A quandary

KarnyDoc · Jan 12, 2012

I wasn't sure under which category I should post this, so I thought I'd post it here.

I'm in a sort of quandary regarding my remaining Hasselblad stuff, which I'd posted for sale on Craigslist. I'd also posted to the Hasselblad User Group (HUG) listserv for their "For Sale Friday messages. One fellow, on the HUG listserv, wrote me to discuss "my future in MF," as he put it. Subsequent emails back and forth seemed to imply he'd be willing to donate one of his 500C/Ms (he switched wholly to digital, rendering all of his film cameras surplus), but based on the most recent email, I'm left wondering, because it never broached the subject of ANY kind of gift or donation. I'd only turn blue if I held my breath for him to do as I inferred. The quandary is this: Should I continue offering my remaining Hasselblad stuff for sale, or hold off pending the (possible) donation of a 500 C/M from this fellow with whom I've been corresponding?

Perhaps I'm reading more into his emails than I should; I don't know. However, having been lied to in the recent past by someone who promised something, and then reneged on said promise, has left me skeptical about others' offers of help, assistance, or promises of something tangible (such as a 500C/M, as in this case).

Dieter Zakas
Quandary, NJ

brucemuir · Jan 12, 2012

Dieter,
I'm on the hug list and saw your post and the subsequent replies.
It certainly looked like you might be in for some kind soul to help you out.

The internet is a funny place. How this turns out is hard to say.
I would hold off on selling anything as long as you can.

KarnyDoc · Jan 12, 2012

brucemuir said:
Dieter,
I'm on the hug list and saw your post and the subsequent replies.
It certainly looked like you might be in for some kind soul to help you out.

The internet is a funny place. How this turns out is hard to say.
I would hold off on selling anything as long as you can.

Bruce,

You have to understand my skepticism.

While his intentions appear legitimate and sincere, a relatively recent episode in which a fellow, whom my girlfriend and I helped with no expectation of reward, left us feeling betrayed and hurt. He'd promised us a large sum of money - into the low five figures - to express his gratitude for helping him, and to help us get back on our feet, because we were living in a motel at the time.

That experience left a sour taste in our mouths, which is why I'm skeptical of this person's discussions. Part of me says he won't deliver on what I feel is an inferred or implied offer or promise. For all I know, he could be blowing smoke out his ass! (He went in for valve-replacement surgery this week, so it may be a while before he gets back to me.)

Dieter Zakas

tkamiya · Jan 12, 2012

I tend to make my decisions on its own merit - away from how others can help. I'd like to be in driver's seat resolving my own problems rather than wait for someone to step in and resolve it on my behalf.

I always appreciate when someone does something unexpected and kind. I have been a beneficially a few times and offered the same to others when possible. But I won't hold what I can do to resolve my problem pending on something like this beyond few days at most.

I really don't know your situation. But something like camera can always be replaced or repurchased. If your needs are critical, I'd take care of that first.

That's how I would deal with it.

zsas · Jan 12, 2012

Are you considering selling your current Hassy to get a better one then someone offered you the better one for possibly free? I don't follow your issue too well. Sorry if I have misunderstood your issue.

zsas · Jan 12, 2012

Edit, I think I get it, you are selling the rest of your Hassy gear, like lenses and then someone offered you a body?

KarnyDoc · Jan 12, 2012

There appears to be some confusion here.

My "Hassy gear," while sounding like a huge collection, never was as large as it may have seemed: One body, one lens, a total of three A12 backs and two Polaroid backs, plus an assortment of accessories, e.g., filters, flashes, prism finder, etc.

The purpose of selling off the camera kit was to raise deperately-needed funds to save our storage unit. That was successfully accomplished. All that remains is the "rubble" of a modest, but maintained, Hasselblad collection.

My goal was NEVER to "upgrade" to another Hassy model; the 500C/M I sold had been serviced/overhauled by Hassy USA shortly after I bought it in 2005, and it performed well.

My point was, based on impressions I got from communicating with this individual, that he was going to give me a surplus Hassy, by implication a complete kit, so that I could continue shooting.

Dieter Zakas

zsas · Jan 12, 2012

Send him a get well card and hope for the best! There are lots of white knights in the film community, I hope you found a real one. I have found a few in my day and am always stunned by their generosity. If the rest of your Hassy gear is modest, is there any harm in waiting to sell it layer down the road and feel this out?

KarnyDoc · Jan 13, 2012

zsas said:
Send him a get well card and hope for the best! There are lots of white knights in the film community, I hope you found a real one. I have found a few in my day and am always stunned by their generosity. If the rest of your Hassy gear is modest, is there any harm in waiting to sell it layer down the road and feel this out?

I don't understand what you mean by "If the rest of your Hassy gear is modest, is there any harm in waiting to sell it layer [sic] down the road and feel this out?"

This is my quandary. I no longer own the camera for which I bought the various accessories, thus rendering them surplus; do I continue holding onto the remaining Hasselblad stuff, with the possibility/expectation of this fellow's implied or inferred offer or promise to donate one of his Blads to me, or continue selling off this stuff? I've been lied to before in a BIG way, and because I was burned, I am therefore skeptical. His emails to me, along with their vagueness, have thrown me a curveball in a big way, and I'm now left wondering which course of action to take.

The dilemma posed by my situation is this: If I continue selling off this stuff, I will no longer have it SHOULD this person give me one of his Blads. Then I would have to spend essentially MORE money to reacquire it.

By the same token, what if he doesn't do as I'm guessing, and I'm left with a whole bunch of useful stuff I COULD have sold to raise money? What then?

It ain't easy being me.

Dieter Zakas
Confused, NJ

octofish · Jan 16, 2012

I don't understand the problem either. If you can handle not selling the extra stuff now in the instance that you get a body for nothing, you can equally handle not selling it if you DON'T get the body. Don't sell it.

While it's possible you won't get it - i cant see this as "getting burnt". It's a very generous offer and it's reasonable to be a little cautious/skeptical. If you do get it, all the better. If you don't, sell the gear then.

zsas · Jan 16, 2012

I agree Octo, but what the OP has not mentioned is, in waiting for possibly a while while the white knight recovers from life saving surgery, does the OP have any other camera on hand? I believe that would dictate how one should approach the situation. If the OP has a job to do w/o a camera then he should forget this matter and buy what is needed, but if he has a LF or 35 around, he can get by, why not wait this one out? I would. I suspect the person offering this camera is legit, who would do that especially on a tight knit group like a Hassy forum, but who knows with the internet...

Kav · Jan 16, 2012

It's hard to say. I say stick with your gut. Also if you are being offered a Hassy with a back and a lens and are worried that it's not going to ever show up then sell the rest of your gear. If it shows up ready to shoot then great. If not then you got some money that you needed anyways from your old gear. If you think this person is going to send it then hold on to yur stuff for say 30 days. If no camera shows up then so be it and sell your gear. From your posts it sounds like you have fallen on hard times and may need the money more then a worring if you're going to be given a camera. Also like Zsas said if you have another camera then go shoot it regardless of format.

And people do give out Hassys I know because someone unknown to me sent me a 500ELX, two backs, and 5 rolls of film last month.

KarnyDoc · Jan 17, 2012

With the sale of the Hassy, I now have two cameras: a Nikon Coolpix L11 P&S digital camera, which is at hand, and a Nikon FM2N which is literally deeply buried in storage, and which getting out is a half-day project to retrieve.

However, I am grateful that I don't make a living from photography, so on that level, the sale of the Hassy is not a hardship.

Dieter Zakas

KarnyDoc · Jan 24, 2012

octofish said:
<snip>

While it's possible you won't get it - i cant see this as "getting burnt". It's a very generous offer and it's reasonable to be a little cautious/skeptical. If you do get it, all the better. If you don't, sell the gear then.

The "getting burned" reference was for a previous episode in which someone promised something as gratitude for helping save his life over the course of four month (even though no reward was ever expected), and that person later went back on his word, especially when we started getting down to brass tacks.

Because of this previous experience, I am understandably skeptical of a person's (implied) offer to donate a camera. However, given that he's gone in for valve surgery (he's 80, after all), and is now likely recuperating therefrom, I'll have to be patient.

However, I'll keep everyone apprised.

Dieter Zakas

BradS · Jan 25, 2012

KarnyDoc, I confess...I really do not understand what the issue is either. Seems simple to me. You want to sell you stuff...so, sell it. If some other joker gives you some more stuff...you can sell it too...point is, the two are completely unrelated. Sell you junk and move on. No biggie.

A quandary

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