price gouging on ebay

Is it the auction you have a problem with?

No not at all. Will place an order on http://enhancedviewhd.com/ later today. Will also bid up your eBay auction and win it. Once the unpaid item case with eBay ends you'll no longer have a contractual obligation with the camera and will be able to fulfill your back orders and ship it right out to me @ 2,995.

Looking forward to getting my camera in soon!

-Cheers

Is it the auction you have a problem with?

No not at all. Will place an order on http://enhancedviewhd.com/ later today. Will also bid up your eBay auction and win it. Once the unpaid item case with eBay ends you'll no longer have a contractual obligation with the camera and will be able to fulfill your back orders and ship it right out to me @ 2,995.

Looking forward to getting my camera in soon!

-Cheers

Somehow I'm the unethical one.

Somehow I'm the unethical one.

Really do not care if you think its ethical or not, I was just letting you know what I am doing.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BlackMagic-Desi ... 19d87ee0c9

Just queued it up on my sniping service.

-Cheers

Going to bid on my seller account too to avoid that whole 2nd chance offer thing eBay has.

Really do not care if you think its ethical or not, I was just letting you know what I am doing.

-Cheers

Oh, ok, sorry for the misunderstanding..

So just for the sake of transparency, let me let you know what we're doing. Our eBay account rep is well aware of this auction and all of the backlash we expected from disgruntled potential suitors. So it's a good thing that you decided to make public your intentions about how you are going to bid on an item and not pay for it. eBay and our rep have been notified of your intentions and we shall let the chips fall where they may. I have no idea what your eBay account ID is nor do I care to know.. I'm sure eBay can figure it out.

Oh, ok, sorry for the misunderstanding..

So just for the sake of transparency, let me let you know what we're doing. Our eBay account rep is well aware of this auction and all of the backlash we expected from disgruntled potential suitors. So it's a good thing that you decided to make public your intentions about how you are going to bid on an item and not pay for it. eBay and our rep have been notified of your intentions and we shall let the chips fall where they may. I have no idea what your eBay account ID is nor do I care to know.. I'm sure eBay can figure it out.

I really think you are overestimating how much eBay cares about their sellers, last I checked they didn't. But in any case we shall see.

-Cheers

JoeyL, Do you care to publicly tell us what your ebay accounts are? Ours is enhancedviewservices

JoeyL, Do you care to publicly tell us what your ebay accounts are? Ours is enhancedviewservices

I shall decline that request, but you already knew that.

-Cheers

I shall decline that request, but you already knew that.

Figures..

*goes and gets some popcorn*

Actually, I have to admit that I am not too surprised at how vicious people get, when they think they are entitled to something...

From a purely "objective" point of view, I believe everybody is their rights to sell an item he or she owns at whatever price they think the market will "swallow".

Right now, everybody wants a BMCC and almost nobody has one to offer, so prices go to sometimes ridiculous markups. Many people on this forum profit from that mechanism one way or the other, so I have kind of a hard time seeing all the "poor" victims here who are being cheated by people putting stuff on eBay.

The rule is simple: You either wait and get the camera in due time for $3K or you can't wait and get it sooner for more $$$. It's actually the buyers choice.

IF you are frustrated at the lack of deliverability from BMD, don't take it out on the people trying to take advantage of this situation. That is what the US meritocracy/hyper-capitalism is all about after all...

I'd have some sympathy with your view remopini, if the person in question wasn't a reseller/dealer.

Enhancedviewhd,

While I understand your legal right to operate in this manner, I cannot understand how this can be considered a sound business decision.

If your business model is modeled after Premier Properties attempting to sell customers on the Glengary Land, that makes sense. However, as businesses should strive to provide their customer's with the best experience possible in an attempt to generate repeat business and positive word of mouth to other potential customers, I again must say I find your decision to post the BMCC you have in your possession on ebay to the highest bidder rather baffling and, no offense, sleazy.

Once again, it is within your legal rights to take a camera that you have already paid for (at least 30% below MSRP mind you, as BMD I imagine cannot support a distribution model where their authorized partners are required to hawk their wares for such low margin levels) and sell it for whatever price the market (in this case ebay) dictates. However, I find your choice to do so a rather uninspired and potentially damaging, manner of doing so. Not only that, but this is a huge wasted opportunity for your business. Allow me to elaborate:

As the BMCC is one of, if not THE, most in demand cameras at the moment (due almost entirely to the lack of supply), EnhancedViewHD could have taken this opportunity to reach out to the community (via this forum or other mediums) to announce the availability of a single camera and no present back orders. ** Now as someone who is quite the rare movie print collector, I have become frustrated with many poster companies that operate on a first come -first serve basis, as they cater only to the person with the fastest index finger, who in turn typically winds up being an ebay flipper themselves. There are few things more frustrating than seeing the rare movie poster you have coveted for days being sold mere minutes after they go on sale online on ebay for a 1000% markup. This has been a sore spot for me for years. One day, to soothe the ache of missing out on a particularly awesome Let Me In print done by Olly Moss, I thought of an alternative to the first come first serve method currently employed by most distributors. **

As the supply is so limited and the demand is so high, why not run a contest to determine who receives the product (I get that ebay is a contest in and of itself, but it is a lazy contest and doesn't do much to generate much excitement beyond the seller and the eventual winner.) A promotional contest where willing buyers submit applications, or videos, or whatever to deem themselves worthy of buying the product, is a way to generate excitement for not only the product, but for the company selling the product as well. It shows they are in tune with their customers and are willing to go the extra mile to provide them with a memorable experience. More importantly (I would hope), it eliminates a PR nightmare like you are currently experiencing by selling at such a high price when there are willing buyers through the traditional channels.

When it comes down to it, it is your decision, EnhancedViewHD. I just figure in a market as competitive as the re seller one currently is, why not use this as an opportunity to differentiate yourself form your competitors. Then I could be talking to Levene the Machine here and I could be wasting my breath.

Respectfully,

Lucas.

And how the **** are you an authorized Blackmagic reseller again?

Why, have I done something wrong? If so, could you please explain what that is? I put up a camera that I own for "$2995", with no buyers in line.. Posted this to eBay for 24 hours with "NO RESERVE".. Within 30 minutes of putting it up there is one bid..

Please, please, please explain what we have done wrong.

Is it the auction you have a problem with?

With an auction you have the potential to earn far more that $2995 which i think you very well know. I might have backed you up if you'd listed it at 0.99c..maybe.

What you could and should have done is just updated your website where you have the camera listed and said "1 in stock" and come on this forum or bmcuser or on twitter and announce you have one in stock to sell at the list price. You might have gotten some respect and even some long term customers....

Enhancedviewhd,

While I understand your legal right to operate in this manner, I cannot understand how this can be considered a sound business decision.

If your business model is modeled after Premier Properties attempting to sell customers on the Glengary Land, that makes sense. However, as businesses should strive to provide their customer's with the best experience possible in an attempt to generate repeat business and positive word of mouth to other potential customers, I again must say I find your decision to post the BMCC you have in your possession on ebay to the highest bidder rather baffling and, no offense, sleazy.

Once again, it is within your legal rights to take a camera that you have already paid for (at least 30% below MSRP mind you, as BMD I imagine cannot support a distribution model where their authorized partners are required to hawk their wares for such low margin levels) and sell it for whatever price the market (in this case ebay) dictates. However, I find your choice to do so a rather uninspired and potentially damaging, manner of doing so. Not only that, but this is a huge wasted opportunity for your business. Allow me to elaborate:

As the BMCC is one of, if not THE, most in demand cameras at the moment (due almost entirely to the lack of supply), EnhancedViewHD could have taken this opportunity to reach out to the community (via this forum or other mediums) to announce the availability of a single camera and no present back orders. ** Now as someone who is quite the rare movie print collector, I have become frustrated with many poster companies that operate on a first come -first serve basis, as they cater only to the person with the fastest index finger, who in turn typically winds up being an ebay flipper themselves. There are few things more frustrating than seeing the rare movie poster you have coveted for days being sold mere minutes after they go on sale online on ebay for a 1000% markup. This has been a sore spot for me for years. One day, to soothe the ache of missing out on a particularly awesome Let Me In print done by Olly Moss, I thought of an alternative to the first come first serve method currently employed by most distributors. **

As the supply is so limited and the demand is so high, why not run a contest to determine who receives the product (I get that ebay is a contest in and of itself, but it is a lazy contest and doesn't do much to generate much excitement beyond the seller and the eventual winner.) A promotional contest where willing buyers submit applications, or videos, or whatever to deem themselves worthy of buying the product, is a way to generate excitement for not only the product, but for the company selling the product as well. It shows they are in tune with their customers and are willing to go the extra mile to provide them with a memorable experience. More importantly (I would hope), it eliminates a PR nightmare like you are currently experiencing by selling at such a high price when there are willing buyers through the traditional channels.

When it comes down to it, it is your decision, EnhancedViewHD. I just figure in a market as competitive as the re seller one currently is, why not use this as an opportunity to differentiate yourself form your competitors. Then I could be talking to Levene the Machine here and I could be wasting my breath.

Respectfully,

Lucas.

Haha, nice Glengary Glen Ross reference. BLACK MAGIC IS FOR CLOSERS!

Why don't you just let him earn his $ 4000,- on the BMC and then never sell anything again to all the people reading this forum. As a vendor this company is dead for me.

And if BM care about anything customer-related other than their money they should react accordingly and never supply this company again.

enhancedviewhd

Since you ask for an explanation of what you did wrong... As long as your reseller contract with BMD doesn't have any limitations on sale price then I don't see why you should not be able to auction the camera. There's nothing legally "wrong" with it, maybe it's not even unethical. But my thoughts are that you squandered good will, not to mention a golden opportunity. There's probably a thousand more creative ways you could have sold the camera and gotten great press - worth way more than a thousand or so dollars from eBay. You might have posted here that you had one in stock and gotten yourself 10 pre-orders. Who knows...? My feeling is that you lost money in the long run. Maybe BMD products are something you don't even care about selling..? I don't know what your intention was with your forum replies, but it obviously was not to make the situation better. If your message is "screw you customers, I am free to do whatever I want" then it has been received loud and clear.

I really question BMD for shipping a product to a reseller with no back-orders, when there is unprecedented demand and waiting lists at virtually every other retailer in the world. So I hope they do their part to look into this situation. You should never have received a camera until the back-orders are fulfilled.

Just throwing this out into the conversational ether:

About a week ago, I saw a BMCC on eBay. It had a $3299 Buy it Now price with next day shipping. This was from what I can only assume was a reputable NY dealer (they looked reputable, at least). Although I'm waiting for the MFT model, this seemed like too good a deal to pass up. While I was doing PayPal checkout, the camera was purchased. I was only upset because I hadn't won the camera myself.

However, I was actually quite pleased with the seller. A markup of $299 to cover eBay and PayPal fees, along with next day shipping, well, that's reasonable. This price gouging and auctioning, in my opinion, is not. It's artificial price gouging of the worst kind, perpetrated by opportunistic d-bags. What I think confuses people with this eBay auction in particular is that it's coming from a dealer who is moaning about a witch hunt. A dealer who, presumably, would want to generate MORE business rather than bad will. There will always be opportunists who try to take advantage of a bad situation. Most of them sold Wiis back when there was a shortage there. They'll move on to the next opportunity when this is all said and done. A company whose very purpose is to sell equipment to customers will not. The only benefit to this whole thing is to make a couple hundred to thousand off your initial purchase. The drawbacks are much, much larger. It makes no logical sense.

What else could you do with the camera? Sell it for what its worth. However, given that you have no backorders, you could have done something interesting, like hold a raffle, or some kind of contest. "What Will You Do with Your BMCC? WIN A CAMERA!" Events such as those can band a community together, especially in a creative environment. Whoever won might make that project and put it on YouTube. Then, maybe you could tie back in to the YouTube video on YOUR site, and tell the world, "Check this out! We, unlike those price gouging d-bags, sold this camera to a creative person, and here's what they did with it. Pre-order yours today!"

That's just one example. There are literally THOUSANDS of potential ideas out there one can do to build clientele, community, STILL make money, AND make new customers.

Instead, you said "F it, throw it on eBay."

Hence, the witch hunt.

My 2 cents: In a free market where both parties are free to exchange value for value, any price that is voluntarily set is morally right. It is soley between the parties involved. The exchange will only occur if both parties feel the exchange is of equal value.

A higher price might be considered reasonable by some. In this case a higher price is warranted for having access to a limited item. It's very common to pay a premium on a highly sought after good. Someone might be willing to pay the extra amount because of a pressing need. Let's say they have a production contract that will generate them $15,000 if they shoot on a BMCC and start production in 2 weeks. It would make sense to secure the contract and buy the high priced camera. It's only a few thousand above retail for the right to have a camera now. Circumstances determine what is appropriate. The seller is ethical. He offers up a rare good at a price he believes the market will support. Buyers are free to accept the offer or pass.

This is basic econ 101, supply & demand stuff.

Regardless of ethics in the past, it's currently $3.5k on eBay. Unfortunately they only ship to the US so I will have to buy another different camera till I can get the BMCC. A little extra now would mean I get it immediately, but I live elsewhere so they won't sell me the camera

Another reseller goughing the market at $1000 over (recommended) market price: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 5476150182

Reseller's website: http://www.avalive.com/

It's becoming ridiculous:The U.K has had next to nothing! I've been very patient and even defended BMD at the beginning of the year when there were complaints. But seeing this day after day is pissing me off as my wait nears 10 months. Surely you have a contract with resellers prohibiting this sort of behavior.

I bought mine on ebay at 200.00 over retail. I was happy with that. They used a buy it now function so I did. It never crossed my mind that they could of had preorders. Although at 200 over the retail price I hope not, the little bit of money extra is not going to make a difference in the long run. The company that I have my real order with has keep me in the dark about the status of the camera. I have 6 projects ready to shoot and could not afford a red rental or purchase. But since I've had my camera the camera alone has gotten me 4 paid gigs. The 200 was made back the first night. Also be prepaired to by lots of memory, lot's of memory, lot's of memory. I think it's larger files than the red.

Hey Nathan that was me who bought it. The company was great. I Hope to do business with them in the future. When I saw it on ebay I was leary because it was at retail. But with the paypal option I said why not. Glad I didn't wait another second on that buy now. I look at it twice before I purchased it.

This is a quote from enhanced view does Black magic really want to do business with people like this? I don't, just read there stuff in this post. We have a camera you don't, we only care about making money and screw any pre-orders.

Is this really how you conduct business, I have bought from you before but I for sure will never again, I know this is not my fight but it is Black Magic's.

(So just for the sake of transparency, let me let you know what we're doing. Our eBay account rep is well aware of this auction and all of the backlash we expected from disgruntled potential suitors. So it's a good thing that you decided to make public your intentions about how you are going to bid on an item and not pay for it. eBay and our rep have been notified of your intentions and we shall let the chips fall where they may. I have no idea what your eBay account ID is nor do I care to know.. I'm sure eBay can figure it out.)

In a free market where both parties are free... This is basic... supply & demand stuff.

A post on the other popular forum notifies us that a vendor in Toronto (formerly land of the forsaken) has just received a new shipment of 20 cameras! So make hay while the sun shines because it sounds like the rain is beginning to fall finally and the free market price will begin to be much closer to the MSRP or the vendor's normal posted offers.

Rick Lang
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Hey Nathan that was me who bought it. The company was great. I Hope to do business with them in the future. When I saw it on ebay I was leary because it was at retail. But with the paypal option I said why not. Glad I didn't wait another second on that buy now. I look at it twice before I purchased it.

It was YOU!

Although I'm seriously jealous, it's good to know that the camera went to someone who is using it, rather than someone who would flip it back on eBay for profit.

What was the name of the company? I lost the info in the eBay shuffle and wouldn't mind adding them to our vendor list.

Still, jealous.

I think this thread has run its course. I have read the same BS from both sides over and over...this is going nowhere. Time to lock it

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Kellards-Downtown Photo
212-747-8789

Was the seller that sold at retail with $40 shipping. On Ebay they go by downtownphoto, great guys in my opinion.

Another selling on ebay don't know if they're official resellers but they do advertise general purchasing of the camera on their sites.
http://enhancedviewhd.com/index.php/acq ... SdWVqVhiSo