Thrift Shops

[wlewisiii]

Don't know about anyone else, but I have been having great luck lately. Was at St. Vinnies here in Madison today and saw a bunch of stuff - an old beat to heck Argus, a Canonett 28, Kodak Tourist II (Grrr. 620 film), and an Olympus 35S that looked good but the shutter was stuck open. Picked up a fine condition Yashica GS - clean, functional, made in Japan not Hong Kong, lens cap and original ever-ready case and strap (fairly worn but clean, intact and usable). The seals even appear to be good. I've put the adapter and battery from my GSN into it and a cheap roll of Fuji 200 color to test it. I really don't need yet another one of these, so I'll probably sell this one if the roll comes back good. Anyone here want one? :angel:

I also found a Sunpak Auto 121 S flash for a buck and a half. The big deal with that is it actually fires from the PC contact on my Iskra. For whatever reason, none of my other flashes' sync cords connect right to fire the flash.

Last a copy of The Amature Photographer's Handbook by Aaron Sussman - 8th edition, 1973. Considering the age of most of my cameras it seems like an appropriate vintage and only $2.

And all I went out for was a cheap roll of 120 color to test the Speedex Special when it arrives...

William

 

[That Guy]

Cripes, I need to head over to Mad-Town! All I ever see here is old prom dresses and neck ties from 1968. 🙄

 

[oftheherd]

620 film is available from several different sources. http://www.filmforclassics.com/ has it as does JandC Photo (on eb*y). J&C has it in the wonderful old adox formula. They also have 127, 8x20, 11x14(IIRC) and 9x12 for those who use those uncommon formats. Film hasn't gone away yet! 😀

 

[wlewisiii]

Oh, I know - but if I'm going to spend that kind of money for film I'd rather put it through something like a Medalist rather than a Tourist.

William

 

[iMacfan]

Any suggestions where to find bargains like that in london - decent cameras just don't seem to show up that much in my local charity shops.

David

 

[nwcanonman]

Heck, I haven't been that lucky here in the NW USA either. Old beat-to-hell box cameras or Boy Scout Kodaks, are what I've found here. Congrats on your finds.

 

[jfbell20]

Although I have picked up a Fed and an Olympus 35rc from thrift shops, they don't seem to be donated very often. You might try junk stalls on open air markets and possibly car boot sales. I suspect that Ebay has reduced the number of real bargains. Semi-professional dealers probably shop early and then sell on Ebay.

The olympus 35rc was supposedly broken actually the battery need cleaing.

 

[momosgarage]

jfbell20 is right, ebay has killed bargains. Near where I live camera shows are right across the street from flea markets. The camera dealers go before the break of dawn and buy anything that has value. After that they go across the street and peddle thier wares. Garage sales are also hit up by dealers. Thrift stores are you best bet. The employess don't know much and stocking items on shelves is fairly inconsistant, so there is always a chance you could walk into the store just as it is put on the floor.
But on a down note ebay has caused most people to overprice their junk. Everytime I am interested in something I get an earful about ebay, even if the item is in terrible shape. I think the 90's might have been the golden age for used camera finds. It was during the begining of ebay and consumer digital, so people were just throwing stuff out for the new.

 

[pshinkaw]

There is a Goodwill store in the Pacific Northwest that is auctioning stuff on e-Bay. I have seen some cameras, most in terrible condition. I went to a local Goodwill store yesterday and was able to find only cheap plastic promotional cameras. I was wondering if the good stuff was getting skimmed off for e-Bay sales. On the plus side, I was able to find a pair of Vivitar PN2011 cameras with the switchable pseudo-panoramic feature. Only $3 each. Since they are essentially cheap plastic promotional cameras, I guess they qualify.

-Paul

 

[momosgarage]

some Goodwill location do ebay and I think it stinks. Mostly low income people shop at these stores with the occational collector (of anything not just cameras) and the occational dealer (of anything not just cameras). If they all start ebay they will totally lose the last two types of customer all together. I have never seen a goodwill ebay auction with a reasonable price, no matter what the item was. I wonder how much really gets sold on ebay. The last good deals outside luck in a thrift store may be storage auctions. All self storage companies aucition off unclaimed stuff or stuff thats storage fees were not paid. I have had pretty good luck, but the downside is all the other stuff you don't want but get anyway.

 

[Rob]

Seems Ebay is getting a bad rap here...Maybe some have not
had the best luck, many have. Some of us would never fill out
or even start collecting cameras if it were not for Ebay.
We might spend years at yard sales, flea mkts and camera
shows to get what we need. I go to yard sales, flea markets,
Ebay, pawn shops and thrift stores also. Want to know where I have found the most cameras? In Antique shops, specifically
antique malls where there may be 100 dealer booths.
Prices are usually negotiable also. Sure you will see a lot of
glassware and junk your not interested in but take the wife
If she finds something she likes, how can she tell you not to
buy that camera you just found?
In the last 8 months I have found:
6 Yashica GSN, 2 Yashica GT,4 Canon GIII, 1 Oly 35RC, 2 Minolta 7s, Minolta 7SII, Minolta 9, light meters, Polaroid rangefinders
like the 200, Pentax K1000, etc. At my local used camera shop I have gotten a Yashica CC and tons of small stuff.
Only camera I have gotten from my 3 thrift stores locally has
been a Diana camera for $2, but I have gotten several nice
collectible radios and my current treadmill there.
Rob

 

[thejazzguy]

this year i bought a yashica t2d (tessar 35/3.5) in perfect condition for $3 at a seattle thrift store. i still think there are bargains to be found if you know where to look.

 

[momosgarage]

Maybe you misunderstood me. I like and use ebay. I don't like thrift stores like goodwill and salvation army selling on ebay. Thier prices are already too high in the store, ebay just furthers the madness of the employee posting the item.

 

[back alley]

i have never found any good cameras in a thrift store, or a sally ann, or a goodwill or a yard, gargage sale.
i have found some great cameras in camera stores but hardly at bargain prices.

and as for ebay, i have an addiction and must stay away.
i'm still waiting for 3 lenses and 2 filters to show up.
canada customs, do you hear me, i know you have my lenses - give them back!! now!!

joe

 

[FrankS]

I've had some luck at garage sales with cameras, though not rangefinders.

At one sale, I spotted a camera bag under a table and found a perfectly mint Nikon FG with 50mm f1.8 E lens and no name flash in it. I asked how much it was. The lady told me that it didn't work, but if I wanted it for a shelf, I could have it for $20. I took it home, put a new battery in, and it works perfectly!

At another sale that same summer but different day, I asked if they had any cameras for sale because I didn't see any displayed. The lady told me that yes they had one but it was broken. Thinking it could just be a battery, I said I was still interested. She came back with a Nikon F60 with a Nikkor 28 to 80mm AF zoom, both perfectly mint, in a Lowepro SLR/zoom camera bag. She told me to make an offer so I tried $20 but she replied, "No it doesn't work. I'll take $10.) When I got it home, the battery was fine. The LCD screen was flashing an ERROR message, because on this camera model, aperture setting is controlled by the body and the lens needs to be locked at min. aperture, and it wasn't. I set the aperture, and the camera works perfectly!

Those are my 2 best garage sale camera bargain stories.

 

[wierdcollector]

Wow,
I'm going yard saling with Frank. Nice cameras. I've bought cameras from the Goodwill Auction site (didn't know they had one? Try Goodwill.com. I haven't gotten great deals $19 US for a Miranda SLR) but I gave up when every day I'd see silly people bidding at least twice what I can buy the camera for on Ebay. I still haunt yard sales, pawn shops, estate sales, auctions and of course Ebay. Fact is I haven't bought anything on Ebay in almost three weeks now, a record for me. I even find every re-seller in my town, whether the type with a shop in their garage or a real store, haunting all my regular spots and constantly blabbing about how much they are going to make on Ebay. Last auction I was at had 14 re-sellers and approx. 20 various other folks. Getting harder to find anything worth buying, but I still find a few plastic fantastics like my Olympus Infinity Zoom 200 at places like St. Vincent de Paul, or Goodwill. Salvation Army here now auctions cameras in a silent auction. Even then I know at least 4 others here who collect so prices have gone thru the roof.

 

[momosgarage]

I also did the private salvation army auctions for a while, but this last year I had to stop. People are overpaying for everything becasue they think they can make a fortune on ebay. Nomally I would buy salvation army lots with cameras in them. I would keep and or repair what I liked. The rest would go on ebay or traded as parts to my repair guy. I wasn't making a real profit though, it was just fun to get something I wanted for nothing and have an extra $100 or something like that. Now people at those actions think its a buisness, they will buy any junk. I wish I could follow up and see how much they really made on ebay or the flea market. I 'll bet they only do it once after they lose money from overpaying on broken camera equipment.

 

[Rob]

My best yard sale story:10 years ago picked up about $1000 worth of nice darkroom, enlargers and lenses for $70.
My best newspaper ad story: I got a mint condition Nikkor
400mm F3.5 in case with a 1.4x nikon TC for $1200. Sold it
that next week after playing with it for $2,500.
Oddest thing with a newspaper ad: Ad said 600mm F4 nikkor
with case for some really low price. Called a friend who knows
about every sportshooter in the US and one of them had his
swiped here. He got me the serial number and
I went to look at it and sure enough was his stolen lens!
I called the police and told them about it. Hope he got it back
I never did hear about it after that. I guess I need to hit the
outdoor flea markets one more time before it gets cold here.

 

[pshinkaw]

I just tried www.Goodwill.com. I ended up on a very nice Japanese language Human Resources consulting company's site. Or, it could be a temp agency. I can't tell.

-Paul

 

[thejazzguy]

my father-in-law is somewhat of an expert at garage sales and ebay re-selling. he has found so many jewels that i can't even keep track, but two come to mind: a nikon sp he picked up for $10, and an alpa he got for $50. he resold them on ebay for thousands.....

the moral of the story is probably 'early bird gets the worm.' he takes a flashlight to garage sales because the sun usually isn't up. with the nikon, he flashed his light in the camera bag, saw the word 'nikon' closed it up, gave them the tenner and RAN.