sellers, all of whom were awkward to varying degrees. I also had requests to sell to Russia (from direct emails from bidders) all of whom had zero or very low f/back and sometimes wanted items of high value sent to 'a friend' or 'a brother' etc..often in London (allegedly)...any requests like that resulted in a "sorry but the answer is no"
........hence I excluded Russia, as I didnt see it as any great loss anyway.
cheers Steve.M.
The lists of countries on my listings were not 100% 'set in stone' and certainly were not exhaustive....it was always meant to be a guide. It is totally impossible to list all the countries that I would ship to, I just mentioned the few that were most likely to generate bidders on my items....a full list would make the listing five pages long!
The list of countries I would not ship to are not neccessarlly ones that I consider 'criminal', 'dodgy' or 'pose a threat'...a rather dark wording John!
I composed the list of countries not shipped to mainly based on those with dubious postal systems, OR long delivery times, OR ones that the Royal Mail will not cover for more than £250. The lists never were based on crime stats or possibility of crime.
In fact, try reading the lists that the Royal Mail produce for overseas parcels, most are covered with up to £500 insurance with Royal mail, but some are only up to £250, so presumably the Royal mail prefer some countries to others as regards risk.
Out of interest I did ship to Sri Lanka on a couple of occasions. The 'Middle East' was an error and corrected on later listings. It should have said 'Far East'...excepting the specific ones in the 'ship to list'.
In fact, the two countries that seemed to have the most obvious dubious postal services were France & Italy...both from personal experience and that of many others.
" I have sent lots of things to the Russian Federation with no problems or delays"
John, I excluded Russia after dealing with three Russian sellers, all of whom were awkward to varying degrees. I also had requests to sell to Russia (from direct emails from bidders) all of whom had zero or very low f/back and sometimes wanted items of high value sent to 'a friend' or 'a brother' etc..often in London (allegedly)...any requests like that resulted in a "sorry but the answer is no"
........hence I excluded Russia, as I didnt see it as any great loss anyway.
cheers Steve.M.
Comment by bretbysteve posted on How to get MAX prices on auction sites... at 28/02/2011 - 17:04
Hi Roy,
There are many people who moan of issues with overseas sales. In my approx 1700+ ebay sales, I sold to something like 40 countries. I only had three real problems (ignoring the tiny easily solved ones)...and all three of the problem buyers were in the London area. I never had any big problems with a single overseas buyer.
Some people would say I was lucky...but I think it is possible to easily minimise potential issues from overseas bidders. Things like listing countries you WILL not ship to and having very clear overseas p+p rates which also explain what type of service is used...with approx time scales of delivery etc.
From what I saw on ebay many of the sellers who have many issues with overseas bidders are ones who have poor and not very clear listings...and poor communications.
This went on all my listings:
I WILL NOT SHIP to, OR accept bids from: CHINA, RUSSIA, former Russian states, MEXICO, INDONESIA, NIGERIA or anywhere in AFRICA or MIDDLE EAST, so please do not ASK!
Communication is key with overseas buyers. I always sent an invoice within 48 hrs (with covering email). I always sent an email after I shipped.
Examples below:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi,
Thanks for your fast payment, your item shipped today, Saturday 15/08/09.
Please note, I have no control at all over shipping times….we are both in the hands of the postal services.
EU/Europe: Shipping normally takes from 2-3 days to as long as 2 weeks, depending on destination. If the item has not arrived within 14 days, please check with your local post service first & then mail me. NOTE: shipping to FRANCE and ITALY often takes longer for some reason.
USA/Aus/rest of world: Shipping takes anywhere from 4-7 days to as long as 3 weeks, depending on destination. If the item has not arrived within 21 days, please first check with your local post service & then mail me.
Thanks Steve.M.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I always spent plenty of time packing carefully. I often double checked overseas bidders addresses. I never shipped to an alternate address, ie bidders brother, friend etc. I always put two of my printed return address lables on every parcel, covered with clear tape so it could not come off or be easily altered.
I always taped all corners and edges of parcels. IMO many of the sellers who have problems are often ones who pack poorly and label items poorly.
I always used printed address labels, never hand wrtten ones. I always put clear tape over all address labels.
This is the clear p+p table I used:
SHIPPING & HANDLING COST :
COUNTRIES METHOD OF SHIPPING COST OF SHIPPING Approx delivery time
UNITED KINGDOM Royal Mail £10.00
1-2 Days
EUROPE Royal Mail Airmail
£15.00 3-7 Days
USA & CANADA Royal Mail Airmail
£20.00 5-14 days
REST OF THE WORLD Royal Mail Airmail
£20.00 7-14 Days
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(much better on the listings and in full colour)
When I sent an invoice for payment, I always sent an email also as below:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi,
Thanks for your bid! Please send £30.50 GBP using PAYPAL (please NO echeques).
When I have a fully cleared payment, I ship as soon as possible and will e-mail you when the item ships.
PAYPAL ECHEQUES delay shipping from 1-3 weeks!..due to paypal taking 10-21 days to clear them.
Cheers Steve.M.
(ship cost is for ‘SIGNED FOR’ priority airmail, with insurance)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is an example of my last listings (it is not showing properly due to this forum having limitations):
B+W 77mm F-PRO FARBVERLAUF GRAU 50% (GREY GRAD FILTER) - Made in Germany.
The B+W German made filters are possibly the best filters you can buy. Brass metal mounts to prevent binding and top quality Schott glass (Carl Zeiss). In a rotating mount, just like polar filters, so you can move the line of the graduation to the orientation of the photo. Very useful with landscape work.
This is one of the latest F-PRO filters.
Condition: BRAND NEW, in case, unused.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Payment:
UK: UK Bank Cheque / UK postal order in GBP sterling, or Paypal.
EU / International: PAYPAL ONLY, in UK GBP sterling.
Please note, I only ship items AFTER payment to me has FULLY CLEARED into my account. If you send an E-Cheque via paypal, do be aware they often take 7-10 WORKING days to clear and have been known to take up to 21 DAYS to clear.
The ebay link below explains the situation with E-Cheques:
http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/PayPal-eCheque-Payment-Pending-Uncleared_W0QQugidZ1000...
Shipping/Postage/packing:
UK: Royal Mail, 1st class recorded (smaller & lower value items), Special Delivery (signed for) for Lenses, cameras & higher value items.
EU / International: Royal Mail, small packet airmail (lower value items), International SIGNED FOR priority airmail (higher value items)
P+P: Please note, I do have to add a small amount to cover packing & consumables, such as bubble wrap, jiffy bags, tape, labels etc. I also often use custom made double wall extra strong boxes for high value items (these cost £1 - £1.50 EACH) I do also recycle as much as possible; packing, some boxes, carboard etc for environmental reasons.
EU / International Bids:
Welcome from: the Western EU, USA, Canada, Japan, S.Korea, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand.
Sorry, but I do not ship to: China, Russia, Mexico, Latvia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Slovakia, South America, NIGERIA, INDONESIA, Estonia, Thailand, Ukraine.
Auction Winner: Please WAIT for my invoice BEFORE paying to ensure you pay the correct p+p. Please contact me within 3 days and FULL PAYMENT WITHIN 7 DAYS. (Please note It may take me up to 48 hours to send invoice after auction end)
P+P / SHIPPING & HANDLING COST :
COUNTRIES METHOD OF SHIPPING COST OF SHIPPING Approx delivery time
UK Royal Mail £3.00
1-2 Days
EU/ Europe Royal Mail Airmail
£4.50 3-7 Days
USA & CANADA Royal Mail Airmail
£5.50 5-14 days
REST OF THE WORLD Royal Mail Airmail
£5.50 7-14 Days
FAQ's
What are the expected shipping times?:
The payment must clear fully into my a/c first. Due to Mon-Fri work, I can only usually get to a post office to send items on Saturdays, although I do try very hard to ship faster if possible. The ship time is then fully in the hands of the Royal Mail in the UK, the overseas postal service and the customs services in the receiving country. The times on the table above are very approximate.
Any p+p discount for buying more than one item?
Yes, IF possible. I do try hard to combine postage, although it is not always possible (with especially large, heavy or delicate items it can be impossible)
Will I have to pay customs fees/ import charges?:
EU: NO, none.
Rest Of World: YES, possibly. You must check with your own countries customs service to check any fees you may have to pay when the item arrives.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About Me: I am a former professional advertising / commercial studio photographer, but now just a humble amateur, I am not a dealer, I just sell my own items, which are always very well looked after & stored properly.
If you have ANY doubts about anything, please just email me VIA the 'ask seller a question' link, BEFORE YOU BID (Any direct emails to my email a/c are deleted as spam) Thanks for looking, Steve.M.
There are many people who moan of issues with overseas sales. In my approx 1700+ ebay sales, I sold to something like 40 countries. I only had three real problems (ignoring the tiny easily solved ones)...and all three of the problem buyers were in the London area. I never had any big problems with a single overseas buyer.
Some people would say I was lucky...but I think it is possible to easily minimise potential issues from overseas bidders. Things like listing countries you WILL not ship to and having very clear overseas p+p rates which also explain what type of service is used...with approx time scales of delivery etc.
From what I saw on ebay many of the sellers who have many issues with overseas bidders are ones who have poor and not very clear listings...and poor communications.
This went on all my listings:
I WILL NOT SHIP to, OR accept bids from: CHINA, RUSSIA, former Russian states, MEXICO, INDONESIA, NIGERIA or anywhere in AFRICA or MIDDLE EAST, so please do not ASK!
Communication is key with overseas buyers. I always sent an invoice within 48 hrs (with covering email). I always sent an email after I shipped.
Examples below:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi,
Thanks for your fast payment, your item shipped today, Saturday 15/08/09.
Please note, I have no control at all over shipping times….we are both in the hands of the postal services.
EU/Europe: Shipping normally takes from 2-3 days to as long as 2 weeks, depending on destination. If the item has not arrived within 14 days, please check with your local post service first & then mail me. NOTE: shipping to FRANCE and ITALY often takes longer for some reason.
USA/Aus/rest of world: Shipping takes anywhere from 4-7 days to as long as 3 weeks, depending on destination. If the item has not arrived within 21 days, please first check with your local post service & then mail me.
Thanks Steve.M.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I always spent plenty of time packing carefully. I often double checked overseas bidders addresses. I never shipped to an alternate address, ie bidders brother, friend etc. I always put two of my printed return address lables on every parcel, covered with clear tape so it could not come off or be easily altered.
I always taped all corners and edges of parcels. IMO many of the sellers who have problems are often ones who pack poorly and label items poorly.
I always used printed address labels, never hand wrtten ones. I always put clear tape over all address labels.
This is the clear p+p table I used:
SHIPPING & HANDLING COST :
COUNTRIES METHOD OF SHIPPING COST OF SHIPPING Approx delivery time
UNITED KINGDOM Royal Mail £10.00
1-2 Days
EUROPE Royal Mail Airmail
£15.00 3-7 Days
USA & CANADA Royal Mail Airmail
£20.00 5-14 days
REST OF THE WORLD Royal Mail Airmail
£20.00 7-14 Days
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
(much better on the listings and in full colour)
When I sent an invoice for payment, I always sent an email also as below:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi,
Thanks for your bid! Please send £30.50 GBP using PAYPAL (please NO echeques).
When I have a fully cleared payment, I ship as soon as possible and will e-mail you when the item ships.
PAYPAL ECHEQUES delay shipping from 1-3 weeks!..due to paypal taking 10-21 days to clear them.
Cheers Steve.M.
(ship cost is for ‘SIGNED FOR’ priority airmail, with insurance)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is an example of my last listings (it is not showing properly due to this forum having limitations):
B+W 77mm F-PRO FARBVERLAUF GRAU 50% (GREY GRAD FILTER) - Made in Germany.
The B+W German made filters are possibly the best filters you can buy. Brass metal mounts to prevent binding and top quality Schott glass (Carl Zeiss). In a rotating mount, just like polar filters, so you can move the line of the graduation to the orientation of the photo. Very useful with landscape work.
This is one of the latest F-PRO filters.
Condition: BRAND NEW, in case, unused.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Payment:
UK: UK Bank Cheque / UK postal order in GBP sterling, or Paypal.
EU / International: PAYPAL ONLY, in UK GBP sterling.
Please note, I only ship items AFTER payment to me has FULLY CLEARED into my account. If you send an E-Cheque via paypal, do be aware they often take 7-10 WORKING days to clear and have been known to take up to 21 DAYS to clear.
The ebay link below explains the situation with E-Cheques:
http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/PayPal-eCheque-Payment-Pending-Uncleared_W0QQugidZ1000...
Shipping/Postage/packing:
UK: Royal Mail, 1st class recorded (smaller & lower value items), Special Delivery (signed for) for Lenses, cameras & higher value items.
EU / International: Royal Mail, small packet airmail (lower value items), International SIGNED FOR priority airmail (higher value items)
P+P: Please note, I do have to add a small amount to cover packing & consumables, such as bubble wrap, jiffy bags, tape, labels etc. I also often use custom made double wall extra strong boxes for high value items (these cost £1 - £1.50 EACH) I do also recycle as much as possible; packing, some boxes, carboard etc for environmental reasons.
EU / International Bids:
Welcome from: the Western EU, USA, Canada, Japan, S.Korea, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand.
Sorry, but I do not ship to: China, Russia, Mexico, Latvia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Slovakia, South America, NIGERIA, INDONESIA, Estonia, Thailand, Ukraine.
Auction Winner: Please WAIT for my invoice BEFORE paying to ensure you pay the correct p+p. Please contact me within 3 days and FULL PAYMENT WITHIN 7 DAYS. (Please note It may take me up to 48 hours to send invoice after auction end)
P+P / SHIPPING & HANDLING COST :
COUNTRIES METHOD OF SHIPPING COST OF SHIPPING Approx delivery time
UK Royal Mail £3.00
1-2 Days
EU/ Europe Royal Mail Airmail
£4.50 3-7 Days
USA & CANADA Royal Mail Airmail
£5.50 5-14 days
REST OF THE WORLD Royal Mail Airmail
£5.50 7-14 Days
FAQ's
What are the expected shipping times?:
The payment must clear fully into my a/c first. Due to Mon-Fri work, I can only usually get to a post office to send items on Saturdays, although I do try very hard to ship faster if possible. The ship time is then fully in the hands of the Royal Mail in the UK, the overseas postal service and the customs services in the receiving country. The times on the table above are very approximate.
Any p+p discount for buying more than one item?
Yes, IF possible. I do try hard to combine postage, although it is not always possible (with especially large, heavy or delicate items it can be impossible)
Will I have to pay customs fees/ import charges?:
EU: NO, none.
Rest Of World: YES, possibly. You must check with your own countries customs service to check any fees you may have to pay when the item arrives.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About Me: I am a former professional advertising / commercial studio photographer, but now just a humble amateur, I am not a dealer, I just sell my own items, which are always very well looked after & stored properly.
If you have ANY doubts about anything, please just email me VIA the 'ask seller a question' link, BEFORE YOU BID (Any direct emails to my email a/c are deleted as spam) Thanks for looking, Steve.M.
Comment by bretbysteve posted on How to get MAX prices on auction sites... at 26/02/2011 - 16:42
Their will probably be very good prices at Focus at the NEC. Camera world are usually there.
Comment by bretbysteve posted on K-r price beginning to drop... at 26/02/2011 - 12:58
I forgot another rule...
I always did 10 day auctions, starting on a Thursday, then you have two complete weekends for people to see the listings and it ends on a Sunday, which gives the max potential bidders at home, or able to be home.
When I sold worldwide I also tried to take time zones into consideration, so as to time the end of the auction so the max bidders worldwide had chance to be able to be present when the auction ended.
I always did 10 day auctions, starting on a Thursday, then you have two complete weekends for people to see the listings and it ends on a Sunday, which gives the max potential bidders at home, or able to be home.
When I sold worldwide I also tried to take time zones into consideration, so as to time the end of the auction so the max bidders worldwide had chance to be able to be present when the auction ended.
Comment by bretbysteve posted on How to get MAX prices on auction sites... at 26/02/2011 - 12:47
