The Ethics of "Old stock, new in box"

<p>A recent post concerned whether or not a Leica commemorative model still in its original packaging and unused should be "opened up and used" ( http://www.photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/00cntB ).</p>

<p>Few of us face decisions of such potential financial magnitude, our problems being mostly in the <br>

"we've established that, now we're negotiating the price"<br>

category.</p>

<p>Recently, I, too, had to face up to this issue. My local and beloved camera store is going out of business. I've been picking up some odds and ends. Friday, I found a slide file box in its original box. <br>

Here is the <strong>Star-D MOD 300 Group Slide File SD 0300</strong> box.</p>

<p>By the way, Star-D is not to be confused with Star*D ( http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mad-in-america/201008/the-stard-scandal-new-paper-sums-it-all ).<br /><br /></p>

<p>Strangely enough, a search for “Star-D <em>slide</em>” also turned up a number of old-stock Star-D items. Hmmm. Are some products more likely than others to remain unsold? You be the judge.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>Here are the exterior and interior of the slide file.</p><div></div>

<p>In the past, I have also faced a similar moral dilemma about whether to use a "new in box" item - in this case a slide file made by Logan, bought on eBay.</p>

<div></div>

<p>And the view of the not-quite mint box (the cardboard inserts are in). There were, at some point, metal inserts for some of these to divide the groups up.<br /><br /></p>

 

<p>.</p><div></div>

<p>However, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.<br>

- to my eternal regret, and loss of many cents in value, here is my original sealed TIME camera, which I unpacked and actually used:<br /><br /></p>

<div></div>

<p>My post on that act of historical vandalism at http://www.photo.net/classic-cameras-forum/00Svr4 <br /><br />Next, who knows, maybe I’ll be like Herostratus and burn down the Temple of Artemis at Ephesis ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herostratus ).<br />Once you’ve started down the dark side, y’know.<br /><br /></p>

<p>Tell us your own acts of historical incorrectness, or demonstrations of great moral rectitude in regard to "New, old stock"</p>

<p>NIB/old stock is a tricky one, for reselling purposes. Many such items have been opened and handled many times in the store, so technically they probably should not be advertised as NIB. "Like new in box" might apply to items that have been handled but are in excellent shape and completely intact, right down to the twist ties for the cords and plastic baggies. "Demo" would probably be more appropriate for unsold old stock that's still in like-new condition after handling. Shopworn would apply to many such items.</p>

<p>I have kept almost all of the original packaging materials for my Olympus C-3040Z, Nikon D2H and the few other items I bought new. Usually I buy used and don't care about the packaging. But I figured if I ever pass along those bits of gear to someone else he or she may get a kick out of having all of the original materials.</p>

<p>However as a buyer I'm not particularly concerned. I'm more interested in function and a good value. I bought many Olympus OM items from a long-since-closed Fort Worth camera shop that went into a slow decline and finally faded out in the late 1990s or very early 2000s. Most were LNIB/old stock, but had been handled quite a bit. I sold or gave away most of those items after switching from OM to Nikon, but I still have a couple of oddities to get rid of. One is a third party specialty adapter for some sort of bellows or macro rig, with the only markings carefully inscribed in script with an engraving pen. I need to photograph it for the classic cameras forum to find a new home.</p>

<p>JDM: I once had one of those 35mm cameras minus the 'Time' logo. Removing the bottom plate, I discovered a lead weight (not kidding!) inside. I'll wager the engineers at Leitz never thought of that.</p>

<p>An early form of image stabilization.</p>

<p>JDM: How did he burn down the Temple of Artemus? It was made of marble or granite. I never could understand how these ancient buildings burn down?</p>

<p>The <em>Time</em> camera looks about the same as the Olympia 35mm cameras one sees--sometimes still new. Every now and then I get a chuckle when Craigslist has an ad for one for $100 or something.<br>

http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/%22Olympia%22_camera<br>

http://www.amazon.com/DELUXE-CAMERA-Model-Number-EL1124/dp/B000FMFQTS<br>

Maybe thirty years ago there were TV ads for that sort of camera, where the announcer knocked on the body lightly and said it was "shock-resistant" and then placed it next to a regular 35mm SLR and said, "Styling: very similar!"<br>

Of course, almost all such cameras have high technology like "focus-free" lenses.</p>

 

<p>I have wondered about NIB or MIB (Mint in Box) for things that are meant to be used.<br>

Anyone watch "Big Bang Theory" where Leonard and Sheldon are given Spock in Transporter Star Trek toys, NIB. The gift giver expects them to open and play with them.<br>

I have bought old film on eBay, usually to use. It does feel a little funny to open a now rare roll, but most aren't all that rare. I have some rolls of V116 dating to 1945. I tried one, but the fog was enough not to see any image. I have good results with VP116 from the 1970s.<br>

But film is meant to be used. (I have a roll of FX620, maybe not so common.)<br>

I suppose for a NIB camera, I might consider not using it. But instead I would rather buy a well used, but still working, camera and use it! There are a lot of quality cameras in the $10 range. Use them! (Then read the Classic Manual Camera forum, about others who use them.)</p>

The same way modern day brick and concrete buildings burn down, Alan: being filled with things that does burn. Marble turns into quicklime when exposed to heat, so you don't end up with soot on solid stone, but with something cracked, which washes away when it rains.<br><br>NIB... I know, or rather knew, a store full of old stuff, NIB. The owner rather clung on to it than sell it, asking not what something would have cost many decades ago, when they were new, but an amount corrected for what he thought the effect of pricing policies and inflation would have been had the thing been offered new today. Now if they were collector's items... But they weren't.<br>How long can something be called "new? How long can "unused" be equated to "new"?

<p>I usually cringe when I see ads on a local online website - "Brand new - got it eight months ago and only used it a few times". And "mint condition, only used for the past six months", etc. Seems most don't have an idea what brand new and mint mean. And of course there are items that area "bran new"! (They renewed the bran?).</p>

<p> </p>

<p>There's also "Minty" = smells like fresh urinal mint, only a few stains.</p>

<p>Truly one of the oddest PN posts I've read--ever.</p>

<p>I have too many other things to feel guilty about; using NOS stuff is the least of my concerns.</p>

<p>That which is used develops, that which is not used....</p>