Important!

I KNOW – IT’S EVERSO BORING BUT – PLEASE READ!

I’m infamous for talking a lot – I used to be a High School teacher so I can’t help it. But most of regular customers seem to think I’m worth listening to!

Important NOTE:

IMAGES – I try to provide high quality, hi-res images but, if you pixel peep the images, you’ll often find that they seem to show a camera or lens covered in mysterious white spots and whatever. These are usually digital artefacts and reflections, not real. And no matter how well you clean the item, there are always spots and hairs and UFO's. It’s frustrating. I had an image of a camera recently where it looked for all the world as if the lens had a huge crack in it up front. You wouldn’t buy it in a fit. But the crack did not exist and did not show in any of the other images. It was an odd combination of reflections and the lines of shutter blades inside. It was so worrying that I had to go in panic and recheck carefully. Had I dropped it? No, there was nothing there! Perhaps I need to use better light diffusion?

So, please look at all the images carefully and accept my word if I say it’s in good or fair condition. I will refund if there is a problem. In 20+ years I’ve sold well over a thousand items online and I have a 100% record.

For all listings I have described the condition here as best as I can. If it does not measure up, then contact me immediately so that we can discuss it and I can make it good.

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But wait - there's more....

If you want to check me out, put three 'w's in front of - soultheft - and add the usual dot and com after it. I've been in this business full time for over ten years, twice that online and I stand behind all my my stuff - if I say it works I've checked it as best I can and I'll make good any reasonable problems. I deal in gear up to 150 years old so I have to be philosophic about such things. I started using eBay in the dark ages, when it was USA only and only had used stuff! I sold stuff to Americans mostly, back then. In over twenty years of trading on I've had just one negative feedback response - from an irritable French buyer who did not even contact me first. I would have given him a refund, quite happily, but... So any problem, contact me so we can sort it. I try to describe fairly and honestly and I do distinguish between collectible examples in good cosmetic condition, ‘users’, display only collectibles and…a useable beater! I have missed a tiny fungus spot or a mark in a lens before now and of course apologised/refunded where appropriate but every old lens has a few dust motes inside – that’s unavoidable. Please do not expect something that looks perfect unless I say it is! This is mostly quite old gear.

Condition claims? MINT you say?

Be aware that ‘Mint’ strictly means ‘new in the box and never used’. Yes really – it comes from collectible coins where a coin is mint only if it came directly from the mint and was never even touched except with cotton gloves. Anything else is ‘used’ whatever the Tokyo sellers think. Japanese sellers used to be good but now they think that ‘mint’ means 95% of original finish. No it does not and as a collector myself, I’ve had disappointments. Sure, they’ll offer to refund but by the time you’ve fiddled with postage and tried to get the import duty back (!) then it’s all a mess. I’ve had a bit of mint stuff to sell recently, as in never used, but that’s very unusual.

Stock Clearance – Closing Down

Bargains online!

I’ve closed down my store after many years and I’m selling off most of the stock– the better items online. The good stuff and some items perhaps I’d only get an interested customer every few months - so online makes more sense anyway.

I also tend to buy odd and special interest stuff myself sometimes to resell or out of curiosity, and then pass it on. These items are bargains in two senses – either they are really good items offered at a regular, everyday price or they are unusual items at a reduced price on the usual listings I see. Some are things like rather special lenses and cameras that I bought to play with myself for a while. Others are my own personal collectibles or gear that I used myself. Either way, it’s tested, checked, guaranteed.

I will post cheerfully to anywhere in Australia - but only with appropriate insurance cover and tracking for high value items. The ebay postage indicator above only shows basic postage cost calculated by eBay, often inaccurately - insurance is extra and I make no charge for handling/packing of course. I use recycled packaging where possible and I’m known to pack very well. Discuss it all with me if you have special requirements. 

Special items, collectibles and so on I'll post overseas but again, tracked postage and insured for high value items to protect us both - so these days it won't be cheap! For very valuable items, I will insist on courier/EMS unless you specifically agree to accept the risk of loss. You are responsible for all import duties, fees and taxes of course and you will have to discuss that with your own national customs agency - they should notify you when an item is ready for clearance but...not always! If you want to reduce GST/VAT import tax exposure, please ask. Sometimes it’s possible, sometimes not.

NOTE – There has been a rise in creative online scamming of various kinds. And eBay is not always particularly good at protecting sellers despite their very high fees – they emphasise protecting buyers, sometimes to my cost! Due to a few actual or suspected or obvious scam attempts on me on eBay, I reserve the right to reject bids from some international 'buyers' - in particular those with zero, low and unrelated previous feedback on cheap items - or from anyone in or outside Australia who asks for the item to be posted to a different address, especially in another country - for however plausible a reason. This would void my seller protection and allows charge backs without my control. I lose. These are almost always scams.  I may accept bids from those I deem to be legitimate bidders by personal negotiation – contact me. If you try what appears to me to be a scam bid and then win, I will send an explanatory rejection message and then offer a second chance to what appears to be the last legitimate bidder. If this seems to be a problem for you, please message me through eBay and discuss it.

Oh, and please do not bid if you have no intention of going through with the purchase. It’s annoying, causes me a lot of extra work and I’ve been exploring creative ways of getting my revenge! J