Thrift Store Shopping Sucks sometimes...

[Field]

You guys think you get a score then it stops working? I paid $5 for a QL17 that lasted through about a rolls worth of me just testing it. Today I got an Olympus 35RC that had stuck aperture blades but the lady said the person who donated it said it worked. I thought I was going to have it fixed (local guy $50 for anything). Well the shutter stopped working too. Good thing I did not order a diode for the battery deal yet. Unfortunately this was a $25 **** me over, not $5.

I always want a great find in thrift stores but most the time you lose :bang:. Now if it was obvious like an M3 with a Summicron it would not be a big deal to know if the lens was good and the camera is always serviceable - as well as being worth servicing.

 

[Rob-F]

Sometimes people report lucking into great finds in thrift stores--especially with audio gear. There are stories on AudioKarma (good site, check it out) about finding Nakamichi decks, Akai decks, great speakers, etc.

But then again, how many people give away stuff they know is perfectly good?

Caveat Emptor.

 

[Field]

Sometimes people report lucking into great finds in thrift stores--especially with audio gear. There are stories on AudioKarma (good site, check it out) about finding Nakamichi decks, Akai decks, great speakers, etc.

But then again, how many people give away stuff they know is perfectly good?

Caveat Emptor.

I feel good when I get clothes... sweet stuff I like, wool etc.

I did once pass up a Nikon 35ti because I thought it might be a zoom, and was just totally unaware of what it actually happens to be.

Audiogear is difficult, but happens. I am an audiophile but make my own stuff so the barely above consumer level stuff is not that good compared to what I have made (very cheaply, extremely cheaply). Although I did buy from my old landlord a pair of McIntosh speakers that are to this day pretty damn good for anything sub $800. They were re-coned before ending up at Goodwill where my landlord got them for $40. (I paid $80 and made them part of a christmas gift along with an amp, dac, and usb thing I made for where multiple friends lived in an apartment)

Living in Montana does not help though... we are more spoiled with western shirts, cowboy boots if you have small to average feet, and wool. Maybe the occasional Montana forged knife.

My friend did grab a P&S with a Zeiss lens. It is super cheap crap but takes nice photos - forgot the brand.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

Thrift stores are also called junk shops. Buy a camera there and expect it to be "As-Is, Needs repair, For Parts" and you will not go wrong. Otherwise, buy at camera stores with a warranty.

I bought a Black Leica III with Elmar, Leica IIIa with Summar, Rollei 35TE, and Rollieflex for $15 each. In one trip. And a Black canonet QL17L for $20. Nikon M Sync with Nikkor 5cm F1.4 for $30. They all required some work.

 

[Field]

Jesus.... but those are worth working on! Where did you find that sort of stuff?

 

[randolph45]

keep looking

keep looking

You never know what you will find.I picked up a Canon 35mm with an early 50mm1.4 ssc and leather case for 4.98$ In good working condition🙂 I still have the lens

 

[nikon_sam]

There is a thrift store a few towns over and I go there when I get bored..they had an Olympus 35SP with the case and an Olympus Pen F with the 38mm 1.8 lens.
I really wanted the Pen but upon close inspection I noticed that the shutter would not fire, the film advance not budge and the lens aperture blades were very slow and there was a few big pieces of dirt/dust inside the elements...
Price wise I could have talked them into selling it for $120 but I would have had to invest in getting it serviced...
Later, I returned to look at the Pen again and found the 35SP and getting a chance to look at it I found that it was in really great shape...
I returned yet again but this time I bought the 35SP...
I'm very happy with the decision to buy it over the Pen and the last time I was there they separated the Pen body and lens...don't know why...
At this time I have no desire to own that Pen...I'm happy with the SP...
Unless you can inspect the camera and test all it's function you are buying it "As is"...expect that you will be investing either time, money or both...
Odds are if you visit enough stores you'll find something worth bragging about...in time...


Look at it this way for $5 you got a QL17 that you get to open up...take a good look inside, maybe find what's wrong and possibly fix it...I would gladly pay $5 for the chance to do this on any camera...

 

[Field]

I will leave working on a QL17 to someone else....

 

[FalseDigital]

I've had good luck with my thrift store finds. My first rangefinder "Yashica Electro 35 GSN" I bought at salvation army for $30. It was in perfect condition. Took it home to test and it worked perfectly too.

Then I bought many other cameras. Both from goodwill online and in random thrift stores. I'd say probably about 15 cameras in total. Out of all those only 1 didn't work. When I'm in the store I usually test the camera out as much as possible. Sometimes I even bring extra batteries with me when I go just to see. But yeah, it's definitely a gamble because we have no idea how the previous owners treated them. Still I like to take my chances 😛

 

[FalseDigital]

Oh and on a random note. Since I moved to Bangkok there aren't any "thrift stores" here persay but there are amazing second hand markets. I thought you guys might be interested to see. This one is at an abandoned train station. They sell more than just cameras. I'm tempted to buy the white vespa. They only want roughly $1000 USD for it.

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

I have a contact in the local thrift store. If anything camera-related turns up, she usually puts it aside for me. There have been some strange and forgettable finds (Yashica EZ-Matic, anyone?) but the highlight so far would be the working SX-70 Sonar in great condition (albeit with a very tidy engraving on it) for free. I think that if you're in a position to take on some repairs yourself, they can be a viable source of cameras, but of course, some locations have more frequent offerings of higher quality than others. Personally, I would take all the $15 Rolleiflexes I could find!

Regards,
Brett

 

[FalseDigital]

^ WOW! $15 Rolleiflexes!? I haven't seen anything that crazy yet.

 

[Pickett Wilson]

It's hard to find anything decent in thrift stores anymore, but I've picked up a few lenses. Back in the 1970's and 80's, though, it wasn't uncommon to find Nikon F's and Leicas in thrift stores, pawn shops and garage sales for little of nothing. I've bought a IIIF with a collapsible Summicron for $20 and an M3 for $50, and numerous Nikons, Pentaxes and other stuff back in the day for very little money. When Ebay came along, it created a market with escalating prices for all this old stuff.

If I buy anything in thrift shops, though, I always expect to have it repaired, and consider the asking price accordingly.

 

[btgc]

I haven't heard anyone complaining used car needs some work done on it. Same with old cameras: if they work like new - fine, but after 40 years in drawer they mostly need some touch.

 

[FalseDigital]

^ Exactly. If I get a Leica M3 for $50 that would be WELL WORTH the repair cost.

 

[Bill58]

There's a zillion film camera stores here w/ nice stuff, but not any huge bargains. Then there are also the flea markets w/ real junk or just plain crap.

 

[matthewm]

I think the problem is that with the advancements in internet connections, especially in rural areas, people are more aware of what they have. Someone above said that in the 70s and 80s it wasn't uncommon to find Leicas and high-end Nikon, etc. in thrift stores and garage sales. I think now, though, people can get on eBay and forums and find out what they've got.

I ended up with a free Leica and 5cm something-or-other lens several years ago before I really knew what Leica was all about. I posted a question on a forum, got a general idea that it was a Leica III series and the lens was decent. The body needed some servicing and I didn't know how to do it nor did I care to send it off so I sold it for a good chunk of change to someone that did. Had I not had the internet and access to forums and eBay to cross-reference my gear, I probably would have just thrown it out or given it away for some ridiculously low price at a garage sale or something.

I think the days of people finding dad's old camera and kicking it to the local Salvation Army store are over. Someone finds a camera, and they want to know what it's worth...

 

[Bill58]

You are 100% right. Not just rural areas, but overseas too.The used camera store guys here study eBay during their often boring days and adjust their prices daily it seems.

 

[Gumby]

I think the days of people finding dad's old camera and kicking it to the local Salvation Army store are over. Someone finds a camera, and they want to know what it's worth...

It is fortunate for me that this still happens on rare occasion. A guy I only casually knew (and who saw me using "old" film cameras) gave me his dad's old Nikon FE and a 135mm lens. "Here... you can have it if you want it; I forgot to take it to the thrift shop and was going to just throw it away.." All I needed to do was buy a new battery.

 

[nikon_sam]

I just bought a Nikon F body a few weeks ago from a guy who ran a Garage Sale ad on craigslist...in the description he wrote "An old school Nikon F camera..."

I went there and ended up buying it...$10 was his asking price...
He even showed me a printout of another F body for sale on ebay and that was for $70...
Had he done a bit more digging around on the internets he would have found it was a first 100,000 Nikon F...Serial #64650xx
So there are still decent finds out there with or without the internet...