FSU in the Classifieds

Most of us have bought and sold FSU gear before and learned our lesson :]

Great lenses, but the odds of getting a camera that works properly are far too big. No one wants an unsatisfied buyer w/ a non working camera. Never, ever, have I managed to sell a FSU camera that worked right. Besides, haven't you noticed what people buy and sell here? Uber expensive dentists cameras and lenses are The Way of the Classifieds. Bargain stuff is not for this market, apparently.

I like bargain gear. Anyone can make a decent shot w/ a $2000 setup, it takes a photographer to make a great shot w/ a $50 camera (and for me, that would be an expensive camera).
 
I wouldn't sell my FSU bodies anywhere because it's a PITA to get another working sample with reasonable amount of money.
 
FWIW, several years ago I bought a Kiev 4a with a Jupiter 8m from a the classifieds here at a very reasonable price. The camera worked perfectly. I also bought a perfectly functional Zorki 6 at around the same time.
 
I guess my experience is out of the norm. I bought four cameras from a seller in Ukraine who does a CLA and replaces the shutters on his stuff before shipping. All of them are working great, though I want to keep one and shed the others.
 
The only FSU gear I bought here was kind of a side sale, as the item I was looking at wasn't what I thought it was, and the seller said he had a Zorki-6 with a Jupiter-12 he'd part with. The lens turned out to be a "repaired" piece of junk, and the camera wasn't in much better shape, as one of the shutter curtain tensioners was broken, and thus non-adjustable. I couldn't leave negative feedback because he took the ad down before I even got the item in the mail (which made me think it was never going to arrive), and I haven't seen a posting by him since.

I just have had almost no good luck in any transaction I've done through the classifieds here. I got one lens that had sand in it, and another one I tried to purchase the seller said it was now on eBay. When I said something about that, he claimed it had sat on the classifieds for two weeks with no one asking about it. Of course, he made no apologies for not taking down the advert for his now unavailable lens. People can be such dolts.

PF
 
I'd sell some fsu gear here, but prices are low and postage is expensive and not very reliable. Is there a point in paying rff for an ad that is worth less than a hundred usd?
 
Hi,

A good reason for not selling something is that you like it and use it all the time. This is open to interpretation but I still have my favourite cameras and have had them for decades...

Regards, David
 
Gear bushing? Guess what, it is not any different from any other old film gear. All old mechanical cameras I have purchased needed service. And many made in Germany, Japan lenses as well.
The problem is with service, not the gear.

As for OP declarations, he is not here long enough to tell about what is going on here.
If you are selling gear in junk condition it is not popular here. But it has nothing to do with origing.
 
OK, well, since I started following here Jan of this year I have watched most of the classified sections and one, possibly 2 cameras of FSU have come up for sale.
I bought one group of cameras and it was junk, advertised as junk, and I paid junk money, and have had great fun taking it apart, learning how it works and putting it back together.
I would love to see more activity in FSU equipment, good bang for the buck!
 
I had an ad here for a fairly early (1955) Kiev II with a J-8 from the same year and a late J-12. The camera received new shutter ribbons and a check from Oleg. My price was less than the cost of CLA/repair at Oleg.

Zero interest.

I try to sell the cameras that I don't use daily, but I guess this one will stay and be used when the delicate Leicas are out for service...
 
The main reason is the price. Most cameras don't bring as much in when selling as when they where bought. The FSU cameras are still in the lowest price class, even second hand.

When there is a demand, people easily look somewhere else to buy cheaper.
 
Strangely I have been toying with reducing my FSU collection by 2 CLA'd cameras,as these days my photographic opportunities are much reduced.I even went as far as logging in to list them,but the airmail shipping cost on a £25/£30 camera outside the EU could be as high as 50% of the sale price,and I felt that as a interest wouldn't be great.Perhaps Iwas a little too pessimistic
 
I have sold a couple of Jupiters here, but yes - considering shipping, paypal, add fee it's not worth (it's either bad deal for the buyer or for the seller or mediocre for both).
 
Steve M. said:
. . . Anyone can make a decent shot w/ a $2000 setup . . .
Click to expand...
Dear Steve,

Really? It's surprising how many can't, then. And what makes a "decent" shot? Sharp, well exposed? You don't need any mystical skills, or admission to the Worshipful Company of Truly Knowledgeable Photographers, to get "decent" results from almost any working camera with a reasonably sharp lens, preferably a triplet or better.

Cheers,

R.
 
Roger Hicks said:
Really? It's surprising how many can't, then. And what makes a "decent" shot? Sharp, well exposed? You don't need any mystical skills, or admission to the Worshipful Company of Truly Knowledgeable Photographers, to get "decent" results from almost any working camera with a reasonably sharp lens, preferably a triplet or better.
Click to expand...

That's very, very true.
I recall: When I was a teenage boy, my grandmother, albeit half blind already, still shot MUCH better photos with her humble Zeiss Ikon «Nettar» (Novar Anastigmat 3.5/75), than I was able to shoot with her Leica M6 plus Noctilux …
 
FSU gear in the classifieds and general talk about FSU cameras and lenses was more prevalent around 12 to 10 years ago on this forum.

Time marches on and RFF has become more digital camera gear based for obvious reasons.
 
I think that due to the classifieds section being paid service, there's little interest when the goods in question are not that expensive. Actually thought about placing an ad short while ago and decided it's not worth it since there's free services around. I have no problem with paid service, but the fact that it costs few bucks and when goods are not in hundreds, nor in thousands, I don't see the point my self. Bit like auctioning houses, when your collectables or art collection is really worth it, they're amazing places to sell your goods. But if they're only worth few hundred bucks, you might decided it's not worth the trouble and costs.
 
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