But the joke didn't really work with websites, because then all you'd need is your Alt+PrintScreen button.. and I hear the scams for getting cheap keyboard buttons haven't quite taken off yet...
Several friends of ours have recently had unsatisfactory buying experiences.
They all researched the cameras they wanted, and they thought they had adequately investigated the dealers. They saw the full-page ads in major photo magazines, the professionally-designed websites, the high dealer ratings on prominent search-sites. They saw all the trappings of the modern online secure shopping site. They trusted that their credit card companies, the respected magazines, and even the states which are home to the merchants, would help ensure a good transaction. And, of course, the prices were hard to resist. Why were our friends ultimately disappointed?
We took a look at some of the factors and some of the businesses involved, and we offer the information we've found to all who are considering purchasing cameras, video equipment and electronics from the comfort of their living rooms and offices.
This website is a partial scorecard. We hope it will help readers understand who some of the better-known dealers are, what's behind the ads and websites, and how to find further information.
We believe that open information benefits both consumers and dealers. We think the whole photographic industry -- hobbyists, professionals, dealers and manufacturers -- is healthier when consumers have clear idea of how to research a transaction and whom they will be dealing with.
We've tried to make these pages accurate. All the information included is from public sources. If you know of any errors, please inform us and we will correct them at once. If you have further information you think we should be aware of, contact us. (Please -- no rumors or speculation; only confirmable facts.)
Our contact details are here.
WELL KNOWN DEALERS
We have examined some of the online dealers who specialize in cameras and electronics, looking behind the ads and websites to find out who they are and how they do business. We chose some of the most visible companies -- the ones with heavy national advertising and prominent ranking on internet search engines. Many of them have sprung up in the last few years, while some have been around online and in traditional stores for decades.
Judging from customer surveys, newsgroup discussions and published articles, some of them are held in high regard while others are despised.
There were some surprises. The biggest one is that many apparently separate and competing dealers are actually jointly owned and run. This is no secret to followers of the many online photography and video forums, but we believe the intertwining is unsuspected by most consumers. On this site we've grouped many of the dealers into "families" to clarify their identities. They form a truly tangled web, with many overlapping corporate connections, addresses and telephones.
Another surprise was that some dealers act mainly as brokers, with little or no inventory of their own and no "real stores." In our opinion this should not disqualify a business from consideration, but it does contribute to frequent misunderstandings about what is "in stock".
The biggest obstacle to any research is that some dealers go to great lengths to conceal their locations and management. Sadly, this disguising seems to be the norm for many newer, web-only merchants.
We believe that open information benefits both consumers and dealers.
We have included the names of individuals where we could find them, so that consumers know whom to contact with compliments or questions or complaints about a specific transaction.
We believe that a businessperson who is proud of the way his or her business is conducted will be proud to be publicly associated with it.
Some of our information may be out of date, as some companies may change location, telephone numbers or personnel. We welcome updates or corrections via email here.
Sources Cited
Much of the information on these pages is attributed to these sources:
Someone should go around and take pictures of all the proprietors and store-fronts of these scammy camera salesman and post them on a website somewhere so the rest of us can be informed....
If you'd like to volunteer, let me know, I have a great camera I can give you for a low-low price, that would be perfect for the job.
//put more believable words in here, sometimes larger words //convince the/. crowd that Im actually intelligent
I would like to say that commenting code has helped me many times to more completely understand the crap my co-workers produce.
//TODO: make the following post an actual haiku, to amuse //the more advanced crowd
Haiku comments would be disastrous
DOH! Does this mean I missed the biggest day of the year to get online and talk dirty to women who are actually men pretending to be women pretending to like men who are pretending not to like little boys?
You do realize that nowhere in my post did I "complain" that it was rejected.. quite the opposite I assumed, as you did, that the/. crowd was all over this story the moment it came out and it had probably been submitted 100 times before me. I submitted it myself as a way to lodge my "vote" that the original submitter should be approved, as it was a topic of interest among the/. community.
I know this because I submitted it to/. and was immediately rejected...
I had 2 motives when I typed that line, neither of which was to complain, or grouse about my rejection.
1. To backup my statement of the story being available earlier this morning.
2. To show that I favor a system in which the story is immediately presented to the site readers, and they then decide if the story should be published. More than likely, in the Digg environment, my story would never have been submitted in the first place, as I would have already read it in the queue, and added my digg to promote it up.
I always find it irritating when people complain about other peoples postings, just to hear themselves speak. Give yourself a cookie, pat on the head, and continue indulgingyourinflatedselfimportance.
Good lord... won't a required move to 64 bit architecture put all those gaming addicts with drug addictions into a heroin induced frenzy? I mean if you think it's hard to kick the 32 bit habit.. now they'll be selling their own mothers to get the next copy of Duke Nukem 64ever...
I seem to remember in 1998, I made my first eBay purchase, and it was a fantastic deal. Great stereo receiver, fantastic price, easy transaction and no headaches... it still works great to this day.
Anymore if I happen to hop on eBay, all I see are hundreds (if not thousands) of the same HOT TICKET, LIMITED AVAIL, CANT FIND THIS ANYWHERE regurgitated items being sold over and over again to the public and over-inflated prices (dont even get me started on shipping at ebay).
It's less and less a viable place to do business, as a consumer or a retailer, as the site is flooded with the same crap, mostly imitations, be hawked as hard to find, rare items that are actually useless junk. I don't even want to start talking about all the dam *FAKE* items out there, where you can buy INFORMATION leading to a purchase...
Dammit, where was the FREE API and whatnot a year or so ago when I was deciding between paying their outrageous fees or developing my own custom solution (using ugly screen scraping techniques and whatnot) in order to grow my eBay based lingerie business...
My custom solution worked fine, but nothing near as streamlined as it could have been using their API... too little too late eBay, you're allready on a downward spiral IMHO, and this won't save you from the fall.
Oh well, at least I still have a box full of sexy outfits and vibrators in my closet somewhere gathering dust... someday I'll find a way to lure that sexy woman on the corner into my house and use them, but until then Mom will just have to stay on the corner.
This is from google after I timed out trying to sign-up:
Currently Undergoing Maintenance
Google Analytics reporting is currently undergoing maintenance and will be available shortly. Your site traffic is being logged and you will be able to see the data after system maintenance has concluded.
Is Google starting to slip? I hit the "Sign up >>" button within Google Analytics, recieved a Javascript error "Syntax Error" and have been waiting on a response page for 3 minutes now....
This just isn't the quality I'd expect from their team of PhD and mental masters...
Google if you're listening.. I have pages of code that throw syntax errors... scoop me up quick! I'm everything you're looking for and more!
Anybody have the definitive list of tech/geek/info websites out there? I am occasionally hearing about interesting sits through this fashion (complaining that they beat/. to the punch) and I always enjoy the site after browsing it.. but I'd like the end all, be all list please...
Slashdot Mirror
=)
But the joke didn't really work with websites, because then all you'd need is your Alt+PrintScreen button.. and I hear the scams for getting cheap keyboard buttons haven't quite taken off yet...
They all researched the cameras they wanted, and they thought they had adequately investigated the dealers. They saw the full-page ads in major photo magazines, the professionally-designed websites, the high dealer ratings on prominent search-sites. They saw all the trappings of the modern online secure shopping site. They trusted that their credit card companies, the respected magazines, and even the states which are home to the merchants, would help ensure a good transaction. And, of course, the prices were hard to resist. Why were our friends ultimately disappointed?
We took a look at some of the factors and some of the businesses involved, and we offer the information we've found to all who are considering purchasing cameras, video equipment and electronics from the comfort of their living rooms and offices.
This website is a partial scorecard. We hope it will help readers understand who some of the better-known dealers are, what's behind the ads and websites, and how to find further information.
We believe that open information benefits both consumers and dealers. We think the whole photographic industry -- hobbyists, professionals, dealers and manufacturers -- is healthier when consumers have clear idea of how to research a transaction and whom they will be dealing with.
We've tried to make these pages accurate. All the information included is from public sources. If you know of any errors, please inform us and we will correct them at once. If you have further information you think we should be aware of, contact us. (Please -- no rumors or speculation; only confirmable facts.)
Our contact details are here.
WELL KNOWN DEALERS
We have examined some of the online dealers who specialize in cameras and electronics, looking behind the ads and websites to find out who they are and how they do business. We chose some of the most visible companies -- the ones with heavy national advertising and prominent ranking on internet search engines. Many of them have sprung up in the last few years, while some have been around online and in traditional stores for decades.
Judging from customer surveys, newsgroup discussions and published articles, some of them are held in high regard while others are despised.
There were some surprises. The biggest one is that many apparently separate and competing dealers are actually jointly owned and run. This is no secret to followers of the many online photography and video forums, but we believe the intertwining is unsuspected by most consumers. On this site we've grouped many of the dealers into "families" to clarify their identities. They form a truly tangled web, with many overlapping corporate connections, addresses and telephones.
Another surprise was that some dealers act mainly as brokers, with little or no inventory of their own and no "real stores." In our opinion this should not disqualify a business from consideration, but it does contribute to frequent misunderstandings about what is "in stock".
The biggest obstacle to any research is that some dealers go to great lengths to conceal their locations and management. Sadly, this disguising seems to be the norm for many newer, web-only merchants.
We believe that open information benefits both consumers and dealers.
We have included the names of individuals where we could find them, so that consumers know whom to contact with compliments or questions or complaints about a specific transaction.
We believe that a businessperson who is proud of the way his or her business is conducted will be proud to be publicly associated with it.
Some of our information may be out of date, as some companies may change location, telephone numbers or personnel. We welcome updates or corrections via email here.
Sources Cited Much of the information on these pages is attributed to these sources:
If you'd like to volunteer, let me know, I have a great camera I can give you for a low-low price, that would be perfect for the job.
Guess it's better than the 133t speak generation, ughg
Once again Digg beats /. to the punch, and more accurately all the while.
Well now we know you're not a /. regular, I mean "Google gets it wrong", what does that even mean? I'm having trouble computing... arrrghghghghgh!!!
SCAN THIS GOOGLE!
I would like to say that commenting code has helped me many times to more completely understand the crap my co-workers produce.
Haiku comments would be disastrous
DOH! Does this mean I missed the biggest day of the year to get online and talk dirty to women who are actually men pretending to be women pretending to like men who are pretending not to like little boys?
a top Realm employee has revealed that the first copy of DukeNukem Forever will be posted with Vista...
I looked at those current submissions, and if I could get my text editor to do that, I wouldn't need any fancy competition to validate my skillz!
Well wake em up!
Nothing to see here but Steers & Queers Rootkits
I know this because I submitted it to /. and was immediately rejected...
I had 2 motives when I typed that line, neither of which was to complain, or grouse about my rejection.
1. To backup my statement of the story being available earlier this morning.
2. To show that I favor a system in which the story is immediately presented to the site readers, and they then decide if the story should be published. More than likely, in the Digg environment, my story would never have been submitted in the first place, as I would have already read it in the queue, and added my digg to promote it up.
I always find it irritating when people complain about other peoples postings, just to hear themselves speak. Give yourself a cookie, pat on the head, and continue indulging your inflated self importance.
I know this because I submitted it to /. and was immediately rejected...
Score one more for Digg, as at least there the user community would have accepted or rejected my story...
Good lord... won't a required move to 64 bit architecture put all those gaming addicts with drug addictions into a heroin induced frenzy? I mean if you think it's hard to kick the 32 bit habit.. now they'll be selling their own mothers to get the next copy of Duke Nukem 64ever...
I just assumed /. readers would be smart enough to catch that on their own thank you.
Anymore if I happen to hop on eBay, all I see are hundreds (if not thousands) of the same HOT TICKET, LIMITED AVAIL, CANT FIND THIS ANYWHERE regurgitated items being sold over and over again to the public and over-inflated prices (dont even get me started on shipping at ebay).
It's less and less a viable place to do business, as a consumer or a retailer, as the site is flooded with the same crap, mostly imitations, be hawked as hard to find, rare items that are actually useless junk. I don't even want to start talking about all the dam *FAKE* items out there, where you can buy INFORMATION leading to a purchase...
I'm done with you eBay.
FTFA - It's the latest ion a series of moves to expand the eBay developer community.
has a damn typo in it... are all editors just going to crap these days?
My custom solution worked fine, but nothing near as streamlined as it could have been using their API... too little too late eBay, you're allready on a downward spiral IMHO, and this won't save you from the fall. Oh well, at least I still have a box full of sexy outfits and vibrators in my closet somewhere gathering dust... someday I'll find a way to lure that sexy woman on the corner into my house and use them, but until then Mom will just have to stay on the corner.
Currently Undergoing Maintenance
Google Analytics reporting is currently undergoing maintenance and will be available shortly. Your site traffic is being logged and you will be able to see the data after system maintenance has concluded.
This just isn't the quality I'd expect from their team of PhD and mental masters...
Google if you're listening.. I have pages of code that throw syntax errors... scoop me up quick! I'm everything you're looking for and more!
Anybody have the definitive list of tech/geek/info websites out there? I am occasionally hearing about interesting sits through this fashion (complaining that they beat /. to the punch) and I always enjoy the site after browsing it.. but I'd like the end all, be all list please...