Oracle posts.. what happened??

[azul123]

Considering the things Singaporeans do to save 90cents(illegal parking),

Oi... S$1 liow lah.

FYI, good points your raised.

../azul123

 

[mk4000]

Why Oracle import grey set has international warranty but the TCW doesn't?

 

[Darren]

Did CS admin moved all of Oracle's thread to a section where only members can view? Can't seem to find my qns I pose to him.

Oracle's active and sticky threads have been temporarily moved to a restricted section as he has not renewed his subscription for them. The subscriptions had expired 13 October and we allowed Oracle's threads to be displayed while waiting for the renewal payment, but since we have not heard from him since sending the reminders and payment information, we removed the threads.

If I'm not wrong, all MO starters have to pay subscription fee of $150 per 3 months.

Sigh... looks like there are no free lunches in the world.

While I am not THAT active in CS, I find that this is a good forum for common hobbist to interact... if CS is heading to be money generating, then I think over time it will loose appeal.

Well, I know that there are cost and expenses to maintain CS forum. Maybe the committee can look into generating money in a different manner?

Why everything also need money? Eat need money, learn need money, transport need money, die need money. Now you sell thing also need money!

You are exactly right that everything also need money - we need money to continue maintaining the servers and bandwidth for ClubSNAP. So ultimately, money has to come from somewhere, right?

In any case, the subscriptions for the sticky threads are only one avenue of revenue for us to maintain ClubSNAP, and just stickies alone are not sufficient.

Selling (as a commercial seller) on ClubSNAP should not be any different from selling in the real world. In the real world, you would need to maintain a presence (shop, signage, etc) to advertise your goods and sell, and these would cost money.

If a commercial seller is making money from this site that we have setup and maintain, is it wrong that we request for a small payment in return for using our site as an conduit to reach customers?

 

[dkw]

If a commercial seller is making money from this site that we have setup and maintain, is it wrong that we request for a small payment in return for using our site as an conduit to reach customers

Absolutely not wrong and entirely reasonable.

 

[terryjul]

Agree wholehearted with you Stoned................
Its Market force vs Artistic value
former works on price.....same item but lower price.........latter accordingly price is not the factor....final outcome is.............
I think we can be artistic yet be money smart...........especially for Singaporean....we are a practical lot...........Oracle gains..............we gain too

STAND UP 4 SINGAPORE!!!!

 

[Belle&Sebastain]

Oracle's active and sticky threads have been temporarily moved to a restricted section as he has not renewed his subscription for them. The subscriptions had expired 13 October and we allowed Oracle's threads to be displayed while waiting for the renewal payment, but since we have not heard from him since sending the reminders and payment information, we removed the threads.





You are exactly right that everything also need money - we need money to continue maintaining the servers and bandwidth for ClubSNAP. So ultimately, money has to come from somewhere, right?

In any case, the subscriptions for the sticky threads are only one avenue of revenue for us to maintain ClubSNAP, and just stickies alone are not sufficient.

Selling (as a commercial seller) on ClubSNAP should not be any different from selling in the real world. In the real world, you would need to maintain a presence (shop, signage, etc) to advertise your goods and sell, and these would cost money.

If a commercial seller is making money from this site that we have setup and maintain, is it wrong that we request for a small payment in return for using our site as an conduit to reach customers?

$150 per 3 months is cheap! some of the bricks and motar shops pay tens of tousands every month on rent and staff.

come on people, live the real world, and it does not feed on charity.

 

[panzerpunk]

Just add his phone number + price list onto the Prices of Canon Lenses la. :bsmilie:

 

[+evenstar]

Grey market importers like TCW are technically doing the same thing as Oracle, just that they have a store front. Would you tell TCW to go and close down becaue they aren't the authorised distributors of Canon lenses?

exactly. TCW has a store front, which they pay rental for shop space, etc. Oracle in this case is using CS as his store front, hence he should be paying a fee for his sales

 

[sehsuan]

If such gray market importers didn't exist, you'd have to pay more for your local sets as well, so they indirectly benefit you too!

Me? I have enough lenses already. If I had to, I'd get a lens from the States direct. The dubious thing is the warranty/support service, do you expect ONE person to service the lens for you? Do you want to wait until something happens before you rethink... "oops, shouldn't have saved the two hundred off a 3K lens..."

It all depends on how thrifty you are and also how large a fraction of your salary those few hundreds are. If you own a Bentley and pull in a five/six figure salary each month, these hundreds will of course be a pittance to you. Consider however the little man, who pulls in 1k+ or less a month, these hundreds could represent as much as 30-40% of his salary. A huge amount, to say the least.

Then don't buy it yet. Financial silliness cannot be compared this way.

You could argue that these people shouldn't be taking up photography, but do you mean to say that photography is only meant for the well-heeled? Would you also exclude students from the hobby? Should there be an income minimum?

No. There are other lenses of similar focal lengths, only that the difference is in the aperture and quality, typically. Survive on what you have, before plonking cash down on a lens and end up asking, "How much is this lens worth if I resell it off?" and similar ways as posted recently.

So many people asking for this free, that free. How about these same people GIVE something for free too? I'm pretty sure that will shut people up. I did my fair share in the past via subscribing to the CS webhosting, has everyone else done so? If yes, I don't think there's a need to make online retailers PAY for their "good and free" services.

 

[Bluestrike]

pls do note that this thread do not serve as a debate ground.

For those who wan to carry on the war, pls do so in another thread or thru PM.

Thanks

 

[Danntbt]

Strange logic indeed...that it is illogical to quibble about a few hundred bucks, and yet at the same time, it is ok to buy from overseas....hmmmmm, what's the motivation for buying from other places, if no saving of a few miserable bucks?

 

[Danntbt]

Anyway, do agree, Oracle can well afford the 50 bucks pm......

 

[sehsuan]

Strange logic indeed...that it is illogical to quibble about a few hundred bucks, and yet at the same time, it is ok to buy from overseas....hmmmmm, what's the motivation for buying from other places, if no saving of a few miserable bucks?

Danny,

I did not say I'm buying yet, though I didn't rule it out exclusively.

Sometimes you meet people who claim to sell a camera with only 10K shutter trips, when it's gone past 70++K in reality. You have to know who you're buying from, or you'd get fleeced.

 

[Sandman77]

I was already looking forward to such things being put to an end long ago. People want to do photography, but can't bear to spend a couple hundred dollars more for lenses that cost by the thousands. What kind of logic is that anyway?

Not Alot of Rich ppl mah .. can save Abit why not ??

I save up for one Long year to get my 70-200 .. maybe I could add 1 more mth if Joe was not there .. I m happy with the Lense and that 70-200 is still Doing Good.

In Total I save $300 Where i use those money at other suff ..
maybe i m a cheapo .. But those $300 can sure do alot of things

 

[Danntbt]

Danny,

I did not say I'm buying yet, though I didn't rule it out exclusively.

Sometimes you meet people who claim to sell a camera with only 10K shutter trips, when it's gone past 70++K in reality. You have to know who you're buying from, or you'd get fleeced.

hahaha, what a a coincidence, just bought something from someone who claimed it was 10k but is actually 70K.

 

[Danntbt]

....anyway, strange argument going nowhere, the thread here is about buying new, not second hand, wonder what's going on...

 

[nottipiglet]

I support Oracle's effort to bring cheaper lenses to Singaporeans and line his pockets at the same time. It's all part of the free economy. Let's be realistic. Why would he want to bring in the lenses if he does not benefit somehow? Oracle never claimed to be a charity.

Also, let's not question people's value system here. If there are people who are willing to go through a bit of trouble to save say 10% from a set of L lens, then it's their right. I know someone who would gave the uncle guarding the toilet $50 because he did not have change for 10 cents. We may think that's crazy, but that's his value system... and it is pointless to question it.

Oracle did us all (as well as himself) a favour, so let's just be thankful that he is willing to exploit his lobang.

On the other hand, CS is not a charity either. If they want to charge $150 for 3 month MO, it's perfectly understandable. Actually, I think that's super cheap for the amount of traffic that goes through here. When you do a MO, you are actually running a little business, and that involves some cost. It's only fair.

 

[mamangrock]

The best option is 2 start a group in yahoo then.Cheap n free then rite Join the "ORACLE",sound cool man:thumbsup: Like MATRIX like dat Btw,Bro Jo is 1 cool guy:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[ngthuat]

Upz for the ORACLE..

I want freedom of choice and choice of freedom..hope I am not asking too much

 

[Stoned]

exactly. TCW has a store front, which they pay rental for shop space, etc. Oracle in this case is using CS as his store front, hence he should be paying a fee for his sales

Correct, I agreed as much in my initial post. However, the issue was over whether a business like Oracle's should exist in the first place, not so much over the fee.