Ridiculous prices for used cameras?

[user237428934]

Visited a shop that has a great variety of used cameras. Most of them are a little more expensive than the prices on ebay. But for some cameras the prices are absolutely ridiculous.
Example: found a new Hexar AF (black) for 999 EUR and a mint one for 750 EUR 😱 I bought mine new in 1998 for approx. 500 EUR. There were even more examples with other cameras in this shop and I remember this from other used camera shops that some articles are absolutely overpriced.
How come that a shop has such high prices for some used articles? Do they really wait for some uninformed guy to buy it?

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

How come that a shop has such high prices for some used articles? Do they really wait for some uninformed guy to buy it?

Could be! - I would probably do the same with some items, if in that line of business still!🙂

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I worked for a short time a a camera store in Santa Fe that was like that. Absolutely insane prices for common old 35mm SLRs that were basically not worth much because, well, digital happened. I'm talking well used Pentax Spotmatics and Canon AE-1 bodies that at the time went for like $30 on ebay in working condition, and they were asking $250-$300! Of course no one bought them. They didn't pay anything for them either. I saw the manager tell lots of people bringing in old cameras to trade in that they were 'less than worthless' because of digital, then offer them $10. The older employees said the stuff had sat literally years collecting dust. The manager said someday an 'idiot' (her words not mine) would come in pay it. She was willing to wait.

 

[batterytypehah!]

The manager said someday an 'idiot' (her words not mine) would come in pay it. She was willing to wait.

The same mindset is prevalent in buy it now auctions. I haven't looked at eBay's pricing in any detail but apparently it is way too cheap to re-list an item and keep waiting for that idiot.

 

[shimokita]

there are still plenty of good deals around. Yesterday I picked up a Spotmatic F in excellent condition for 25 USD and probably paid too much... I will use a 1.35 volt battery solution and it will cost more than the camera ;-).

My theory is that once a (camera) shop gets some reputation and foot traffic, the prices just go up. Not sure if that is due to poor management (in general), or just a side effect of running an ongoing business.

Casey

 

[sevo]

There are many shops that never recovered from the collecting craze of the nineties, or were already too expensive for serious collectors before that.

They had and still have a small business niche in the shape of uninformed middle-agers who are dead set on purchasing the dream camera of their youth. But with digital looming over them, their business proposition might be a bit worse than used to be, as memories of past dream cameras seem to fade more rapidly in our modern world of abandoned brands and systems.

I know a few owners of that type of shop, and most of them are grumbling - and at least one would be willing to sell out at a fraction of the label value of his inventory.

 

[bmasonoh]

I worked for a short time a a camera store in Santa Fe that was like that. Absolutely insane prices for common old 35mm SLRs that were basically not worth much because, well, digital happened. I'm talking well used Pentax Spotmatics and Canon AE-1 bodies that at the time went for like $30 on ebay in working condition, and they were asking $250-$300! Of course no one bought them. They didn't pay anything for them either. I saw the manager tell lots of people bringing in old cameras to trade in that they were 'less than worthless' because of digital, then offer them $10. The older employees said the stuff had sat literally years collecting dust. The manager said someday an 'idiot' (her words not mine) would come in pay it. She was willing to wait.

There was a camera store in downtown Cincinnati (Provident Camera) with a whole window full of old film cameras. I suspect they had much the same attitude as you describe. They were trying to sell old Nikon F3's (in user condition) for ridiculous amounts of money.

They have since gone out of business but I often wonder what happened to those old cameras. I also wonder if they might still be in business if they treated their customers as intelligent instead of walking ATM machines.

 

[wgerrard]

I worked for a short time a a camera store in Santa Fe that was like that. Absolutely insane prices for common old 35mm SLRs that were basically not worth much...

Chris, was that shop downtown? I remember seeing one shop on San Francisco Street, I think, and another a few blocks off downtown, to the south. Both had a lot of used cameras in the windows, but I didn't check prices. I thought they might want to lure in some happy tourists for impulse buys.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

I've seen a number of small camera stores over the years with a display of outrageously priced old cameras. Thought it was crazy. But I watched a guy pay $1,200 for a beat up Mercury II that had been sitting in a dealers display for at least 10 years. I guess if the dealer has nothing in them, the occasional bonanza is all he needs.

 

[Piewacket]

I honestly do not know why anyone would buy a camera at a brick & mortar store these days. I buy all my equipment online. Either from established stores like b& h or amazon or off eBay. Not only are the prices usually better than anything locally but I save on the sales tax. I will sometimes go to a store to check the item out in person but then go home and find it online.
I found a great camera bag in a local store, it was close to 300.00 before sales tax. Went home and found it on ebay for 114.00 with free shipping!

 

[back alley]

there are still lots of folks that don't/won't shop online.

 

[Steve M.]

Doesn't surprise me at all. I have yet to find a camera store that I thought was a good place to buy anything other than a strap. They're either crooks, very uninformed about the cameras, or both. Might explain why it's getting so hard to find a store anymore. The big ones like Wolf's were the worst. High pressure salesmen pushing their house brand of cheap zoom lenses for twice what they were worth. If they took something out of the case so you could look at it they acted as if you should buy it, just because they took it out of the case. Online buying ain't so bad compared to those sort of shenanigans.

 

[Piewacket]

there are still lots of folks that don't/won't shop online.

That may be but then you must expect to pay more. Stores have an actual overhead (rent, employees ....) you will pay for that and for the connivence. If you do not like the price, make an offer and if they do not want to deal, then head for the door.

Shopping online will certainly broaden your options and I really can't see why anyone would not...? Fear of being ripped off? Internet fraud? You actually have a better chance of having that happen by handing a cc to a waiter than by shopping online.

I can understand some trepidation in buying off eBay but I see no risk in using online retailers like B&H and Amazon.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I honestly do not know why anyone would buy a camera at a brick & mortar store these days. I buy all my equipment online. Either from established stores like b& h or amazon or off eBay. Not only are the prices usually better than anything locally but I save on the sales tax. I will sometimes go to a store to check the item out in person but then go home and find it online.
I found a great camera bag in a local store, it was close to 300.00 before sales tax. Went home and found it on ebay for 114.00 with free shipping!

The local store here in Ft. Wayne is a nice place. The owner is a man a few years younger than my father who inherited it from is father. The old owner was cool, he used to give stuff to students all the time. He got to know everyone that came in and if he knew you needed something like a box of paper or a couple rolls of film that you couldnt really afford he'd put it in your hand and tell you it was yours. I saw him help a lot of kids like that. His son isn't so generous because the old man was careless with money and the place wasn't making any, but he still treats people good and is honest and his prices are competitive with mail order. I've bought a lot of gear both new and used there. Its a family business. The owner, his wife, and one of his sons all work there. The current owner worked for his dad and managed it the last few years his dad owned it because of the dad's health declining those last years.

 

[cnphoto]

there is a secondhand / antique shop in sydney i used to live above/nextdoor too. the guy there often has many secondhand cameras for sale, he's a nice guy too. i used to go in there all the time to shoot the breeze and talk about old cameras, his stuff is generally priced a little above Ebay prices but still reasonable. I bought a Ricoh RF 500 from him for $25 i think? a mate of mine bought a Minolta Hi-Matic 7 for maybe $35-40? And I picked up an old Lubitel TLR for $55 overpriced yes, but i didn't mind spending a little more for the conversation and good humour). I sold the Lubitel shortly after when someone offered me $80 for it.

I don't mind spending a little more when purchasing from friendly sales people and shop owners (especially small business).

 

[illumiquest]

I've worked for one camera shop and they always had fairly reasonable prices on their stuff. A nikon student camera with a lens for around 100$. Yes, you can certainly find stuff online cheaper (and this camera shop did about 60% of their business on ebay) but I've actually only bought one or two cameras on the web. I just like supporting a local chap who I know and know will always be willing to help me out in a bind. I can't tell you how many times I've gone in this shop and asked to borrow an expensive lens for a couple of hours. Of course if I were someone who only shopped online I wouldn't exactly have the same luck.

I now run my own online shop but also try to help out local photographers who I know as friends by lending them gear, letting them have first dibs on new gear I get in etc. It's about the personal experience. Something I'm willing to pay a little extra for.

Plus, who doesn't like hanging around a camera shop, sniffing the dust and talking shop?

 

[lorriman]

... and they were asking $250-$300! Of course no one bought them. ... The older employees said the stuff had sat literally years collecting dust. The manager said someday an 'idiot' (her words not mine) would come in pay it. She was willing to wait.

Storage costs and lost oppotunity for displaying other items makes her the likely "idiot". Nice and just.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Chris, was that shop downtown? I remember seeing one shop on San Francisco Street, I think, and another a few blocks off downtown, to the south. Both had a lot of used cameras in the windows, but I didn't check prices. I thought they might want to lure in some happy tourists for impulse buys.

It wasn't the one on San Francisco; when I lived there that one was mainly a photo lab, but they sold a few used cameras and new point n shoots. I worked at the one a few blocks south, which was a full-line pro level shop. Tourists weren't much help, lol. Tourists from Europe used to come in and see the prices and they'd tell us "Its a lot cheaper back in (Germany, Italy, UK, etc)" Given how overpriced gear is in Europe, that statement said a lot about this place's pricing.

 

[manfromh]

Here's a Yashicamat for slightly under $400. I paid about $80 for mine which included shipping from the UK.

http://secondhand.photopoint.ee/index.php?id=19762

 

[jsrockit]

II buy all my equipment online. Either from established stores like b& h or amazon or off eBay.

To some of us, B&H is a local brick and mortor store. 🙂

I can see a camera store pricing above ebay since they can check out the camera and really know its working condition, but some of these places charge ridiculous prices and there is no excuse for that.