Selling M lenses

[Pyrogallol]

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I have bought a few things from him over the past few years, all ok. I was interested in another lens he was due to get a couple of weeks ago but was told the seller had decided not to sell it. It was on his “expected soon” list on the website.

My local classic dealer told me that he had had problems more than once in the past, so hopefully he will get over it.

[Ecar]

1 hour ago, jaapv said:

The strange thing is that the negative feedback you refer to is embedded in a whole series of excellent reports. 

Indeed. But if you look carefully, it's primarily the high-value items that seem to not reach their buyers... For all I know, these may be items that he already sold in the past and he's recycling old pictures to generate short-term cash, although the buyers will eventually get a refund via eBay or PP. But that will take some time, especially given that standard shipping times have been extended due to Covid.

Edited April 21, 2021 by Ecar

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[Rafter72]

On 12/28/2020 at 1:53 PM, Ecar said:

Pete,

Yes, unfortunately it seems I'm not alone in this predicament. This appears to be recent behaviour on his part, so I figured an early warning on this forum may help others avoid the same misfortune. The lens was one of my two modified 50/1.1 Nikkors (which was up for sale here at one point, but with no takers).

I hope he gets back on his feet again, as he used to be a trusted dealer. But trust won't be easy to rebuild.

In the meantime, I have 20+ kg of Canon DSLR gear that doesn't see much use and that needs to go to someone who will actually pay for it...

Hi,

I didn’t see any of these posts when I decided to sell him my two cameras and a few lenses. Once we agreed on price etc I spotted that he had a camera that I was thinking about buying and I asked if he will consider swapping the gear ( and I was happy to pay agreed amount on top). He was happy to do this and I sent him all my gear and transferred the money. For some reason, It took two/three days for the money to reach him and at just that moment I saw all these posts and my heart skipped a bit or two. Have I made a mistake? Will I ever see my new camera (or the old ones) or my money? Etc. Etc. But then he contacted me to say that he received the money and he will be sending my new camera that afternoon. The very next day my new Leica was with me and everything seems perfect.

Obviously I wouldn’t know if I decided to do things differently (like sell it to him without getting anything in return from his stock but the way it turned out, I can’t fault the guy.

I hope, at the end, everyone will get their money or their gear etc.

Good luck

Mel

[Ecar]

9 hours ago, Rafter72 said:

Hi,

I didn’t see any of these posts when I decided to sell him my two cameras and a few lenses. Once we agreed on price etc I spotted that he had a camera that I was thinking about buying and I asked if he will consider swapping the gear ( and I was happy to pay agreed amount on top). He was happy to do this and I sent him all my gear and transferred the money. For some reason, It took two/three days for the money to reach him and at just that moment I saw all these posts and my heart skipped a bit or two. Have I made a mistake? Will I ever see my new camera (or the old ones) or my money? Etc. Etc. But then he contacted me to say that he received the money and he will be sending my new camera that afternoon. The very next day my new Leica was with me and everything seems perfect.

Obviously I wouldn’t know if I decided to do things differently (like sell it to him without getting anything in return from his stock but the way it turned out, I can’t fault the guy.

I hope, at the end, everyone will get their money or their gear etc.

Good luck

Mel

Glad it worked for you. I now have judgment against him. He's supposed to pay over several months. I hope he does.

[farnz]

Interestingly, in this week's Amateur Photographer magazine (Saturday 22 May) there is a letter to the editor that includes the same story from an AP reader who sold two medium format kits through Peter Walnes, did all the waiting for the money, was given a variety of excuses why the money had not been paid, involved his solicitor, received a County Court judgement, still no money so the High Court has sent its Enforcement team in to sort it out.

Pete. 

[Ouroboros]

Sadly,  especially so after my experiences of dealing with him perfectly satisfactorily in the past, I wouldn't touch him with a bargepole now after learning about the problems others here have had with him. 

[Ecar]

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43 minutes ago, farnz said:

Interestingly, in this week's Amateur Photographer magazine (Saturday 22 May) there is a letter to the editor that includes the same story from an AP reader who sold two medium format kits through Peter Walnes, did all the waiting for the money, was given a variety of excuses why the money had not been paid, involved his solicitor, received a County Court judgement, still no money so the High Court has sent its Enforcement team in to sort it out.

Pete. 

Thanks Pete. I had not seen it. I hope I won't need to ask the court to send in the bailiffs as well.

Edited May 17, 2021 by Ecar

[tap360]

Just to revive conversation about Peter Walnes. I too have lost out, my 50 Lux worth £2300.

I was sympathetic initially, but have now established he owes £815k, mostly a series of individuals for £1k-£3k, ie all of us who have been conned by him. 

I will likely never see my lens or most of my owed money, but really hope to stop him stealing more gear from other people. He is still taking and selling gear on commission, knowing he has no means to pay them when he sells.

If any ever comes across a black boxed 50Lux M ASPH, serial number 4639626, it is my lens.  I have alerted Leica just in case.

If anyone wishes to share and discuss further, please message me.

[Ecar]

7 hours ago, tap360 said:

If anyone wishes to share and discuss further, please message me.

I have just sent you a PM.

[dkCambridgeshire]

Still listing on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265343942819?hash=item3dc7bb40a3:g:2tEAAOSwNbdhXE4j

[pippy]

9 hours ago, dkCambridgeshire said:

Still listing on ebay https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265343942819?hash=item3dc7bb40a3:g:2tEAAOSwNbdhXE4j

Thanks for that update.

Interesting looking into the feedback. Over the last month period there has been 100% positive feedback but most of these items are sub-£50 and the vast majority seem to be around the £10 - £25 mark. OTOH over the last 12 months there have been (only) 6 negative ratings but, between them, these items were pretty much all 'sold' for 4-figure sums and had a total value of c. £13,000(!)........

Caveat Emptor indeed...

Philip.

Edited October 11, 2021 by pippy

[Ecar]

7 hours ago, pippy said:

Caveat Emptor indeed...

Actually, I wouldn't touch him or the items he sells with a barge pole.

His IVA proposal was a joke and was rejected by his creditors who, as far as I know, keep sending him the bailiffs on a regular basis. He's essentially insolvent and will probably keep trading (and stealing gear from people) until a court tells him to stop. Proceedings are under way, but this may take a while.

[Pyrogallol]

E Bay ought to remove him, if they are given evidence.

[Ecar]

I think someone managed to get his account suspended for a while, but he must have found a way to reinstate it. I guess that as far as eBay is concerned, and as long as buyers who do not receive the items they paid for end up being refunded (even if this takes a few weeks), the guy has a great feedback and - perhaps more importantly - continues to generate fees for them... 

[Tessar.]

Anyone here sent him a Contarex Super?  He contacted me recently asking if I was still interested in buying one as he had one and I'd expressed an interest in the past (about 15 years ago), so he must be trawling his archived emails to look for opportunities.

He also said

"I'm always looking for nice camera equipment as you probably know. Do
you have anything you might want to sell at present?
Best regards
Peter"

This was in July this year and I'd already read the discussion about him on Dpreview.

[Wilson Totten]

Hi. I seem to be having the same problem, with Peter owing me £6500 for Leica M (and Canon) items sold on commission.  He has sold them (July - Aug 2022), and received the funds (from feedback) but says he can't pay me for cashflow / tax reasons. Has anyone successfully resolved this, and if so how ?  

[Ecar]

10 hours ago, Wilson Totten said:

Hi. I seem to be having the same problem, with Peter owing me £6500 for Leica M (and Canon) items sold on commission.  He has sold them (July - Aug 2022), and received the funds (from feedback) but says he can't pay me for cashflow / tax reasons. Has anyone successfully resolved this, and if so how ?  

His usual excuses. I'm afraid you'll have to join the queue of his creditors. The last list I saw a year ago had between 100 and 150 people or organisations he owed money to, from a few hundred pounds to several tens of thousands. I guess the list must be significantly longer - and the amounts owed also higher - today.

He's essentially insolvent, has government-led legal proceedings against him to stop him from trading (I was asked to submit a statement, which I did, along with many others), but until the courts make a decision, he's apparently still allowed to be around.

As for the money he owes, it's unlikely we'll ever see a penny, but at least we can try to prevent him from doing more damage than he already has.

Sorry for the bad news, probably not what you wanted to hear... Send me a PM if you want the contact details of the government office that's dealing with this.

[easy_action]

On 9/29/2022 at 11:56 AM, Wilson Totten said:

Hi. I seem to be having the same problem

So sorry to hear this.  I have to add myself to the list of people who had a bad experience selling through Peter Walnes.  It was September 2016 when I sent him my 50mm APO Summicron to sell on commission basis, with a payment to me of £3200 when sold.  The lens took nearly a year to sell, and at this point (in August 2017) he did pay me.

However, during that time it apparently was sold to someone in Asia, who on receipt of it then changed their mind and sent it back.  This took months and months, and there were other explanations given for the delay but I mostly dealt with him by phone so I have no record of these.  I found this process very stressful, but I now realise how lucky I was to receive a payment at all given the experience of others.

[Wilson Totten]

Thanks for the support. At this point (as a new member) I don't seem able to send PMs.  Has anyone involved the Police ?  Based on the Amateur Photographer (ie verified) letter from 22 May 2021, this seems to have become a deliberate strategy on Peters part, and as deliberate fraud would potentially represent criminal behaviour. It would be helpful to have other verifiable cases. I will of course pursue the debt in the Civil Courts, but sounds like that this has not be enough in the past.  Perhaps it needs a Criminal Court to become involved.

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[Wilson Totten]

Could you provide a reference to the list you mention, highlighting between 100 and 150 people and organisation he owes money to ?  It will help in the Police action I suspect I am about to trigger.