ABOUT ME:

I have two hobbies that I have enjoyed for several decades: collecting Minolta Maxxums and collecting classic/unique, high-end road bicycles.

I have been selling Minolta Maxxum and Sony Alpha cameras, lenses, flashes, for well over 9 years on ebay. When it comes to selling these items, I have been doing it far longer than most sellers on ebay and I am arguably this country's number one seller, with well over 18,000 sales over the last 9 years. I am also a member of Square Trade and I am a Trading Assistant (so I can sell your items on ebay).

I consistently run between 100 and 175 ebay auctions daily and have been a third tier, GOLD LEVEL EBAY POWERSELLER for over three years AND I AM A MEMBER OF TSAM--ebay's TOP SELLER ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM where I get a SENIOR LEVEL Ebay Account Manager to handle my account.

WHAT YOU GET FROM ME:

MY PRICING:

I do NOT give my items away. I am not getting a divorce, not out of work, do not need money for another purchase, and certainly (with my Maxxum experience), I am not foolish enough to sell any item below its worth. I pay or have paid a lot for the items I sell and expect a fair return, to account for my time and effort. I test my items better than (arguably) anyone selling used Maxxums. No other seller/collector has the experience of selling about 18,000 used Maxxum items on ebay. I correctly rate my items. I pack better than just about anyone and ship incredidibly fast (once payment has been received). I STAND BEHIND ALL MY SALES and give as good customer service as you can get. For this I think I earn the right to charge what I charge. If you disagree, you can always buy from my competition.

MY PROCESS:

1. All my items are comprehensively tested (unless noted in the listing), before AND after the item is listed. Flashes are mounted with batteries and tested fully. Lenses are mounted and tested on several different Maxxums and Sony Alphas for compatibility. Cameras are tested with up to three rolls of film (I use a film picker to retrieve the film leader and then reuse the film without processing the film) to check that the film transport system is operating correctly. All programmable functions are reset to factory defaults (ask my competition if they do this--most will not know what you mean). Drives and grips are tested for functionality and so are creative expansion cards.

2. ALL my items are cleaned (and I mean really cleaned) before shipping. You will not get Maxxum cameras with dusty mirrors or filthy shutter boxes, or greasy controls, or lenses with dirty optics, grimey focus and zooms rings, and dirty mounts, or flashes with dirty contacts or battery leakage from me. I clean my items as if I were the receiver and most of my customers will agree that I am very anal in this regard.

3. I pack great. I think packing fragile items well is an art and most people don't have the talent, desire, or time to pack photographic items correctly. I spend a fortune on packing supplies from packing tape, to bubble wrap, to bubble envelopes, to lables, to packing peanuts, I make sure I use the proper materials to ensure your item arrives safely. You will not find used socks, diapers, old newspapers, old shopping bags, or shredded paper (I hate that stuff), as protection for the items I ship.

4. I ship FASSSST! Check my feedbacks: every other one mentions this. I ship via USPS Priority Mail (which is a 2 to 3 day service in the US) and ship NEXT DAY AFTER PAYMENT RECEIPT, I have shipped OVER 19,100 packages via the USPS and they are by far the best carrier service in the US. They pick up 6 times a week from my home.

5. Communication is very important on ebay and I answer between 50 and 75 emails, DAILY. Many of my customers call me and many continue to communicate with me after the transaction is over. This is why my repeat customer rate is so high.

COMBINING ITEMS IN SHIPPING:

I gladly combine items in shipping to save the buyer on shipping costs.Combining items save me on shipping consumables and USUALLY saves me on packing time. On the other hand, I also understand why many seller do not offer this service--profit. They make money on shipping since these costs are not penalized by ebay commission fees. Moreover, if you look at my listings, MOST will be with FREE SHIPPING. With the high price of shipping, most sellers do not offer this service, but I do and you should consider this free shipping when comparing my price s to those from my competition.

MY RATING SYSTEM:

I base my ratings upon a vast experience of having owned and sold more Maxxum items (flashes, lenses, camera bodies, accessories) in both new and used condition that probably any private person in the US. Unfortunately, most ebay sellers do not have this experience and are really not qualified to rate the items the sell. I typically rate conservatively and use a very broad 11-point scale to give a very precise rating of the item's condition. Most sellers use only 5-point scales and this gives a far more limited idea of the actual condition of the item. My rating scale is as follows:

RETURN/REFUND POLICY:

I stand behind all my sales with a full refund policy, which INCLUDES return-shipping fees, if any of my items (excluding those sold s is with no returns is found to be SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT than what I have described. The item must be returned, with all parts, in the same condition as shipped by me, within 14 days of the buyer receiving the item. The reason why I use the term ignificantly different/i> is because ratings are based on opinions and while I may rate something as xcellent a buyer may feel it is only ery good So, to allow for this possible difference in opinion, an item must be significantly different to be covered by my return policy. I rarely sell items s iswith o returns This is because I stand behind my ability to sell accurately described items. The only items I list s is/no returnswill be listed as or partsor for repairitems or have a defect that is clearly noted and the price of the item will be reduced so much that it must be sold as a no return item. I DO NOT ACCEPT RETURNS DUE TO NON-READING OF THE LISTING DESCRIPTION OR DUE TO THE BUYER HOPING TO RECEIVE AN ITEM BETTER THAN DESCRIBED. BUYER'S REMORSE IS NOT AN ACCEPTED REASON FOR RETURNING AN AUCTION PURCHASE.

WHAT MY COMPETITION DOES: