Originally posted by WMBP This isn't an LBA story, is it? It's an eBay story - or more generally a story about the risks of selling over the Internet.
It's an LBA story only insomuch as that it involves the buying of a lens. But since LBA often involves purchases via the internet over great distances it's a good reminder that bad things can and do happen, either accidentally or intentionally. And I suppose the more active your LBA the greater likelihood that something bad might happen. I suppose "saddest eBay story" might have been a more accurate headline, but it probably isn't the saddest eBay story I've heard, but rather the saddest one involving a lens purchase. And I suppose what makes it the saddest for me isn't that somebody scammed somebody else out of some money, but the notion that here's a guy who had a great (and fairly scarce) lens, and somebody else ruined it for him.
I'd rather buy from here on the forum, it's generally a more close-knit community. I know that things still can go wrong, but there are members here whose good words regarding a vendor mean more than all the eBay feedback in the world.