- Joined
- Apr 11, 2009
- Messages
- 187
- Points
- 43
I have read this long thread and figure I'll add my 2 cents here. I am not defending Chris here, but I am going to relate my own experiences with him, as well as respond to some of the entries that I have seen made here. I have no vested interest in this either way, but I have seen things posted here that may be just plain misleading.
I have dealt with Chris multiple times, with both large and small orders. He has never failed to deliver, and everything was as good as, or better than, he had described.
Shipping may be a little on the slow side from time to time, but I fully understand the hassles of selling online. From my own experience as a former seller on eBay, been there and done that. If you do as much buying on eBay as I do, you come to expect that as well. Too many people just have no patience, and will jump the gun when it comes to making complaints or filing disputes due to slow shipping. You should try to keep in mind that online sellers have lives too, and that real life can, and will, get in the way of shipping dates, reading and responding to posts, PMs, and email.
Like anyone else, I'm sure that Chris gets aggravated when people pester him or complain when he has not shipped out a package right away. If he had to run to the post office for each and every package, then buyers would have to pay for that time and fuel, and it would be reflected in high shipping costs. Just look at the high shipping costs of sellers that do exactly that. Waiting until there are a pile of packages to ship just makes good economic sense. Especially when he has been giving free shipping in most cases!
As far as getting a bad laser diode, or one that is out of spec... Consider the price you are paying vs what a prime diode costs new. Many of the laser diodes on eBay are there because they are either factory rejects, or they are used. Due to the nature of the devices, you rarely see ANY seller offering a warranty. This is not only because laser diodes can be damaged by rough handling during shipping, but also because there is a world full of people that do not know how to properly handle, heatsink, and test laser diodes without damaging them. If you are the exception and honestly do know how to do these things properly, and you were to contact Chris nicely about a defective product, then you may just find that he would be more than willing to help you. I don't know of a single seller that will tolerate abusive contacts or threats from a buyer that does not try to work things out nicely. Of course this does not give carte blanche to sellers to be rude, both need to be nice to one another in order to work through things.
As far as drugs are concerned, I really don't care if Chris is using them or not, it is none of our business. I think it would be mighty hard for someone that might have to submit to random drug testing to be able to hide that fact. I chat with guys over on laserchat every day that are stoners IRL, and they will openly admit that they are using drugs. As long as they keep the drug talk off of chat, it makes no nevermind to me.
What is on someones record is not an accurate way of determining the truth about an incident. The police will nearly always try to make things look much worst in their reports than they really are. Especially when confronted with devices, materials, or chemicals that are used in electronics or other research that they do not understand. Most cops are so ignorant to everything but the illegal usage of substances, that they cannot comprehend that there are legal uses for these substances. It does not mean that someone is automatically guilty of the crime of which they are accused. The way the laws are written these days, someone caught with a simple container of sodium hydroxide drain cleaner, can be charged and CONVICTED, for posession of chemicals used in the manufacture of drugs. The laws, and the cops, don't give a crap that there are legitimate uses for these chemicals. Uses that have NOTHING to do with making drugs! My own alternative energy research requires me to use many such chemicals, and I had to fill out pages of paperwork, just to be able to buy them under the current Homeland Security rules!
I spent a lot of time in courtrooms over the years, testifying as an expert witness in many cases, and as constitutional co-council offering constitutional advice to defendents. A "no contest" (nolo contendre) plea deal is not the same as a "guilty" plea deal. A plea of "no contest" means that a defendent is willing to take a plea offer at reduced punishment, WITHOUT ADMITTING GUILT, rather than to go through the long, drawn out, and expensive procedure of a trial. If a prosecutor truly feels that a defendent is guilty of everything exactly as charged, they would have insisted that any plea deal would require a "guilty" plea by the defendent. This is courtroom fact, not conjecture.
Ok, I'm off of my soapbox now, and I hope that everyone has a nice day.
Bob
I have dealt with Chris multiple times, with both large and small orders. He has never failed to deliver, and everything was as good as, or better than, he had described.
Shipping may be a little on the slow side from time to time, but I fully understand the hassles of selling online. From my own experience as a former seller on eBay, been there and done that. If you do as much buying on eBay as I do, you come to expect that as well. Too many people just have no patience, and will jump the gun when it comes to making complaints or filing disputes due to slow shipping. You should try to keep in mind that online sellers have lives too, and that real life can, and will, get in the way of shipping dates, reading and responding to posts, PMs, and email.
Like anyone else, I'm sure that Chris gets aggravated when people pester him or complain when he has not shipped out a package right away. If he had to run to the post office for each and every package, then buyers would have to pay for that time and fuel, and it would be reflected in high shipping costs. Just look at the high shipping costs of sellers that do exactly that. Waiting until there are a pile of packages to ship just makes good economic sense. Especially when he has been giving free shipping in most cases!
As far as getting a bad laser diode, or one that is out of spec... Consider the price you are paying vs what a prime diode costs new. Many of the laser diodes on eBay are there because they are either factory rejects, or they are used. Due to the nature of the devices, you rarely see ANY seller offering a warranty. This is not only because laser diodes can be damaged by rough handling during shipping, but also because there is a world full of people that do not know how to properly handle, heatsink, and test laser diodes without damaging them. If you are the exception and honestly do know how to do these things properly, and you were to contact Chris nicely about a defective product, then you may just find that he would be more than willing to help you. I don't know of a single seller that will tolerate abusive contacts or threats from a buyer that does not try to work things out nicely. Of course this does not give carte blanche to sellers to be rude, both need to be nice to one another in order to work through things.
As far as drugs are concerned, I really don't care if Chris is using them or not, it is none of our business. I think it would be mighty hard for someone that might have to submit to random drug testing to be able to hide that fact. I chat with guys over on laserchat every day that are stoners IRL, and they will openly admit that they are using drugs. As long as they keep the drug talk off of chat, it makes no nevermind to me.
What is on someones record is not an accurate way of determining the truth about an incident. The police will nearly always try to make things look much worst in their reports than they really are. Especially when confronted with devices, materials, or chemicals that are used in electronics or other research that they do not understand. Most cops are so ignorant to everything but the illegal usage of substances, that they cannot comprehend that there are legal uses for these substances. It does not mean that someone is automatically guilty of the crime of which they are accused. The way the laws are written these days, someone caught with a simple container of sodium hydroxide drain cleaner, can be charged and CONVICTED, for posession of chemicals used in the manufacture of drugs. The laws, and the cops, don't give a crap that there are legitimate uses for these chemicals. Uses that have NOTHING to do with making drugs! My own alternative energy research requires me to use many such chemicals, and I had to fill out pages of paperwork, just to be able to buy them under the current Homeland Security rules!
I spent a lot of time in courtrooms over the years, testifying as an expert witness in many cases, and as constitutional co-council offering constitutional advice to defendents. A "no contest" (nolo contendre) plea deal is not the same as a "guilty" plea deal. A plea of "no contest" means that a defendent is willing to take a plea offer at reduced punishment, WITHOUT ADMITTING GUILT, rather than to go through the long, drawn out, and expensive procedure of a trial. If a prosecutor truly feels that a defendent is guilty of everything exactly as charged, they would have insisted that any plea deal would require a "guilty" plea by the defendent. This is courtroom fact, not conjecture.
Ok, I'm off of my soapbox now, and I hope that everyone has a nice day.
Bob
