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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Beware buying from Eric Swist
Bob Croslin, Photographer
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St. Petersburg | FL | USA | Posted: 10:16 AM on 01.11.08 |
->> Back on Dec 27 I sent $1300 to Eric Swist for a Canon 85mm he had for sale in the SportsShooter classifieds. Prior to sending Eric the money he sent me several emails and even photos of the 85 he had for sale and of course the email he wanted the PayPal payment sent to.
Once I paid him he fell of the face of the earth for 10 days. I emailed him repeatedly asking that he send some sort of confirmation that the lens had shipped. I received nothing in return.
On Jan 5 he sent me an email saying he could not send the lens to me because he was busy with shoots and that he was in Iraq with sporadic computer access. He said he would refund my $1300. I told him that was OK and that I understood because frankly I was tired of playing games.
Three days passed without a refund and I let him know I was out of patience. He then refunded part of my money ($500) saying he was having issues with PayPal. I gave him another 12 hours and then he told me he would need another 12 hours. As you can probably guess he did not refund the additional $800. Nearly 8 hours later PayPal emailed me saying there was a pending refund of $800. Not sure why it was pending but whatever.
Just a few minutes ago I received an email from PayPal saying the $800 refund failed.
I'm currently filing a fraud claim on PayPal for the additional $800. |
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Bob Croslin, Photographer
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St. Petersburg | FL | USA | Posted: 10:22 AM on 01.11.08 |
->> I just received an email saying Eric refunded the remaining $800.
Still doesn't excuse the crap he put me through to just get my money back.
Buyer beware. |
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Anantachai Brown, Photographer
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Jacksonville | FL | | Posted: 10:31 AM on 01.11.08 |
->> i'm sure it was very frustrating....but he is in Iraq/middle east.
glad it worked out in the end, although i'm sure you rather have the lens |
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Delane B. Rouse, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | US | Posted: 10:49 AM on 01.11.08 |
->> (Tongue in cheek)
Another reason why SS is soooo great :) Not only can your work be seen by the world and we can get assignments but there is noting like being called out on the message boards over a $1300 transaction.
Holla if ya hear me :)
-dbr |
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Bob Croslin, Photographer
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St. Petersburg | FL | USA | Posted: 11:01 AM on 01.11.08 |
->> I wasn't going to bring this up but through a little detective work I'm not entirely sure he was in Iraq. Let's just say that during the period he went incommunicado with me he was able to answer emails about another piece of gear he had listed in the classifieds within minutes.
Furthermore, I don't give a damn where he is. He advertised the lens. I paid for the lens and he didn't ship the lens. I get to pay 17% interest on my AmEx card for the $1300 I sent him that he then hung onto for 3 weeks. |
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Clark Brooks, Photo Editor, Photographer
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Urbana | IL | USA | Posted: 11:29 AM on 01.11.08 |
->> "...but there is noting like being called out on the message boards over a $1300 transaction.
Holla if ya hear me :) "
I hear ya...transaction feedback is not necessarily a bad thing, good or bad. I think this helps keep the integrity of the sellers and buyers in check. Knock on wood (tap,tap on my skull) I haven't had a bad transaction since becoming a member. If I'm in the market for something I'd rather look here than Miranda of eBay.
Thanks for the head up, Bob. Giving the benefit of doubt, I'm sure Eric has a good explanation. Who knows there may have been something up with his PP account that he wasn't aware of and had to workout whatever issues with them. |
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Andrew Carpenean, Photographer
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Laramie | WY | USA | Posted: 11:36 AM on 01.11.08 |
->> Bob,
Contact American Express and tell them you're disputing the situation with Paypal and possibly you can work out this situation by stopping payment process with AMEX. You may have up to 30 days to make a move, but either way this sounds like a long drawn-out issue.
With Paypal in my experiences things could certainly go better. Sorry to hear about all of this. That is a lot of money to be out and or wonder where the lens is. On top of all this you're taking his word that its in good condition and you haven't even seen it yet.
Andrew |
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Jason Brown, Photographer
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Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 11:37 AM on 01.11.08 |
->> I agree, transaction feedback can be good, especially if there are questionable transactions with respected members of the community (since we tend to be more implicitly trusting here) - and it sounds like Bob exhausted normal routes of communication before posting this.
I'm in a similar situation, hopefully I can post a more postive outcome... |
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Bob Croslin, Photographer
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St. Petersburg | FL | USA | Posted: 11:45 AM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> I've heard from a few people off forum that he's pulled shenanigans before with selling gear. |
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Jonathan Castner, Photographer
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Longmont | CO | USA | Posted: 12:00 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> I'm with Bob on this one. I bought a camera from Eric last year and everything was there except for the battery charger. I e-mailed him and he said that he forgot to pack it and would send it pronto. He never sent it. After numerous e-mails and voice messages on his cell phone he never sent the charger. This was when he was still living in the US. Things happen - we get busy but to never respond after 2 months? Come on! |
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Shaun Ward, Photographer
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Perth | Tayside | Scotland UK | Posted: 1:30 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> That would explain why i am still waiting for the 580EX from him that I paid for back on 21st December 2007.I hope he reads this thread and does the right thing!
I emailed him yesterday so will give him time to reply. |
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Andrew Carpenean, Photographer
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Laramie | WY | USA | Posted: 1:53 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> This is sounding more criminal each new posting! |
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David Seelig, Photographer
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Hailey | ID | USA | Posted: 1:57 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> When I sell something I try like all hell to get it out within 24 hours any more then 48 is just plain wrong. I will not do buisness with eric ever after seeing this David |
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Richard Denham, Photographer
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Toronto/Buffalo/Niagara | On | Canada | Posted: 2:15 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> So could someone explain to me why he is still a member here on ss.com. Three complaints in 4 hours, not a good track record, and honestly not the kind of member I want representing sports shooter.
http://www.sportsshooter.com/members.html?id=5770 |
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Delane B. Rouse, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | US | Posted: 2:36 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> He's still a member because (fortunately) the ADMIN at SS does not jump to conclusions. While everything posted her might be true, it's just not cool to just start yanking memberships. There's this thing call due diligance
"Due diligence in civil litigation (also known as due care) is the effort made by an ordinarily prudent or reasonable party to avoid harm to another party. Failure to make this effort may be considered negligence. "
Patience grasshoppers. Patience.
Delane |
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Richard Denham, Photographer
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Toronto/Buffalo/Niagara | On | Canada | Posted: 2:44 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> I'm not calling for a good ol fashioned hanging, I guess my previous post was more of a "hey, maybe we should investigate this" post, ie due diligence |
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Colin Lenton, Photographer, Assistant
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Philadelphia | PA | United States | Posted: 2:46 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> Delane,
I think that Bob, Shaun and Jonathan - as well as the others that Bob has heard from - would agree that due diligence has been given.
Thanks Bob, for warning us. |
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Shaun Ward, Photographer
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Perth | Tayside | Scotland UK | Posted: 2:53 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> I think, as mentioned, a feedback system would be the answer to situations like this.
How many of you would now be confortable buying from a Sportsshooter member you don't know after reading this thread? And that's the problem, trust in fellow members has been damaged by one person's inability or reluctance to honour the transactions.
So hopefully a bad situation can be turned on its head and become a benefit to all members. |
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Delane B. Rouse, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | US | Posted: 3:14 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> Dudes...I definitely wouldn't buy from him now.
I would have in the past...well...until the whole deal went down where the Swist logo ended up as virtual copy-cat version of another SS Members logo...David Honl's...or was it Robert Seale? |
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Bruce Twitchell, Photographer
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Coeur d'Alene | ID | USA | Posted: 3:19 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> I have bought many things off the classifieds here and have sold many things, every time it was without a hitch. I recently attempted to purchase a Mark II from Swist. My story is the same as what has been repeated in this thread- said he would ship it, then didn't hear from him for about 5 days, said it had been shipped and he would get me the tracking number, never received it.
I called Fed Ex to try and get a tracking number, they had nothing coming to my address. They then transferred me to Fed Ex International, they had nothing. I filed a complaint with Paypal. The very next day I received notification that the refund had been issued but it was being held by Paypal. I waited several days, the money would not be released to my account. I emailed Paypal multiple times about it, they would not respond. I finally tracked down a tool free number for Paypal and called. They told me that the refund had been rejected since there was not enough money to cover the refund. I immediately, while still on the phone with Paypal, emailed Swist and asked the heck was going on. He replied while I was still on the phone saying that he was on the phone with Paypal as well straightening things out to get me my refund. Paypal then told me that I needed to file a complaint with the FBI regarding the matter.
later that night I finally received notification from Swist and Paypal that the refund went through (about 3 weeks after my initial payment). I immediately transferred the money from Paypal to my bank account. I guess I am lucky that I received my refund.
My big complaint is that Paypal always says pay with your bank account and get added protection. I asked paypal about this and tehy said that the protection only happens when you buy through Ebay. I was lucky nad a better deal on a Mark II came along so things worked out, but it was a mess for quite some time. |
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Kerri McMullen, Photographer
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Pittsburgh | PA | | Posted: 3:33 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> Yes, Do not buy from this person. However, I did buy a 30D from him, and the entire transaction was quite lengthy. He would not answer his phone, return messages I left on his cell and took an extremely long time to get back with me on the camera purchase.
One of the items he said was included was two batteries. I received one. And when I contacted him about it, he said he would send it out to me right away. HE NEVER DID. I emailed him 5 different times after that and no response.
Yes, I know it was just a battery, but it was the fact that he said there were two, then he said he would mail them out and never did.
JERK
Karma will come around and bite this guy! |
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Adam Hemphill, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Willimantic | CT | | Posted: 3:55 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> I, too, paid for equipment (a 580EX) that had been listed in the classifieds by Swist. In fact, I was in the process of filing a dispute with PayPal when I came across this thread. Lovely. |
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Aaron Rhoads, Photographer
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McComb | MS | USA | Posted: 4:10 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> Maybe Eric is trying to garner enough money open a account from a bank in Nigeria, so that he can tranfer to us the moneys forth with, from the death of his dear friend in Christ, and we get 30% upon the tranfer of if we send in our ssn and personal bank #'s.
Or something like that. |
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Shaun Ward, Photographer
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Perth | Tayside | Scotland UK | Posted: 4:19 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> It would appear Mr Swist sold the 580EX twice to myself and Adam. |
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Jason Brown, Photographer
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Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 4:24 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> Crazy stuff. I was going to wait to comment further but after all these other posts... I "purchased" a 1D Mark III from a recent classified posting (I was one of those people in contact with him - and yes he did respond within minutes - when he apparently wasn't talking to Bob) and same story, no response after the money went through. I was going to wait a little longer but after reading this I filed a claim with PayPal too. Glad this is being addressed... |
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Shaun Ward, Photographer
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Perth | Tayside | Scotland UK | Posted: 4:28 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> I believe the Paypal website now has a contact Eric Swist button added. You press it and after waiting a few days you realise nothing happens. |
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Jock Fistick, Photographer
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Brussels | Belgium | | Posted: 4:32 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> It really sucks when some one is dishonest like this as it hurts us all - so I feel your pain and share your disgust...
but I do have a question for all of you who had a bad experience dealing with this guy....
Before Bob started this thread (hey Bob!) did any of you let the admins at SS know that you had a problem?
Just some food for thought - but if each of you had contacted the SS admins individually and discreetly - they may have been able to spot the recurring theme with this guy and could have intervened in some fashion - possibly booting him so no one else fell prey to his evil ways.
I guess we will all know what to do in the future if we get shafted by someone here on SS. Just don't assume that you are the only one - if someone has taken advantage of you - they have probably done it to someone else - as in this case. |
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Landon Finch, Photographer
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Colorado Springs | CO | USA | Posted: 4:50 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> If Swist isn't in another country, I bet he wishes he was.
Sorry to hear of all the troubles. |
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Chuong Doan, Photographer
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Kansas City | MO | USA | Posted: 4:52 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> Yeah I wish I had said something to the administrators earlier. For that I apologize.
On December 12th I sent him $800 for a 16-35 and didn't hear from him for 10 days which is when I filed a complaint with Paypal and my credit card company. In this period of time he posted a few more items for sale so I know he had internet access. All of a sudden his email started working again. I was lucky enough to get a full refund but I wasted 10 days while I could've found something else.
In my few years here as a member, I've bought and sold many items without a single problem. Hopefully the next time something like this happens, it'll get reported immediately. |
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Jason Brown, Photographer
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Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 4:58 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> I'm sure normally this would have been reported to the admins and the thread would have died/disappeared... However it looks like most of the transactions were recent and there were quite a few of us giving Eric the benefit of the doubt since he is a SportsShooter member in good standing and he is far away in the UAE. Now that all this is being revealed it looks like there has been a collective eureka moment and the thread has exploded. Probably not the nicest way to go about it but I'm glad this came out today in the way it did because otherwise I'd probably be sitting around three weeks from today wondering what was going on.
Based on a real quick estimate of just the posts in this thread, looks like we're talking over $7500 of transactions recently... |
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Jason Joseph, Photographer
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Dublin | OH | USA | Posted: 5:04 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> I would say that a response from the accused should be awaited until judgement is reached. However, in this case, it might seem that a lack of response says more. Mr. Swist, if I were you, I would start making amends ASAP or at least make it known that you are out there somewhere and willing to talk. |
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Adam Hemphill, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Willimantic | CT | | Posted: 5:06 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> I was just notified that there is a refund pending for the amount I paid. We'll see how that goes. |
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Bob Croslin, Photographer
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St. Petersburg | FL | USA | Posted: 5:07 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> Just for the record I've never had a problem with buying or selling in the SportsShooter forums. It's one of the few classifieds that I still trust and I'll continue to trust in spite of Eric Swist. |
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Shaun Ward, Photographer
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Perth | Tayside | Scotland UK | Posted: 5:10 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> I have also just been notified by Paypal a refund is pending. I will let you know the outcome. |
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Jason Brown, Photographer
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Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 5:29 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> Same here, just notified I have a refund pending... |
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Paul Alesse, Photographer
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Centereach | NY | USA | Posted: 5:36 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> Shaun Ward wrote:
"I believe the Paypal website now has a contact Eric Swist button added. You press it and after waiting a few days you realise nothing happens."
Sounds like that focus button on my Mark III |
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Todd Spoth, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 6:47 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> He is infamous here in Houston. Many EPIC/HILARIOUS/REDICULOUS stories about/from that dude. Totally sketch. If you hear something crazy about him its probably true, if you hear something crazy from him its probably false. Good luck to everyone that is having trouble with him. Dont get the wrong idea about us Houstonians. We kicked him out anyways.
-Todd |
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Delane B. Rouse, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Washington | DC | US | Posted: 7:08 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> Anyone else second my nomination of Bob Croslin for the "Most Informative Post of the Year" award?
We're only 11 days into 2008 and I think you've got it in the bag man!!!
-dbr |
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Adam Cairns, Photographer
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Columbus | OH | USA | Posted: 7:36 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> Mr. Swist pulled this same routine with me a few months back with a Canon flash. I notified the SS admins at the time it happened, but it didn't appear to speed along the process any. And yes, he is still a member here. Hopefully that will change after this thread... |
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Mike Brice, Photographer
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Toledo | OH | USA | Posted: 7:54 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> Well now at least if anyone searches the message board, this thread will come up and the buyer will be warned. |
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Bob Croslin, Photographer
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St. Petersburg | FL | USA | Posted: 8:03 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> I'm just curious but how many people reported Swist to the powers that be in 2007? Sounds like quite a few people did yet he was still selling gear here last week. |
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Wayne Short, Photographer
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San Diego | CA | USA | Posted: 8:06 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> Who knew that a Canon flash could generate such a nice revenue stream without ever being attached to a camera? |
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Ed Coombs, Photographer
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Central Square | NY | | Posted: 8:30 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> Does anyone know where this guy resides? This is a crime and a fraud (criminal and civil issues here). Someone needs to notify the law... and file complaints. |
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Todd Spoth, Photographer, Student/Intern
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Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 8:32 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> He's from Houston, Texas but moved to Dubai, UAE during the Summer months I believe. |
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David Pardo, Photographer
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Walnut | CA | USA | Posted: 9:00 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> Does he have a EBAY account? If he does, you can look up his profile if you have his email. One thing I do is ask the seller via SS if he has a Ebay account so I can check his Ebay rating. Works every time. But who knows, maybe Ebay kicked him off along time ago... |
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Adam Hemphill, Student/Intern, Photographer
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Willimantic | CT | | Posted: 9:10 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> He does appear to have an eBay account, but I'll let you guess as to what his feedback rating is. |
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Aaron Rhoads, Photographer
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McComb | MS | USA | Posted: 9:13 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> Is this guy's name Swist or Swift? As in trying to pull a fast one. |
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Kevin Bartram, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Antioch / San Francisco | CA | USA | Posted: 9:22 PM on 01.11.08 |
| ->> It looks like he's sold the same gear over on a sports car forum, http://6speedonline.com . His screen name is sportsphotog. The 85/1.2 sold yesterday. |
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Richard Uhlhorn, Photographer
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Chelan Falls | WA | USA | Posted: 9:54 PM on 01.11.08 |
->> If you want to keep up with this guy, here's his blog address: http://ericswist.blogspot.com/
I just got curious and googled him |
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Adam Hemphill, Student/Intern, Photographer
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