[solved] wtb from UK, the seller wants UK-only, looking for a forwarder to italy - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 11:51:39 am
content: So, I came in the need for an obsolete SCSI Iomega REV drive, I can't use any ATAPI or SATA, because my I need to attach the unit to my unix workstation which only provides SCSI Narrow/SE and Wide/SE|LVD. Bridges do exists. made by ACARD (it's a USA company, located in California), but both SCSI-to-ATAPI and SCSI-to-SATA bridges are too expensive.The whole searching for Iomega REV SCSI (internal unit) on ebay and on amazon didn't help so much. There a lot of units, they are both plenty of SATA and ATAPI gears but found only a few sellers in USA with brand new SCSI-REV, but they want 250 USD + postage + customs (import taxes), definitively too expensive, and only a seller in UK with a decent price for his second hand and SCSI-REV.No customs from UK: excellent, I thought, he is *the* candyman I am looking for!!! Unfortunately, digging for more details into his auction I found he doesn't want to ship outside the United KingdomQuoteSo, here we are. I need someone in UK who buys the unit, and forwards it to me in italy. I can send the money, covering both these two operations, through Paypal.Thanks in advance

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 11:57:17 am
content: It might be worth sending them a brief, very polite email/PM, asking if they would be happy to ship it to Italy.Pointing out there is no customs (charges or issues) between EU counties (Yet!!!).The only real difference for the seller, is higher postage charges, which you obviously need to cover.But they may not want the extra hassle of evaluating the extra postage charges.

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 12:01:45 pm
content: Quote from: MK14 on April 06, 2017, 11:57:17 amAlready done! Written I can send there, at his address, an UPS-dude for a local pickup: he replied "UK-only", without providing a reason.He doesn't want to ship outside UK, as he has written in his auction.Quote from: MK14 on April 06, 2017, 11:57:17 amI don't know. Asked, but he doesn't reply.

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 12:08:27 pm
content: "UPS" is a local service, they transport goods within italy, but they can also ship your goods abroad and collect items for you, and they also assist you with customs. Already used to collect an item in Texas. The seller was very collaborative, and it was a success!The seller in UK ... he has 100% positive feedback, and a good reputation on amazon, but he is not so talkative. I can't understand his reasons to say "uk-only", also refusing the UPS-collecting service

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 12:09:46 pm
content: Maybe it is something like this folklore, from the Yahoo TestEquipTrader group:QuoteI know nothing about your case nor that case. However, that kind of thing makes me think I don't want to take on such responsibility.There are packing and shipping companies, but they wouldn't be cheap. I've never used them.

author: MK14
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 12:11:01 pm
content: Ebay has made changes over the years, which hurt sellers quite badly. Such as having to accept returns, for potentially no good reason. One way negative feedback etc etc.So I'm NOT surprised.My understanding is that 50% .. 75% (in the old days of ebay) of the time, you can get the seller to post elsewhere. But not always, as in this case.Unfortunately the 50% to 75% was BEFORE all the bad seller ebay things happened. So nowadays it is probably a much lower percentage.It was worth a try, anyway.

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 12:16:20 pm
content: Quote from: tggzzz on April 06, 2017, 12:09:46 pmUPS is the solution, it isn't of course "cheap" as Ecoparcel, but nope, I pay for it.

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 12:25:02 pm
content: I believe Iomega REV drives may suffer from similar reliability problems to those that plagued Zip and Jaz drives. If so, it may appear to work, but not reliably seek to the last track - which you wont find out unless you run detailed hardware diagnostics, and even if its good now, you have no idea how long it will last. If the seller is aware of Iomega's reliability issues, he may simply not want the hassles of a possible D.O.A outside the UK.

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 12:27:35 pm
content: Quote from: MK14 on April 06, 2017, 12:11:01 pmYup. Yesterday I provided my reasons to a dude in China. He had asked to buy a few items from me on ebay, but due to the new restrictions on ebay I was not in the position to say it is a good business for me.My reasons: paypal and ebay are forcing me to pay the 5% and the 10% for the total, and their restrictions are now forcing me to accept paypal as "safe payment method" (it means covered by their stupid "protection plan") and refuse a postage through UPS because ebay considers this service "too expensive". Duh?Four years ago you were able to fill the "postage cost" field with the value of your wish, today ebay reserves the right to judge if it's too expensive, and in this case refuses it.Now, China is far, it's a long trip, and it's also outside Europe: I can't ship with Ecoparcel simply because it's a shitty service with a poor quality, and if things go wrong I will be forced to refund the whole money!So, I need an assurance (which adds more cost to me), and things must go through UPS (which needs to be payed outside ebay due to the stupid restrictions they made ... a second payment --> again, more cost to me)Therefore I kindly explained my reasons to him: if you want to buy, it's ok, but we must use UPS, whose cost is ...Accepting my rules, or rejected them, once explained the choice was 100% up to him.Quote from: MK14 on April 06, 2017, 12:11:01 pmHaving to accept returns (when you have written "no returns" and applied a discount for it) is really annoying

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 12:40:05 pm
content: Quote from: Ian.M on April 06, 2017, 12:25:02 pmNever used Jaz, about ZIP I can say we have a lot of industrial sewing machines attached to a SCSI Zip drive. They load the them from the cartridge instead than from reel of punched card. Not kiddingThere are a lot of audio synthesizers (still in use) which load their waves from a ZIP's cartridge. Again SCSI Zip. They seem Highlanders (die hard).I need a REV unit because I got archives in that format, there are projects and documentation inside, I can of course read them from a Linux-PC using XFS on UDF driver through a pATA-REV unit, which is cheaper than the SCSI version and more available on ebay, but it will be more complex than having the SCSI-REV directly attached to the workstationAh, Computers ...

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 12:43:09 pm
content: Be *GLAD* you never used Jaz . . .

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 01:17:50 pm
content: On Amazon Marketplace, Comet Enterprises wroteQuoteI had asked if REV (which is 68p, SCSI WIDE SE/LVD) is know of being working when forced into 50p Narrow/SE.Note they do ship from USA to Italy. The only problem is: brad new unit, 300 euro + customs

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 02:25:55 pm
content: 68pin (wide) SCSI can be made to work as narrow. There are even converters (just a PCB with 2 connectors) for this purpose.

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 03:33:31 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on April 06, 2017, 02:25:55 pmIt depends.e.g. Barracuda 2U hard drives have SCA connector on their back, which means they are SCSI WIDE, but their firmware is not 100% compatible with the SCSI standard, resulting full failure if you try to force them into Narrow mode because their firmware wants to ignore if an high-byte terminator happens of having been plugged on their interface, so even if the interface has 8 physical bit they, it believes it's 16bit -> resulting a black mess, half the information is lost.e.g. LTO2 Ultrium (it's a tape, 200GB uncompressed) can be forced into narrow but the trick doesn't work if you want data compression (made in hardware), because there isn't enough bandwidth on the narrow bus, the tape speed cannot be reduced and their internal buffer is also limited.no compression? they fully work in Narrow modeyou want compression? they don't work in Narrow mode, they MUST be connected in Wide modeQuote from: nctnico on April 06, 2017, 02:25:55 pmYep, these cheap adapters, I have a few of them, but in order to do a good job a terminator on the high byte needs to set in order to force a device into Narrow mode.high byte <----- terminatorlow byte ----------------------------- narrowIt's a bit more expensive, but they are complete. I am fine thanks to a dude on Amazon who sold me his highest-byte-terminated adapter (paid 35 euro, second hand. It also comes with active terminator)

author: amiq
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2017, 04:32:52 pm
content: I'm happy to help if you're not already sorted. Just PM me the details.

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 07, 2017, 11:59:04 am
content: Thanks to everyone for the help, I appreciate it a lot

author: legacy
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 21, 2017, 09:37:09 am
content: Problem solved, thanks a nice guy here, who did the reship!Thanks so much