well, it showed up, after much fighting.
I called first thing this morning once I got a tracking number from KEH to get UPS to either redirect it to my shop or to get it sent to the nearest store/warehouse so I can pick it up on the way home. They said sure, no problem, it will be available for pickup at 5:00pm from this address in the middle of the warehouse district. Whatever.
I then get a call at 4:45 that the drivers attempted a third time to deliver the package and that it will be sent back to the sender if I didn't pick it up by end of business Monday as the drive will not be able to make it back to the depot before they close @ 7:00. I asked the dispatcher if he got the message, I didn't say what the message was. She then proceeded to read off the notes by the previous agent who told me that it was going to be dropped at the depot. So I bee-line it to the depot after work to see if I can get more answers in person.
The depot...debit machine is down. But they will take a cheque, or money order, or a credit card. My credit card... forgot it at the hotel in Calgary (thats a whole pain story I wont' get into) and who in their 20's carries checks? Luckily my debits a combo card... didn't matter, as the they said they couldn't help me as the driver is back logged and wont be back until way after they closed. I gave them a BS story how thats unacceptable. Then proceeded to tell them about the dispatch call, and the fact he kept leaving notes on my dining room window and not paying attention to my note to just bring it to the depot (which I brought in with me)
They then noticed the guy was only 5 minutes from my house and sent him back so my wife could open the door and pay with her credit card. Always a fun way to open a conversation... "what do you mean you bought another lens" I believe it was... but luckily I got out of that one very easily tonight. something about new bedroom furniture that ended up on credit card last weekend I recall...
So anyways..... lets proceed to step two of this debacle.
when I emailed the sales department at KEH about this lens I asked where the IR marking was. They said to the right of the 4 and it was an 8 element version. It's a 7 element version.. SUPER-MULTI-COATING Takumar. I emailed them back about the mix up, don't expect to get a reply till Tuesday.
whole process has soured me on KEH.....
Now, lets get back to B&H and UPS here...
I got my Christmas bonus this week, as well as my forecasted check (I'm paid on department gross profits), and a few photo gigs I got coming up I was going to complete my FA limited collection by ordering both the FA 31 and FA 43 from B&H. Kind of a Christmas gift to myself (already cleared with the wifey)... but I'm now scared how brown my pants will be when I get hit with the brokerage on that one... or am I correct in the understanding that brokerage is handled upfront from B&H from previous commenters?
The price is absurd for those two lenses in Canada.... $1349 regular retail for the FA31 and $919 regular retail for the FA43. Both are on sale right now for $1279 and $869 respectively.