Has anyone like me ever noticed that for the vast vast majority of the time, a seller of films or associated products, never follows up by asking you if your newly acquired print or other similar purchases, was up to standard expectation for you?

Don't you think this would be a more courteous way of approach, by e mail or feedback or simply just an old fashioned telephone call to ensure everyone is happy?

What do others think?

Why do you think this may be perhaps?

Laughably, you buy one bulb from Halfords for a car nowadays, or one DVD from Amazon...and you're inundated with courtesy calls, e mails and feedback from your "shopping experiences" with them.

Don't you think this would be a good way forward as standard behaviour for our remaining online dealers, sellers on forums etc etc etc?

Or is the often current policy of "No news is good news" simply the best approach with these things here do you feel?

Steve Osborne of Reel Images is good about following up on purchases. He's a very good seller and a true gentleman to boot.

Being this side of the pond Douglas, regrettably, I have had no dealings with Steve, but I've heard similar stories from many a collector! 😊

Though I've only ordered once so far (more sure to follow), I was impressed with my dealings with Paul Foster.

I may be biased here, but I've bought two reels from Doug over time. I never have to worry whether I'll get something I'm pleased with from him. :-)

I've only bought from private sellers twice. And used eBay for the rest. My guess is that at least some of the sellers are keeping their fingers crossed that you will not even bother with asking for a refund! They just want to unload the item and keep the money! I'm sure the 'no news is good news' applies here!

Something that irks me is cheap packaging. A thin paper envelope won't necessarily protect the item inside. :-/

I must admit, I have had few bad prints from any of the dealers. I was disappointed by my last purchase from Barry, sad to say, but he is a good guy and will refund me some of it on my next order. I got Pluto's Fledgeling, but it was on a 200' the part on one of those Golden Gags, Dilemmas, so not worth anything to me. Returns was offered, but paying 12-15 GBP to get a sub ten refund do not seem a good thing. Steve Osborne is a trusting man, ships before payment and a very nice guy. Bought a few from Phil's Vintage too and good quality as promised. A bit overpriced on some, but you do get quality.

Tim: I echo your thought on poorly packed films. I've had worse luck with 16 mm prints arriving with broken reels (plastic). Even 8 / Super-8 films sometimes arrive looking worse for wear due to bad packing. Makes you wonder if there's a shortage of cardboard boxes where these sellers live!

I'm pretty sure Tim is right when he says many sellers operate on a 'No news is good news' basis. But frankly, I don't want dealers 'phoning me up to ask if I am satisfied with my latest purchase anyway. If I am dissatisfied with any purchase I will contact the vendor myself and tell him/her that I am not satisfied.

In like manner I usually let the vendor know if I am delighted by a purchase.

I can't believe it is an accident that selling films is not the main occupation of the few remaining vendors. I can't for the life of me see how anyone could make a living selling films as a sole occupation in this day and age. They probably haven't got the time or the resource to contact buyers as an 'after sales' exercise.

Something one vendor said as an aside on my last visit troubled me somewhat. He was bemoaning the fact that 'quality', sought after titles by and large only find their way on to the market when a collector either sells up his/her collection or dies. And of course, anyone buying the collection has to put serious money 'up-front' and has to take the rough with the smooth. For every desirable title in the collection there will no doubt be many 'B' titles that no-one has heard of and no-one wants. And only a fool would sell off the desirable titles only to be left with the obscure stuff. Profits are marginal.

I am no expert, but I imagine Judging the true worth of a collection must be difficult. And I suppose in a way all that we are doing now is passing around the last of the existing films among ourselves. Very little brand-new stuff is fed in to the market as far as I can tell. And the existing stuff is getting ever older.

It won't have escaped the notice of anyone who regularly scans the web lists of those vendors that actually produce lists, that some titles haven't shifted in years. And they are unlikely to shift. Dead stock, not earning money.

I am reluctant to criticise true vendors, because without them I would have great difficulty trying to track down the titles I like and want. They have contacts and are willing to take risks. And the ones I deal with are people of integrity. They haven't sold me short yet, and I have no reason to suspect that they ever will.

What does worry me is, If we don't support them then in the words of L. Frank Baum, "soon, there will be no-one left who remembers Oz".

I hope everyone is happy with the service I provide

Have to agree with you Ian,I'm quite happy to pay a sensible price from a trusted dealer and try and support the dealer,even buying a cheap print which I may only watch once.If they are not supported then I think time is running out for reel film.
On eBay it seems to me the prices for good titles is going sky high and only big spenders are in with a shout,there seems to be a lot of cheap film that I personally would not touch.To be fair I have been fortunate with a number of private deals and I'm not complaining about my collection,and I am quite happy to embrace the silver disc,and have titles which I could not afford in 16 / 8 mm,or titles that will now never see the light of day on film.
On the original point of postage etc and feedback,those I deal with Ive spoken to about condition etc and have never had a problem.
Some while back I sold a red copy of a 16 mm feature cheap and someone bought it.I did contact the buyer prior to selling and asked that they realised the print was red,and he replied yes fine.Film sold and in the e bay feedback he stated it was the best packed film package he had ever had.Personally I have no problem but unless I have reason to speak to a seller / buyer I'm quite happy to let sleeping dogs lie,but each to his own.📽📽

Dave Gust,gentleman of the first order.
Now that's what I call a reel film dealer.👏👏👏👏

Sorry Guest not Gust bloody typing !

Very happy with almost everything, Mr. Guest. There tend to be sometimes difficult to get a reply from you. I think I asked about Whose Life is it Anyway? quite a few times, but happy now that it is here :-)

Got some films I consider gems from you and happy with those. Peggy Sue I got cheaper because of stripes, which you told me about and that's a good thing. Keep it up, perhaps take a little time to read all questions sent to you and reply to them. I think you have a policy of not replying if you don't have the title asked for, is that correct?

ii get loads of emails nearly every day and try and reply to everyone people ask me for film titles I send them one them they never reply back or or say thanks for the list .I am sorry to say but I do get a lot of time wasters but I do get some genuine enquiries .I always make visitors welcome who want to come over its a hard to get a list together as the films, I sell go quickly and by the time I have sent out the last list 50% of titles are sold that's how quick they go .I sell films to collectors who I have known for over 30 years and new collectors daily .the trouble is when you have more than 1000 films its hard to remember the titles ,and during the summer months I am very busy with my fairground rides and this time of year I am open daily with the fair organs all over Lancashire .why not 3 or 4 get together and have a ride over .I have films buried behind the films that have not been moved for years I found a stunning colour print of the Vikings last week which I thought I had sold years ago i mentioned it on the phone and guess what i sold it as quick as that

I understand, it is loads of work and you have the fun fair things too. I am overall very happy with your service and hope to visit your store

I'm sure many of you will have known him way longer than have I, but what I know about Mr Guest is that he is a man of the utmost integrity. He is straight down the line - a man of his word.

if a print has faults he will tell you and it will be priced accordingly. If you are lucky enough to visit him you will never leave with a less than satisfactory print, or mechanical item, because he takes the time to demonstrate the stuff and will not knowingly sell rubbish.

He does,however, have some films that he simply doesn't have the time to view but needs to move on quickly to make space for new collections . You will always know if he is selling one of these because a) he will tell you and b) it will be dirt cheap to reflect the fact that you are buying 'as is'.

The last 'sold as is' print I bought was an absolute gem - a near-mint print, of the 'bride wore boots' ( 1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ( one of my favourite actresses - she was positively radiant in this film and as superb as ever ).

I was going to say that the problem with buying 'as is' , is that you win some - you lose some. But so far I have only ever won some.

David has never inflated the price of a film on offer to me. If anything, he tends to sell below the true going rate.

He has many films that can be used to study the changing trends as they have occurred in cinematic history and I have bought from him films from the 30's, 40's and 50's. Some obscure titles, but gems nevertheless - all in very good or near-mint condition with full titles ( remarkable considering the age of some of these ) and all reflecting the values and ideology of their time.

Those films that have been posted out to me have always been super-well packaged and quickly delivered.

He is always very conservative in his description of the quality of a print. On every single occasion the prints I have received have been way better than described and I have never been less than delighted.

It may sound like I'm getting paid for this ( I am not!!) but credit where credit is due.

As Gwyn says above, David is a true gentleman and he does endeavour to give a speedy service and good value for money. What more can you ask?

Praise indeed there Ian!!

Though I may never sample the delights of David's formidable collection being as it is entirely 16mm, it's true to say, those same sentiments ring very true of Ian also when he was trading within the Super 8mm field.

He is sadly missed now he appears to have taken full retirement from the business of selling films and film equipment.
Equally what could be said of Ian, just as was spoken of David with 16mm,was that somehow Ian always seemed to come up with the most unusual and sought after items on Super 8mm, time after time.

To this day, many of us still scratch our heads at just where and how Ian conjured up many a top drawer print, time after time.
His prices too, were always more than reasonable.

Ian was someone in this business who you never needed to ask for a screen shot or anything like that as his descriptions of the items he was selling, painted an exact replica of what you were getting for the vast vast majority of the time.

A fabulous guy to deal with and as said, now very sorely missed by myself and no doubt countless others.