Thursday, April 17, 2014

Should you purchase Goods from eBay.in? Read and Find out



From a long time I am seeing these type of comments on eBay India’s Facebook Page. Being an eBay user from a long time, I was disappointed with the fact that people would never write any kind of testimonial when they get the product but, they’ll surely criticize eBay service. It does happen with other e-Commerce websites as well, Hiding the reality of these websites.

Read this post and you shall be able to confidently purchase products on eBay.in

Back in November 2012, I was looking for Biker accessories while I was in Chandigarh. There was a shop where “Fox Raptor Body Armor” was listed for INR 2500.00 and “Fox Raptor Knee Guard” was listed separately for INR 2500.00 as well. I purchased simple KTM knee guards for INR 1000.00 But, when I went back to my residence and Googled those accessories and found that the same Armor was listed for nearly INR 1199.00 and Knee Guards were listed for nearly INR 699.00. I was surprised. Next day I ordered the Fox Raptor Biking Armor and payment mode was Cash On Delivery. I got a call from eBay so that they could confirm the order. It took a week for that product to be delivered.  That was my first purchase on eBay & second online purchase in my life (first was a wallet from Zovi/Inkfruit) And today, I’ve spent 1 Lakh+ INR on online shopping.

I’ve purchased a Laptop, Camera, Mobile, Apparel, Accessories, Electronics and other things from eBay. All of them were promptly delivered. I had to face difficulties with a few things but except that, everything was okay.

How do I make my purchase on eBay?


Whenever I want to purchase something, firstly I check into my inbox for some nice coupons, and sometimes I wait for one.

coupons are frequently sent by eBay and sometimes you can also get bonus coupons ( airtel online recharge gives me coupons after a successful recharge )

Then, I search for the item on eBay.  When the items are sorted with “Best Match”, you can assume that the top listings have something good about them, they are either being sold by a seller who has good feedback or many are sold or being watched.


You can also sort by “Price+Shipping : Lowest First” if you fancy lower prices.

After choosing the item, an important step is to ensure
that you’ll making a worthy purchase.


to do that, first of all check pictures of the product. There might be only one low-res photograph but that is probably fine.  







I check seller feedback first. At first glance I see that the seller is a “Top Rated” one. He Consistently receives highest buyers' ratings,Ships items quickly & Has earned a track record of excellent service. Nice, and the feedback percentage is also good. 99.6 percent. Plus, Feedback score of 1108 is also good. I’d double check by clicking Feedback score(1108 in this case) and investigate further.


From feedback profile I see that there is only one recent negative feedback and that can be neglected.

Okay, so the seller is good, but does he ship to my location? You need to know which courier services are available in your area. In my case, FedEx, FirstFlight, DTDC, IndiaPost work. You don’t really have to know if the seller is using eBay Powership.


In order to ensure that the courier will be delivered, check the item description. You may see something about shipping there. If something isn’t there, you can contact the seller in advance, asking him if he could ship via some recommended courier.



GOOD SELLER.
DELIVERS TO YOUR LOCATION.
GOOD PRICING, GOOD FEEDBACK.

These things mean that chances of arrival of your courier are 99 Percent. Sometimes bad things can happen either by seller or the courier company. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t purchase goods online.

*Do input correct address and phone number ;)

After you place your order after applying coupons(if any), message the seller. Ask him to ship via the courier you want. In my case I’d contact the seller and tell him to ship item via DTDC/FedEx/FirstFlight.. and good sellers listen.
Be patient & you’ll receive a message about shipping details of your product. Soon you’ll get your hands on it as well.

Here are some incidents that I should share with you.

Whenever I didn’t receive an item, refund was approved but I did not get any money. The incident occurred whenever I had used my Mother’s PNB Debit Card. If the same happens with you, contact the bank. Whenever I used HDFC Debit Card, I received my refund quickly and this was satisfactory.
Once I purchased SwartzKopf Taft Hair Spray worth INR 250.00 on eBay for INR 310.00 (Shipping charges extra) . The seller didn’t ship me the correct item. Instead, he sent me Gatsby Hair Spray worth INR 150.00 . Disappointed, I reported to eBay and trust me, in this case, eBay went hard on the seller. After a few days, I received a separate can of SwartzKopf Taft. Now I have both of them.

Once I didn't receive a product because of wrong courier. Luckily it wasn't anything expensive. From that point on, I ensure the correct courier service for my purchase.
 

Once, because of the courier (which was supported), my cell phone didn't arrive at all. fortunately I had used HDFC card, hence money was refunded, although it took time.

Remember to check everything before you purchase, and everything will be good.
Happy Shopping. :)

Saturday, March 22, 2014

No Image Quality Option in Modern warfare 3? DIY Solution for Sharper graphics

I had just re-installed Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 3 on my PC a few days back, after finishing Modern warfare 2 ( Playing modern warfare series all over again )
As I was playing the game I noticed that the graphics are looking pretty blurred and I had set all the video setting to max values.
According to an article at Gamefront, there was a solution.

"Set the Image Quality to Native"

But there wasn't any option like that in the game anywhere. 

After messing around in the game folder I found a solution. Follow these steps if you're facing the same problem.

1. Open the Game folder (F:\CoD_mw3 in my case) and navigate to 'players2' folder.  




    2. Open 'config.cfg' file in Notepad/Notepad++ 


    3. Find seta r_imageQuality "1" and replace 1 with 0 as shown in image above. Save the file and play the game. let me know if this worked for you.

    I know this blog doesn't look so good because I am just experimenting right now with blogging and stuff. I am looking for some positive feedback so that I could comeback with a decent blog with some solutions to such problems that are nowhere to be found on the internet. Thanks :)
    -R.

    Friday, January 17, 2014

    CHDK Installation Canon Powershot SX50 HS



      1. Create a file 'ver.req' and put it in the SD Card.
    2. Put the card in the camera.
    3. Start in PLAY mode (hit the button you use to view images)
    4. Once camera starts, hold down the Func./Set button and press Disp. button.
    5. Camera would show you firmware details.
    6. Look for the firmware version, it should say GM1.00B or C
    7. What really matters is if its the "B" or "C".
    8. Once you get the details, download Cardtricks[ savedonthe.net/download/78/CardTricks-144-SFX.mht ]
    9. Download CHDK from here : mighty-hoernsche.de/ . Download the appropriate version. Eg if your firmaware is 1.00B , download "sx50hs-100b-1.2.0-3313-full_BETA.zip"
    10. Now, plug the card into the card reader.
    11. Open card tricks.

    CARDTRICKS :
    12. Click the SD-Card image & choose your card.
    13. FORMAT AS FAT (Backup media before doing that)(Formatting takes time)
    14. MAKE BOOTABLE.
    15. Click on CHDK -> Card button. Choose the "sx50hs-100b-1.2.0-3313-full_BETA.zip" or whatever it is.
    16. After unzipping, take your card out, slide the "lock" down on the card, put it in the camera and turn on.

    DONE.

    If everything was done well, you would se a CHDK logo.
    lens will be retracted, half press the shutter button to release.
    There is a S button on the left side of the viewfinder.

    Press it to turn on CHDK access, press it once more to turn it off. ;)
    once you access CHDK (you'll see the script you're running in bottom left corner)

    Press MENU to enter CHDK Menu
    Press Func./Set to Enter Script Menu (when not in CHDK menu)

    *Scripts can be only run when CHDK is accessed but any changes made in "CHDK menu" (eg shutter speed) will be effective even after it.

    EXAMPLE SCENARIO.

    *AIM : Set a shutter speed of 30 sec
    *Procedure : Start the camera, you'll see the CHDK logo. Press shutter halfway and lens will come out. Press "S" or print button on left side of the viewfinder. CHDK ACCESSED. Press Menu. goto "Enhanced photo operations" > Goto Override Tv Type -> .. select LongExp.. go down to LongExp value. set value to 00:00:30 . Press "S" to get out of the menu. Now take a picture (I'd recommend taking a landscape photo at night, plus set the self timer to 5 seconds before you place your camera anywhere)