Worst kept secret pushing p&s prices up ?

[John Bragg]

It seems of late that the secret is out that certain p&s models are very capable machines and in the right hands can rival more complex designs for quality results. I am trying to add to my small collection and it is nothing to see Mju-ii cameras go well over £50 on evilbay. I bought one for £6 not so long ago. Is it photography students buying them up or just keen film photographers like me ? I am sure that other desirable compacts are being bid up as well. Nikon Contax etc.

 

[farlymac]

It's like anything else that becomes a fad. Some art director makes a fuss about what camera a certain artist/photographer used in their "work", and everyone with a disposable income has to have one. Nikon stuff has been climbing lately (though not their P&S offerings), and anything that can be pocketable, and shot from-the-hip is in now.

PF

 

[sevo]

It seems of late that the secret is out that certain p&s models are very capable machines and in the right hands can rival more complex designs for quality results. I am trying to add to my small collection and it is nothing to see Mju-ii cameras go well over £50 on evilbay. I bought one for £6 not so long ago. Is it photography students buying them up or just keen film photographers like me ?

No idea, but the ebay price development on Olympus compacts is irrational. Get a XA - these, once the most desirable of the bunch, currently go for about 30€, while the mju:I and II and the RC, once considered cheap XA substitutes, go for two to four times its price...

 

[Ljós]

Also, even though these cameras were made by the hundred thousands and millions, and are in principle plentyful, many of them never make/made it to the used market of today.
At some point, many users may have thrown them out, others may have them in some cupboard but will never bother to try to sell them. And then of course, many of them are in need of repair by now. Except that usually, with this kind of camera, once they "die", that's it.

I tried the XA, XA2, mju-2, mju.... and I agree they are fun cameras, which can yield competent results. But I never truly bonded enough to want to use them on a regular basis.
I should have kept the nicely working Olympus Trip 35, now that I found color film I actually like, to supplement my main cameras (Black and white).

Greetings, Ljós

 

[jsrockit]

These always had a wide range of prices... depending on how many are on the site at a time. They've always been known to be great P&S since the 90s. Just be glad they weren't considered premium compacts when they were released.

 

[muf]

The prices reflect what people are prepared to pay for them. A lot of sellers don't really know what they are worth so look at current listings and completed listings worldwide. You only need a few idiots to pay over the odds and suddenly every seller thinks they are sitting on a gold mine. Just look at the prices. There are just a few too many of the same model 'around' the same price. Kind of gives away they are pricing from other peoples prices.

Paul

 

[Vics]

The place to look for these cameras is not eBay or any other site. Thrift shops and boot sales (UK) garage sales (US). I bought a great Canon Sure Shot Supreme at a boot sale in Felixstowe last May for two pounds, and an mju-II at my local Goodwill store for two dollars. Even back then, the websites were selling these things at laughable prices. I saw plenty of mju-IIs for $30. Nuts! Hit the streets.

 

[jsrockit]

The place to look for these cameras is not eBay or any other site. Thrift shops and boot sales (UK) garage sales (US). I bought a great Canon Sure Shot Supreme at a boot sale in Felixstowe last May for two pounds, and an mju-II at my local Goodwill store for two dollars. Even back then, the websites were selling these things at laughable prices. I saw plenty of mju-IIs for $30. Nuts! Hit the streets.

Except when you are specifically looking for one, they tend not to show up. 🙂

 

[bjornkeizers]

Yeah, Ebay pretty much only works if you use a shotgun approach: bid low on whatever moves, and don't get swept up in bidding wars. Unfortunately this means you'll usually be outbid, but eventually the more motivated buyers dry up and you might get a sweet deal.

I have my own strategy of only bidding on short time auctions with one or two bids tops. It occasionally works.

 

[nightfly]

Use sniping software.

 

[Timmyjoe]

It really is bizarre the way the prices on used film equipment goes. Back in the mid 1990's, prior to digital, I was doing quite a bit of studio work and needed an instant camera to use for setting lights. Everyone was using the discontinued Polaroid 195, which was really getting difficult to find. A company sold refurbished ones at a premium price, and I ended up having to pay that to get one.

By 2008 I no longer needed the camera for light tests, as I could do that instantly with the DSLR, so I decided to sell it. I got absolutely no interest and it came down to the only offer I got was to give it away. I thought I might as well keep it and show it to my kids when they were older, kind of a "look at the way we did things back in the day." Came across it a year ago and thought I would try to sell it again. Low and behold, I got the same premium price I had bought it for back in 1996. Couldn't believe it.

You just never know what the trend is going to be.

Best,
-Tim

 

[kuzano]

VERY Good Point Made Here....

VERY Good Point Made Here....

The prices reflect what people are prepared to pay for them. A lot of sellers don't really know what they are worth so look at current listings and completed listings worldwide. You only need a few idiots to pay over the odds and suddenly every seller thinks they are sitting on a gold mine. Just look at the prices. There are just a few too many of the same model 'around' the same price. Kind of gives away they are pricing from other peoples prices.

Paul

To boil it down, you cannot take eBay as a source of value by looking at open auctions.
You must have a user ID on eBay to look at completed listings, and you must be logged in.
The completed listing are often twice the number than the current listings.
This is because completed listings are shown in the completed listings section for 60 days.
Sold listings are shown with the prices in Green
Unsold listings are shown with the prices in Red.

So, in the completed listing area you have absolute final prices for items sold.

There is also a function for averaging all the SOLD listings for the 30 days.

It's often surprising to see the actual final and average final prices. Looking at open auctions only, or BIN or Fixed prices with not give you any real itemization of values or general sales prices.

 

[Ljós]

It really is bizarre the way the prices on used film equipment goes. Back in the mid 1990's, prior to digital, I was doing quite a bit of studio work and needed an instant camera to use for setting lights. Everyone was using the discontinued Polaroid 195, which was really getting difficult to find. A company sold refurbished ones at a premium price, and I ended up having to pay that to get one.

By 2008 I no longer needed the camera for light tests, as I could do that instantly with the DSLR, so I decided to sell it. I got absolutely no interest and it came down to the only offer I got was to give it away. I thought I might as well keep it and show it to my kids when they were older, kind of a "look at the way we did things back in the day." Came across it a year ago and thought I would try to sell it again. Low and behold, I got the same premium price I had bought it for back in 1996. Couldn't believe it.

You just never know what the trend is going to be.

Best,
-Tim

Good story, Tim! Good for you that you caught the top of the wave again when you finally sold the camera ;-)

 

[kuzano]

Yees... very premium...indeed

Yees... very premium...indeed

It really is bizarre the way the prices on used film equipment goes. Back in the mid 1990's, prior to digital, I was doing quite a bit of studio work and needed an instant camera to use for setting lights. Everyone was using the discontinued Polaroid 195, which was really getting difficult to find. A company sold refurbished ones at a premium price, and I ended up having to pay that to get one.

By 2008 I no longer needed the camera for light tests, as I could do that instantly with the DSLR, so I decided to sell it. I got absolutely no interest and it came down to the only offer I got was to give it away. I thought I might as well keep it and show it to my kids when they were older, kind of a "look at the way we did things back in the day." Came across it a year ago and thought I would try to sell it again. Low and behold, I got the same premium price I had bought it for back in 1996. Couldn't believe it.

You just never know what the trend is going to be.

Best,
-Tim

Nice Polaroid 195's have been selling on eBay for anywhere from $750 to $1000. Ten - twelve years ago... $250-300.

Polaroid 185's currently $3000 and up, with three more listed at BIN $3500, $5800 and $10,000.

I have been selling large format in the Continental US and Internationally for some time now, and in the past ten years have seen a steady price rise around the world... most of my large format cameras for the last 2-3 years have gone to Europe and East Europe.

I realize this is a bit off topic, but film camera's in medium and large format and small popular rangefinders are doing quite well.

 

[farlymac]

I used to own a Polaroid 110B set that I bought brand new back in '72 (it had never been sold, and was collecting dust on the top shelf in a store). Wonderful camera to use, and the f90 lens cap was fun. But after all the roll film finally died, you couldn't give them away, unless you found someone who wanted to take the lens off, and mount it on a 4x5. Then someone got the bright idea to modify the camera with a 4x5 back, and voila! The prices soared back up. Unfortunately, mine was sold in an auction when I was running out of money, so I never realized any profit from it. And now that Fuji is still making pack film, the 180 and 195 have had a renaissance of sorts. And I found a 195 a few years back for $50. But that was sold right away for a decent profit. So, you lose some, you win some.

But used camera sales go in cycles, so what's hot today, may just be someones junk down the road. So junk stores, flea markets, Salvation Army and Goodwill, antique shops, and yard sales are the best places for bargains. Just don't go looking for one particular camera, or you'll pass up a future jewel. I'll buy anything that looks like it will work, or isn't too hard to repair.

PF

 

[Vics]

Except when you are specifically looking for one, they tend not to show up. 🙂

True, true. It took me about three months of dogged pursuit to get the mju-II, then I didn't like it. Gave it away in the RFF Christmas Giveaway.

 

[kaiwasoyokaze]

My 2 cents to this thread, eBay always has people selling the fujifilm klasse for around 400-500 usd. However a quick look at the used section on yodobashi cameras website shows that the current price of the camera in Japan is around 89-120 usd. If I was ever in the market of a klasse I would just fly to Japan to pick one up (or even 4 or 5) if they can sell for that price that eBay gougers are selling at.

Same thing is happening for the ricoh gr1 here. A year ago they were selling for 170usd for a mint gr1v, not its triple or double the price even for faulty LCD ones.

 

[jsrockit]

My 2 cents to this thread, eBay always has people selling the fujifilm klasse for around 400-500 usd. However a quick look at the used section on yodobashi cameras website shows that the current price of the camera in Japan is around 89-120 usd. If I was ever in the market of a klasse I would just fly to Japan to pick one up (or even 4 or 5) if they can sell for that price that eBay gougers are selling at.

Same thing is happening for the ricoh gr1 here. A year ago they were selling for 170usd for a mint gr1v, not its triple or double the price even for faulty LCD ones.

Well, both of these are scarce in the US since they were both japanese import products.

 

[nightfly]

Often KEH has better prices than Ebay with the benefits of conservative ratings and the ability to return.

Just need to keep checking as their inventory changes often.

 

[kaiwasoyokaze]

Well, both of these are scarce in the US since they were both japanese import products.

yes, i agree that this is true as they are both japanese market only.

people on a car site i used to frequent used to lament the JDM (japanese domestic market) for great products that the japanese keep to themselves. it seems it translates over to cameras as well 😀