Posts Made By: michael burtner

Scammer's latest Ad #943849. Then see #860085 (legit and sold).

I take it to mean "close to mint", but the seller is just not really wanting to go that far. It's more like "almost mint depending on who's looking or grading", the seller, the buyer, on an independant third party. In other words mint if you don't count all the not mentioned defects or detractions that might not matter so much to the seller or someone not taking a very close look at the item in good light.

So is to be taken as a word of caution to the wise to be sure to inquire of the exact condition. Ask specifics and be sure the seller actually answers your questions. And keep a copy of same.

But I never take it to mean mint, brand new condition maybe not still factory sealed but certainly no more than just a cursory examination or quick once over to see what's in there, or BNIB (BRAND NEW in box, should mean just that, with no defects whatsoever, except there too, who's to say it didn't possibly have a defect right from the factory and the seller just never took the time or trouble to have it corrected under warranty or otherwise and now is just passsing it on), or even LNIB (like new in box, even that leaves room for "almost"). I think sometimes it's the seller leaving himself an "out" after the item is received and the buyer finds something that wasn't quite fully disclosed if not specifically inquired about.

So generally i'll just ignore those ads unless it's something I really really need or want and it's rare to come up for sale. Most of this stuff while maybe not "a dime a dozen", is not so hard to come by that you can't afford to wait for one that's more accurately described in the first place, rather than having to deal with a description that leaves one to wonder from the get go. Actually I've received a number of items described as mint, LNIB, excellent plus, etc. that I think could only appear that way to a blind person or someone in a very dark room.

So to quote David, yes indeed,
"My instincts tell me to watch out for the term because I am imagining it to just be a way of trying to over-hype the item".

And I do wish the sellers would just plain stop using the term. Either it's "MINT"... or it's not.
There's no such thing as "minty". Unless you're talking about the flavor.

i too noticed a long time ago, it doesn't like a plain short number such as 2. however it does like 1.25. and it likes 2.00. but won't return results for 2 inch filters by putting in 2.00 (unless 2.00 actually appears somewhere in the listing). it also doesn't like 4. or 5. but will find 5.00. etc. etc. so it doesn't return any results if there is a one digit number in the searched for terms. i learned to just leave that number out, then scan through the results myself. i don't mind it's a minor inconvenience. but you're right, if it returns nothing, something is amiss, and it's probably always just that, a single digit number was in there. just leave those out.

For Sale: 3" f/6 mirror 1/99 wave [.9999999 strehl] [SOLD] Ad No.: 601032

http://www.astromart.com/classifieds/details.asp?classified_id=601032

i'm still not quite sure what to make of this recent ad.

and was kind of afraid to ask.

but the price was right.

if you respond normally to an ad using the respond button link, you then have the choice of receiving a copy of your response sent to your email (if you check that little box).
however, if you send a PM, to the seller, or another member for whatever reason, by clicking the send private message link on their profile page, it is just that, a PM, a private message, and they will recieve it privately in their astromart message inbox, and not thru an email (and you won't receive a copy).
and you will recieve a PM, only if a memeber sends you a PM. which is different than a response to an ad. or a response to a response. by email.
hope that helps, rather than confusing more

jon roewer said:

Any tips about working with the foam.
Thanks,jon

is this one of them deja vu's ?

http://www.astromart.com/forums/viewpost.asp?forum_post_id=640644&poll_id=&news_id=&page=

or a (forum post) disappearing act?

I can't with 100% certainty say if it has ever happened to me. But I really don't think so. And I'm a very slow typer (I won't call myself a "typist"), and sometimes even change pages whilst posting. But other than the aforementioned idea and back-up method of every now and then "cutting"( in order to paste later, just in case)(which I have employed in the past somewhere else I'm sure), one thing you might want to be sure to do is this....... when you first log in, be sure to check that little box that says "Keep me logged in", it's good for about 24 hours duration. as long as you don't actually "sign out". That is, I can close all A'mart pages, even shut down the computer, and next time I'm on, i just click on Astromart in my favorites and I'm still logged in when it loads. So, maybe it's as simple as that. But other than that, I really don't think it has anything to do with any problem on Astromart's end, or servers. or Herb.

and, here comes another one.. >> Ad No.:944063

Geez... this keeps up and Herb's gonna need a new full time position added just to keep the scammers at bay.

 Latest ad  By: Joann Alford
classified #944575
Price:     $2,450.00

The specifics have changed .... but the same MO...

Classified #944620
For Sale: Kowa Optimed Kowa BD Series.

Just too much "wrong" with it.