About 30 seconds of thought, actually. :) Well, since we're having difficulty getting 10 people, you're welcome to take part, provided you reimburse the person who ships it to you for the difference between international and domestic shipping.
Off to work now, chris On Fri, 3 Oct 2003, Ryan Lee wrote: > Sounds like a wonderful idea Chris.. I'd pay $25 bucks for it.. pity I'm in > Australia and thus am not eligible though.. > > Rgds, > Ryan > > PS. I'm amazed by how much thought went into it! > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Chris Brogden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "PDML" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Friday, October 03, 2003 1:12 AM > Subject: The Great 18-35mm Lens Pass-Around > > > > > > Here's the info again, since some people missed it the first time. > > > > chris > > > > > > I'm trying to gauge the interest in this, so let me know what you think. > > Here's the idea... > > > > Assuming that enough people are interested to make it worthwhile, I'll buy > > one of the new Pentax FAJ 18-35mm f4-5.6 AL zoom lenses. This is the lens > > designed for the *istD, but it also works perfectly--as a true 18-35mm > > lens--on Pentax film bodies as well. NOTE: This lens has no aperture > > ring, and so it will only stop down on Pentax cameras that set the > > aperture from the body and not the lens. > > > > Every person who signs up to try out the lens and is approved will have > > the lens to try for a week before passing it on to the next person on the > > list. To cover the cost of the lens and shipping, I'll need a $25.00 US > > ($35.00 CAN) payment from every person interested in trying this lens for > > a week. I'm not trying to make money from this, but I don't want to lose > > any, either. We'll need 10 people to make this viable. I have no idea > > how many people will want to try this lens out. If we don't get 10, I > > can't afford to go through with it. If we get more then 10, then the > > pass-around will be limited to the first 10 people who signed up. > > > > Now here's the good part. After the 10 people have each had a week to > > play with the lens, the last person will ship it back to me. We'll have a > > random selection process, and one person out of the 10 (I won't be > > eligible) will win the lens. I'll pay for shipping the lens to the first > > person on the list and to the winner, but I ask that everyone who > > participates pay for INSURED, TRACKABLE shipping to the next person on the > > list. Please insure it for $250 US/$350 CAN. So, for the price of $25.00 > > US plus shipping, you get to try out a new and funky lens for a week, and > > get a 1/10 chance to win it. > > > > To minimize the risk inherent in this, only PDMLers in Canada and the U.S. > > will be eligible. You can reply to this message on the PDML if you're > > interested in participating, and I'll send you an off-list reply to let > > you know if you can. I don't want to be too restrictive, but I'd prefer > > to limit this either to people I know from my time here, or people who > > have a decent posting history. If I recognize your name or can find some > > posts from you in the archives, that'll be fine, but if you just joined > > yesterday it'll be harder, unless you have a good eBay feedback rating or > > something. For anyone who's wondering about trusting me, I joined the > > PDML about five years ago, have an eBay feedback rating of 132 (100% > > positive) under the username "chrisbrogden", and have bought/sold stuff > > from/to several PDMLers before. > > > > Hopefully this goes without saying, but please take good care of the lens > > while you have it. Use a filter if there's a chance of scratching the > > glass, and do us the courtesy of paying to have the lens repaired if it is > > damaged (your home insurance might cover that). That being said, the > > winner should expect some minor cosmetic wear to the barrel, though > > hopefully none to the glass. > > > > I'm open to suggestions about the random selection process. I could just > > draw a name, but to keep it more public I'm thinking that the 10 people > > could each email me 5 numbers: one from 1-9, one from 10-19, one from > > 20-29, one from 30-39, and one from 40-49. Then, after all the numbers > > are in, I'll use the next Lotto 6-49 drawing to determine the winner. > > We'll start with the 0-9 numbers. If just one person picked a 0-9 number > > from the winning ticket, they get the lens. If no one did, then we'll go > > to the 20-29 numbers and try again, etc. If, say, three people pick a > > winning 0-9 number, then I'll look at the 20-29 numbers, and so on until > > we're down to one person. If, by some fluke, more than two people are > > still in the running, then we'll wait 3/4 days until the next draw (every > > Wed/Sat). If we're down to two people, then paper/rock/scissors should > > settle the issue. :) It's not as complicated as it sounds, but if anyone > > has other suggestions for 100% random and publically-visable methods, I'm > > open to hearing them. > > > > So... let the sign-up begin. First come, first served. I won't be able > > to buy the lens until I've received all 10 payments, but I'll have it in > > the mail 1-2 days after that. You can pay with PayPal, BidPay, cash, or a > > money order negotiable in Canada. (Please note that not all money orders > > from the U.S. are negotiable in Canada, so please make sure that you're > > sending an international one.) > > > > If this goes smoothly, I'm thinking that it could be a fun thing to do > > with some of the more interesting or obscure used lenses. Let me know if > > you have any thoughts or suggestions. In the meantime, if you're > > interested in the 18-35mm pass-around, reply to this email! > > > > chris > > > > > >
