Word of advice to sellers here on JJmehta

[Thad E Ginathom]

Thank you gsferrari. Very well put.

Glad to see Moderator has pinned it.

Most deals on JJMF go well. Some even lead to friendships. Sadly, a small number lead to quarrels.

There is a customer-service mantra: How a company handles mistakes is more important than  never making any. We can apply the same to personal deals too.

I have had very good experiences with sellers here, both when things when right and also when things didn't.

I would add one more thing to the advice:

PHOTOGRAPHS. Please put full photographs of every surface of your item.

eg: No, I cannot tell if I want to buy your lens from pics of the front and the back only! Show me the sides, the rings, the scales. If you don't, then I will suspect the item is worn or has some other imperfection.

And if a photographer cannot be bothered to put decent photos of their item, I certainly won't be buying it.  We are a photography forum!

[Bharat Varma]

This was too good a post to stay unsung in the "Frowns" den of negativity. :)

Great advice.

[gsferrari]

I just thought I'd pop in with a word of advice to sellers here on JJmehta. The same applies to any other platform you may buy/sell on.

1. BE HONEST : it is just gear at the end of the day. There is no advantage to lying about the condition of your gear in the hope that it will sell. If it is in bad shape, it is not the end of the world. If you are honest and describe the issues in detail AND price it accordingly, someone will reach out.

2. WORDS HAVE MEANING : I see this all too often in India that gear is listed as "excellent" or "mint". These words have meaning and using them loosely will create problems down the line. What is mint? If you remove something from the box new, use it a few times and keep it clean AND if it has no functional issues - it is MINT. MINT is essentially "as good as new" or "New-". Please differentiate between your kids and your equipment. Nobody thinks their kids are ugly, the same CANNOT apply to your gear.

3. PRICE FOR ITEM & SHIPPING : PLEASE start including shipping in the asking price. What is the point of having two money transfers for every deal? You are not going to become rich/poor with the 200/500/700 rupees it costs to ship something. Just absorb it at your end. If you list something for 5000/- let everyone be clear that this includes packing and shipping. I fully understand that you CANNOT ship everything for free so just include a shipping estimate into your asking price and if there is +/- just absorb it. This will streamline all the transactions for both parties.

4. DON'T CHEAT - you can get away with it once or twice and then what? You are burned on this platform and on every other platform within this country (and beyond if you fool around with certain people, myself included). It is important to learn to let go. If something is broken and unusable, bury it. I will be listing a couple of camera bodies soon as "parts only". Someone with a 5D MK2 can buy my camera and use it for parts. It will be sold as-is-where-is with no commitments to the functionality of say, the sensor or the shutter or the main board. It will also be priced accordingly. Why cheat and try to pass it off as a functional camera? Just don't do it!

5. PACKING : ALWAYS DOUBLE BOX. In the inside-out order : Item - tape down joints like LCD, lens caps, top-panel displays - cling wrap - bubble wrap - insert into first box - seal + cling wrap - insert into larger second box with foam inserts giving an air-gap between the two boxes - seal + cling wrap - SHIP. Double Boxing improves survivability during shipping. Parcels are treated  horribly. They are flung around, dropped from heights and sometimes pierced during handling. Double boxing adds a second layer of defense. I often purchase affordable plastic bins to pack lenses in and then single box the bin. This is as good as / better than a double carton boxing. Don't skimp on packing, something I called "chindigiri". The 100/150 rupees you save will come to haunt you later if the item is smashed during transit.

6. COMMUNICATION : Be honest, transparent and professional. As a seller it is your duty to pack, ship and communicate the tracking details promptly. As a buyer it is your duty to do due diligence, pay and update the seller once the shipment is received. There is no need for anything more than this for a smooth transaction.

7. CONFLICT RESOLUTION : As a seller your duty ends the moment you ship the item in the condition "as described". This is of course assuming you pack it responsibly and use a reliable carrier to ship. Should the item arrive at the buyer's end with cosmetic/functional damage then something has gone wrong during shipping. In this case THE BEST resolution is for both parties to call it like it is and agree to a 50% settlement. The item can be returned to the seller. There is a famous saying "**** happens" and it usually does. Just accept it as a bad bet and move on. I would say this holds true for equipment up to a couple of Lakh rupees. Beyond that, as a buyer, I would just drive / fly to the seller's location and pick up the equipment in person. If I really trust the seller then I would risk shipping and live with the consequences. The relationship is ALWAYS worth more than the gear. You'll realize this the older you get I guess...

These are just some thoughts I wanted to share with you. I am sure some points may seem controversial but we are here on a platform that depends on mutual trust and respect.