Unnecessarily complicated (6/5/2022)
A few years ago, I went to a garage sale where I found a nice camera tripod, and the price was very reasonable.
I decided to buy it, but I hit a snag.
The number on the little label was not the price but a number. The owner had to look it up on a list and find the corresponding price.
What a ridiculous concept. Why not just put the price on the item, like (almost) everyone else does? It saves buyer and seller time and there will be no confusion.
She wanted retail price for the tripod, so I walked away from it
.
It wasn’t the first, or the last, time I have seen people do silly things at yard sales.
Frequently it happened that the seller didn’t know how much to ask for an item. You’re the seller, you should know much you want for it. I wanted to buy a table from a lady and after asking three times she did not give me a price.
No clue (5/29/2022)
Here is another example of someone who has no clue how to sell something.
A few days ago I saw an ad on Facebook Marketplace for a camera tripod.
No information was given, except that it had never had been used.
I asked for the model# so I could check the specs and the lady said she would send it as soon as she got home from work.
Three days later I reminded her about it and in response she sent me 3 pictures of different sides of the box. And still no model #.
I told her that wouldn't do me any good. Then she told me that she wasn't going to open a box that was still sealed.
However, by looking at the pictures and the packaging tape on the box it is clear that it has been opened.
Good look trying to sell it for $50 lady if you're not even willing to supply the basic information.
The selection is overwhelming (5/25/2022)
We have two pro quality tripods that are too big and heave to carry around. We don’t use tripods often, but it will be nice to have one that is easy to take with us on travels, and even to walk around with.
It has to be small when folded up, light weight, and sturdy enough to support a good size camera and lens.
Finding the right one proved to be difficult, not because are few available but because there are so many of them. And of course, all of them have their pros and cons.
What to get? One with a ball head or a pan head?
What is the best material, aluminum, or carbon fiber. Is it tall enough when extended. Is the weight limit sufficient. Should I get one with lock levers or twist locks? Will spare parts be available when needed.
There are many brands that I have never heard off before. Is the seller trustworthy. How about warranty and return policy?
As usual, I have done extensive research and it didn’t make it any easier to decide which one to get.
Shop Frustration II (5/24/2022)
In the early summer the air-conditioning in my truck stopped working. That is no fun, especially since I had to go through Arizona and New Mexico. My final destination was Dallas, TX.
The company had just opened a brand new facility there, replacing an old one where nobody wanted to go to because it was hard to find and to get in to. The shop always had a bad reputation with the drivers. I hoped things had improved since they moved to their new quarters.
At around 3 PM I took the tractor to the shop. I couldn’t leave my little dog in there and I couldn’t take him into the drivers’ lounge either so I had to sit outside with him. Even under a canopy it gets hot when it’s sunny and about 100 degrees.
At 8 pm they took the tractor inside and about an hour after that I decided to check and see what was happening. The hood was up but nobody was working on it. The man who was busy sorting paperwork at the desk didn’t know anything, or so he said. I made several more trips to the shop that night but I was unable to get the slightest bit of information.
