Robbo, I was not trying to be mean or anything , honest. But as Pete said, there are plenty of scammers around so that makes it hard for people to trust others. I remember a while ago , one member bought something from another member, paid and the seller was a scammer. It happens way too often sadly.
Ask yourself this... would you hand over several hundred euros to a stranger and trust them? I doubt it.
I am sorry but a new member whose first post is offering a service where others have to hand over money upfront is always going to ring alarm bells.
Angie
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Good idea, but in my opinion, impractical. I too have toyed with the idea of "nipping" over to Oberlink, but adding in all the factors,eg: fuel, ferry, time, etc. it was easier to buy from the UK. I often nipover to France on the eurotunnel, but on a motorbike you havn`t got the carrying capacity.
------------- You don`t stop playing `cos you get old, you get old `cos you stop playing!
Quote: Originally posted by petemillis on 30/10/2011
and not meaning to be cynical or judgemental....
Well thats exactly how it reads mate!
He made a kind gesture. It sounds a great idea if hes going anyway to ask if anyone else wants some stuff. He was only suggesting - it might have even developed into sharing the driving, take someone with them, share the petrol etc. Lighten up, it might have been a fun trip and some people like doing favour for others, common hobby etc. Its not pointless unless you deal with it like an accountant calculation. If it turned out Robbie lived 1/2hr from me and was going anyway I might ask him to pick up something for me also, I would much rather do it that way and who knows I could return the favour if I was going at a later date. Like crime, the fear of scamming is much worse than scamming itself. Wouldnt it be great if we had regular posts, "I am on my way to Holland, got a bit of space, anyone want some items?". Its called a community.
Quote: Originally posted by petemillis on 30/10/2011
and not meaning to be cynical or judgemental....
Well thats exactly how it reads mate!
He made a kind gesture. It sounds a great idea if hes going anyway to ask if anyone else wants some stuff. He was only suggesting - it might have even developed into sharing the driving, take someone with them, share the petrol etc. Lighten up, it might have been a fun trip and some people like doing favour for others, common hobby etc. Its not pointless unless you deal with it like an accountant calculation. If it turned out Robbie lived 1/2hr from me and was going anyway I might ask him to pick up something for me also, I would much rather do it that way and who knows I could return the favour if I was going at a later date. Like crime, the fear of scamming is much worse than scamming itself. Wouldnt it be great if we had regular posts, "I am on my way to Holland, got a bit of space, anyone want some items?". Its called a community.
I dont think it would have developed into anything resembling sharing the driving as he said he is going to be staying with relatives.
There are some genuine people here and some not, nothing wrong with being cautious!
Angie
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Quote: Originally posted by petemillis on 30/10/2011
and not meaning to be cynical or judgemental....
Well thats exactly how it reads mate!
He made a kind gesture. It sounds a great idea if hes going anyway to ask if anyone else wants some stuff. He was only suggesting - it might have even developed into sharing the driving, take someone with them, share the petrol etc. Lighten up, it might have been a fun trip and some people like doing favour for others, common hobby etc. Its not pointless unless you deal with it like an accountant calculation. If it turned out Robbie lived 1/2hr from me and was going anyway I might ask him to pick up something for me also, I would much rather do it that way and who knows I could return the favour if I was going at a later date. Like crime, the fear of scamming is much worse than scamming itself. Wouldnt it be great if we had regular posts, "I am on my way to Holland, got a bit of space, anyone want some items?". Its called a community.
Read again... he was saying about "REFUSING TO PAY THE HUGELY OVER INFLATED PRICES" so the idea is to go on a trip to get the tents cheaper, not for a jolly. I was merely pointing out that the cost saving is likely to be so small that the it probably wouldn't be worth the hassle, so making a trip purely to get tents from Obelink and save money would, in fact, be pointless. If you want to do something to save money then you HAVE to look into the feasibility of it - there's no point in asking people for money on the promise of saving money if there is no, or very little, saving to be made - hence the necessity to deal with it as an accountant's calculation!
And all this "community" malarkey... what basis in reality is there to trust someone you've never met and don't actually know? Sure, "community" sounds all nice and fluffy and cosy, but look at the "ebay community" and other "on-line communities" where people supposedly share common interests - friggin' chancers all over the place - I've run into so many idiots on ebay over the past couple of weeks, who I've waited in for, who have promised they'll email or call, and I've been let down. I've had someone who I know well go bankrupt while still owing me £6k, and I have no hope of getting it back. You can't just trust somebody because it feels nice. So, yeah, maybe I am cynical even though I said I wasn't, but not without good reason, unfortunately
There is no reason why they should be any more expensive in the UK than Holland. I do consider £197 to £319 a significant amount and it used to be a lot more when the euro was 1.30 not that long ago when I looked into getting one. One reason that harks back to some previous posts, is either illegal or at least not fair practice, is that the supplier in the UK Belltent and have told Obelink to stop supplying the UK (they are the same tents from the same supplier in China). They used to supply and ship them to the uk but were told not to, as belltent kicked up a fuss and wanted artificial protection of their market. This is probabally against EU law and uncompetitive but as a consumer we have to take it. So Belltent would rather stifle competition than compete fairly with an overseas supplier who have extra shipping costs. I would rather go direct to NL in a car than deal with a company like that doesnt want to compete fairly on price. Obelink may be a bigger company but they do have a showroom were you can see the tents. Open competition is the only way to have reasonable prices and fair deals, its a shame you have to drive over to acomplish this. We shoudnt have to drive over.
As for the community, maybe I am more trusting and would rather look at things that someone is genuine until proven otherwise, at least I would rather see a person that way.
I would love to know if anyone has visited directly. I know this is a rather dead post now but with current exchange rate it looks very attractive if two or three people go over.
Robbo if you bought the tent how have you got on with it?
Best Wishes
Don't forget to leave a review of all tents you've used, for a chance to win fantastic prizes
Welcome Jules, we're practically neighbours as I'm only a few miles from Newmarket
I no longer have a passport so not offering to go over and I'm not sure it will work out that much cheaper once you consider the costs of going over unless buying loads at once
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Planning a trip to Obelink for bell tent
