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Showing 1 of 6 conversations about:
RayF
22220
Mar 7, 2018
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A tempting lens but not quite ready to pull the trigger here. Savings of only $100, the lack of a warranty (if the rumors are true), and then the wait between ice-ages for MD to ship, AND no tax if I buy from the usual NY stores (can't recall if MD charges tax?). For anyone else interested, might be worth it. I have a few Sigma lenses and they are all great!
jeremy205100
86
Mar 7, 2018
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RayFJaysun is welcome to reply to me with additional information proving me wrong whenever he would like, to prove that the "rumors" are not true. There is evidence of someone on one of the Canon drops not receiving warranty coverage. There is no evidence of anyone actually having their warranty honored. Therefore, I would say the warranty itself is a rumor.
RayF
22220
Mar 7, 2018
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jeremy205100I say it's a rumor because I have no personal experience with any of MD's lens or camera drops. I have followed the links you provided and have read Jason's responses. He contradicts you, you contradict him. I have no dog in this fight, I don't give a damn if anyone buys a lens or camera from MD, now or ever. My previous comments related to the quality and utility of the Sigma Art series-- I like 'em, I own a couple. I encourage anyone interested to try 'em out!
As I said above, warranty or no, Massdrop's $100 price difference would NEVER, in my mind, be a sufficient deterrent to buying the same lens on line (Adorama, B&H, etc.) at the regular price, and with the damn warranty card. The issue is TIME vs the money saved. In this case, the money saved is not worth the time one waits for the drop to ship ($100 and the next lunar eclipse, vs 2 days from Amazon?!). There are other instances where the savings are worth the wait--almost (don't get me started with those damn Sennheiser HD 6XX Headphones!!!).
So, my friend, in closing, I suggest you and Jason "take it outside"--just don't get me mixed up in your pillow fight ;- )
Jaysun
1855
Mar 7, 2018
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RayFRofl...
Would a $100 less and a shipping time of less than 7 days from the end of the drop be a worthy deal?
Thanks in advance for your answer.
Jaysun
Would a $100 less and a shipping time of less than 7 days from the end of the drop be a worthy deal?
Thanks in advance for your answer.
Jaysun
RayF
22220
Mar 7, 2018
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JaysunWell, Jaysun, here must be an equation with X and Y variables for that question somewhere--probably on an exam I didn't do well on?
Here's the deal: when we're speaking of items over X amount (lets say $700) and the availability elsewhere is plentiful, with fast/free shipping, and perhaps no sales tax, the answer is certainly no. It's not $100 and the seven days, it's the much time it takes MD to hit the drop's quota. Going the other direction (as MSRPs decline, MD's leverage/price advantage declines), and where the other variables remain constant, MD has no advantage. Where you guys come out on top, are in unique categories/products the big boys haven't yet taken an interest in. In that scenario, for a while anyway, you guys can take your time and name your price.
And as you've already proven, MD is a big winner with those collaborative products (like the damn headphones I'm waiting for), where a given item is virtually unavailable elsewhere in the marketplace--at any price. I don't see the mainstream camera and lens thing going in that direction. And of course you'll have to resolve Jeremy's warranty concerns at some point.
What I like about MD, is that I often find things here, that I wasn't previously aware of--that's the stuff that keeps me coming back. I've participated in drops for items I probably never would have found or purchased over the course of my typical "shopping routines." That's got to be MD's sweet spot--that and the community that forms around those interests.
To your point (and mine) when I came across MD's deal on the JBL Series 3 monitors, and saw that they shipped in two days, I didn't hesitate--that was a win-win for both of us.
Here's the deal: when we're speaking of items over X amount (lets say $700) and the availability elsewhere is plentiful, with fast/free shipping, and perhaps no sales tax, the answer is certainly no. It's not $100 and the seven days, it's the much time it takes MD to hit the drop's quota. Going the other direction (as MSRPs decline, MD's leverage/price advantage declines), and where the other variables remain constant, MD has no advantage. Where you guys come out on top, are in unique categories/products the big boys haven't yet taken an interest in. In that scenario, for a while anyway, you guys can take your time and name your price.
And as you've already proven, MD is a big winner with those collaborative products (like the damn headphones I'm waiting for), where a given item is virtually unavailable elsewhere in the marketplace--at any price. I don't see the mainstream camera and lens thing going in that direction. And of course you'll have to resolve Jeremy's warranty concerns at some point.
What I like about MD, is that I often find things here, that I wasn't previously aware of--that's the stuff that keeps me coming back. I've participated in drops for items I probably never would have found or purchased over the course of my typical "shopping routines." That's got to be MD's sweet spot--that and the community that forms around those interests.
To your point (and mine) when I came across MD's deal on the JBL Series 3 monitors, and saw that they shipped in two days, I didn't hesitate--that was a win-win for both of us.
jeremy205100
86
Mar 8, 2018
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RayFHe's never going to address the warranty concerns until someone sues them. I don't care, as I will just not participate in any of the photography drops. I will add onto your reply that Massdrop is not offering the same product that the major photo retailers you mention are. First, there's the warranty you are not getting. You would get this from the other retailers for $100 more. You also can't return it if you get a bad copy, which has never happened to me but could at some point. Lastly, @RayF is 100% right when they say shipping times for this drop are slow. If we assume 6 days for the drop to end, plus 7 for it to ship (Jaysun's number...) and then 3 days for it to reach the customer (likely generous, Massdrop uses the slowest shipping possible to save money) then it's going to take 16 days for a customer to receive the product. If they are a professional then that's valuable money.
RayF
22220
Mar 8, 2018
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jeremy205100Right you are! And that's a point I didn't want to press, but will now. Anyone buying a Sigma Art lens from Massdrop is probably not a Pro photographer and certainly not an early adopter of the ART product line (35s and 50s are older lenses now). If you're buying either of those lenses on MD, a) you missed the bus, and b) you haven't been following along with mainstream photography resources most photographers follow daily. Not trying to sound snobby--I'm in the same boat with many of the Audiophile products I'm learning about here on MD--lots of guys know more about that category than I do, and I'm pleased to be learning from them.
Back to the topic, what Jason doesn't have control over is the length of time it takes for MD to generate enough buyer commitments for a given manufacturer to commit their resources to. A manufacturer can say, I'll commit when you have 3,000 committed buyers, but who knows how long that will take? And then comes the build and ship time (Zzzz...zzz) it takes to fulfill the final order.
jeremy205100
86
Mar 8, 2018
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RayFIn this case, they aren't manufacturing these lenses to order. Some dealer is breaking their contract and just shipping them out from their stock when the drop ends.
I am also an audiophile and part of the reason why I keep bringing this warranty issue up is because Massdrop continues to do great things in the audiophile space and it disappoints me to see them tarnishing their reputation and misleading customers on these photography drops. They should stick to what they're good at, and it sure as hell isn't selling lenses. The men's fashion drops are also often good. I have participated in one of them before.
I am also an audiophile and part of the reason why I keep bringing this warranty issue up is because Massdrop continues to do great things in the audiophile space and it disappoints me to see them tarnishing their reputation and misleading customers on these photography drops. They should stick to what they're good at, and it sure as hell isn't selling lenses. The men's fashion drops are also often good. I have participated in one of them before.
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