Problems with The Camera Hunter

FrankB · Nov 15, 2006

On Oct 13 I ordered a Rollei 35 lens cap and hood and a Mamiya TLR hood from Dead Link Removed. I received an automated email confirming the order. On Oct 17 my credit card was charged the correct amount.

Since then, nothing.

I've emailed him (politely) three times with no response and phoned the number on the site repeatedly (it's never answered) leaving messages in the voicemail service each time.

The trader (David Wombacher) is a one man band, so there may be a valid reason (illness, absence) for this state of affairs. However, the situation has gone on too long now for me to ignore it.

I suppose my next step will have to be a chat with Mastercard.

Bob F. · Nov 15, 2006

Ignoring emails etc. when things go wrong seems to be a habit of his (and that's putting the best possible view on things - my own opinion is somewhat more severe...) : http://www.resellerratings.com/seller8861.html & http://www.photo.net/neighbor/view-one-about?id=2&about=Camera+Hunter

Get your CC company to do a chargeback and leave as much negative feedback around as you can.

Good luck, Bob.

FrankB · Nov 15, 2006

Thanks for the links, Bob.

Mastercard have been most helpful. They say I'll need to fill out a form but they assure me that I will receive a full refund.

Good news, but also a shame - I'd rather have had the goods than the money. <shrug>

Has anyone used Koh's Camera?

reellis67 · Nov 15, 2006

Sadly, I had a similar experience with this person - the charge appeal process is fairly simple and you should get your money back quickly. They only took three days on my claim if I remember correctly.

- Randy

MattKing · Nov 15, 2006

Same problem for me - and he strung me along so long that I ran out of time to leave negative feedback.

Matt

André E.C. · Nov 16, 2006

Well, I`ve done business with this source and everything went perfectly!

Cheers

André

FrankB · Nov 17, 2006

An update -

When I started this thread and checked the links that Bob forwarded I reached the conclusion that I was not going to get anywhere with this vendor and started a dispute process with Mastercard to recover my funds. I also emailed the vendor to let him know that I was doing this.

I wasn't completely surprised to receive an email from him (my first, except for the autoconfirm of the order) that same day. It was a reply to one of my previous queries sent about ten days previously. He claims not to have received the one detailing my actions with Mastercard.

His version of events is as follows -

He is running a bit behind as he has been in a car accident and currently has a broken hand.
There was a problem with my order; one of the items has had to be backordered from a new supplier (Note - his website showed all the items I ordered as being in stock at that time)
He sent me a previous email informing me of this (Note - I received no such email)

Upon receiving this I sent him a very strongly-worded email demanding a refund and stating that I would proceed with my action via MasterCard if this was not immediately forthcoming. I have now received a full refund from the vendor.

Whether or not you believe the vendor's version of events is up to you, but I've recorded it here out of fairness, along with the fact that he refunded me. However, I certainly won't be dealing with him again.

DWThomas · Nov 17, 2006

Thanks for the review. I read this thread earlier today and just a while ago saw this vendor's name pop up on a fleabay search for some items. As appears to be the case with all e*ay peddlers, there's reams of glowing feedback. Perhaps I'm confused by his high number of transactions, but I thought it odd that there are quite a number of "Feedback Mutually Withdrawn" entries in the log. Being relatively new to prowling the hallowed halls of fleabay, maybe that parameter should be part of my vendor evaluations.

Even among the "positive" entries, there's a fair number of indications of slow shipment and ignored email.

I'm beginning to think the entire scale of feedback for the big auction site is from 98 to 100%. This guy has a 99.2, maybe any vendor below about 99.8 should be skipped over!

Caveat emptor, etc.

DaveT

Papa Tango · Nov 18, 2006

Dave, the entire feedback system is terribly flawed. I have a "99.1%" rating. Now, this is based on 106 transactions from unique vendors, 127 recorded transactions, and over 150 total transactions due to the seller or buyer leaving no feedback. Only one negative or neutral, and it was in an instance that the complexity of "Square Trade" failed the process. The vendor sold me an item missing the power supply board, but advertised it as working...

I have heard a number of poor comments about this vendor. There are quite a few in our area of interest that sell volumes, but are complete crooks. One, an "nsfw" did a bait and switch on me once. The process for making in right failed there too, as it was impossible to get an independent estimate of a Busch Pressman D in this entire region. He spammed all of his old customers last Christmas, and I did a mass reply declining his kind offer and reiterating how he screwed me. I received 38 replies from others on the list who had similar poor experiences, yet none of this was reflected in the fleabay ratings. As always, buyer beware...

Bromo33333 · Nov 18, 2006

Pragmatist said:
Dave, the entire feedback system is terribly flawed. I have a "99.1%" rating. Now, this is based on 106 transactions from unique vendors, 127 recorded transactions, and over 150 total transactions due to the seller or buyer leaving no feedback. Only one negative or neutral, and it was in an instance that the complexity of "Square Trade" failed the process. The vendor sold me an item missing the power supply board, but advertised it as working...

I have heard a number of poor comments about this vendor. There are quite a few in our area of interest that sell volumes, but are complete crooks. One, an "nsfw" did a bait and switch on me once. The process for making in right failed there too, as it was impossible to get an independent estimate of a Busch Pressman D in this entire region. He spammed all of his old customers last Christmas, and I did a mass reply declining his kind offer and reiterating how he screwed me. I received 38 replies from others on the list who had similar poor experiences, yet none of this was reflected in the fleabay ratings. As always, buyer beware...

There are some non-eBay sites that allow to to read "real" feedback on some sellers.

The mutual feedback usually makes people really afraid of leaving bad comments even if the transaction was really bad. Some never leave feedback, too. Classic game theory.

Markok765 · Nov 18, 2006

Bob F. said:
Ignoring emails etc. when things go wrong seems to be a habit of his (and that's putting the best possible view on things - my own opinion is somewhat more severe...) : http://www.resellerratings.com/seller8861.html & http://www.photo.net/neighbor/view-one-about?id=2&about=Camera+Hunter

Get your CC company to do a chargeback and leave as much negative feedback around as you can.

Good luck, Bob.

On the photo.net one, it said the customer left a death threat on his answering machine

rosey · Nov 18, 2006

No problems here

Several days ago I used eBay Buy-It-Now for a Nikon SC-11 sync cord from this seller. I paid $9.99 for it, about half what the local dealer wants. Shipping was $2. It arrived today, and was just as described. Not a big deal, I know, but he was quick.

MattKing · Nov 19, 2006

I think that he should rename his site - "95% okay, the rest are out of luck" would work.

If you are in the fortunate 95% who get the right item - you are happy.

If you are in the other 5%, "so sad, too bad".

The exact percentage is I am sure different, but the percentage of unsatisfied buyers is very significant.

I just wish I got my filters, my strap, and my cord - either that or my (almost $100.00) back .

Matt

Lee Hamiel · Nov 19, 2006

I have bought from him for a long time - from when he had just started up to now and have never had a problem and items were always shipped quickly. I'm guessing maybe 15 transactions over the years.

Not that it's an excuse but sometimes the "automated seller software" that some sellers use could have some glitches too.

Send any emails through the listing page that you bought off of instead of trying to reply to automated threads - this way it isolates the item in question & the email will be sent both to his ebay inbox as well as his direct email.

I have bought & sold on ebay for over 4 years now & have over a 600 rating @ 100% - I feel it's mostly due to the fact that I do not use any automated seller software.

Try emailing him through the listing page & see if you get a response.

Papa Tango · Nov 19, 2006

Bad memory is a terrible thing. It took a bit to put together where I had gotten the poor feedback for Mr. Wombacher. Back in May, I ordered an Op-Tech strap for my Mamiya RB's. Paid immediately on fleabay (as I always do at the completion of a transaction) and received some very nicely worded order confirmations. Here is what it said, and is ominously presages the complaints that keep popping up:

From: camerahunter [mailto:camerahunter@harbornet.com]
Sent: Friday, May 05, 2006 8:20 PM
To: spectrabird
Subject: Thank you for your payment for # 7615655293 (Transaction #507880230) OPTECHSuper Pro Strap Mamiya RB67 RZ67 1000S 645 ~NEW~

Thank you for using my checkout service. I never thought I would actually use an automated service but my sales are to high to work normal hours and get everything shipped. I have done this so I can serve my customers better, faster, and with the highest quality of merchandise and care.

I assure you I am here, I am a one man show and using these automated tools will allow me to spend more time with my family. If there is a problem anywhere down the line I will be here to personally take care of it.

As stated in my auction description I will ship within 2 days of your receiving this email.

I will notify you with another email to let you know I have shipped.

Thank you,

David

My website is a neat one!

www.thecamerahunter.com

I also have a new storefront at

Dead Link Removed

No confirming mail was sent, and one email later (unanswered) as to where my order was, almost three weeks later the strap arrived. It did not properly fit on the camera mounting studs. I emailed about the product being faulty and received a nasty email accusing me of being clueless and ordering the wrong strap. This I fixed by filing the opening on the clip a little more. It was a quality control problem... And to top it off, the price of the strap was $6 cheaper on his online store over his fleabay offerings, billed as "lowest price around". Bah....

snegron · Nov 19, 2006

Thanks for posting this thread. I think it is a wake-up call for many who blindly trust online vendors just because the seem to have something we like at a bargain price. I have been reluctant to buy anything on fleabay. I know many have gotten outstanding deals there, but I trust only established businesses like KEH or B&H. I don't like risking my hard earned money with possible scam artists. To me it's just not worth the risk.

Robert Budding · Nov 19, 2006

Wish I's seen this thread sooner - I just ordered a lens shade from this clown. Oh, well, it was only $6.

Zathras · Nov 27, 2006

Bromo33333 said:
There are some non-eBay sites that allow to to read "real" feedback on some sellers.

The mutual feedback usually makes people really afraid of leaving bad comments even if the transaction was really bad. Some never leave feedback, too. Classic game theory.

A good site for checking feedback is http://www.toolhaus.org I always use this one to check out a seller prior to bidding.

Mike

BruceN · Nov 28, 2006

Zathras said:
A good site for checking feedback is http://www.toolhaus.org I always use this one to check out a seller prior to bidding.

Mike

Thank you very much for that! I shall start using it henceforth.

Bruce

FrankB · Jun 28, 2007

I just thought I'd update this thread.

After the debacle with the "interesting" Mr Wombacher "The Camera Hunter" (see the above and various consumer warning sites around the web!), I finally tracked down the Rollei 35 bits I wanted at Koh's Camera.

A couple of swapped emails ascertained that most of it was in stock except for one item. This was on order, but they couldn't guarantee when it would be coming in. I opted to wait.

Time passed...

I then received a polite email to say the item is now in stock and am I still interested? "Yes please!", I say, the deal is done and the items are shipped air mail the same day. They arrived yesterday, nicely packaged and are all absolutely ideal.

The staff at Koh's have been great - responsive, courteous, efficient and keeping me informed at every stage in the purchase of a few very minor items. Really nice people to do business with.

Thus ends the tale!

mikeg · Jun 29, 2007

Hi Frank,

I missed this thread the first time around. My only problem on ebay has been with camerahunter (see (there was a url link here which no longer exists))

I'll have to remember Koh's Camera. Glad to hear it all got sorted out OK.

Cheers

Mike

Russ - SVP · Jun 29, 2007

I've met Dave and his daughter, quite nice people. But I'm sorry to say, that I had a similar negative experience, when buying on-line from him. After two years, and repeated phone calls, with no response, I gave up...

Kiron Kid

Problems with The Camera Hunter

FrankB

Bob F.

FrankB

reellis67

MattKing

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André E.C.

FrankB

DWThomas

Papa Tango

Bromo33333

Markok765

rosey

MattKing

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Lee Hamiel

Papa Tango

snegron

Robert Budding

Zathras

BruceN

FrankB

mikeg

Russ - SVP

Problems with The Camera Hunter

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