Ebay, is there anywhere else?

[Curt]

Try your local craigslist.org. There are some great finds there.

That's worse than eBay, I tried to get three enlargers from Craigslist, and each time the thing went south. On one I drove to San Francisco all the time keeping in contact with the seller and when there called to go get it and the seller said, "Oh, I just sold it to a guy". *(&^%^&*(& if you know what I mean.

Maybe the key here is local. I was skunked on eBay once with a lense and shutter, the shutter turned out to be like the Hong Kong watch with no innards. One other time the seller gave me the item, a light meter, Soligor Zone VI spot, excellent condition, he said he thought he saw a dust particle in it, I didn't see it. I was buying it for my son. He told me he couldn't sell a meter he thought imperfect. I couldn't believe it, no one has ever done something like that, until the other day. I bought a Linhof ball head, old and very nice, the seller sent a note saying he was sending a tripod because anyone buying the Linhof would appreciate a nice tripod. It's a Hollywood Senior, perfect in condition. Who knew, but nice people are out there.

 

[BobbyR]

I just won a Tele-Athenar II by outbidding my competitor by 27 cents, and that was how far I was from my absolute top.

I paid 35.50 more then I really wanted to but, sometimes you just gotta go for it.
Bobby

 

[Dan Fromm]

Um, Bobby, your expenses have just begun. Unless, that is, the lens has a tripod adapter. They were sold without, can't be used without. My former 500/5.6 TA II wasn't a true telephoto lens, it was a long focus lens. Achromatic doublet way out in front, and that was it.

 

[aldevo]

And don't forget the sinking American dollar. Our international competitors for Ebay products can afford to jack the bids up due to the rise of the Euro (for example) against the dollar.

That's affected KEH, too, who now ship internationally.

 

[BobbyR]

Um, Bobby, your expenses have just begun. Unless, that is, the lens has a tripod adapter. They were sold without, can't be used without. My former 500/5.6 TA II wasn't a true telephoto lens, it was a long focus lens. Achromatic doublet way out in front, and that was it.

Yea I realize it might just be a wall hanger, it is the 300 f3.2 but I have wanted one of these for thirty years for no real logical reason other than I first found out about them when I was taking my first photo classes in a vo-tech.

Cambridge still sells them and I imagine getting the proper camera mount will cost more than the lens but now I have it and I can stop wondering what they are like.
Would you happen to know how good is a Meyer Gorlitz 300 f4.5?
Bobby

PS--I have and do carry a Tamron 70-350 and or Nikon 50-300 all day and shoot without a tripod, so unless it is REAL big, I am not TOO worried about a tripod collar, at least for now.

 

[Dan Fromm]

Bobby, what Cambridge offers and what Cambridge delivers are often very different. I've seen them take money for goods they couldn't/wouldn't deliver and refuse to refund it. And I've seen them list rare and valuable lenses, e.g., 300/2 Nikkor, in their ads in the back pages at prices that were a good ten years out of date. Be very cautious when dealing with Cambridge.

When I bought my 500/5.6 it was a basket case and priced accordingly. Century returned it to as-new condition and sold me a mount adapter too. I'd expect that the adapters are still available even though Schneider now owns Century. If not, try Jesse Chambless, if he's still alive and in business (google chambless cine equipment).

More power to you if you can shoot a 300 hand-held. I can't, and I have a 300/5.6 TA in C-mount.

 

[BobbyR]

Bobby, what Cambridge offers and what Cambridge delivers are often very different. I've seen them take money for goods they couldn't/wouldn't deliver and refuse to refund it. And I've seen them list rare and valuable lenses, e.g., 300/2 Nikkor, in their ads in the back pages at prices that were a good ten years out of date. Be very cautious when dealing with Cambridge.

When I bought my 500/5.6 it was a basket case and priced accordingly. Century returned it to as-new condition and sold me a mount adapter too. I'd expect that the adapters are still available even though Schneider now owns Century. If not, try Jesse Chambless, if he's still alive and in business (google chambless cine equipment).

More power to you if you can shoot a 300 hand-held. I can't, and I have a 300/5.6 TA in C-mount.

I sent a note off to Century/Schneider as I have an ill feeling about Cambridge too, although in my past dealing I had no trouble but that was before what appears to have been a rash of complaints in the early oughts.
Thanks,
Bobby

 

[Dan Fromm]

Bobby, Cambridge have been notorious as crooks since at least the early '70s, which is when I became aware of them. They have a long and terrible history of taking the money and that's all.

That said, when I worked on 42d street and Cambridge Midtown was operating, I found them a good place to drop film for dispatch to Fair Lawn. Convenient, too, they were on 43d directly behind my office. And when I bought odds and ends from them, I actually received the goods across the counter before paying. But buying from any manifestation of Cambridge, including the eBay seller Airwatches, by mail or eBay, no sir thank you I decline to do that.

 

[BobbyR]

I just won a Tele-Athenar II by outbidding my competitor by 27 cents, and that was how far I was from my absolute top.

I paid 35.50 more then I really wanted to but, sometimes you just gotta go for it.
Bobby

My $140 dollar, with shipping, Athenar lens arrived, finally (It seems I picked up so many packages, they forgot to give me this one.)

Everything looks and feels good.
The C-mount comes right off, as does the mount it is screwed to.
It is a lot smaller in general size than I had always imagined, but that is not a bad thing. By my standard not heavy.
Compared to my Meyer Gorlitz 300 f4.5, it is light, but that does have a tripod mount.

I will call Century and see what mounts they still have, if it can take a standard T-mount there are a number of those in odd makes now on the internet for low prices.
Bobby

 

[mjs]

Try local estate auctions. Lots of 35mm cameras show up there. In the past I've gotten a new, unused, still in the box Minolta SRT-101 with 58mm f/1.4 lens for $37.50 (original batteries still on their cardboard card, now all brown and leaked-on looked. But the camera was new.) Nikon N2020 with Nikon 35-70mm lens $10, Nikon FE with 50mm f/3.5 Macro lens $20, several Yashica Electro 35's (mostly G's,) from $3 to $5 each (the $5 one included the "wide angle" and "telephoto" suppliamentary lenses.) I've passed on quite a few because, well, there's only so much space to store these things in (I often end up giving them to photo students at local schools.) I've frankly forgotten how many Minolta XG-1, X-370, etc. cameras I've bought and given away over the years. And point and shoots -- several for $1, including some nice high-end jobs. No one seems to value film cameras any more.

Occasionally, though, you find entertainment. I was at an auction this weekend where a Canon EF with 50mm lens sold for... $143. Amazing!

God luck, and patience!

 

[Dan Fromm]

My $140 dollar, with shipping, Athenar lens arrived, finally (It seems I picked up so many packages, they forgot to give me this one.)

Everything looks and feels good.
The C-mount comes right off, as does the mount it is screwed to.
It is a lot smaller in general size than I had always imagined, but that is not a bad thing. By my standard not heavy.
Compared to my Meyer Gorlitz 300 f4.5, it is light, but that does have a tripod mount.

I will call Century and see what mounts they still have, if it can take a standard T-mount there are a number of those in odd makes now on the internet for low prices.
Bobby

Bobby, I'll bet the lens is in Century mount. Same concept as T-mount but with longer back focus. Back when, I bought a Century-to-T-mount adapter from Century, used that to hang mine in front of (not from) a Nikon. They should still have 'em.

Good luck with it and have fun,

 

[thuggins]

Buying for ebay is like buying anything used. There are people who pay $2000 for a used car, and expect it to require no repairs! Be ready to have any camera you get on ebay sent for CLA. If you can use it for a while before that, consider yourself lucky.

 

[BobbyR]

I had to put this here because I am rather confounded by odd results.

I put a high bid of 177 for a F-1N with motor drive, because at the moment I was discovering some motor drives I bought arrived DOA.

I didn't really want it but bid out of temp. insanity, or something similar.
Well I won the camera and motor drive for one hundred and fifty Canadian dollars which is less than half that I paid just for an F-1N I bought when people sere really buying them left and right and I WANTED one.

The day before I was bidding on a Nikon F2sb, three Nikon lenses, a Vivitar 70-210 zoom, motor drive and case.
I received an notice I had just been out bid and my 377 had been topped by 382 with 22 minutes left to go.
I thought nope I done, I do not need a collectors item.
Well a couple of minute later I thought well I think I will have a look-see.

The 382 bid was listed nowhere, even in past bids, and with minutes to go it was up to 739 bucks.
I just wonder whey the 382 was not shown, nor was the person who had bid that amount.
Curiouser and curiouser.

Bobby

 

[Mahler_one]

<I try to only track auctions to the end if I'm going to bid at the last minute because of competition, otherwise I make a bid for the amount I'm willing to spend and "walk away".>


Exactly the best way to proceed on Ebay! In addition, when an item arrives that is not as advertised I have no hesitancy in contacting the seller to complain. Often the item can be returned ( check to see that returns are accepted-otherwise, if you have a doubt, don't bid ), and an equitable sharing of the postage can also be arranged. For large format gear, dagor is about the most reliable and honest seller on Ebay. Furthermore, his narratives are interesting, informative and fun to read. I agree that bargains can occasionally be found, but it is absolutely amazing ( as has been noted ) to see some prices paid that are above those at B&H and other dealers.

Edwin

 

[srs5694]

I received an notice I had just been out bid and my 377 had been topped by 382 with 22 minutes left to go.
I thought nope I done, I do not need a collectors item.
Well a couple of minute later I thought well I think I will have a look-see.

The 382 bid was listed nowhere, even in past bids, and with minutes to go it was up to 739 bucks.
I just wonder whey the 382 was not shown, nor was the person who had bid that amount.

I'm not positive, but what probably happened was this (making up names and random other bids):

• Starting price: $100
• Fred: Bids $150; current price $100
• You: Bid $377; current price $101 (Fred's $100 plus $1 increment)
• Sally: Bid $734; current price $382 (Your $377 plus $5 increment)
• Dale: Bid $800; current price $739 (Sally's $734 plus $5 increment)
• Auction ends: Dale wins at $739

In this scenario, the summary wouldn't show a $382 price because nobody bid that amount as a maximum bid. The $382 price was just your bid plus the increment (which I'm supposing was $5 at that level, although I don't recall the precise eBay bid increment values and their associated bid levels). I'm not positive, but I believe the bid summary screen shows losing bidders' top bids; only the current high bid is shown, not the high bids through the whole sequence. If you don't understand this, I suggest you read up on eBay's proxy bidding system. This seems to confuse a lot of people, but once you understand it it's not that hard a concept to grasp.

 

[BobbyR]

I'm not positive, but what probably happened was this (making up names and random other bids):

• Starting price: $100
• Fred: Bids $150; current price $100
• You: Bid $377; current price $101 (Fred's $100 plus $1 increment)
• Sally: Bid $734; current price $382 (Your $377 plus $5 increment)
• Dale: Bid $800; current price $739 (Sally's $734 plus $5 increment)
• Auction ends: Dale wins at $739

In this scenario, the summary wouldn't show a $382 price because nobody bid that amount as a maximum bid. The $382 price was just your bid plus the increment (which I'm supposing was $5 at that level, although I don't recall the precise eBay bid increment values and their associated bid levels). I'm not positive, but I believe the bid summary screen shows losing bidders' top bids; only the current high bid is shown, not the high bids through the whole sequence. If you don't understand this, I suggest you read up on eBay's proxy bidding system. This seems to confuse a lot of people, but once you understand it it's not that hard a concept to grasp.

Makes sense and that is how I figured it worked BUT then name or code name assc. with 382 disappeared also.
I watch names, codes, closely.
The winning bidder, eventually nine hundred something, only appeared once and three names minus mr.x were between me and the end.

Not important but odd.

 

[srs5694]

Makes sense and that is how I figured it worked BUT then name or code name assc. with 382 disappeared also.
I watch names, codes, closely.

Are you saying that the user who initially outbid you didn't appear in the final list of bidders? If so, then my guess is that the bid was withdrawn or invalidated. I've seen this sort of thing happen before. I don't know the precise conditions under which eBay allows it, but it can happen -- say if a bidder claims to have made a mistake in placing a bid or if the user's eBay account is shut down mid-auction.

 

[BobbyR]

Now I know some of you think 390 dollars for F2AS is too much, but as of late they sell in the range of 450 plus or minus twenty to thirty; one gent proved the race is to the sure, not the swift.

Henry's in Canada ran one starting at 399.99 and "buy it now" of 527.75.
It ran with out a bid; the day after that auction ended it was back up with a starting price of 391.99.
No one bid until the day before that one ended; there was one bid and the gent got if for 391.99.

Not cheap but at the prices of late, not bad at all.
Bobby

 

[alanrockwood]

I haven't read all the posts, but here are some thoughts about ebay bidding. This is based on roughly 400 ebay transactions (probably more). I probably win the bid on well under 5% of the items I bid on. For items I really really really want that figure might rise to 10-20%.

Although there are some bargains to be found on ebay, it is mostly a seller market. To avoid over paying you need to keep your bids low, which means you will lose most of the bids.

This leads to my rule of thumb for ebay purchases: Low ball your bids and plan on losing most of the bids. If you are winning a large percentage of your bids (say more than 20% at the highest) you are probably paying too much.

 

[alanrockwood]

A couple of other tips. Sniping programs and services have already been mentioned several times. They are an excellent way to bid on ebay.

If the current bid on an item is extremely low (often the case for a new listing) it is sometimes better to place the minimum bid rather than putting the item on your watch list. There are two reasons: 1) It means you will not use up your limit of items for the watch list and 2) it reduces the likelyhood that the seller will cancel the auction early, which often happens for items with no bids that are approaching the auction expiration time.

 

[BobbyR]

This leads to my rule of thumb for ebay purchases: Low ball your bids and plan on losing most of the bids. If you are winning a large percentage of your bids (say more than 20% at the highest) you are probably paying too much.

I will have to agree with this one hundred percent, I was just browsing through some of the high priced EOS items, and every once in awhile some one gets one for dirt cheap prices.

 

[srs5694]

Concerning lowball bids: It's a question of time vs. money. If you've got hours upon hours to search through eBay listings, and if you don't need an item soon, you can get great bargains by lowball bidding. This strategy places a rather low value on your own time, though. Remember, you've got to read the auction to spot any "gotchas" ("a few cleaning marks" on a lens, sellers with 80% approval ratings, shipping costs, etc.), and in some cases research specific products. All this can add up to several minutes per auction, or even hours if you're bidding on unique items that require a lot of research. I'm certainly not going to waste an hour of my time to save $5 on an auction for film (that's why I seldom buy film on eBay -- it's usually cheaper at B&H or Freestyle, especially when you consider my time costs). I might spend an hour or two placing a couple dozen bids on a pricey lens if it means saving $200, though. Of course, if you enjoy futzing around on eBay, that's another matter, but if you view it from a more pragmatic point of view, remember to factor in your own time when you go with the lowball bidding strategy.

 

[BobbyR]

Having read that some here are quasi-to genuine ebay pros, I watched an auction finish just now with with sniping extraordinaire.

It was an EOS 3 which was quite low priced, especially as it had the manuals.

I do a search in ebay for things that I find especially interesting and put them in my "favorite places" , for quick retrieve and view them as I think of them.

If I forget them and miss the auction no biggie.

I decided I absolutely do not need an EOS 3 but it is a nice camera and the price seemed low and too stable.
When the auction hit the last minute I continually hit the refresh button and watched it go from 177 to 224 in the last twenty seconds.
The two who were sniping had no previous bids on it.
Fascinating.
Bobby