Read the paperwork!

[rbiemer]

I geuss most people use their credit cards to buy stuff from the FSU but i don't. I use Western Union. Not a problem usually.
Yesterday I stopped at my local grocery store where there is the only Western Union "office" and sent some money to the gentleman I am buyimg some lenses and a camera from and the girl behind the service desk got the name wrong
This morning I get an email from Vladis that says"the $ is here but I can't get it because it is in my first and middle names. Fix it!"
I get out my reciept and sure enough the addressee is Vladislav Volodymyrovych and no last name.
I look at my copy of the paper work I as the sender have to fill out and there's the man's name as I wrote it: Vladislav Volodymyrovych Dubov .
Good lord, no wonder the rest of the world thinks folks in the US are idiots!
And I am too cuz I should have actually read the entire reciept but I looked to check that the $ amount was correct and to get the money transfer control number(which Vladis needs to get his $) so I could tell him that I sent him his $ and he could pick it up as soon as he got my email.
I didn't have time to go back to the "office" but I called the 800 number on the reciept and the woman that I spoke to was very helpful and the problem is fixed but my friend in the Ukraine now will have to make another trip to get his money and my package likely wont get mailed til Monday.
If I could just win the lottery then I would be able to travel to the FSU and hand my $ to the folks I buy my gear from. Less stress and much faster!
Lesson for today: Read ALL of the reciept!
I just hope the rest of my weekend gets better!
Rob

[Fedzilla_Bob]

If you won the lottery you could buy all the cameras you wanted from The Ukraine. Or, you could just buy all the cameras in the Ukraine and bring them here.

I think Western Union can be quite a pain.

[back alley]

small oversight, big frustration!

patience grasshopper!
joe

[rbiemer]

The gear will get here and it will be at least as good as Vladis described it!
I hope I wont let ny frustration affect me too much at work today!
oh, well....

[fraley]

Same thing happened to me. I placed the order over a Western Union phone from a very noisy supermarket. The first name was mis-spelled and my seller had to make two trips. He was very polite about it, thankfully.

[rbiemer]

Yesterday my buddy in Ukraine emailed me that yes he did get his $ but the gear wont ship until Tuesday or Wednesday. Dang!
Oh well, I do have the turret finder I bought from him sitting on top of my Zorki so I can pretend I am using either of the lenses that are on their way to me.
Two more lenses after this deal and I will have a complete kit and no need to buy anything more
Actually I feel a need to get a functional J-8 LTM lens as the one that I got with the Zorki was taken apart and reassembled badly before I got it and doesn't focus where the RF does.
So the kit is shaping up nicely. Right now it is: Zorki 3m and FED2 bodies with two 50mm lenses-Industar 26m and Industar 50 colapsable. Yellow filter for both lenses and an orange for the I-26. Soon(OK, not soon enough but on the way. Really.) I will have Jupiter 12 and 9 lenses.
I am just about ready to start rebuilding the Zorki 3m I got from Sockeyed and if that goes well I will have it instead of the FED in the bag.
There really is a plan. And it is slowly coming together!
Of course I don't own a 35mm SLR so I might have to start thinking about that lack and what I should do about it.
Those 167 MT-s are looking pretty good but the lenses are pricey!
Sigh.. at least I'm not spending my $ on beer and hookers any more
Rob

[wclavey]

How long has it been taking for FSU equipment to come from the close of the eBay transaction? I have been looking at some of the replies and it appears 10-18 days is the range. Is this normal?

[mongo141]

Originally Posted by wclavey

How long has it been taking for FSU equipment to come from the close of the eBay transaction? I have been looking at some of the replies and it appears 10-18 days is the range. Is this normal?

Yep, 20 days from Kiev or the Russian Federation has been the norm to Northern Nevada. But I did get a K-60 body in 10 days one time, The seller must have paid the proper bribe

[rbiemer]

I don't do ebay but my stuff typically takes 12-14 days from the time the seller gets the $ 'til I get the package in my mail box.
Rob

[rbiemer]

Yippee! The package from Vladis came today! 2 beautiful lenses and 1 FED Micron2 camera! The J-12 lens appears to be unused; I cant find any scratches/marks on the glass, barrel, or mount threads. A black finished beauty from LZOS made in 1975(based on the date on the paperwork and serial no.) The J-9 isn't perfect but the glass looks very good. Some wear on the barrel but focus and aperture are smooth.
Of course, appearances can be decieving but I'm off to play shortly and will know by the end of the week when I get the film processed.
The Micron2 seems to be a FSU version of the Canonet. Once again, seems to be NOS.
If I could figure out what the "dance" smilie actually does, I'd be using it now! For those of you with strong stomachs, fell free to imagine me doing a happy jig now!
Rob

[back alley]

ah, time for the happy dance!

enjoy your new gear.

joe

[rbiemer]

Originally Posted by backalley photo

ah, time for the happy dance!

enjoy your new gear.

joe

Well, the happy dance didn't last very long. NOT because of the lenses but--the Zorki 3m I was planning to use has had an accident--- I had the camera with me last nite in my coat pocket and it must have gone off. Which I didn't realize until I changed the speed from the slow speed(was shooting on the way home last nite) to a faster speed for daylight. So now the shutter is stuck about halfway open and none of the speed numbers line up andI'm NOT HAPPY!
I put my new lenses on a FED5 but it's just not the same.
I had decided not to try to rehab the Z3m I got from sockeyed but instead to send it to Oleg. I guess he's going to have 2 cameras to rescue for me.
First impressions about the Micron2: Small and heavy, it winds much rougher than the Canonet(no surprise there). No strap lugs so it'll be in the case.
This kind of frustration is why I am not giving my nephew(who has been hinting"I don't own a REAL camera) one of the FSU cameras for his upcoming B-day.
Sigh....
The FED 5 will be an OK test camera for the new Jupiters but no where near as good looking. And man did the Z3m/J-12 combo look good!
Rob

[back alley]

well that totally sucks.

joe