FallisPhoto
Veteran
I've been buying vintage cameras (mostly rangefinders and folders) on ebay for years now, and I thought I'd give some of the newer ebayers the benefeit of my experience. The number one problem you will run into is that what is said in the item descriptions on ebay is rarely what is actually meant. I offer the following translations:
Mint: This does not mean "like new," as it would anywhere else. It means the camera is a solid mass of rust and corrosion, protected by a thin skin of metal that still manages to look like new.
Minty: This is not the same thing as mint. If you take the aforementioned "mint" camera, scratch your name, address, social security number, brief personal history, and children's favorite bedtime stories into the base plate with a rusty nail, rip off the leatherette from the back and replace it with Christmas wrapping paper, then it can be said to be "minty."
Good condition: Don't take this literally. The camera's appearance and working condition are two different things. One of them is good, but the other almost certainly isn't. The bellows probably has more holes than a piece of lace would, someone has worked on the shutter and found he had five leftover parts upon reassembly (which he discarded), and the rear lens element is missing. Looks good though. There is a tiny spot, somewhere amid all the lens fungus, that you can still see through, if you hold it at just the right angle.
Good condition for it's age: This means the camera was either accidentally run over, several times, by Mack trucks, or was used for batting practice. The lens fungus has been there long enough that it has discovered fire, invented the wheel, and is chipping primitive tools out of the glass of the lens.
Working condition: It works fine -- as a paperweight, a door stop, a fishing sinker -- just don't expect to take photos with it. The lens fungus is driving around in small automobiles.
As is: Someone cleaned the shutter by pulling a 20-foot length of barbwire through it and dipping it in acid. The post-apocalyptic lens fungus has begun to mutate. Back away slowly and try not to show any signs of fear. If there is a stout stick nearby, you might want to pick it up.
Untested: This means "I stuck a new battery in it and nothing happened. It wouldn't even turn on."
"I don't know anything about cameras, but...": This means "I know pretty much everything about cameras. This one is broken beyond repair, but I don't want to say so."
No reserve!: This actually means "Please don't check my shipping costs; they have been known to cause seizures, rashes and bleeding gums."
"Rare!": Yeah, you rarely see a common-as-dirt camera like this with its leatherette spray painted that color.
"Worked last time I used it.": Just think about this for a second. Last time he used it, it worked. Then it stopped working, so he couldn't use it anymore. That's why he's selling it.
Mint: This does not mean "like new," as it would anywhere else. It means the camera is a solid mass of rust and corrosion, protected by a thin skin of metal that still manages to look like new.
Minty: This is not the same thing as mint. If you take the aforementioned "mint" camera, scratch your name, address, social security number, brief personal history, and children's favorite bedtime stories into the base plate with a rusty nail, rip off the leatherette from the back and replace it with Christmas wrapping paper, then it can be said to be "minty."
Good condition: Don't take this literally. The camera's appearance and working condition are two different things. One of them is good, but the other almost certainly isn't. The bellows probably has more holes than a piece of lace would, someone has worked on the shutter and found he had five leftover parts upon reassembly (which he discarded), and the rear lens element is missing. Looks good though. There is a tiny spot, somewhere amid all the lens fungus, that you can still see through, if you hold it at just the right angle.
Good condition for it's age: This means the camera was either accidentally run over, several times, by Mack trucks, or was used for batting practice. The lens fungus has been there long enough that it has discovered fire, invented the wheel, and is chipping primitive tools out of the glass of the lens.
Working condition: It works fine -- as a paperweight, a door stop, a fishing sinker -- just don't expect to take photos with it. The lens fungus is driving around in small automobiles.
As is: Someone cleaned the shutter by pulling a 20-foot length of barbwire through it and dipping it in acid. The post-apocalyptic lens fungus has begun to mutate. Back away slowly and try not to show any signs of fear. If there is a stout stick nearby, you might want to pick it up.
Untested: This means "I stuck a new battery in it and nothing happened. It wouldn't even turn on."
"I don't know anything about cameras, but...": This means "I know pretty much everything about cameras. This one is broken beyond repair, but I don't want to say so."
No reserve!: This actually means "Please don't check my shipping costs; they have been known to cause seizures, rashes and bleeding gums."
"Rare!": Yeah, you rarely see a common-as-dirt camera like this with its leatherette spray painted that color.
"Worked last time I used it.": Just think about this for a second. Last time he used it, it worked. Then it stopped working, so he couldn't use it anymore. That's why he's selling it.
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