I am currently somewhat infatuated with the Feisol CT-3402...the price is great, it isn't much bigger than my current tripod, and unlike my current tripod it has the capacity to hold the 70-200 f/2.8 I'm going to buy shortly.
The question is, are there any brick-and-mortar stores that carry Feisol tripods? My usual sources (B&H and Adorama) don't. I saw references in this forum to ReallyBigCameras.com, but they only take PayPal, who will never get another cent from me (even if they steal it again). There's another site at feisol.net that claims to be the official US distributor...are they legitimate? Any other options?
Buying direct from Feisol via Ebay is the cheapest option right now, if you take advantage of Microsoft Live's 20% cash back deal. That's what I did; had the tripod on my doorstep 5 business days after I ordered it.
Incidentally, I don't know entirely what's going on over at the feisol.net place. All I do know is that both of my orders with them have not arrived at my doorstep in a timely fashion.
The first order was out of stock, but I didn't find out until the order was supposed to have been shipped days later and I called to find out why it wasn't on its way. Strike one. Then, I got promises about upgraded shipping, and arriving when I needed it... Then they stopped returning phone calls and emails completely. I left several phone messages and emails seeking a status update with absolutely no response whatsoever. Strike two. Finally, I left an extremely nasty phone message and two hours later my shipping status was upgraded to "shipped" - but without the shipping upgrade. Strike three.
I am hesitant to mention it since they did go out of their way to make it up to me after I expressed my displeasure. Which is why I ordered from them again when I wanted a tripod.
The second time I got delays and delays and delays. First just a few days, then a few more, then a week or two more... It was two months before I got my tripod. I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt about stock levels in Taiwan until I found out that Kerry had received several shipments during this time. Now, I don't really know what happened - maybe it was all genuinely out of their control - but the first experience made me a bit gun shy and the second experience put me off them completely.
Kerry, on the other hand, was extremely prompt in responding to my questions and seems like a solid guy - definitely check out his operation!
I bought my 3 Feisol's from http://www.feisol.com/english/feisolen.htm.
It took 4 days from the placement of my order for 2 of them and 5 for the other. They came from Hong Kong I believe. I also ordered the new blue CT3441B when it said it was OS but it arrived 6 days later by Air Express with no extra charge, 2 days from shipped date!
Dan
Yes, Microsoft acknowledged that the cash back amount varies depending on the number of people participating at any given time. As the amount of people goes up, the cash back goes down.
mdbassman wrote:
I bought my 3 Feisol's from http://www.feisol.com/english/feisolen.htm.
It took 4 days from the placement of my order for 2 of them and 5 for the other. They came from Hong Kong I believe. I also ordered the new blue CT3441B when it said it was OS but it arrived 6 days later by Air Express with no extra charge, 2 days from shipped date!
Dan
I too have I purchased my Feisol this way, very fast shipping. I had a problem with the bag, the zipper wasn't working. I e-mailed and was sent a new one promptly.
ReallyBigCam wrote:
Interesting data point. I wonder when the peak usage times are for online searching/shopping. I have noticed the cashback rebate going down on Friday, and even completely going away for a few days on a Friday a couple weeks ago. At the time, I thought it was gone for good. I'm expecting something like 2:00am on a Tuesday may be an optimal time for getting the best rebate.
I think a lot of the links are generated by the bargain hunter websites. When the deals peak, they post the links and it generates a huge amount of traffic. I've noticed this a few times now - I'll see the links go up on the bargain hunter websites I frequent and the deals will be at 25% or 30%, and in the next 48 hours, that number will fall.
I'm not sure the traffic peaks have as much to do with it as fluctuations in the interest in the deal. Either way, though, occasional monitoring of the deal will probably be more effective than planning to pounce at a certain time.
homersapien wrote:
Buying direct from Feisol via Ebay is the cheapest option right now, if you take advantage of Microsoft Live's 20% cash back deal. That's what I did; had the tripod on my doorstep 5 business days after I ordered it.
How does the Microsoft Live cash back work buying a Feisol tripod? I did a search for Feisol and came up empty. I'm also looking to buy a Markins Q3 ball head. Any ideas for cash back on that?
Fitmiss wrote:
How does the Microsoft Live cash back work buying a Feisol tripod? I did a search for Feisol and came up empty. I'm also looking to buy a Markins Q3 ball head. Any ideas for cash back on that?
You need to buy it through eBay using Buy It Now and PayPal. ReallyBigCameras sells stuff on eBay and Kerry has said that he will put together a Buy It Now item for you if you need a couple of items (like a tripod and a ball head). Do a search on www.live.com for something a lot of people buy on eBay (like wii), and one of the links will be a link to eBay that will say something like "Buy Wii. You may get 30% off with PayPal if eligible." Follow the link, and the next thing you buy on eBay, using Buy It Now and PayPal, will usually show 30% cashback via live.com. After you click on 'Buy It Now' for the item, it will say how much cash back you are getting on the confirmation page, before you commit to buy. You have to wait a couple months for the cashback to be available at live.com/cashback, but it does work, and it's currently up to 30% on eBay.
I ordered a CT-3442 from Kerry at reallybigcameras.com. The tripod was shipped Thursday morning and I received it Saturday morning. From Oregon to New York state in two days!! Great service! I asked Kerry about the Live.com cash back offer and he hasn't seen the offer for a while.
Tim
