Saturday, January 22, 2011

Too Good To Be True?

I like Craigs List. I get on it every day and search for things that I may be interested in buying. I have bought a few things and have sold a few things, as have my kids.

One of my regular searches is for the word "Canon". As two of my cameras are Canons, I figure that I may get lucky and score an accessory or two at a good price. Last shift, I logged on during a lull in the action and searched the term "Canon".

I scrolled through the usual printers, point and shoot cameras and kit lenses before an ad caught my eye:

"Too good to be true sale"

With a title like that I had to click on it. Below is the ad as it appeared:

My husband is a professional photographer. He felt the need to cheat on me with one of his bimbo high school senior portrait clients, so I am going to teach him a lesson he will never forget. All the gear he left in my house while he is "away on business" is up for grabs for a crisp 20 dollar bill.

Im not sure what all is what but there is a bag full of Canon stuff. Looks like at least a couple cameras, something that looks like a flash(has 580EXII on the top?) and some lenses(some black, some white). Most of it is really heavy and as much as I would like to smash it against the wall to get some satisfaction, knowing I sold his gear for pennies will make him considerably more furious.


Come and get it!! 


I gotta say, the cheapest I have ever seen a Canon 580EXII flash retail for was $420, on-line.  White Canon lenses start at about a grand apiece. That bag full of Canon stuff could have been a pretty valuable bag.

I was really tempted to reply, but two things kept me from doing so. First of all, I was on duty, couldn't get away and didn't want to get involved with trying to close a deal while at work. Second of all, it DOES sound to good to be true. Sometimes ads of this type are set-ups or scams and as I really don't NEED anything, (wanting is another issue) I couldn't see any reason to put myself at risk. Although we usually take precautions on transactions of this type, sometimes the ads themselves just sound hinky enough to make pursuing it not worthwhile.

Hopefully, someone replied, got called back and scored a bag full of high-end camera equipment for twenty bucks. I wonder what the husband thought when he came home and found his gadget bag gone along with his gear. It's pretty hard for a professional photographer to make a living without cameras, lenses and flashes.

I wonder if he feels the bimbo high school senior portrait client was worth losing his equipment for. My guess is not, but who knows. I also think that if he puts himself in this situation again, he will make sure he takes his camera with him and locks it in the trunk. At least then he would have a way to make a buck.

Looking back, I wish I would have replied. At least I would have a better idea if the ad was legit. As it is, I will never know. It is fun to think about though.

Thanks for reading,
A curious Schmoe.

4 comments:

  1. Eh. If the whole thing is legit, the equipment isn't really hers to sell. It's his, and if it's really as valuable as you and I think it is he's going to try finding it just as soon as he gets home - and gets out of jail.

    Meantime, for all we know the old lady could be a real fruitcake and the entire infidelity thing is made up from her delusions.

    Or not. Yeah, I'd like to know the real story too, but I've got enough drama in my life already.

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  2. Mad Jack - My brother in law scored a whole garage worth of wood working equipment in this same fashion. The difference was the woman who was selling it was a friend of his wife's so he knew what the deal was. The deal wasn't that sweet, but it was still a score.

    I guess I'll just have to keep saving pennies to score thos e fancy lenses.

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  3. H.G. - Yeah, he got his. However I did learn that If I ever really piss The Saint off, not to leave my camera at home. Just sayin'.

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