Another new 17-55 IS owner!

I'll be a proud new owner of a 17-55 2.8 IS in 2-3 business days! Hope it's a good copy. I recently got a Tamron 17-50 2.8 but didn't like the focusing and a little soft wide open. I shoot so much in crappy indoor lighting the gloomy NW Washington State that the IS will be a bonus too I hope. I love this Live Search Cash Back. The lens will cost me $650 shipped with the lens hood after the $200 cash back.

Congrats. It's a gem of a lens.

wow nice price. was it used?

Wow congrats, great deal on a great lens. You'll love it. (Still don't understand this live search cash back thing... Who is paying out the money, and why?)

awesome. you'll love it. congrats!

Sfordphoto wrote in post #6646109
wow nice price. was it used?

Yes, it is supposed to be "Mint" and "Sharp" (I hope so) ... guy is moving to FF and has hundreds 100% positive feedback. With this price, I figured I would try it out.

javanutsy wrote in post #6646143
(Still don't understand this live search cash back thing... Who is paying out the money, and why?)

I guess it is some sort of deal with eBay and Microsoft to "drive business" to the Live Search engine and eBay. Here is eBay's promotion about it: http://pages.ebay.com …y/questions/cas​hback.html

eBay and Microsoft Live Search are teaming up to offer eBay buyers cash back on their purchases.

Here's how it works:
Visit Microsoft Live Search: www.live.com
In the Live Search box, enter your search for a product.
Click on any eligible eBay-sponsored ad. This brings you to the eBay site.
Important: Your cashback offer will be good for 60 minutes from the time you click the ad and arrive on eBay.com. You must complete a purchase on eBay of any eligible items within 60 minutes of clicking the ad. For definition of eligible items and conditions, see Terms of Use.
Look for your cashback rebate percentage at the top of the eBay page.
After you purchase an eligible item and pay for it with PayPal, go to My Messages in My eBay for an email with instructions on how to claim your cashback.
Important: You must click the Get cashback button in the email.
You now need to use the link in your My Messages to link a PayPal Account with your Microsoft Rebate Center Account.
Once you have linked these accounts, it may take a few days for the eBay purchase to be seen in your Microsoft Rebate Center account.
Microsoft will deposit your cashback redemption into your PayPal account 60 days after the eBay transaction has successfully completed including payment. Once payment is requested, it may take up to 14 days to show up in your PayPal account.
Why does the rebate percent change?

The cashback percentage may change because eBay manages and governs keywords bought on live.com and cashback percentages, which are always subject to change at any time.

For questions about the status of your cashback award, please go to the Microsoft Live Search cashback page.

Everything seems to be working, I'll be satisfied only when the $200 hits my checking account.

congrats!

I should also add that the Tamron 17-50 2.8 is a nice lens (and compact too), but I think my copy was just too front focusing and I decided to try the IS / 2.8 combo.

It's a wonderful lens, and it looks like you got a killer deal on it too. Congrats! =)

Nice piece of glass. Congrats.

Congrats! =) don't cut urself

You'll love the lens, though I've found the zooming isn't as smooth as an 'L'. But the IS is fantastic.

Seems like you got a great deal - congrats! Enjoy it, it's an amazing lens!

I also just got myself a new 17-55 IS and love it. The IS and image quality is simply superb. It beats my previous copy of Tamron 17-50 and image-wise is slightly better than my 17-40L. This 17-55 IS is huge and heavy compared to the other two lenses. Now, waiting to sell my 17-40mm.