[Baard-Einar]

Some one has found the way to increase the price for a simple SMC-M 50mm f2.0.
Item 280572674793 is right now listed as a SMC-A 50mm f1.2, but at the very bottom, the seller has way in to the bidding action, stated that the front of the lens actually reads "Looking at the front of the lens it reads SMC PENTAX-M 1:2 5mm 7950969 ASAHI OPTICAL CO."

Wow, right now, some one is bidding on this and the price is going up, slowly but..

[Swift1]

I have noticed this type of thing happening more and more.
It seems to blatant to be accidental.
It just proves that you really need to pay attention to what you are bidding on.

[chalion]

Yes, i've also seen similar lens sales. I see on this sale, that the seller used a stock photo too.

Item has been reported.



5mm?

[Pentaxor]

the winning bidder would be hugely disappointed. from the looks of it, the seller doesn't know much about the lens he is selling.

[Baard-Einar]

I did actually bid on this, and then 1 hour after my first bid, the seller added that sentence at the bottom of the listing. So I managed to retract my bid, for the first time ever on ebay.

I some how want to warn the bidders but guess thats would be in difficult.

[pxpaulx]

This sort of thing does go both ways...bottom line, if the picture isn't clear, ask!

[Pentaxor]

This sort of thing does go both ways...bottom line, if the picture isn't clear, ask!

the picture is clear, the seller wasn't. can't believe the seller used a stock photo and never looked closely on what he/she is selling before putting it up for bid on eBay. from the looks of it, he/she is unfamiliar with lenses, especially with this one.

anyway, I can't blame the seller, since I myself was confused between a 1:2 to a 1.2. then. Pentax did a pretty bad job on differentiating lenses in a more obvious manner.

I hope the seller retracts the sale because I have this feeling that he/she will receive some complaints for mislabeling.

[pschlute]

You are wrong to blame Pentax. They made a number of 50mm lenses, 1:1.2 and 1:2 amongst them. They are clearly stated on the lens. What more do you expect a manufacturer to do ?

[alohadave]

anyway, I can't blame the seller, since I myself was confused between a 1:2 to a 1.2. then.

I've bid on a 1:2 thinking it was a 1.2, even though it was clearly listed and correct picture.

[Ubuntu_user]

that seller will get a bad rating if he continues on in this kind of practice...

[brecklundin]

mistakes happen all the time. It's easy for a seller to make the typo or pick the wrong item from the pre-filled info. I would contact the seller and/or eBay as well. But on the other side of the coin had the seller mis-listed a 1.2 lense as 1:2 would you let the seller off the hook if you won it for $50? Understanding goes both ways and always assuming someone is out to screw you is an empty way to live your life.

[Stringmike]

I was watching this lens and note that he now has three different descriptions for it. I've sent a request for clarification.

I'm skeptical that a seller wouldn't notice the difference between the f1.2 and f2, especially if he has done any research into prices. The current price is rapidly approaching ten times what it's worth!

Mike

[brecklundin]

it really does happen a LOT on the 1.2 Pentax mount lenses. So much so, I have even stopped sport shopping on eBay. Meaning well over 50% of the positives I get in my rather advanced search, that took a while to fine-tune, are for 1:2 rather than 1:1.2.

Most are incorrectly listed lenses but also since eBay stopped allowing punctuation to be part of searches a 1:2 lense will return as a positive hit on a search using "1.2"...it's frustrating even if I could afford one right now finding them is a PITA. Until all sellers begin using the "item specifics" as they should they are also next to useless as well.

And this seller is a great example of being well over his/her head in listing camera gear. I am sure the eBay notes are near to driving the seller nuts. I feel badly for the seller and a bidder who is expecting a different lense as well...the nice thing is the seller can let the buyer off the hook by explaining to the winning bidder and doing a "mutually agreed to not complete the transaction" thing BUT there are so many ******* bidders out there that will assume, absent proof to the contrary, that the seller is trying to cheat them and not sell because the item did not end high enough.

Best thing is for the seller to simply end the item and re-list correctly. Part of the fun of online buying and selling...having once mis-listed a $600 piece for $56.50 I know what it's like but it was my fault and I ate the loss because I was too tired to be listing that night anyway. Sad thing is, it would likely have sold just as fast at the proper price...today it brings over a grand....for a silly glass animal made in the 1980s...

[Stringmike]

I guess all of us enjoy getting an unexpected bargain on an auction. I've had a few over the years, often estate sales of camera gear that contained the odd gem. I've also kissed a few frogs and ended up with warts (excuse the mixed metaphors!)

It's getting harder to do, though, as there a lot of new Pentaxians out there looking for the same gems. The chance of a nice bargain going unnoticed is pretty slim these days and I usually ask a seller for more information to protect both sides.

It'll be interesting to see how the seller responds in this one.

Mike

[JeffJS]

PART of the problem is with Ebay's listing system where it gives 'pre-filled' info and offers a Stock photo. The bottom line is that the seller has made the listing state that he is selling an f2.0 lens. He did so on the 15th (which means somebody probably asked about it). Since then, the 10/13 high bidder has placed at least 2 more bids and is still the high bidder at $255 with what looks to be a protection bid (A very stupid strategy BTW), even though, the listing text states what the lens really is. One of two things is going on here, The high bidder is about to kiss a big Ugly frog (to borrow the phrase), is Completely uneducated on these lenses, can't (or won't) read the full listing, and/or refuses to be outbid. OR, the seller is using a Shill.

Edit: Usually when I write these sellers, no matter how polite I am about it, explaining their error, I'm told to go F myself. They know more about it than me.. So be it.