[polecat]

Hello all. This post is to inform all you good people of my negative dealings with Rugift, the purveyor of Russian lenses etc. At the tail end of last month I decided that a Jupiter9 would be a nice addition to my lens collection and I ordered one from Rugift. The price quoted was $128 plus shipping. After all the formalities I was notified via email that it would be shipped in 2 to 4 days and could take up to 4 weeks to arrive. I payed in full via PayPal at the time of the order. Today I get an email from Rugift informing me that they have received a shipment of new lenses from the manufacturer and were in a position to ship my lens but the price has gone up to $250 (doubled!) and I would have to pay the extra money if I still wanted the lens. I was offered the option of selecting something else from their catalogue (yeah right!) or have my money returned. I chose to have my money returned. I ask you, is this any way to run a business? I felt that I had contracted with them to sell me the lens for $128 at the time of purchase but apparently they did not feel the same. Any of you who feel like dealing with Rugift in the future should bear this in mind. I know that I will never again buy anything from them.

Cheers, Ken

[stevebrot]

What a rip! Talk about bait and switch!

I would complain to PayPal. I also would suggest that anyone doing business with rugift.com pay with a major credit card using their CCNow merchant service. CCNow maintains an independent paper trail and will also work as a liaison for fulfillment issues.

Here is the name and e-mail for the person I have dealt with for customer service issues at rugift:

Natali Zhuikova, sales@rugift.com

She has been very helpful and flexible with me with my long and painful Zenitar journey. I don't know her position in the firm, but if anyone could get you the appropriate pricing, Natali would be the person. You may also suggest that you will flame his company to the ends of cyberspace and that you will report them to the Florida Attorneys General in regards to mail fraud. (Their U.S. offices are in Bradenton, FL)

Steve

[windcapt1]

I have had the similar response from them.

[deejjjaaaa]

Natali Zhuikova, sales@rugift.com

He/she has been very helpful and flexible with me with my long and painful Zenitar journey. I don't know his position in the firm, but if anyone could get you the appropriate pricing, Natali would be the person. You may also suggest that you will flame his company to the ends of cyberspace and that you will report them to the Florida Attorneys General in regards to mail fraud. (Their U.S. offices are in Bradenton, FL)

Steve

she, not he...

[stevebrot]

she, not he...

I work for a company headquartered in Europe and experience has taught me to not make assumptions about names and gender!

Steve

(I think maybe that Natalia would be the feminine version?)

[Gooshin]

I work for a company headquartered in Europe and experience has taught me to not make assumptions about names and gender!

Steve

(I think maybe that Natalia would be the feminine version?)

in Russia, there is a clear distinction in the suffixes of last names that specificaly indiciated gender.

A male will never have a last name ending in ~VA.

If this individual was a guy, it would be "Zhuikov". (yes, the last name changes according to gender, even if its within the same family)

for instance, my last name is Gooshin, if i was to be married, my wifes offical passport last name would actually be "Gooshina".

[stevebrot]

in Russia, there is a clear distinction in the suffixes of last names that specificaly indiciated gender.

A male will never have a last name ending in ~VA.

If this individual was a guy, it would be "Zhuikov". (yes, the last name changes according to gender, even if its within the same family)

for instance, my last name is Gooshin, if i was to be married, my wifes offical passport last name would actually be "Gooshina".

Thanks for the clarification! I was hoping you would have something to add.

I actually found something in the Wikipedia

Names in Russian Empire, Soviet Union and CIS countries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steve

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Last edited by stevebrot; 09-22-2008 at 01:10 PM.

[figmental1978]

Zenit Camera are selling the jupiter 9 for $169 and Kremlin Optics are selling it for $125

[philmorley]

are they still advertising it at the cheaper price? could be an honest mistake and they just cant afford to take the loss, they did give you your money back.

[pingflood]

Thanks for the clarification! I was hoping you would have something to add.

I actually found something in the Wikipedia

Names in Russian Empire, Soviet Union and CIS countries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steve

You guys are bringing back memories of reading Anna Karenina. Not only were the last names a bit confusing, but each person would referred to by at least three different names! (e.g. Kitty, Katja, Ekaterina)

[polecat]

Hello again. Alas, it was Natali who sent me the email this morning (or at least it said that it was from her) so emailing her and asking her to do the "right thing" is probably an exercise in futility. If they had told me that they were out of stock and did not back order items (and didn't accept my money) it would have been a different thing entirely. Every one is entitled to make a profit but this is just really bad PR.

Cheers, Ken

[stevebrot]

Hello again. Alas, it was Natali who sent me the email this morning (or at least it said that it was from her) so emailing her and asking her to do the "right thing" is probably an exercise in futility. If they had told me that they were out of stock and did not back order items (and didn't accept my money) it would have been a different thing entirely. Every one is entitled to make a profit but this is just really bad PR.

Cheers, Ken

Yes, very bad business practice and bad PR. With the long delivery times, the flakey post-sale price shifting, poor packaging for some items, and the strange practice of having to ship a defective item all the way back to Russia "for evaluation" rather than simply sending the bad goods to Florida, I just have to shake my head.

Transactions with rugift are just one notch shy of doing business on the black market. I don't know if the situation is any better with the other vendors. I don't know if there really ARE any other vendors.

This is too bad. I really liked the idea of helping the struggling Russian optical companies continue operation and exposing their products to wider potential markets. At $250 a pop through rugift, I am seriously tempted to buy a lot of 100 J-9s directly from LZOS, import through regular channels and start a more reputable distribution channel.

Steve

[stevebrot]

Here is the page for the Lytkarino Optical Glass Factory Web store

LZOS - Camera lenses (including Jupiter-9)

I have no idea what the shipping might be, but their price is $125. -$10 if you wire them the money direct!

Steve

[polecat]

I was aware of the LZOS web site and their web store (I even watched their glossy promotional video in anticipation of receiving my lens) but this affair has left me with a bad taste in my mouth concerning all things Russian. I would think that LZOS would like to have a reliable trustworthy distributor in the "civilized" world.

Cheers, Ken

[Gooshin]

are you implying that russia is not civilized?