rbiemer
Unabashed Amateur
Earlier this afternoon I stopped by our local Thrifty Shopper--equvalent to Goodwill--and after getting several books I looked at the case where there are usually a few indifferent or junk cameras. Nothing this visit.
Go to the registers to pay for my books and on a counter behind the registers are several SLR cameras. A Minolta auto-focus something and a couple of others. One of which was a Promaster 2500pk with its 50mm f/1.7 lens. I still have some Pentax K mount lenses so I asked to look at it. The first oddness was that the girl behind the counter invited me to come back and help my self...
So I did. And when I picked up the camera and tried to pull the lens cap off I couldn't. One side of the cap was mashed into the lens. And there was the sound of broken glass rattling around! And the price seemed to be rather a lot--it was marked $69.99. If it had been half that I might have taken a chance.
I did find and buy a Soligor 2x tele-extender for M42, though. That was a whopping 6 bucks.
Rob
Go to the registers to pay for my books and on a counter behind the registers are several SLR cameras. A Minolta auto-focus something and a couple of others. One of which was a Promaster 2500pk with its 50mm f/1.7 lens. I still have some Pentax K mount lenses so I asked to look at it. The first oddness was that the girl behind the counter invited me to come back and help my self...
So I did. And when I picked up the camera and tried to pull the lens cap off I couldn't. One side of the cap was mashed into the lens. And there was the sound of broken glass rattling around! And the price seemed to be rather a lot--it was marked $69.99. If it had been half that I might have taken a chance.
I did find and buy a Soligor 2x tele-extender for M42, though. That was a whopping 6 bucks.
Rob
Tim Murphy
Well-known
I hear you!
I hear you!
Dear rbiemer,
I know many other people find things in thrift shops but to me they are a waste of time. I stop at the local Goodwill and Salvation Army thrift stores and I have never found anything photography related worth a close look?
And yet, I've bought a lot from Shopgoodwill.com and for what I've spent when I compare wins and losses I'm way, way, way ahead.
I'll still cruise the thrift stores though. I need a cabinet to store my gear!
P.S. I lived for 11 years in the Triple Cities area. I had a house in Windsor, NY along the Susquehanna River that I moved from in search of greener pastures. I still regret that move several times each day after almost 16 years.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
Harrisburg, PA
I hear you!
Dear rbiemer,
I know many other people find things in thrift shops but to me they are a waste of time. I stop at the local Goodwill and Salvation Army thrift stores and I have never found anything photography related worth a close look?
And yet, I've bought a lot from Shopgoodwill.com and for what I've spent when I compare wins and losses I'm way, way, way ahead.
I'll still cruise the thrift stores though. I need a cabinet to store my gear!
P.S. I lived for 11 years in the Triple Cities area. I had a house in Windsor, NY along the Susquehanna River that I moved from in search of greener pastures. I still regret that move several times each day after almost 16 years.
Regards,
Tim Murphy
Harrisburg, PA
rfaspen
[insert pithy phrase here]
Um....$69.99? Um.... I thought my local Goodwill was out of their minds.
For most thrift store SLR's (and the condition they are in) you need to pay me to take it. Having said that, I did buy a few cameras and lenses from thrift stores over the years. Got my 105/2.5 Nikkor for $8, my new-in-the box Crown Graphic for $5 and the rollfilm back was an extra $2. Got my Rollei 35 for $10, and so on. But those are the very rare finds and they are all from years back. Today, usually I'm lucky to find a Ricoh XR something-or-other at $99. Or a quite obviously broken light meter for $35. Or Mamiya-Sekor 50/1.7 for $59. I miss the days when stuff was priced more appropriately -- yes I know my list above are rare, exceptional deals, I know, but there's no denying current thrift store pricing (in my area) is out of touch. Contrast with local craigslist literally giving away Nikon N70's (and similar) for free, or if I pay, about $15-25. I did pay $10 for my last Nikon N80, and I pass on most other film SLRs these days. I'm overwhelmed.
For most thrift store SLR's (and the condition they are in) you need to pay me to take it. Having said that, I did buy a few cameras and lenses from thrift stores over the years. Got my 105/2.5 Nikkor for $8, my new-in-the box Crown Graphic for $5 and the rollfilm back was an extra $2. Got my Rollei 35 for $10, and so on. But those are the very rare finds and they are all from years back. Today, usually I'm lucky to find a Ricoh XR something-or-other at $99. Or a quite obviously broken light meter for $35. Or Mamiya-Sekor 50/1.7 for $59. I miss the days when stuff was priced more appropriately -- yes I know my list above are rare, exceptional deals, I know, but there's no denying current thrift store pricing (in my area) is out of touch. Contrast with local craigslist literally giving away Nikon N70's (and similar) for free, or if I pay, about $15-25. I did pay $10 for my last Nikon N80, and I pass on most other film SLRs these days. I'm overwhelmed.
Huss
Veteran
My local thrift store had a broken in pieces OM-1 for $120.
Literally broken in pieces.
When I visited a buddy in Oahu last year, we stopped off at a Goodwill for fun. (What was I going to do, surf?...) They had an old 4mp Sony compact digicam marked at $340!!! Sony sells new ones, with 20mp, for $100 now.
My best finds have been on craigslist, ebay and flea markets.
Literally broken in pieces.
When I visited a buddy in Oahu last year, we stopped off at a Goodwill for fun. (What was I going to do, surf?...) They had an old 4mp Sony compact digicam marked at $340!!! Sony sells new ones, with 20mp, for $100 now.
My best finds have been on craigslist, ebay and flea markets.
nikon_sam
Shooter of Film...
Found a few weeks ago at a Thrift store...was on a shelf behind the counter...battery was dead so couldn't test it...but for $11 it was worth the gamble...got a charger and it came back to life...been having a blast with this find...
xayraa33
rangefinder user and fancier
Not too many photo gear bargains at Value Village or Goodwill in my area of the Great White North.
Even 12 years ago a beat up common Minolta SRT 101 SLR would go for 60 Cdn dollars when rarely found.
Even 12 years ago a beat up common Minolta SRT 101 SLR would go for 60 Cdn dollars when rarely found.
johnf04
Well-known
Last week I bought a very nice Pentax Spotmatic, with a clean f1.4 lens, at a local "Hospice Shop". The meter even turns off when the shutter fires. It cost me $NZ50.
rfaspen
[insert pithy phrase here]
Well, this is timely. Because of this thread earlier in the day I decided to swing by one of my town's thrift shops......
....wouldn't you know it, found a nice condition Asahi Pentax Spotmatic SP. Working fine, with OK-looking seals, etc. Price: $4.00 USD:dance::dance:
Note that this thrift shop is NOT the Goodwill. The same camera at Goodwill would be upwards of $50 and its right across the street from this store. What's more, I enjoy chatting with the folks in this store. Not that the Goodwill employees are mean, they're just not as sociable and gregarious. They're not as "interesting" either. The person at the counter today showed me his radioactive mineral collection. It was genuinely fascinating. Keeps me coming back
On a side note, whenever I have nice quality things to donate to a thrift shop (happens more often than one would think) I never take them to Goodwill. Always to one of the "reasonable" stores.
....wouldn't you know it, found a nice condition Asahi Pentax Spotmatic SP. Working fine, with OK-looking seals, etc. Price: $4.00 USD
:dance::dance:Note that this thrift shop is NOT the Goodwill. The same camera at Goodwill would be upwards of $50 and its right across the street from this store. What's more, I enjoy chatting with the folks in this store. Not that the Goodwill employees are mean, they're just not as sociable and gregarious. They're not as "interesting" either. The person at the counter today showed me his radioactive mineral collection. It was genuinely fascinating. Keeps me coming back
On a side note, whenever I have nice quality things to donate to a thrift shop (happens more often than one would think) I never take them to Goodwill. Always to one of the "reasonable" stores.
randolph45
Well-known
50$ Nikon f with black prism Kept the prism and gave the working body to first rff person who asked for it.Texas member i think .50$ 2nd body nikkormat ft with 300mm nikor ,kept the lens gave the working body to another rff member.
Probably my best find was Canon Ae1 with 50mm 1.2 for $4.98 including leather case,all in working condition.
Probably my best find was Canon Ae1 with 50mm 1.2 for $4.98 including leather case,all in working condition.
p.giannakis
Pan Giannakis
I source a lot of my cameras either via thrift shops or car boot sales. More recently, shops go online and check prices on eBay, and go for the highest sold. I have come across prakticas valued in the £££'s and the like. It certainly has become more difficult to get a bargain these days.
seany65
Well-known
Presuming that 'Thrift'/'goodwill stores' are the same as charity shops in Britain, all I can say is I've only ever found 'poop' in them as far as cameras go.
dmr
Registered Abuser
I think Goodwill takes all of the "good" cameras that are donated and sells them on line. The cameras that I've seen there all fall into the junk-junk category, fixed focus Instamatic clones and the like.
However, at a smaller independent thrift shop, a couple of weeks ago a co-worker found a black MX with a Vivitar telephoto. It's the one on the left below. Fortunately she phoned me and asked if I was interested. When I realized what it was, I told her "Don't let it out of your hand until I get there!"
Mackinaw
Think Different
Last fall, I picked up an Olympus OM10 with 50/1.8 for $5.00 USD. Last week I found a Pentax K1000 with a 50/2.0 and a 135mm third party lens for $9.00 USD.
Jim B.
Jim B.
Jake Mongey
Well-known
I worked in a charity shop about a year back doing their cameras and testing and making small adjustments if they were needed and eventually the shop got a new manager who despite apparently knowing noting liked old cameras and wanted to do my job. Instead of transferring me they just had me leave.
Either way I offered to help out on the other charity shop which often has cameras priced stupidly high (Zenit 12 xp with broken lens for £90) and offered to help out and they said they already had an ex pro who comes in to do it and at this point I actually did say "you know that a lot of these cameras are steeply overpriced" to which the worker genuinely said "i know I cant believe some people are stupid enough to buy them"
Since then Ive avoided volunteering in charity shops and instead just donate money directly. When it comes to hunting I find nothing even though I look
Either way I offered to help out on the other charity shop which often has cameras priced stupidly high (Zenit 12 xp with broken lens for £90) and offered to help out and they said they already had an ex pro who comes in to do it and at this point I actually did say "you know that a lot of these cameras are steeply overpriced" to which the worker genuinely said "i know I cant believe some people are stupid enough to buy them"
Since then Ive avoided volunteering in charity shops and instead just donate money directly. When it comes to hunting I find nothing even though I look
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
Ignoring those that price them by weight, explaining the Zenit prices ;-) but not the T3's, I reckon it's important to understand how each shop works.
Some save them for the local expert and then 30 appear and one or two will be worth the money.
Some take them in and stick a price on them and put them out 5 minutes later; usually with a dead battery and a half used film in them. They can throw up some bargains but you have to check everything, especially the battery terminals.
Lastly, one or two save them for certain days of the week when they reckon they will get the most customers with money to spend, market day f'instance.
I make a point of trying to find out how the shop works and then basing my buying accordingly. BTW, when they under price them I usually tell them and give up after the second time, if they ignore me.
Regards, David
Ignoring those that price them by weight, explaining the Zenit prices ;-) but not the T3's, I reckon it's important to understand how each shop works.
Some save them for the local expert and then 30 appear and one or two will be worth the money.
Some take them in and stick a price on them and put them out 5 minutes later; usually with a dead battery and a half used film in them. They can throw up some bargains but you have to check everything, especially the battery terminals.
Lastly, one or two save them for certain days of the week when they reckon they will get the most customers with money to spend, market day f'instance.
I make a point of trying to find out how the shop works and then basing my buying accordingly. BTW, when they under price them I usually tell them and give up after the second time, if they ignore me.
Regards, David
zane0777
Established
My best find was probably a Nikon FM2n & 50/1.4 for $25. Next was an Argus C4 Geiss-modified with three lenses for $40. A Yashica T2 for $5 wasn't bad either. I've probably spent 200 hours over the last ten years looking for bargains, though, so the per-hour payoff isn't there.
David Hughes
David Hughes
Hi,
Better than standing around terminally bored while she tries on shoes, though...
Regards, David
mich rassena
Well-known
That Argus was a heck of deal, especially something so uncommon.
mich rassena
Well-known
I occasionally find cameras at thrift stores, but now that our local Value Village has closed down, I rarely see any. I would have assumed they'd be popping up at the other stores in town, but no such luck.
I've quit going to Goodwill altogether. The majority of the cameras seem to find their way online, and the few times I stop in, there's very few items I'm interested in.
I've quit going to Goodwill altogether. The majority of the cameras seem to find their way online, and the few times I stop in, there's very few items I'm interested in.
zane0777
Established
In my area the peak period was around 2005-2007. I suppose the 35mm SLR holdouts were finally swayed by 10 MP APS-C. I think the point-n-shoot crowd migrated to 2-4 MP compacts a few years earlier. I find very little of interest in thrift stores these days.