Hasselblad A12 "Demo Unit Not for Sale" ?

Has anyone come across one of these? Are these considered collectable/valuable?

I wouldn't think so. But people are funny... someone may find value in such a marking.

that sort of thing is collectible, but would not bring a high premium. It's not that they aren't rare, it's that only a few very specialized collectors would want such a thing.

Another example: The Leicaflex SL2 was issued in a special "collector" edition for the 50th anniversary of Leica in 1976, with 1,750 special bodies produced, each with a "50 Jahre" logo and, as an added incentive, a special serial number on the back for each letter of "LEICA" -- so they made 350 of the L, 350 of the E, 350 of the I, and so forth.

So, own an "L" 50 Jahre camera, you have a pretty dang rare beast, right? One of only 350 in the series in the entire world???? Or at least one of only 1,750 in the world???

Not really. I paid $600 for one in EXC-plus from KEH, a bit of a premium, but it more reflected the camera's condition than its collectibility. If there are more than one or two folks out there trying to collect all five, they have them now and nobody else is interested.

Great camera, by the way. I suspect someone bought it to collect, set it on the shelf and left it until KEH moved it on. I use it, as a great camera should be used.

I find it technically interesting: there is a print on the body of the magazine, or more likely on a plate on the body, and then there is the covering with a puncture giving view on that print.
I never saw such kind of labeling.

Problem is, you can't sell it.

frank said:

Problem is, you can't sell it.

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Ha ha ha... very funny and possibly very true... or at least at one time it was true. I have a small collection of 45rpm records (singles) that are similarly marked. They were the ones sent to radio stations for play. I'm assuming that the demo period for both the records and the A12 back has "expired" and the marking was a way to reduce the chances of a dealer turning a profit on a stuff provided gratis from the manufacturer. Once the gear is outside of the manufacturer-dealer relationship it could be an "anything goes" situation.

looks like a simple sticker from a camera dealer. my cologne camera dealer had stickers similar to these (in german) for the cameras they would rent for a test. its was a marvellous idea. you could rent nearly all recent professional cameras before buying them and they would refund 2 or 3 rentals if you bought one.

BrianShaw said:

Ha ha ha... very funny and possibly very true... or at least at one time it was true. I have a small collection of 45rpm records (singles) that are similarly marked. They were the ones sent to radio stations for play. I'm assuming that the demo period for both the records and the A12 back has "expired" and the marking was a way to reduce the chances of a dealer turning a profit on a stuff provided gratis from the manufacturer. Once the gear is outside of the manufacturer-dealer relationship it could be an "anything goes" situation.

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book reviewers get pre-publication review copies that are clearly marked "NOT FOR RESALE" and sometimes even "ILLEGAL TO SELL" or worse.

They get sold all the time. Nobody cares. If it turns out to be a really famous book in 50 years, such a review copy might then even be worth extra. I saw such a copy of one of Ed Abbey's books at Back of Beyond in Moab for a hefty price once.

Are the insides of the back all there?