Alaska Bear Watch Tour - Fast Opportunity

Small group Alaska Tours book very far in advance and because the season is so short, fill up quickly. I've arranged for a boat trip along the Katmai Coast of Alaska to view and photograph bears, scenery and other wildlife, July 4 - 7, 2007 with an optional Kodiak Island ground extension July 8 - 12.

More information and registration is on my website.

The Katmai Coast of Alaska and Katmai National Park is by far the best location in the world to see and photograph coastal brown bears (grizzlies). Open ground makes it easy for the bears to see you and you see the bears, creating a much safer environment than the brushy habitat found elsewhere. We will meet in the city of Kodiak for a seaplane commute to the 73 ft. MV Waters, anchored in the Shelikof Strait. The next 4 days we will cruise the Katmai Coast with very frequent shore excursions to photograph bears, seabirds, otters, fox, and the incredible scenery Alaska has to offer. This trip has just been organized and the deadline is fast approaching. Most trips of this kind require bookings 12 months in advance due to the very short season, small group size, and popularity. The trip cost is $3500.00 with a $1750 deposit due by December 31, 2006. This is a First Trip and a discount has already been applied. There is a minimum of 4 and maximum of 6 on this once-in-a-lifetime experience. A Kodiak Island extension is available July 8 - 12 for those who want to explore America's Emerald Isle.

Go to HERE for more information and to register. Contact me if you have any questions.

Bait and Switch and other scams

When buying anything online, not just photography equipment, you really have to pay attention. You can certainly find really good deals on photo equipment or other items on the internet if you look hard enough. When I'm looking for a new toy I generally check out the usual suspects: B&H Photo/Video, Adorama, Calumet, and one or two others. If I think there might be a lower price somewhere else, I might check out some price comparison sites like pricewatch, pricegrabber, bizrate, ibuyer, nextag, and of course, Ebay, Amazon, and a few others. It all depends on how much time I want to spend looking for the best deal. Sitting at the computer isn't the same as driving around town, so a person can cover a lot of ground fairly quickly with a few keystrokes.
I'm real hesitant to buy from a company I just happen to come across. Particularly if the deal seems a little too good. The internet is full of sites luring you in to grab your personal information, credit card numbers, or simply to rip you off. The internet is also what I call "The Great Equalizer". You can find information on just about anything if you know how to search for it. When I come across a company I'm not sure about, the first thing I will do is perform a search on the company name. I might add the search term "review" to the company name to bring up sites that are specifically reviewing the company, either officially or through blog or other consumer response. If there's something wrong with that company, it will likely be out there on the web for all to see. Reliability, honesty, integrity, customer service, speedy delivery, are but a few of the things we cherish in a good company. When you find an online store that works for you, that store tends to get more of your repeat business, even if the price is higher than somewhere else. Disreputable outfits will perform several types of deceptive practices to separate you from your money and they can be very hard to detect.

The first tactic is called Bait and Switch. This popular and common trick involves an offer of an item at a really low (too good to believe) price. But, when you make the purchase you are informed that there are none left at that price but you can now buy a different model (better, no doubt) at a higher price. Or, the price was for equipment that is called "gray market". Despite the nefarious-sounding term, gray market is not stolen goods. Most commonly, products that are intended by their manufacturer for one national market, say China, are bought in that market then exported and sold in another national market, perhaps the U.S. or Europe. These gray market products often are not covered by the standard manufacturer's warranty or service agreements, so if they are defective the buyer is pretty much on their own for repair or replacement.

Another part of bait and switch is separating out accessories that would normally be bundled with an item and selling them separately for exorbitant prices. Things like batteries, release cables, battery chargers, adapters, drivers and software, or other essential components may be sold for 2 - 3 times their actual replacement cost but are normally included with the item from the manufacturer. Other accessories, like filters or other unnecessary items are usually offered and pressed, again at higher than usual prices. A good indication of bait and switch tactics is heavy-handed salesmanship, the hard sell. If I'm pressured to buy something I don't know anything about or don't think I'll need I will end session and either go somewhere else or try again to see if it wasn't just a poor salesperson.

Look out for excessive shipping and handling prices and high restocking fees if you have to return the item. You should be able to review the company's return and exchange policies before you order. Review them and include those figures in the apparent "discounting". You might find that you're really not paying that much more than elsewhere once you add up the extra fees. Do some additional pre-order research on shipping by going to UPS or FedEx and entering in the shipping details. Each product description should include a weight and/or dimensions. Enter in this information, the zipcode of the company and your destination zipcode to get an idea of the possible shipping charges. Companies that do a large volume with a given carrier may get discounted rates, so this is just a ballpark figure. If what you're quoted is much higher than your estimate I would question it.

Another scam is to offer Money Orders or Cashier's Checks as the only means of payment accepted. Then, when the money order is received, it is deposited and the item never sent. Money orders and cashier's checks are just like cash, so there is no real recourse if you send one for payment and don't receive anything in return. Look out for this on auction sites like Ebay as well. An example description of the Money Order type of scam can be found at the Trails blog regarding the following site: www.aigars.co.uk.

The internet can be a treasure trove, lots of great deals are found every day. However, it can also be a trap. Be careful out there.