dennisgibson wrote:
Just got back from vacation and there was a letter in my mailbox from Amex. They said I'd won my dispute and that the balance was being removed from my statement.
They made no mention of returning the lens so I called them to double-check and make sure they had actually taken the money from his account and not just eaten the loss themselves. They said that they had gotten the money back. I have no intentions of keeping it so I emailed Gregory to see if I can get his address so I can ship it back to him. I don't think I deserve the money and the lens and even though I think what he did was completely immoral, I think he should get his lens back. (although since I'm still unemployed the extra loot would come in handy ha ha).
I was cordial in my email
If it means me eating the return shipping to get this entire thing over and done with then that's fine with me. I guess I could consider it paying "Stupid Tax".
Now I have to figure out if I should take another chance with the 200
Thanks everyone for all the encouragement throughout this ordeal
Great news Dennis! Another 200mm will come up from a reputable seller. Maybe our buddy at Adorama will come up with a "Refurb" in the same condition as the 300mm f2.8 IS I got from you many years ago!
dennisgibson wrote:
Just got back from vacation and there was a letter in my mailbox from Amex. They said I'd won my dispute and that the balance was being removed from my statement.
They made no mention of returning the lens so I called them to double-check and make sure they had actually taken the money from his account and not just eaten the loss themselves. They said that they had gotten the money back. I have no intentions of keeping it so I emailed Gregory to see if I can get his address so I can ship it back to him. I don't think I deserve the
Now I have to figure out if I should take another chance with the 200
Thanks everyone for all the encouragement throughout this ordeal
I just got off the phone with paypal and they said they don't give out seller's personal information like their address. They said if he won't reply to my emails then I should keep the lens.
What do you guys think I should do? I don't want to sell the lens in case he does eventually get back to me. So I guess the lens is going to sit in the box for a while. Is there a point where I can assume he's just not going to get in touch with me and use the lens? I know it's been beaten up and thrown around but I'm assuming it still takes decent photos. I haven't even mounted it on a camera. I'll contact Fred and see what he thinks.
There would be nothing wrong with you using it now, IMHO. If and when he finally contacts you, present him with his option for return. He pays full shipping (signature required) and insurance or you don't ship.
I wonder if this post, a spinoff of the original post, would make a interesting reality TV show .....then by the grace of God be quickly cancelled after the second iteration because everyone found out it's all A OK 50 freekin posts ago.
I would say you have fulfilled your end of the bargain. You don't have to wait forever in case he finally decides he wants to talk to you again.
I'd give it a month and a few more emails. Give him a clear deadline: "If you do not respond by June 1st, I will assume you no longer want the lens." Make sure you've documented what you've sent him, and then do with the lens what you want.
Use it, donate it, whatever. I guess I personally would feel a little sketchy about selling it for a profit but even that: you have held up your end of the bargain, you do not have some moral responsibility to harass him to ensure he gets the lens back if he's not going to respond to you.
I'd sell it and give the money to a charity or find a guy who got ripped off here on the boards and pay it forward.
Your obligation to the seller ended when he tried to defraud you and ran off without contact. Obviously he feels guilty enough that he is laying as low as possible right now. Still, it is mighty decent of you to offer the return, but it should be at his expense and you should give him 90 days maximum. If you don't hear from him after 100 days you should assume his interest in the lens is no longer valid.
If you want to do this on the 'up and up', simply charge him storage fees, say $10 a day. If he doesn't claim it by the time the fees add up to the value of the lens then you can attach the fees to the value of the item and liquidate it. If he wants it back, charge the remainder of accumulated fees and shipping to have it released to him.
Personally, I believe you have done more than is called for trying to return the lens. I can understand not wanting to sell it so I'd put it on a camera and try it out just to see what it can do. Then put it on the shelf if you feel so inclined and see if you hear from the seller. You've posted here on the forum that you would return it and I'm sure he or his son can read it.
If in a decent amount of time you haven't heard from him then it's been resolved by the seller because of his inaction. Inaction IS an action.
If you give the lens a try then I hope you will post and tell us if the lens is capable of producing decent photos. But it's up to you. I'm glad this has all been settled and you got your money back. Don't worry another minute about doing anything else, you did what was proper and ethical.
I have to believe that legally you can do what you want with the lens after a certain amount of time...might want to look into it and communicate that to the seller, and inform him that you are happy to return the lens, at his expense. But- if he continues to ignore you, you'll reserve your right to do with the lens as you please after a specified date. No reason you should have to be his storage unit for an indefinite amount of time.
sent one last email to him. i told him to send me the money to ship it back along with an address and I'd mail it to him. i also said I'm not a storage service and if i don't hear back from him i'll assume he no longer wants the lens.
that's the last attempt i'm going to make, and it's probably more of an effort than i should be making after he tried to screw me.
Archive 2013 · Did Dennis get his $ back?
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