Posts Made By: Jeffrey Zoeller

It works as advertised. I use it for f/5 and below.

Michael,

The word 'blog' is short for weblog. A weblog is like a diary on the internet. Someone reads things on the net and then posts them to their website with their comments. That is it.

Blogs are free speech. They are neither true or false. You decide (and this is difficult for some people).

Very truly yours,

Jeffrey Zoeller

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.

I like this idea. It would help me too. Some people, a very small minority, just complain about everything. They could stay at a Ritz Carlton and complain about the service. I saw a post once on a scope review site (where ordinary folks vote) about Anacortes not matching prices. The guy was livid. He called Anacortes every name in the book. He did not seem to realize that some folks quote you a low price and then take a deposit and then order your scope, whereas a stocking dealer takes your order and sends it out the next day. The complainer apparently did not realize that he did not have to buy from Anacortes. He wanted the Ritz Carlton service at the Holiday Inn price.

That is the kind of person I would pay money to avoid doing business with. If I had two offers on the same item and one was a complainer, I would sell to the other guy even if his offer was lower.

Very truly yours,

Jeffrey Zoeller

Hello,

If this person is truly a Marine? If so, then he is subject to a code of honor and rules of discipline that will be enforced by his commanding officer. I would suggest that any concerns about the ethics of a Marine, especially a Marine Officer, be addressed to his commanding officer. It is hard for me to believe that a Marine would ignore his duties. Perhaps there is some other explanation that would assure you that you will be treated fairly even if there may have been an interruption in normal communications. Perhaps this Marine is at sea on a Marine Expeditionary Unit and has limited communications. Perhaps, this Marine, like nearly half the Corps, is in Iraq now. In any case, you have much more assurance of follow through with a Marine than you do with an ordinary civilian. Try those options. See what is really going on. Then pursue your remedies.

Very truly yours,

Jeffrey Zoeller

I agree. That's why I couldn't choose an answer because I don't see any conflict between these things.