I wonder if the recent advent of professional resellers of used astro equipment is hurting or helping the amateur astronomy community that we have seen grow up on AstroMart in recent years.
These resellers just seem to sit around all day watching the ads and they are the ones that freak out if you list something and they reply in 2 minutes and you do not e-mail them back in another 2 minutes. I have even had people tell me that they have received bad ratings because they did not respond instantly to a reseller.
I try to sell to genuine amateurs who 'need' the item. Some have been doctors, lawyers (like me), truck drivers, factory workers, educators, nurses, restauranteurs, and other people who actually work for a living and look at the night sky for a passion (unlike the resellers, whose only passion is a quick profit and I wonder if they have ever looked through a telescope).
Now, before all you real amateurs who have occasionally re-sold an item flame me, I am not talking about you (I am talking only about the subset of resellers that sit around all day like vultures looking for a cheap item that they can resell at a profit. In my opinion, this particular type of reseller is the exact type that will be outraged if their 'first response' to an ad is not immediately confirmed as a sale).
Now, I have been lucky and none of those have ever 'down rated' me because they thought they 'lost a sale.' But, my ads have been careful to ask for a story about why the prospective buyer needed the item, or they say my ads say that I don't check my e-mail daily. This seems to put off the 'time sensitve' sharks (the true resellers).
Look, I don't want care what price I get, as long as the item I am not using is going to be used by actual person I am shipping it to. This does not make me a charity, it is just a little bit of recycling.
My only goal is this: Unused equipment should be recycled in the amateur community. If I get a slightly lower price, or if I give it away in cases of true need, then I simply do a small bit to help pay back all the time, effort, advice, and equipment use that I have been given for free over the years by the wonderful community of amateur astronomers.
By the way, just to show that I am serious about this, I offer a Tele Vue StarBeam pointer (with the new flip mirror) to any 501(c)(3) that asks for it (if there are several inquiries, I will decide by 7/14/03) or I will send the item to any agreed neutral party (such as Herb York) or other person, at my expense, so that they may give it to the most deserving.
These resellers just seem to sit around all day watching the ads and they are the ones that freak out if you list something and they reply in 2 minutes and you do not e-mail them back in another 2 minutes. I have even had people tell me that they have received bad ratings because they did not respond instantly to a reseller.
I try to sell to genuine amateurs who 'need' the item. Some have been doctors, lawyers (like me), truck drivers, factory workers, educators, nurses, restauranteurs, and other people who actually work for a living and look at the night sky for a passion (unlike the resellers, whose only passion is a quick profit and I wonder if they have ever looked through a telescope).
Now, before all you real amateurs who have occasionally re-sold an item flame me, I am not talking about you (I am talking only about the subset of resellers that sit around all day like vultures looking for a cheap item that they can resell at a profit. In my opinion, this particular type of reseller is the exact type that will be outraged if their 'first response' to an ad is not immediately confirmed as a sale).
Now, I have been lucky and none of those have ever 'down rated' me because they thought they 'lost a sale.' But, my ads have been careful to ask for a story about why the prospective buyer needed the item, or they say my ads say that I don't check my e-mail daily. This seems to put off the 'time sensitve' sharks (the true resellers).
Look, I don't want care what price I get, as long as the item I am not using is going to be used by actual person I am shipping it to. This does not make me a charity, it is just a little bit of recycling.
My only goal is this: Unused equipment should be recycled in the amateur community. If I get a slightly lower price, or if I give it away in cases of true need, then I simply do a small bit to help pay back all the time, effort, advice, and equipment use that I have been given for free over the years by the wonderful community of amateur astronomers.
By the way, just to show that I am serious about this, I offer a Tele Vue StarBeam pointer (with the new flip mirror) to any 501(c)(3) that asks for it (if there are several inquiries, I will decide by 7/14/03) or I will send the item to any agreed neutral party (such as Herb York) or other person, at my expense, so that they may give it to the most deserving.
