MINT!?!? Lets get this straight!!!!

[Jamie123]

A dealer called me once to say that he had a 'mint' M3 he'd like my opinion about. When I saw it, it had a big scratch on the baseplate. I pointed this out. He shrugged: "Well, apart from that, it's mint..."

Cheers,

R.

Yeah, I often see sellers write "Mint except for..." and then they list all the marks and scratches on the camera. That's like telling your wife you've always been faithful except for when you were cheating on her.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I thought Mentha wath that thmart group of folkth with really high IQ'th!😀

Dear Mark,

High IQth, yeth. Thmart, no. A lot of them are pretty thtupid, really: computer programmerth who think that the world owth them a living.

I joined in 1966, but after the early 70th (thorry, theventtieth), I gave up, though I've been to a few meetingth thinth (not thinth the mid-80th, though). It thtopped being a rethearch organithation and became a thothial club for people who failed to thee the lack of correlation between high IQ and intelligenth.

I alwayth feel a bit dithloyal when I ecthplain thith, because I met many good people through Mentha (including, indirectly, my wife); but unleth it'th changed lot in the latht 25-30 yearth, it don't amount to much.

Cheerth,

R.

 

[Thardy]

I bet that chrome lens would look quite minty after some detailing to get a bit of the grunge off.

 

[Bill Blackwell]

I am seeing a MAJOR DECLINE in the meaning of 'MINT' when it comes to describing Leica camera equipment in recent times. ...

This is not a new development. But there appears to be a marked increase in unscrupulous sellers over the last few years. This is no doubt a result of the world-wide economic mess we've been in the last few years.

 

[hendriphile]

A dealer called me once to say that he had a 'mint' M3 he'd like my opinion about. When I saw it, it had a big scratch on the baseplate. I pointed this out. He shrugged: "Well, apart from that, it's mint..."

Cheers,

R.

.............................................................................................

"Well, apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?"

Back to the subject: I purchased an M lens advertised by the Hong Kong dealer as "MINT" in large capital letters... and so described twice in the same ad!

Not only was it not mint, but also it had been tampered with and was unusable as received.

So much for Hong Kong dealers.

 

[LeicaTom]

I'm still looking for that "Mint" Leica IIIC K Grey......but all I seem to find is Excellent + + Plus Plus! 🙂

Tom

 

[peterm1]

"....then how do sellers like these claim these lenses are mint?


This seller and HK sellers are notorious for stating 'MINT' when lenses have paint loss and lots of stains."

Maybe they are talking about its flavor??!!!!

 

[leicashot]

"....then how do sellers like these claim these lenses are mint?


This seller and HK sellers are notorious for stating 'MINT' when lenses have paint loss and lots of stains."

Maybe they are talking about its flavor??!!!!

> Finally!!! We have 'the' answer 😎

 

[Keith]

Something can't be minty or nearly mint IMO.

It's a little like being half pregnant!

 

[dcsang]

The fact is, that the word "Mint" has no "value" attached to it OR that any value attached to it is subjective depending on WHO is using the word. The best way of grading equipment in my opinion is the method used by many sites such as KEH or B&H or even a local dealer here - a numerical/phrase scale with value statements associated with said numbers/phrases. You don't see KEH valuing "Mint" items nor B&H. Avoid using the word altogether if you can't make a quantifiable statement that is associated with the word.

Of course, there are issues fraught with this method as well but it's likely you'll have less of them unless the person grading the equipment is out of their gourde. 😀

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Frontman]

I sell a lot of cameras, but "mint" is a term I rarely use. A mint camera has no scratches, no dents, no stains, and all features work as they should. A mint camera should look like it was taken out of the box yesterday.

From time to time I come across mint cameras, usually in their original boxes, and having seen little nor no use, but they make up less than 1% of the cameras I find.

 

[Beemermark]

Mint used to mean un-used. The closest thing to an international standard used to be the Shutterbug paper. This was an 11x14" yellow newspaper that came out once a month and was about 100 pages of cameras & gear for sale. This was before the internet. Mint meant it was a new item missing box, papers and/or warranty. I still think of mint this way. Exc++ was 98-100%.

I miss that newspaper.

 

[ChrisC]

Frustrated by my search for a particular lens I finally decided to pay the Leica Shop Vienna mark-up for a lens which was 'Perfect, close to new/unused, with perfect lenses ........'. The exterior lens elements were so filthy that until I carefully cleaned them there was no way of telling whether the inside elements were clear, and the rear element had a good sized thumbprint on it! I'm now unsure of who can be trusted for their Stock descriptions.

................ Chris

 

[JohnL]

If I rubbed it on my nifkin, would it still be considered mint?

PMI, but what's a "nifkin"?

 

[rbsinto]

I always thought the word "mint" when used in terms of physical condition to be an absolute description, and not to be modified with an "almost" prefix or "y" suffix.
Either an object is mint or it isn't.
Unfortunately, as so many here can attest to, the term has become almost meaningless as sellers misrepresent the condition of equipment.

 

[JohnL]

Dear Mark,

High IQth, yeth. Thmart, no. A lot of them are pretty thtupid, really: computer programmerth who think that the world owth them a living.

I joined in 1966, but after the early 70th (thorry, theventtieth), I gave up, though I've been to a few meetingth thinth (not thinth the mid-80th, though). It thtopped being a rethearch organithation and became a thothial club for people who failed to thee the lack of correlation between high IQ and intelligenth.

I alwayth feel a bit dithloyal when I ecthplain thith, because I met many good people through Mentha (including, indirectly, my wife); but unleth it'th changed lot in the latht 25-30 yearth, it don't amount to much.

Cheerth,

R.

+1 ... mutatis mutandi

 

[thegman]

To me, that is a loose use of "mint". I don't think you can make it a relative term. It should be absolute. If your 50 year old Summicron is mint, that means it looks and performs like it did the day it came out of the factory.

Fair enough, I guess with the fallibility of certain materials like wood, leather, glue, truly "like new" is just about impossible on some items, so maybe they can never be "mint".

 

[dallard]

It's funny, I bought a bargain 35 'cron from KEH once in BGN condition and could have easily sold it on the auction site as "mint" for twice as much.

 

[Rogrund]

PMI, but what's a "nifkin"?

Trust me, you don't want to know...

 

[ruby.monkey]

'Mint' was a definite term, meaning totally like new in every respect, and not 'considering it has been used'.

The word has been abused, and now means something less than 'like new', some people even thinking 'mint' means 'still functioning and usable'.

Steve

And then there are are the ads that say, "Mint - but not working".

😕