Ctein informs me that all of Phil Rosenberg's "Keck Observatory" prints have shipped as of today. If you have not received either your package or a confirming e-mail from the USPS with a tracking number, please contact Ctein at ctein@pobox.com.
Arrival: please allow two weeks for domestic orders to arrive and a month for international orders to arrive, after you get the USPS tracking number, before asking Ctein to look into the delay.
As for the Keck Observatory Buyers' Contest, I'll be asking entrants to submit up to three 8.5x11" or smaller prints. Unfortunately, we were not yet planning to move house when that contest was announced—you know how quickly things can sometimes go in trying to move from one house to another. Now I have to wait until we complete our move before I can start receiving the submissions, otherwise they risk getting misplaced in the ongoing moving process, which gets into full swing on Monday morning. We hope to be in our new office by Sept. 1st if all goes well, so plan on being asked for your submission at that time.
Many thanks!
Mike (and Ctein)
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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
Warren Jones: "The Keck print is just marvelous. Congrats on the new digs Mike. I hope the move goes well for you. The upside to all this, it gives me more time to decide which prints to send in. :-) "
Richard K: "Received mine in the UK a couple of weeks ago, but you might like to be aware that it incurred an extra £18 in customs fees and handling charges on its way into the country. No big deal, but you might want to pre-warn buyers of this. Love the picture though, and your post on frames for your Lincoln memorial print have really left me thinking about how to frame this one!"
Ctein replies: How would such a "pre-warning" even be possible? I ship to at least 20 different countries. I don't know the ins and outs of US customs policies, let alone those of other countries. It's up to buyers to understand that they might get dinged for duties on international purchases. Emphasis on "might." Identical parcels don't get treated identically, even by the same country. Some buyers get nicked, others don't. Glad you like the picture though, and sorry you were one of the ones who got nicked.
The Keck print is just marvelous. Congrats on the new digs Mike. I hope the move goes well for you. The up side to all this, it gives me more time to decide which prints to send in. :-)
Posted by: Warren Jones | Friday, 18 July 2014 at 07:24 PM
Received mine in the UK a couple of weeks ago, but you might like to be aware that it incurred an extra £18 in customs fees and handling charges on its way into the country. No big deal, but you might want to pre-warn buyers of this.
Love the picture though, and your post on frames for your Lincoln memorial print have really left me thinking about how to frame this one!
Posted by: Richard K | Saturday, 19 July 2014 at 02:55 AM
A big congrats on the new house and the move. I'm looking forward to more good TOP years.
Posted by: Soon Chung Lim | Saturday, 19 July 2014 at 11:37 AM
How a "pre-warning" would be possible, even if Ctein shipped to all 206 different countries: a simple notice in the print sale post(s) to the effect that "prints shipped to buyers outside the U.S. may be subject to customs and other fees" — or words to that effect.
Posted by: Richard Howe | Sunday, 20 July 2014 at 07:04 AM
Unrelated to the print sale, but I wanted to add to Ctein's comment about peculiar import rules. Over the years, I have bought many items over eBay from US sellers who shipped to me in Canada. They were mostly in the $50 to $200 range and almost all were photographic hardware. Sometimes I got dinged for provincial retail taxes, sometimes for import duties that I never understood even when I tried to read the regs, sometimes I got charged zip. I could detect no pattern, so now I take the only sensible approach. I assume it's random.
I no longer believe that anyone knows what is going on.
Posted by: Robert Roaldi | Sunday, 20 July 2014 at 08:31 AM
Got my Keck Observatory print and wasn't surprised to see it was beautiful. Not surprised? Not the first print I buy that was made by Ctein and he truly is a master printer. Thanks for giving me a chance to own these!
Got the Mirror Lake print, too and it's stunning. Elegantly simple, technically impressive, great stuff. Only problem: I need more wall space to show it ;) Guess it's time for me to move to a bigger place. I take it you know the feeling...
Oh and before I forget, I assume you won't mind my sending you A4-sized prints for the contest? That's slightly wider than 11" but US-sized paper isn't sold here.
Posted by: Thomas Paris | Monday, 21 July 2014 at 06:41 AM
I, too, received my Keck Observatory print from Ctein, and as Thomas I wasn't surprised. But delighted about not only about the beauty of the image but also the quality of the print I was and still am. Perfect work!
Re. customs fees: Usually I get taxed here in Germany when the value of the item is higher than ~40 US$. This time I wasn't, but no reason was given (and I didn't want to wake up a sleeping bureaucrazy). But probably an addendum that each buyer has to cover eventual taxes might be the way to go - although most customers are aware of that fact.
Posted by: Markus | Thursday, 24 July 2014 at 09:05 AM