Yashica GSN for $321 on Ebay!

[eclat]

No sleight of hand here. Two bidders got into a pissing match over my GSN. The bidder who ended up winning made a mistake... he was a first-timer who intended to put $16.25 and ended up putting $1625. Which wouldn't have been too much of problem if it hadn't been for the second highest bidder who apparently was not going to lose this auction. So he put in 19 climbing bids, all the way up to $1600!! The winning bid was, of course, $1625. But since the highest bidder made an honest mistake--he subsequently paid for another GSN at a VERY nice price, he was out of the running. The real culprit, of course, was the second-highest bidder. So I wrote him an email saying how unfortunate I thought it was that he got into a pissing match in a legitimate auction at my expense. Not cool at all. So he writes back and tells me to send him a second offer. I do. He pays. End of story.

Well, not quite. I thought he might simply get it and then return it within my 7-day no-hassle return policy. So for 7 days I'm glued to the screen of my computer. Never heard again from him.

Moral: There are still some people out there who are good on their word. And though this takes that idea to an entirely new level--some would say he was a fool--I say, kudos to him for having integrity. He shouldn't have pissed away my auction like that. So, it's an expensive lesson. And one he'll only have to learn once. I say, raise a toast to the guy. And hey, let's not forget: he's got the camera that shutterbug mag once called the best rangefinder in the world.

Now, about those diamonds...

 

[JoeFriday]

oddly enough, I was just thinking about that auction earlier today.. thanks for the update!

 

[JohnM]

Wow - that is some story.

I have no idea what the guy was thinking, but I give him a ton of credit for being a man of his word.

 

[Canon Junkie]

This just doesn't make sense... forget about the top two bidders, because you have others who are bidding over $100 in that auction.. even over $200...$300.... this is still a crazy price for a GSN, even in a very good condition. Something is up....

 

[Fedzilla_Bob]

I hear that GSNs wear well alongside Givenchy, Hermes and Prada.

In fact Sean Combs was seen with one while swilling Kristal.

 

[eclat]

Wha'ts up is called the vagaries of the marketplace. And good marketing--and standing behind an underrated camera--if I don't say so myself. I routinely sell my GSN's for over $100. And narry a single complaint. I CLA all of my Electros--to the best of my ability without tearing the things completely apart, test them out, make sure the light meters are accurate, spindles are true, install new seals, clean out battery casings, etc. Then I install a made-up battery concoction that gives true readings, and then sell them for what they're worth. Remember Econ 101: the marketplace determines the value of an item. I challenge anyone on this forum to consistenly take better pics with a Leica M6 than with a GSN. In a blind taste-test, I'm willing to bet that not one of us could score better than 50% in determining which picture came from which camera. Now, I may have just alienated myself from half of the members on this forum, but seems to me that the truth is the truth. Yashica Electro cameras are severely underrated IMHO. So, I set out to do something about that and managed to have a little relative success in doing so.

But I'm bowing out of the rat-race. Have a baby on the way and another life to lead that doesn't involve endless hours staring at a latent collection of diodes called a computer screen.

 

[cbass]

It's good that everything worked outwell in that zany auction but I wonder what the second-highest bidder's significant other had to say when the package arrived?

"You paid WHAT for this?!?"

I hope he's single... 🙂

 

[eclat]

now that I've thrown down the gauntlet, allow me to introduce as evidence for the prosecution the following website, from a guy who traveled the world with his GSN. What it really all comes down to: the person behind the camera. Every time. Give Ms. Liebowitz a K-1000 and give me an M6. Want to know who wins?? Let's admit it, fellow-RFF'ers. A lot of this addiction to the mechanics is a nice way to pass the time. Yes, Leicas and Hasselblads et.al capture light more accurately. But when compared to a GIII QL17 or a lowly GSN, is the difference *that* noticeable? Call me a putz, but I really don't think so.

 

[eclat]

oh right, the website:

http://www.fsb.hr/~srudan/stranice/start.htm

 

[parks5920]

that's just nutty! I guess I should buy a safe for my RF's.

 

[surlysimon]

hey it's not that nutty, see the thread i started about the Leica MP going for $15,000 with 9 days to go, it only started at $100!

 

[eclat]

that makes my buyer look like a cheap b******d. Alas... apparently some people like leicas. I lika them, too, just not that much.

 

[Pherdinand]

Well, thanks for the story details, eclat. As to your buyer, indeed kudos for having integrity - and i envy him that he can pay so much for his integrity.
The GSN's are indeed good cameras, i have two of them. But as you say, they should top out at 100$ or around.

The only similar position I was I did the same, payed what I was supposed to. It was a present, a piece of garderobe for a person very dear to me. But i had a wrong idea of the price. At the casher i was told "164 euro". My jaws dropped a bit but hey, what can a man do.
If they would have said "1600 euro" i would have been running out of there like it's a fire alarm.

 

[nottageek]

Integrity aside, the winning bid should be one step above the next highest genuine bid - or about $320 in this case. Still ridiculously high, but not $1600.....

 

[schmoozit]

Socke, that was a poor allusion to the movie "Marathon Man".. the connection being diamonds

I didn't think it poor. Made me laugh... and then cry! "Yeeeeooouuuuch!!!" Poor Dustin; it hurt to watch!

 

[Poptart]

Wow, that's all I can say. I have a mint GSN I've thought I was keeping, but now I don't know . . . if I could get that kind of bread for it. Why don't my eBay auctions ever end like that?

 

[Trius]

oh right, the website:

http://www.fsb.hr/~srudan/stranice/start.htm

I suspect the scanning is problematic on these shots, but they don't grab me as indistinguisable from Leica exposures. I have no doubt that in a true head-to-head compairson, the GSN would fare very well, but I'd be realy surprised if differences were discernable.

Trius