Anybody ordered from Sheetfilm.be?

[Shadowplay_79]

I hate for my first post to be a negative one but has anyone had any problems with ordering film from Geert at sheetfilm.be?

I ordered a box of 25 sheets of Wephota 25ASA film in early January and have still not received it. Initially Geert promised he'd look into the matter but now is completely ignoring my emails and PMs on here, and has been for at least the last month or so.

Does anyone have an alternate email address for him, or if they know him well and could remind him of this I'd be very grateful. Thanks, Andy

 

[Ralph T]

If somebody finds Geert, please also remind him that he owes me a groundglass that I ordered and paid for in March and am still waiting for.

I think he knows that, even though he hasn't answered my emails or PMs lately either.

 

[Uhner]

I ordered and paid for a ground glass in January. In the beginning of April Geert sent me an email in which he told me that the item would be shipped shortly. I have not received the ground glass, nor do Geert answer my emails.

More unhappy customers: (there was a url link here which no longer exists) - see post 5.

 

[Michael W]

Shame to hear this. I bought a ground glass from him late 2007 & he was good to deal with. Quick replies, the glass was nice quality & sent quickly. He even refunded a slight postage overcharge.

 

[Akki14]

When I ordered in March it said they can't promise the usual 6 weeks delivery right on the front page of the website. It still says that on the website now.
"We are currently experiencing a production delay. The normal delivery time of 6 weeks can not be promised. Orders are processed on a first come first serve basis too fulfill our committement. Thanks for the understanding. " - from sheetfilm.be website

By my calculation it's been about 11 weeks for my order personally but I have no clue what their production problems are and I have every faith that I'll get it eventually.

 

[removed account4]

why don't you pm him here ?
he goes by the handle argus ...

 

[Jerevan]

I ordered a ground glass which was paid February 17th. Last notice was a "handling/production started on 7th of April". Nothing has surfaced here yet.

 

[Ralph T]

I've emailed the email addresses I have for him as well as PM'd him here and on LF. No reply to anything.

Seeing that I am not the only one in this boat makes the message pretty clear.

 

[Shadowplay_79]

Thanks for all the replies, makes me feel slightly better for myself that I'm not the only one. But equally annoyed that there are many more people awaiting film/glass.

I've emailed every address he has listed, PMed on here and other forums he is known to frequent with no reply. Luckily I did receive my Lumigrid Groundglass I ordered at the same time as my film, although in all honesty it was not brilliant. Wasn't noticeably brighter than the original Graflex one when it should have been - at least 2 stops apparently.

I wonder if Geert is still taking new orders at the moment?

 

[Ralph T]

I started to place another order and went right up to the payment page, so yes his "business" is continuing.

I think I'm going to try to make my own. According to Dick Dokas, by using the right abrasives, you can produce a gg at least one stop brighter than the norm. Doesn't seem that difficult... maybe I should go into the business.

Dokas link at: http://www.dokasphotos.com/techniques/ground_glass/

 

[Ralph T]

I started to place another order and went right up to the payment page, so yes his "business" is continuing.

I think I'm going to try to make my own. According to Dick Dokas, by using the right abrasives, you can produce a gg at least one stop brighter than the norm. Doesn't seem that difficult... maybe I should go into the business.

Dokas link at: http://www.dokasphotos.com/techniques/ground_glass/

 

[AgX]

There won't be any wonder ground screens: the finer the `grizzle´, the brighter the screen will be at the center and the larger the light-fall-off to the sides will be.

 

[Peter Black]

Update: when visiting the site just now I got the following message:

Sorry,
We're currently closed to solve some problems.

Current orders are still processed and will be shipped

Hope to see you back soon!

GVB Groundglass

 

[Shadowplay_79]

Update: when visiting the site just now I got the following message:

Sorry,
We're currently closed to solve some problems.

Current orders are still processed and will be shipped

Hope to see you back soon!

GVB Groundglass

Interesting. Interesting to see if he does actually honour all of the current orders, seeing as he won't reply to anybody's emails. It would be nice if Geert could have the dignity to just send a reply stating that he is having some problems but the stuff will be sent eventually, instead of complete silence.

 

[JPD]

There won't be any wonder ground screens: the finer the `grizzle´, the brighter the screen will be at the center and the larger the light-fall-off to the sides will be.

I've made a couple using 800 grit silicon carbide. Worked very well, with no problematic "hot spots". The glass I used were old unexposed glass plates with the right dimensions for my Voigtländer Avus and Bergheil cameras. The glass plates also had the same thickness as the original glass, so they fit perfectly in their holders. I think Voigtländer originally used the same glass as plates was made of.

 

[Vanishing Point Ent.]

Why don't you try Brightscreen !

If you can stand dealing with a southern gentleman from the great state of Tennessee, in the States.

Reach him at:

Dead Link Removed

 

[Akki14]

Why don't you try Brightscreen !

If you can stand dealing with a southern gentleman from the great state of Tennessee, in the States.

Reach him at:

Dead Link Removed

Maybe because we in europe do not want to pay a $30 shipping fee... or is it $16 + $30, the shipping page isn't quite clear. If it's the latter, that'd be more than a screen from sheetfilm.be.
Also it's not very helpful for those of us who have ordered as I've emailed sheetfilm.be and requested my order be cancelled and my money refunded and have not had a reply so I'm still out of pocket by about £36.

 

[starvingjack]

Same situation here, I just thought he had alot of back orders.

Ordered mine in Feb 2009..thats like..5 frigging months..

 

[Philippe-Georges]

Scheetfilm is situated about 30 km from where a live, when I have the time, I will check it out, I do not know what is going on with hem.
But what I do know is, that this year about 12 colleagues had to stop their business in my area. I do not know if this is the case with scheetfilm (Argus), and really I do hope it is not.
Ever heard about the recession, due to the American credit crisis, that is going on in Europe now?
It is a f**ng hell of a fight for the small (and big) business over here!
Give us a break!

Philippe

 

[Ralph T]

Things are tough all over, but that doesn't excuse Geert's poor business practices.

Up until about a week ago, he was still taking new orders (paid up front) while being unable or unwilling to communicate with clients who had placed and paid for orders 4 or 5 months ago.

I think we've all given him the break... now it's time for him to deliver.

 

[davekarp]

For those in the USA, another good alternative is Steve Hopf. Look up Steve Hopf's Ground Glass store on EBay.

 

[Shadowplay_79]

Phillippe - please don't patronise us with talk of the recession which we are all more than aware of. If Geert really is affected by this (unlikely) and is having difficulty in fulfilling orders then it would be nice if he had the decency and courtesy to at least let his customers know where they stand. And the fact that he was still taking orders up until recently pretty much renders your theory highly unlikely.

Whether that be a message on the sheetfilm website or even replying to all of the emails with a standard reply that would be better than the wall of silence we have currently. I am fortunate in the fact that I am only awaiting a single box of sheetfilm but a quick search on the internet (and looking at this thread) reveals many people have spent a lot of money and are waiting for much larger orders. This is not acceptable.

And finally, the groundglass I ordered (and received) was no better in terms of brightness than the original Graflex one. Sorry if I seem like I am moaning but dealing with Geert has been a complete waste of time and money.

 

[Shadowplay_79]

Quick update - Geert has refunded me the money for the film. Hopefully other people have heard something from him too.

 

[starvingjack]

my status says "shipped" but its been a month since...

hmm....

 

[Ralph T]

I see his website is back online. My order now shows "handling/production" started on June 22.

I guess that's a start. I live in hope.