Cameras from thrift stores

Jon Buffington · Aug 26, 2015

Still a good price on the Nikon. The L35AF is a mighty fine camera! Lens is tack sharp and the ability to take filters plus backlight compensation makes it a winner in my book. I would have picked it up and I already have one as well.

frank · Aug 26, 2015

mehguy said:
Quite funny you said that, because I, as well went to a thrift store yesterday and saw a Nikon L35AF for the same price... did we visit the same store?

Newmarket, ON?

mehguy · Aug 26, 2015

frank said:
Newmarket, ON?

Yes! I live there.

aRolleiBrujo · Aug 26, 2015

This beauty(body only)was found at my local American Cancer Society thrift shop, and I swooped it up ASAP! I even asked them if they had more, which, they did not, sadly, however, I asked them to put my name down on their list, and call me as soon any film camera came in. They have not called after months, however, I stop by occasionally, and look around, but, nothing has been in! I do buy many ties day though! xD I used to go to these store's previously, however, I went even more so in the recent years, after my daughter fought and won the dreaded cancer battle, that stole her grandfather from us to soon!

20150124_230647 by Americo Rodriguez, on Flickr

frank · Aug 26, 2015

mehguy said:
Yes! I live there.

We're practically neighbours. I live in Uxbridge.

mehguy · Aug 26, 2015

frank said:
We're practically neighbours. I live in Uxbridge.

Huh, why would you drive so far from Uxbridge to Newmarket just to get to a couple of thrift stores?

frank · Aug 26, 2015

1/2 hour drive is not a big deal. Bought some lamps and a bedside table for my kid going to college.

mehguy · Aug 26, 2015

well, still pretty kool to see people in my area that are shooters of film.

frjack · Aug 26, 2015

Score!

This message delivered by rolling into a ball and flicking from my knee.

mehguy · Sep 3, 2015

Saw an olympus trip 35 with the instruction manual in quite good shape but it was 20 dollars... yeah no thanks.

TenSpeed · Sep 3, 2015

elcabezagrande said:
I bought this at a thrift shop.

Canon IVF by Mike Novak, on Flickr

i found a similar canon rangefinder kit.. they want $350 for it.. dont know if i want the risk

TenSpeed · Sep 3, 2015

mehguy said:
Saw an olympus trip 35 with the instruction manual in quite good shape but it was 20 dollars... yeah no thanks.

90% of the time i find nice cheap cameras with huge price tags.. i dont know where theyre getting their prices lol

blockend · Sep 4, 2015

In the UK charity shops tend to centralise their photographic stock and sell it on ebay, but there are exceptions. Be aware they are priced by volunteers who have no expertise in the the value or condition of cameras. I suspect the really nice stuff gets picked over before it gets near ebay or the shops.

pdeeh · Sep 4, 2015

TenSpeed said:
90% of the time i find nice cheap cameras with huge price tags.. i dont know where theyre getting their prices lol

If you compare the price of the odd camera that makes it into a UK charity shop with the highest (most unrealistic, hopeful, etc.) BIN price on eBay for the same or similar item, you'd probably get an idea

blockend said:
In the UK charity shops tend to centralise their photographic stock and sell it on ebay, but there are exceptions. Be aware they are priced by volunteers who have no expertise in the the value or condition of cameras. I suspect the really nice stuff gets picked over before it gets near ebay or the shops.

I think this is right. I've had a few conversations with managers of charity shops (the bigger nationals like Cancer Research/SCope/AgeConcern rather than the more local hospice or pet type ones), and they have often said they have someone "from the local camera club" look over their photographic gear before it appears on the shelf. I've also quite often espied big piles of cameras in the "staff only" storage rooms which have never made it to the shop.

But I think the days of finding a Barnack + lenses, or a field camera, or a good F2 in a UK charity shop are long long gone.

However, it could always be worth making friends with a couple of local shop managers to see what they might have that the general public never see.

I feel strongly that we should temper our greed for a "bargain" though, and make sure they benefit properly rather than than just aim to fill our own pockets at a charity's expense.

Sewin · Sep 4, 2015

blockend said:
In the UK charity shops tend to centralise their photographic stock and sell it on ebay, but there are exceptions. Be aware they are priced by volunteers who have no expertise in the the value or condition of cameras. I suspect the really nice stuff gets picked over before it gets near ebay or the shops.

I've noticed that too. Oxfam on line have increased their prices.

What I have noticed on ebay a few times is cameras such as a humble Praktica 5MTL or similar being sold by charities cranking up to over £25.00,(still a good price though) where as private sellers similar cameras sit there for £5 without a bid.

Not sure what is going on, is it people bidding over the odds to contribute to charity, or is it price cranking, it does seem odd.

blockend · Sep 4, 2015

pdeeh said:
But I think the days of finding a Barnack + lenses, or a field camera, or a good F2 in a UK charity shop are long long gone.

However, it could always be worth making friends with a couple of local shop managers to see what they might have that the general public never see.

I feel strongly that we should temper our greed for a "bargain" though, and make sure they benefit properly rather than than just aim to fill our own pockets at a charity's expense.

All true. The time to buy was in the digital boom, 2005-2010 give or take, when people were un-shipping their film cameras as fast as possible. Around that time it was possible to pick up a Spotmatic or Nikon FM labelled £5 in the charity shop, or more exotic stuff if you kept a close eye on the windows. I haven't seen anything like that in years. My best buy was a set of seven FD prime lenses from 24mm upwards, all in as new condition with a mountain of Canon accessories for a little over £100 with an A1. The 50mm 1.4 would probably sell for close to that today.

I absolutely agree the charity should see a fair return for its donations, but despair of the big six figure salaries paid to their chief executives. Didn't Age Concern have to re-brand itself after going bust? Why retired captains of industry with a proven track record can't do a voluntary two year stint as charity CEO, instead of paying managers to live the good life while people rattle cans outside the supermarket, is a mystery.

Sewin · Sep 4, 2015

What really rattles our local independent traders, a lot of whom are struggling is that charities only pay 20% business rates compared to other traders.

So Mr Independent Trader pays £10,000 per year, local charity in prime premises pays £2,000.
They also get significant VAT rebates too.

One charity in our town was selling a few upmarket brand new goods at a cut price, even below trade price identical to a shop across the road

The local independent shop couldn't compete so cancelled its significant yearly order with the supplier who lost out big time.

Sometimes its just not a level playing field.

Anyway I digress, apologies for diverting the thread

Xmas · Sep 4, 2015

The charities are still suffering however much retail real estate they occupy. The number of people sleeping rough seems to be increasing.

Our Indian smart phone repair shops have the life time of butterflies.

The demand for food banks increases so as I recall austerity post WWII was not this bad.

mehguy · Sep 10, 2015

Found a Canon rebel X with a zoom lens for 35 dollars. yeah a bit too much for me. but I saw an olympus infinity Jr. for 4 bux. didnt pick it up tho.

Sirius Glass · Sep 10, 2015

I think that the local pawn shops and thrift store managers in my area are too knowledgeable to let anything good slip through with a great price.

1L6E6VHF · Sep 12, 2015

With 1000+ thrift store visits over 35 years, I still have not caught one huge bargain on a camera. My best would probably be a Pentax K1000 with 40/2.8 "pancake" for $30 (USD). It was priced at 40, but the clerk thought that was pricy for a camera, and had it repriced to 30 (funniest thing - I hadn't even asked!). This was in 1998 when a good SLR was not yet cheap. I also scored a Canon T70 with 50/1.8 for $6, but that was in the d-----l era.

The best such deal I ever had was from a non-charity "Junque shoppe" (their own description) - a View-Master Personal film cutter, for $7. One week later, I sold it at the 1999 NSA convention, for $250. It paid for the whole trip!

mklw1954 · Sep 13, 2015

I've never seen anything but junk at Goodwill and flea markets. The best deals have been via local Craigslist, where people who took good care of their gear just wanted to get rid of it for a nominal price. Of course, there is some junk you have to sort through. 2008-2009 seemed to be when the best stuff was available, when people were finally transitioning to digital.

Some examples:
Minolta XD-11, MD Rokkor-X 50mm f1.7 lens, Vivitar 283 flash for $30
Minolta SRT 201, MC Rokkor 35mm f1.8 lens, Vivitar 252 flash for $40
Olympus OM-1, Zuiko 50mm f1.8 and 75-150mm f4 lenses for $30
Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Super BC with lens shade, Ikoblitz flash, case and bag, and assorted lens filters for $25
All in like-new condition and new condition after I had the Minoltas and Olympus CLA'd.

Same situation with darkroom equipment.

fotch · Sep 13, 2015

Although I don't visit often enough, I never have found any cameras or photo equipment worth anything at thrift stores. My best scores several years ago was ebay, back when it was an auction site.

Marvin · Sep 13, 2015

My latest find at Goodwill. I find that Goodwill stores vary, and some have good selections of cameras, and others have nothing. I found a very nice Nikon FG-20 that seems to work fine. I bought a Pentax K1000 with 28-135 lens for $15.00, and the body seems ok but lens does not stop down. Guess a K1000 body is worth $15.00. Found a Canon Sure Shot PS camera that looks like new and has film in it at frame 22. I intend to process the film on my next C41 run. That film may have someones memories on it.
Marvin

AgX · Sep 13, 2015

fotch said:
Although I don't visit often enough, I never have found any cameras or photo equipment worth anything at thrift stores. My best scores several years ago was ebay, back when it was an auction site.

All my huge collection has been bought at fleamarkets, thrift stores and photo shop rummage boxes.

But I don't expect a Leica to find there... It depends what one is looking for. I very rarely see professional stuff there.

Cameras from thrift stores

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