Photo Shows and Sales

[wgpinc]

<p>I just attended a Photo Show and sale in San Rafael, California this morning. I wonder if many of the people who post here go to these shows? I am in the process of selling most if not all my Leica stuff for various reasons, one of which is that my eyes don't focus my M cameras sufficiently well any more unfortunately. I have had at least a forty year affair with Leica and it saddens me to part company. I sold four lenses, two RF and two R lenses, to a gentleman who said he is taking them to China where there are many people there who are Leica aficionados much as the Japanese were in prior times. I still have a clean M2, an M6 and half a dozen lenses remaining. I will take some pictures and list them on the classified here and the other Leica forum. I am less and less a fan of the big auction site and would like to see the equipment go to good homes. So the question was about Camera Shows in the Bay Area and else where. I saw tons of old film SLR equipment, orphans I call them. </p>

[jerry_lehrer1]

<p>I attend as many Camera Shows as possible in the San Diego area (there are only 2 per year!) I have been able to pick up some needed items for film M Leicas, SLR Nikons and 6x6cm Hasselblad.<br>

Please let me know what you have available.<br>

Jerry Lehrer</p>

 

[dave_redmann]

<p>What makes you think eBay buyers are less likely to provide good homes for your cherished gear than camera-show attendees are? Or put another way: if somebody at a show wants to buy your M6 and is willing to pay whatever price you're asking, are you going to grill the prospective buyer and reject the deal if it's not a good home?</p>

<p> </p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>If your eyes are the main reason, Gil, I'd recommend that you see about diopters. My eyes stopped focussing cameras correctly years ago before I had cataract surgery -- but I never even thought of giving up photography. My M2 and M6 both have lenses fitted to their eye-pieces in empty frames which Don Goldberg of DAG sent me.</p>

[woolly1]

<p>Dave,<br>

The OP didn't say Ebayers are less likely to provide a good home. In ADDITION to expressing his discontent with Ebay (for undisclosed reasons) he said he would like to see his items go to a good home.<br>

Whether he means it or not is another matter. At worst he is highlighting the presence of his gear for sale on Pnet in a mildly sycophantic manner.</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Gil's sentence construction was unfortunate, but that is no reason for anyone other than eBay to come down on him like a ton of bricks. Many people say that they will put things for sale in the classifieds here and elsewhere. They are not sycophants: unless I grossly misunderstand the meaning of that word. Only Jerry answered Gil's question, which was about camera shows.</p>

[michael_chuang1]

<p>To the OP: Yes, I attend photo shows when possible, for any number of reasons. It's nice to be able to actually handle the equipment before buying it; sometimes vendors have interesting stories to tell, either about a particular piece of gear, or just random stuff; and perhaps I'm in a rut and do it because I remember the "good old days" when shows were bustling and crowded (though I loathe crowds). Recently I came away from the PHSNE (Boston) show with probably twenty pounds (sic) of cameras and lenses I did not have when I went in the door. AF 35-mm film gear is going for pennies on the dollar, and to use an office mate's expression, it's like a BB gun. (You wanted it in the past but couldn't have it, now you have no use for it but by god yer finally an adult with yer own money and you can buy it, so you do.)</p>

<p>I didn't get a whiff of "grilling potential buyers" intent from Gil's original post, but even if he does intend to do so, so what? It's his stuff, he can do as he pleases. People can walk away if they don't like it. I do hope that if Gil, or anyone else, sets conditions on transferring their beloved camera gear, do it RIGHT, a la Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) in Gran Torino:<br>

"And I'd like to leave my 1972 Gran Torino to my friend, Thao Vang Lor. On the condition that you don't chop-top the roof like one of those beaners, don't paint any idiotic flames on it like some white trash hillbilly, and don't put a big, gay spoiler on the rear end like you see on all the other zipperheads' cars. It just looks like hell. If you can refrain from doing any of that... it's yours."</p>

[mukul_dube]

<p>Owner for eternity?</p>

[steve_bellayr]

<p>I don't go to camera shows. Prices aren't any lower than any brick and mortar shop. Looking forward to seeing those items posted on this site. </p>

[john_cooper9]

<p>I have attended camera shows in Florida both as a buyer and a seller with a table or two. Good quality equipment is usually rare and expensive. The regulars no the value of these things and only want a bargain price. I have gotten much better prices by selling on Ebay. Start the price low and sell to the whole world works for me. For example I sold a Mamiya Universal and some lenses to someone in the Russian Federation. I packed it well (double boxed) and it arrived safely. I also sold a lot of Bronica GS-1 bodies, lenses and accessories, some to the US and some to Europe and The Far East with no issues. If you use the USPS most of the labels/custom forms are available online and you pay thru Paypal; then all you have to do is drop the package of at a Post Office.</p>

[dave_redmann]

<p>Sorry if I misunderstood the original question, but my point was mainly that many people (including the OP) seem to have a gut-level dislike of eBay; in my opinion, based on a decade or so and dozens of transactions, <em>from an economic standpoint</em>, eBay is often the best place to sell (or buy) photography-related items. Of course, if you're more interested in finding a good home for your old gear than you are in getting maximum value for it, other options are far superior, if you have the patience to pursue them properly.</p>