Is a "good deal" reason enough to buy?

[Yhbv24]

Well, as it relates to deals, a good deal isn't a good deal unless you were planning on buying an item anyway.

If I saw a Mamiya 7II for a very good price, I'd take it, as it's a camera I would like to have anyway. If I saw an M8 for $700, I'd pass, because I don't care for it.

 

[Neare]

I'd pass it on if I didn't want or need the camera.

 

[rbsinto]

In my opinion, a bargain is only a bargain when one gets a good deal on something they were intending to purchase anyway. Buying something on impulse simply because it was available at low cost is not a bargain, but merely an expenditure.

 

[oftheherd]

I've been lucky lately finding good deals on cameras that I don't really need, but have bought anyway. The cost isn't big money and isn't hurting me financially, and if I resold the cameras I could make a profit. So, do you buy cameras when you find a good deal, or do you pass on a good deal if you don't need the cameras?

last 6 weeks:

black Nikon F2 with DP1, but missing the open/close key- $73
Nikon F3 with 46-83 lens- $125 ($100 after I sell the zoom)
black Olympus 35SP- $105
Contax 139 with Yashica 50f2- $40
Minolta XD11 with 50f1.4 Rokkor- $10
Yashica T4 super- $10

BTW, I meant to comment on your Contax 139Q purchase. That is a good price. I had one a long time ago and loved it until it died. Now try and find some good Contax T* glass to mount on it and you'll never give it up.

 

[dave lackey]

Dear Frank,

My view, having bought all sorts of 'bargains' in the past, is that it's a rotten idea. You've spent around $300 on 'bargains' in 6 weeks. Across a year that's $2600 -- or an M9 in less than 3 years. Buying junk you can 'afford' means you can't afford to buy much better stuff because you've already spent the money.

Now, I buy something only if (a) it does something I can't do any other way, or does it better or easier, or (b) I can make money out of it easily. Not pennies, but at least a couple of hundred dollars.

Cheers,

R.

Roger, that sums up the one thing, if nothing else, that I have learned from you over the past several years and I have incorporated that into my life. I simply can't afford to buy cheap anymore even when something that looks like a bargain is offered to me. And when I buy something, it had better last a long time and be ultimately useful.😛

Now, in Frank's defense, that XD11 sounds delicious as that was the first SLR I ever owned.🙂 Which is probably why I like the Leica R4 so much.

 

[btgc]

I like two things from this thread:

- buy only if you need it for use (or have clear idea what to do with it - e.g. resell)
- buy one good [expensive] camera or lens instead of several affordable units (except case when you need cheapie for certain use).

 

[FrankS]

That 43-86 Nikkor zoom lens, I was planning to sell (once it arrives) but after seeing Chris' pic, I will definitely try it out first. 🙂

This recent buying spree was not representative of my normal spending habits. I had been really good about not buying anything for a year or two. The cameras that I recently bought were interesting to me - I wanted to try them out, and they were priced so that if I no longer wanted them, I knew they could easily be resold, likely at a profit. Thank you all for your thoughts.

 

[dave lackey]

Nothing wrong with GAS, is there?🙂 You can always de-GAS at a later date and camera gear is a lot cheaper fun than cars and women.😀

 

[Roger Hicks]

Nothing wrong with GAS, is there?🙂 You can always de-GAS at a later date and camera gear is a lot cheaper fun than cars and women.😀

Not in polite company. That's why they make charcoal tablets.

Cheers,

R.

 

[dave lackey]

Not in polite company. That's why they make charcoal tablets.

Cheers,

R.

Heh..good point! A gentleman would surely wait until a private moment.

Charcoal tablets? Do you swallow them or insert them from the bottom side?😕 Around here, I guess it would be the tablets you swallow, known as "Beano".😛

Reminds me of when I got my first engineering job out of college. A gentleman in his 50s (old to me back then), was complaining of hemmorhoids and stayed home while he used yogurt for a cure. It was years later that I found out he meant yogurt to be eaten rather than applied on the outside! That was back in the days when yogurt was new on the market and I thought it was a rather odd topical ointment....🙄 You can only imagine when I came onto this forum and heard the term GAS.

 

[jsrockit]

If I find something at a bargain price, and know I can make significant money from it, I will buy it.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Heh..good point! A gentleman would surely wait until a private moment.

Charcoal tablets? Do you swallow them or insert them from the bottom side?😕 Around here, I guess it would be the tablets you swallow, known as "Beano".😛

Reminds me of when I got my first engineering job out of college. A gentleman in his 50s (old to me back then), was complaining of hemmorhoids and stayed home while he used yogurt for a cure. It was years later that I found out he meant yogurt to be eaten rather than applied on the outside! That was back in the days when yogurt was new on the market and I thought it was a rather odd topical ointment....🙄 You can only imagine when I came onto this forum and heard the term GAS.

Dear Dave,

Which reminds me of the old Cornishman who was prescribed suppositories: "Place one in the back passage each evening."

When the doctor asked if they'd been effective, he said, "Nawwww... Might as well have shoved 'em up me arse for all they good they done."

Cheers,

R.

 

[dave lackey]

Dear Dave,

Which reminds me of the old Cornishman who was prescribed suppositories: "Place one in the back passage each evening."

When the doctor asked if they'd been effective, he said, "Nawwww... Might as well have shoved 'em up me arse for all they good they done."

Cheers,

R.

😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

My apologies to the OP and the original topic. But GAS does that to me.

 

[menos]

I am the "pass on" type of guy, when I see a nice deal, I am not interested in.
My profession is not dealing with cameras, so I don't buy on all nice deals, I could have, but only, I am currently interested in, that doesn't break the current storage space or practicalities.