The high prices of poor equipment.

[mfunnell]

Hey Mike, congratulations on the F2, enjoy!

Thanks! And I plan to.

However, genuine bargains do come along from time to time, like a Nikkormat FTn with Nikkor 50/1.4 for $15, both in excellent condition.

How come I never find those? Hell, I thought I did well with a non-AI 35/2 for $35! But I do thank you that the Nikkormat was over the $10 mark - at least it wasn't the $2.50 F2 I thought someone might come up with... (but just wait...)

...Mike

P.S. On the OP's original point, someone recently (over Christmas) was telling me about their father's original F Photomic with broken film advance and non-functional meter that was worth more than $5000. Not. I didn't have the heart to say...

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

... However, genuine bargains do come along from time to time, like a Nikkormat FTn with Nikkor 50/1.4 for $15, both in excellent condition.

That can only happen with an uninformed seller. And you won't have a reasonable probability of it lasting till you show up unless it's a thin traffic of lookers. Thrift shops. Flea markets. Garage sales. That's where I've found a few of these deals.

 

[Noll]

Hey Mike, congratulations on the F2, enjoy!

It's not just eBay - over the last year I've found charity/thrift stores in Sydney (some, not all) have taken to vastly over-pricing old film SLRs - quite frequently with obvious defects, like badly corroded battery compartments and missing battery compartment hatches, lots of internal mould, jammed shutters etc. However, genuine bargains do come along from time to time, like a Nikkormat FTn with Nikkor 50/1.4 for $15, both in excellent condition.

Prices too high for good working gear are common in US thrift stores also - whats worse is that the actual cameras are often fatally flawed! When my favorite thrift store stopped selling film gear alltogether, they said it was because no one bought it . :bang:

While prices can be high on ebay, generally if you know what youre doing you wont overpay. Patience and good product photos are key. Bad photos usually just mask bigger issues...

 

[Gumby]

It used to be that camera equipment suffering from any blemish or operative flaw was worth only a small fraction of equipment in perfect condition. ...

My experience does not substantiate the initial thesis of the thread. Worth less, perhaps, but not necessarily "a small fraction". Condition has some influence on price, but more so the influence has always been the very definition of "fair value" - (paraphrased) what a consenting buyer willing to pay to procure something from a motivated seller. Plus the important influence of supply and demand.

If prices are "too high" then the seller isn't really motivated and the buyer won't consent to buy. That has little to do with "worth".

 

[Gumby]

One needs to carefully discriminate between the following terms: value, worth, offering price, buying price, and motivation-to-sell, and motivation-to-buy. All different.

 

[Gumby]

...
This development is all the more interesting because items which used to be very difficult to find through shops or at camera shows and thus commanded high prices despite mediocre or poor condition - are not rare at all online.

I've noticed this effect occur with other materials too, but since this is a photography forum I'm just talking about camera stuff here. I suspect it has something to do with some sort of interaction between online market places and online communities - and lessened contact between buyers and traditional marketplaces. But I don't really know. Does anybody have any theories?

Larger supply base and more visible./accessible marketplace.

 

[bjornkeizers]

I've definitely noticed the trend of upwards prices as well. Not only asking price, but actual selling prices and amount of bids per item went up over the past three years.

Which makes me glad I bought a TON of cameras three years ago. The same ones seem to be selling for like twice what I paid for it, on average.

I expect the growing popularity of film might also be a factor. With all the press about people shooting film again, hipsters buying Holgas, etc. There's also a lot of people like me who are getting back into the medium and driving prices up with more demand.

I'm not sure it's necessarily a bad thing. Sure, sucks that you can't get the cameras for cheap like you used to, but perhaps it will also keep film stocks alive a bit longer.

 

[Stuart John]

It's not just used camera gear, I've notice the same with used hifi gear too.

 

[BNLee]

Must say that I agree with the supply and demand theory(a proven one i should say).

However, I think the major factor is down to one word: Internet.

Sure, the internet was here years ago, back when great cameras cost less than half of what they sell for right now, but it was at a time when technology was just starting to become more accessible. People were just starting to get DVD players to replace their VCDs. I guess you could call it "privilege" back then.

Then the inevitable happened, internet became part of everybody's lives.

When was the first time the thought of "Google it" came across your minds?

Well I like that camera which i just saw a stranger holding, I want to know more about it- Google it.
Ooh! It's wonderful, I want to buy it, how? Google it...

The trend passes from person to person, and eventually, everybody uses this way to do transactions, which accounts for the demand, while those who want to clear their house of some antiques also turn to the internet, filling in the supply.

I guess you could call it an "Evolving" cycle really. After acquiring the camera, the person uses it, finds that he is bored of it, back on the internet it goes. Only this time, the demand has increased! So he could sell it for more.

Then we come to this day where sellers simply couldn't care more, want to know how to price this item? Just price it as everyone is doing it!

Do you think the prices of certain things would go down eventually? I certainly hope to believe so, but from what I see, they only fluctuate until a flaw is detected about the product, then the prices really come down.

I should add that this is not entirely true, as some people that I know still prefer to stick to the tradition of going to a shop to try out a product before buying it. This is because they simply do not trust the internet. You could call it a "backfire" alright. Even many of us feel skeptical about prices for used items sold online nowadays.

Personally I caught the shutter bug in 2010 and went out to get a 550D, where I stepped into film land in mid 2012. I guess you can say it was the peak when things are going for more already? Well it isn't any less now come to think of it.

Some random blab from an experience point of view. I know that my years in this hobby could hardly be called "experience". Nonetheless, feel free to correct me!🙂