The Best Camera Yard Sale Story EVER ?

Remarkable story of compassion...but I'm also curious about the daughter-father relationship.

Surely she must've known he was an avid collector and the gear is worth a considerable amount unless they really were estranged.
 
One always daydreams about coming upon a treasure trove such as that one which can be had for a song. But then what??

Do you give a full disclosure to the seller who is completely in the dark? Or do you pay him his asking price of $100 and be happy with your good fortune?

Thoughts?
 
noisycheese said:
One always daydreams about coming upon a treasure trove such as that one which can be had for a song. But then what??

Do you give a full disclosure to the seller who is completely in the dark? Or do you pay him his asking price of $100 and be happy with your good fortune?

Thoughts?
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Honestly, I'd probably pay the $100 and be happy. If that happened to me tomorrow I could sell most of that equipment and put myself through college, pay off my car, and get life going without all the debt. Not to mention I could finally own a digital Leica.
 
Joe Jesus said:
Honestly, I'd probably pay the $100 and be happy. If that happened to me tomorrow I could sell most of that equipment and put myself through college, pay off my car, and get life going without all the debt. Not to mention I could finally own a digital Leica.
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Yep, that is probably what most people would do.

Unfortunately for them karma usually finds a way of being paid what is due.
 
I wonder if your friend and the young couple stayed in touch?

One would think they would have become friends, even lifelong, over such a turn of circumstances. I'd think a relationship fostered by this event would hold so much more value than any profiteering, no matter how grand.
 
photomoof said:
I am going to assume it is a bit of a fish story. True -- but the fish has grown in size (and black paint) over the years?

I have a few stories to rival that one, but I don't push them quite that far. :)

You too!!
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I would probably think the same, if I didn't know this guy pretty well.

He has a sharp detailed memory and I've never found him embellishing a story. I just happened to mention the recent Craig's List Nikon One since he is into Nikon rangefinders. Ten minutes later I got his reply which I quoted to start this thread.

The way I read it, he did not stay in contact with the young couple.

Stephen
 
CameraQuest said:
Yep, that is probably what most people would do.

Unfortunately for them karma usually finds a way of being paid what is due.
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See, that's the thing: Take advantage of your fellow man now, pay later - with significant interest and penalties attached to the principal amount.

As would any Leica connoisseur, I would be tempted to give the man his $100 and take the lot off his hands - but in the end, I would do what the retired police photographer did. Partly out of a need to do the right thing and partly out my desire to avoid the hideous results of karma's "pay later" clause.
 
photomoof said:
I have a few stories to rival that one, but I don't push them quite that far. :)
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Mine went the other way and not camera related. 10-12 years ago I was perusing a Saturday flea market in midtown Manhattan. Mostly eclectic household junk. I spied a dust covered bike in the back of one booth. The tires were rotten, there were chips in the paint and the components needed polishing. Thinking about getting it back to Florida, I acted casually when I offered the the overweight grizzled old guy $50.

He calmly replied "For a Richard Sachs frame with Super Record components? No, I don't think so."
 
CameraQuest said:
Yep, that is probably what most people would do.

Unfortunately for them karma usually finds a way of being paid what is due.
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Wouldn't it be nice if that was true, but it's not.
There is no Intrinsic Justice pervading the Universe, and all the hoping and wishing in the world won't make it so.
Much of the time, those who screw their fellow man get away with it, and just go on about their lives.
Karma is nothing more than a rationalization thought up by those who have been taken advantage of to somehow make themselves feel better by believing that somehow, in some way justice will be served and the persons who hurt them will be punished.
 
Sorry to sound sceptical but what would be the chance for a photographer to own solely some of the most irrationally expansive items in Leica's history and NOTHING ELSE? It would be as if he knew what would raise in value in time and did the purchase on that purpose only. 3 Noctilux 50mm f1.2??? including a chrome one????? Does it even exist?

The story, although beautiful, is at least exaggerated, I think.
 
great story! how very happy they must have felt!

the law of karma does work and you don't have to wait for another life for it. the one who screws the other might feel happy for his material gain, but he also knows that he is an a..hole, feels about himself and life accordingly, is missing out big time
 
rbsinto said:
Karma is nothing more than a rationalization thought up by those who have been taken advantage of to somehow make themselves feel better by believing that somehow, in some way justice will be served and the persons who hurt them will be punished.
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Karma prevents you from taking advantage of others, too.

And if one day you receive a huge amount of money for no reason and without prejudice to anybody, you are supposed to give it away to avoid that Karma finds you.
 
I don't really believe these stories either, but I love the dramatic setup and the happy ending.

As for karma - I've tried to live my life according to these values of decency - essentially what I'd be comfortable with my own conscience and ethics.

But there's no doubt in my mind that people who screw over others, who take advantage and deceive and cheat, who exploit and abuse - they are the ones our society has chosen to reward.
 
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