Leica IIIg opinions and value in current market

[awilder]

I recently had the opportunity to purchase a IIIg with a 5cm f/3.5 Elmar at auction. The body I'd conservatively rate cosmetics as Ex+/Ex. Preview inspection of the RF/VF was surprisingly good and the rf image is clear, contrasty and nicely aligned. Mechanics feel and sound great and all speeds appear reasonably accurate but I can't confirm absolute accuracy without film testing. No shutter creep at slow speeds. The lens is from 1937 based on it's sr # and it's cosmetics are about the same. I will probably sell it on RF classified but given the much greater popularity of M bodies, I wonder how the last of their classics fair in today's market. Any thoughts?

 

[sreed2006]

IMHO, if the intention is just to purchase it so that it can be sold here for a profit, that is not a good reason to buy it. I doubt it would generate a lot of profit, unless your cost is less than $400. In the RFF classifieds, if it is priced too high it probably won't attract a buyer. From my observation, almost all the items that sell fairly quickly here are priced quite reasonably - not obviously only being sold to make a profit.

 

[awilder]

Wasn't expecting a big profit as I know realistically they don't command nowhere near the same demand as M bodies. However it was the only Leica SM (excluding Canon and current CV) that had parallax compensation, 90 frame lines and standard shutter speeds among other things. Mainly interested if these classic Barnacks have much demand considering plentiful CV lenses out there which can be coupled to these cameras or has demand waned considerably in our digital age.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Wiggle wiggle?
Just search its "sold' price on eBay, minus 15% off ebay fee, it is your price on RFF.
LTM is just as popular as M here, btw.

 

[Rob-F]

Is it 15% now? Last I checked, couple years ago, I think eBay was taking around 11%. I guess they hiked their price. I know they charge commission even for the shipping cost, and that really seems unfair.

 

[awilder]

Thanks Kostya and Rob, that's a big help.

 

[David Hughes]

Is it 15% now? Last I checked, couple years ago, I think eBay was taking around 11%. I guess they hiked their price. I know they charge commission even for the shipping cost, and that really seems unfair.

Buying with ebay means you have to factor in the PayPal charges as well and both charge based on the selling price plus post and packing (P&P as abbreviated here in the UK).

So 15% is a fair but rough factor; both ebay and PayPal seem to charge a straight percentage and a flat rate but it's not as simple as that because of their T&C's.

That's also why a lot of people will charge £3-52 for £3's worth of postage...

Regards, David

 

[Dralowid]

There is another thread discussing the additional benefits of the IIIg. I may have misread it all but got the impression that contributors on balance felt the extra cost over IIIf etc was not really worth it.

So it is a model about which there is debate of sorts and I'm not sure how big the demand for ltm cameras actually is.

If uncoated your lens is earlier and not of great value.

Having said all that it is surely a great camera but not necessarily a way of making money...

 

[awilder]

Yes I figured the lens is only worth about $125 as it dates to 1937 and is European scale from f/3.5-18.

 

[hilltime]

I bought my IIIg w/ 50/2 collapsible Summicron in 1997 from an original owner who had purchased in 1958 and it was her camera of choice on her worldly travels. She took excellent care of it and came with Leica ever-ready case, a couple of hoods and filters and a 35mm/3.5 Summaron, all for $600.

She was happy with the price and I very soonly traded the Summaron for a Minolta (Chiyoda Kogaku) 35mm/3.5, which is practically one of the few I have ever seen. I still think the IIIg and Summicron is still worth every bit the $600 if not slightly more, and I can't imagine their price ever significantly falling.