Did you ever "rescue" a camera for sale?

[jay moussy]

This Retina is for sale for a reasonable rice on the local CL, a very slow photo market.

I have a feeling nothing good is going to happen to it, possibly not selling (EDIT or made into a lamp!).
My instinct would be to sort of rescue it, and evaluate it with the help of the experts we have here.

Did you ever do such a thing?

 

[Rick A]

Yeah, I used to tell myself that every time I bought another camera.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I plead guilty.

 

[4season]

Only if I actually want it or think I can make a hefty profit in resale.

 

[MattKing]

For cameras, doing so isn't too problematic.
For enlargers, I am so glad that I didn't rescue the 3rd and 4th copies of the two I recently acquired through Craigslist!

 

[BradS]

oh, I've had quite few Omega D series enlargers follow me home...sometimes even just boxes of parts....
on the other hand, there have been times when I've been on the other side too...I've thrown away quite a bit of gear that doesn't sell.
I'm getting close to dumping a whole bunch of fairly good gear that I'm pretty sure is not worth the hassle.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I've done it. And usually when I do, I've gotten lucky. I've bought stuff because it was attached to other stuff I wanted, and it turned out to be a bargain - diamonds in the rough as it were. So I usually keep the stuff. That's what happened to me with my Cooke Series II 10.5" lens. I bought it because it was bundled with a big, early Voigtlander. It looked in rough shape (it was, but not as bad as it looked in the auction listing photos). Turned out that both were absolute bargains. The Cooke has cleaned up nicely, and although it has some pretty big scratches on the front element, it will be useable (it's a soft-focus lens anyway!!!).

 

[MattKing]

Here is someone who did a lot of "rescuing": https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-53821146

 

[jvo]

they rescue dogs and cats.... camera's are people to???

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Yes, I rescued many film cameras nobody wanted, under cheap price. Got them fixed by myself and sold with profit.

 

[Auer]

I only use most of the "rescue" cameras I get once or twice, I usually give them away to friends and family where they most likely become decorative objects.
So unless it's a really good deal on something with a solid market value I pass. I have duplicates of my most used cameras already.

 

[Kino]

Yes, many, many times.... sigh...

Then the ungrateful little buggers eat film at an alarming rate!

What to do, what to do?

 

[bdial]

"Jay's home for forlorn and forgotten cameras" has a nice ring to it.

I've figured out I can't rescue all of them, as much as I'd like to.

 

[jay moussy]

"Jay's home for forlorn and forgotten cameras" has a nice ring to it.

I've figured out I can't rescue all of them, as much as I'd like to.

Funny stuff, here.
As my late mother used to say: "Better spend you money that way than at the bars"
Of course, she was from a generation when alcoholism was endemic...