There is an old saying that public confessions may be good for the soul, but they are very hard on one's reputation. As a hobby, I have been buying, selling, trading, tinkering, repairing, and gifting binoculars for over fifty years.
During that time I have come across some real "steals", and conversely, I have made some really poor decisions. Some remain in my memory to help keep me laughing at myself. One in particular still galls me so I thought I would share it with BF folks. Perhaps other folks reading this thread will contribute their worst, deplorable, etc. story in buying binoculars and introduce some levity in this somewhat somber web site.
My story begins when I was living in Oregon and possessing an income at that time sufficient to buy any optical product that tickled my fancy. Collecting binoculars can become an obsession of sorts. I was always interested in the period history, location of manufacture of binoculars, etc., and at that time I believed that Zeiss was the best of the best.
I had a Zeiss 7x50 B with leatherette covering, the squatty model, which I really liked, and when the black rubber covered version came out, I immediately purchased one. Soon a friend saw the new Zeiss and just had to have it. So I sold it to him at my cost.
But then I saw a Zeiss advertisement picturing the 7x50 B model in two color choices, black and light gray. I was into boating then so I thought the light gray model would fit nicely on my boats' helm.
So I started searching photographic magazines for a source of Zeiss binoculars, and of course ran into the myriad of New York City mail order houses with their tiny print and hoopla. So I picked one listing the Zeiss, got on the phone, and talked to someone with a name like Ahmad, fast talking, etc. and yes they had the Zeiss for $600 postage paid.
I sent a money order to the outfit (name deleted) and in several weeks a package arrived with the Zeiss. It was obviously a new model with the correct box and papers, but when I put them to my eye, I was shocked because the prisms appeared to be sandblasted and the view seriously impaired.
A telephone call to the outfit began a series of run arounds and phone transfers until someone advised me to send them back. Which I did.
When I mailed them, insured for only $300, registered, with return receipt required, I then began to wait for a call from the company. Weeks went by and after numerous calls, I finally talked to a live voice. But they claimed they had never received the binoculars. Sorry, we can't help you. Calls to talk to the person in charged was fruitless.
So I then turned to the post office for assistance, and that turned into another hazzle. Seems there is a lengthy waiting period for reimbursement for all the paper work, etc. By this time my phone bill was growing exponentially, and my patience was wearing thin.
It took over a year for the insurance to kick it, and my several letters to the fraudulent outfit were never acknowledged. One lesson. Be careful buying anything from a New York City mail order house. You may get hosed.
John
John, Sorry you had this experience. There are New York City mail order places that are known for problems and then there are some excellent ones as well. B&H, Adorama & Cameraland are ones that I have dealt with and had good luck.
[QUOTE=John Dracon;2017510]There is an old saying that public confessions may be good for the soul, but they are very hard on one's reputation. As a hobby, I have been buying, selling, trading, tinkering, repairing, and gifting binoculars for over fifty years.
During that time I have come across some real "steals", and conversely, I have made some really poor decisions. Some remain in my memory to help keep me laughing at myself. One in particular still galls me so I thought I would share it with BF folks. Perhaps other folks reading this thread will contribute their worst, deplorable, etc. story in buying binoculars and introduce some levity in this somewhat somber web site.
My story begins when I was living in Oregon and possessing an income at that time sufficient to buy any optical product that tickled my fancy. Collecting binoculars can become an obsession of sorts. I was always interested in the period history, location of manufacture of binoculars, etc., and at that time I believed that Zeiss was the best of the best.
I had a Zeiss 7x50 B with leatherette covering, the squatty model, which I really liked, and when the black rubber covered version came out, I immediately purchased one. Soon a friend saw the new Zeiss and just had to have it. So I sold it to him at my cost.
But then I saw a Zeiss advertisement picturing the 7x50 B model in two color choices, black and light gray. I was into boating then so I thought the light gray model would fit nicely on my boats' helm.
So I started searching photographic magazines for a source of Zeiss binoculars, and of course ran into the myriad of New York City mail order houses with their tiny print and hoopla. So I picked one listing the Zeiss, got on the phone, and talked to someone with a name like Ahmad, fast talking, etc. and yes they had the Zeiss for $600 postage paid.
I sent a money order to the outfit (name deleted) and in several weeks a package arrived with the Zeiss. It was obviously a new model with the correct box and papers, but when I put them to my eye, I was shocked because the prisms appeared to be sandblasted and the view seriously impaired.
A telephone call to the outfit began a series of run arounds and phone transfers until someone advised me to send them back. Which I did.
When I mailed them, insured for only $300, registered, with return receipt required, I then began to wait for a call from the company. Weeks went by and after numerous calls, I finally talked to a live voice. But they claimed they had never received the binoculars. Sorry, we can't help you. Calls to talk to the person in charged was fruitless.
So I then turned to the post office for assistance, and that turned into another hazzle. Seems there is a lengthy waiting period for reimbursement for all the paper work, etc. By this time my phone bill was growing exponentially, and my patience was wearing thin.
It took over a year for the insurance to kick it, and my several letters to the fraudulent outfit were never acknowledged. One lesson. Be careful buying anything from a New York City mail order house. You may get hosed.
John[/QUOTE]
There is just something about New York City that makes people dishonest. I stay away from the unknown ones. They all seem to be crooked for some reason. If you have trouble forget it you will be ripped off.