Pictures, More Pictures

I have an Olympus camera which Michael Grace once referred to as a PHD (push here, dummy). My eyesight is aged and my interest in photography is nil. I can't deny that photos help. They help me too when I am buying. That's why I include them.
But the whole download, file, catalog process is a bore to me.
For 35 years one hobby has been enough. Now you guys tell me I need another one. None of you would buy anything from me without a rotogravure. Never mind the fact that I know what I'm talking about, have perfect and voluminous feedback and invite phone calls. Gotta have a lot of pictures.
It just seems to me like we got off the rails somewhere.

Well, here's my take. Many of my replies have been from Europe.
There are many excellent photos available to demonstrate configuration and function available on the Rowland website and, for Zu, on the 6moons site. In both cases the photography far exceeds what I am capable of providing.

What I have experienced so far, has been people who ask no questions about the gear and do not indicate what they are hoping to see. They just ask for hi-rez pictures.

And finally, the Rowland stuff is notoriously difficult to photograph well and the Zu speakers are a copper metal flake that glows. It picks up the faintest bit of light and exaggerates it. In the morning the sun reflecting off these speakers makes the wall look like it is on fire.

Believe it or not, in both cases, I selected the best of a dozen shots before I posted them.

You gotta buy the product, not the pictures. And you gotta trust the feedback, at least a little. I get a lot of comfort or a sense of aversion by talking to people. That's why I often include a phone number with my responses, just in case other people feel they can learn something from personal communication.

My feedback is strong and my patterns of buying and selling indicate that I am a binge trader. In other words, I am not a dealer, just a guy who periodically goes on a buying and selling update spree.

I can't help but think these photo buyers (if they really are buyers) are going to be photoshopped out of a lot of money someday.

It wasn't so long ago that we bought stuff like this with no photos whatsoever. Why are they imperative now?

DCSTEP - Will you please lighten up on the Rowland promotion? You are way out of context. And besides, I bought my first piece of Rowland gear from Jeff in 1979 when he was making stuff in his garage without a brand name. It was a full function, battery-powered preamp. Rod Thompson and I worked for the Crisman Speaker Company together in 1976. I think I can proceed without your guidance and prompting.

Sorry. I still don't get it. I mean I understand plainly that everyone wants pictures. I just don't understand the level of emphasis this want receives. You can see 6 gorgeous photos of a $4000 power amp only to find out, once you own it, that it doesn't work. You'll be getting what you were concerned about though. It will have no blemishes.
Or maybe you'll buy some stone gorgeous turntable with arm, cartridge, isolation platform and the seven most sought after tweaks, only to learn later that the seller sent you pictures of somebody else's turntable and headed for Lisbon.
You know, the funny thing in all this is that I have not received a photo request from Europe yet. They always open by asking if I would be willing to ship over there.

Macrojack: It is what it is!!

So's the weather - but people talk about it.

I'm not upset. And I don't need more hits. The response has been quite adequate. In fact, I'm not even all that eager to sell. It costs six bucks to drop your line in the water and there are upgrades I would pursue if the planets were to align favorably, but what I have is pretty new and pretty nice.

The reason for the thread is simple enough - I just sold a couple of stereo amps and traded a phono section for an amp. None of this required suspicions or proof. Naturally, it's nice to see the product in a photo. Certainly it makes sense for a buyer to sometimes need a specific question answered or a specific detail revealed. What I've gotten lately were requests for more photos, without any conversation whatsoever. In fact, as far as I could tell, pictures were all the guy wanted. Sorry, but that rubbed me the wrong way.

So the speaker ad, with its 2700 or so hits, will expire in a few days and I'll try again someday maybe.

I've noticed in the past that ridiculously low offers tend to appear just before an ad expires. Anybody else had that experience?

Kgturner - Rather than imagining how I will behave in the future, why don't you look at how I have behaved in the past? That's a much more reliable indicator.

I've been trading as a member here for 7 years and I have 91 transactions recorded. I have never been involved in a dispute.
Please read my feedback carefully so that your next comment is properly informed. You have no right or reason to impugn me in such a manner.

Contact people who have done business with me if you have concerns.

Audiofeil - That's a great idea and totally germane to this discussion. Why not start with my kindergarten teacher and work your way forward.

Your proclivity to make everything personal is cancerous and inappropriate.

O.K. I get the picture.