P3D Re: hopefully the last on eBay

["Dr. George A. Themelis" <DrT-3d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>You are quibbling about a few dollars here for an item, when what
>really matters is the price of time.  If I can find what I want, 
>who cares if I pay an extra dollar ? If it saves me one minute, 
>with my time being worth what it is, it's more than paid for itself.

For an "award-winning Assoc VP of Investments" maybe one minute is 
worth something for a guy like me who charges $35 for 3-4 hours of 
specialized labor to overhaul a viewer or a stereo camera, a minute 
is worth very little...

So, when I search eBay I am looking for bargains or reasonably priced 
items that I can service and either sell or keep for myself. 

Lack of time, ignorance, desire for instant gratification and a good 
amount of egotism (refusal to accept that someone can pay more) are 
some of the factors fueling high prices in certain auctions.  

Also, there is the question of why people want to take ownership of 
some of these items... I talked to the person who bought the Realist 
$137 bag... I said "I did not know that you are a collector too..." 
He replied "No, I am not a collector, I plan to use this Realist bag 
to carry my photographic equipment"...  

Surprised by the reply I tried to explain that this is not a good 
choice for a camera bag... There are other cheaper and more efficient 
bags like my beloved compact TEMBA which will fit all my stereo gear 
well protected and easily accessible...  I recalled the story when I 
lost my balance and fell into the water (up to the knees), dropping 
the TEMBA with the RBT S1 and Duplex, digital light meter, etc... 
into the water... In the few seconds it took me to recover, grab the 
bag and pull it out of the water the bag was half into the water but 
no water had leaked into the camera compartment... Terrified by the 
thought of a wet RBT S1, I am sure glad I was carrying a good camera 
bag with me!!!

George Themelis


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