Pawn shop employees laugh at me.

f/16 · Aug 23, 2015

Every time I go to a pawn shop and ask if they have any film camera gear, they will usually laugh and say something like "We don't buy technology that old". And almost every time I go into a thrift store they also have nothing analog. I guess the mid-late 2000s was the best time to grab up analog gear cheap. I quit going to pawn shops and thrift stores.

Old-N-Feeble · Aug 23, 2015

The bright side to that situation is, if ever they do have any nice analog gear then they may sell it for next to nothing just to be rid of it. Remember when high-end analog audio gear was dumped for next to nothing... and now the prices recuperated (for the very fine stuff)? Buy low... sell high.

wiltw · Aug 23, 2015

I see film stuff in thrift shops all the time...my wife loves to haunt those places, I like to get $2 hard bound books, many of them novels of the past 5-10 years! I even purchased a late-1960's Topcon Super D in perfect operating order for $25. But most of the time, it is lower end newer SLRs that I would not bother with because they are not historically significant, or old P&S.

bdial · Aug 23, 2015

I dunno, maybe you go to the wrong thrift stores. I bought a Nikon N75 a few weeks ago at a thrift store near here. They have a pretty regular stock of film cams, though mostly Point & Shoots.

Antique shops are another good source, though what you find, and the prices can be pretty variable. Around here Browning box cams and various Kodak folders are the most common, prices vary from cheap to "Are you nuts??"
But, I bought a 120 roll back for a 3x4 Graflex still in its box, in an antique shop for 20 bucks a few months ago.

LarryP · Aug 23, 2015

I gave up on pawn shops several years ago. Last time I saw anything decent in one was close to 10 yeas ago when one had a pentax 67 and another had a mamiya 330. I still kick myself for not jumping on the 67 as it was gone inside a week. Will say i did have some luck at an 'antique mall' in the last few months After buying a spotmatic with 55mm/1.8 spotmatic with 50mm f1.4 and k1000 with pk adapter and 28mm f3.5 selling off what i didn't want got the 55 and 28 basically free and $20.

Old_Dick · Aug 23, 2015

Where? I live in NH. Would love to find something like that.

Sirius Glass · Aug 23, 2015

Old-N-Feeble said:
The bright side to that situation is, if ever they do have any nice analog gear then they may sell it for next to nothing just to be rid of it. Remember when high-end analog audio gear was dumped for next to nothing... and now the prices recuperated (for the very fine stuff)? Buy low... sell high.

That should happen to me. No joy in this area for thrift and pawn shops.

fotch · Aug 23, 2015

No pawn shops in my area but I never ever see anything in thrift stores. Been that way for years.

f/16 · Aug 23, 2015

I guess part of it is my bad luck with finding camera gear at a good price. I've always been the one that pays alot for it on Ebay or KEH, and get much less for it when I sell it-I've learned to quit selling stuff because I get almost nothing for it.

Fixcinater · Aug 23, 2015

I've stopped going into pawn shops around here but thrift shops seem to be holding a steady supply of film gear.

RobC · Aug 23, 2015

jeffreythree · Aug 23, 2015

The few pawn shops around me may have a digital camera or 2, and it will be priced at whatever the highest listing is on ebay. I have found the lower end 'antique' stores to be the best. The ones with cheap booth rentals and mostly have vintage stuff rather than true antiques and whatever else comes from lot deals at auctions or estate sales. Problem is half the stuff I find is over priced, and 3/4 of the rest is broken, junk, or both.

trythis · Aug 23, 2015

Last time I found film gear in a pawn shop it was wishfull thinking on their part. An F100 with a decent nikkor zoom for $1200 and a Kowa 6 kit with stuck shutter blades and most of the leatherette falling off the body for. $600.

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Ko.Fe. · Aug 23, 2015

Pawn shops... Checked them couple of times. Crappy places.Thirth stores are fine. Some film P&S and vinyl where I'm.
I'm after LPs. Don't need film junk.

Alan Gales · Aug 23, 2015

f/16 said:
Every time I go to a pawn shop and ask if they have any film camera gear, they will usually laugh and say something like "We don't buy technology that old". And almost every time I go into a thrift store they also have nothing analog. I guess the mid-late 2000s was the best time to grab up analog gear cheap. I quit going to pawn shops and thrift stores.

I bet that if someone walked in with a Leica collection for sale they would change their tune!

bdial · Aug 23, 2015

Old_Dick said:
Where? I live in NH. Would love to find something like that.

I found it at Concord Antiques in Concord on depot street. It was an extremely lucky find, first time I've ever seen anything like it in an antique shop and I've spent a fair amount of time in them.

Colin Corneau · Aug 23, 2015

I got a spotless Spotmatic with a clean 55mm and even cleaner 28mm lens at a local pawn shop...talked the guy down to $20!

You just never know.

480sparky · Aug 23, 2015

Laugh right back at 'em and comment, "Well, looks like you won't make a sale today if'n you don't have what I want to buy........."

BradS · Aug 23, 2015

In all of my many, many visits to thrift stores, I've only once come across any film gear of any value at all....and that was just recently. i am always amazed when people report finding cool stuff in thrift shops.

Nodda Duma · Aug 23, 2015

bdial said:
I found it at Concord Antiques in Concord on depot street. It was an extremely lucky find, first time I've ever seen anything like it in an antique shop and I've spent a fair amount of time in them.

Nothing at the Hollis or Londonderry Flea Markets recently, either, except one Nikon Series E 28mm f/2.8 and a couple $50 Kodak Brownies. The only good places I've seen stuff at reasonable prices are estate sales. Saw a Canon AE-1 Program kit last month for $25. I resisted the urge to get it.

mehguy · Aug 23, 2015

In my area, Thrift shops will sometimes have some film gear worth looking at (SLRs, rangefinders and polaroids) but its mostly just crappy point and shoots from the 90s.

Bipin · Aug 23, 2015

There's a pawn shop in town that carries a few point and shoots, plastic-fantastic APS cameras and the like. They ask "why don't you buy a digital camera, you don't have to pay for film; all your photos are, like, free?" They're those kinds of folks. The pawn shop has a few goodies, but the owner doesn't like to invest in old photo gear since it's "mostly outdated crap". They did, however, chose to buy a smashed up IIIf as some sort of decorative prop, though it did come with a lens (a rigid Summaron or Summarit or Summitar as I recall). Not knowing anything about Leica, they sold it to a friend of mine for $20; even in its rough shape, a camera still worth ten times that amount.

It was very nearly the deal of the century for my friend. They had it CLA'ed for a little over $100. Most of the damage was cosmetic, but otherwise, there were issues with the rangefinder and a lose knob of some sort that could be fixed in the CLA. It was found that the camera had recently been stolen from a local photographer though and was subsequently returned to them. My friend did get a reward for their troubles, so she did make out with a profit (though not quite the one she was hoping for)... To this day I still get the occasional deal from them. Pay for a Tiffen filter, get an Olympus double cable release for free. Great for my RB67.

JW PHOTO · Aug 23, 2015

I find yard sales are very good if you only ask. I learned that trick from an old friend who is now in the "Happy Camera Store in the Sky" where everything is now free for him up. He and I were "garage sailing" one day and we hit one sale and I told him after a few minutes that it was time to go 'cause I saw nothing. He then ask the lady if she had any guns, cameras or stereo equipment in the house she would be willing to part with. To make a long story short we loaded a set of very nice speakers and a Nikon FM with three lenses and a flash into my pickup truck:. He shelled out $40.00 for the whole works. That was at least 15 years ago when an Nikon FM was still worth something. I was amazed and told m friend so. He looked at me and said, "Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there". He's right and I now ask at every garage sale. I've got a few nice cameras that way.
As for the Thrift/Charity shops in my area???? They all have auction sites now and filter their good stuff to the auction and leave the shit items in the store. I told a worker/manager of a Goodwill store that I give up and won't be wasting my time since all they have is clothes, kids toys and dishes. I suggested they could at least leave a crumb or two for folks like me, but she seemed as if she could care less. Salvation Army used to still be great, but I think they are doing the same thing now. John W

Prof_Pixel · Aug 23, 2015

JW PHOTO said:
They all have auction sites now and filter their good stuff to the auction and leave the shit items in the store. I told a worker/manager of a Goodwill store that I give up and won't be wasting my time since all they have is clothes, kids toys and dishes. I suggested they could at least leave a crumb or two for folks like me, but she seemed as if she could care less. Salvation Army used to still be great, but I think they are doing the same thing now.

... and why shouldn't they? Their goal is to maximize the financial return from donated items.

wy2l · Aug 23, 2015

Pawn shops don't buy/sell analogue film gear for the same reason they don't buy manual typewriters: They have no quick resale value.

Now if you have gold or silver (untraceable), they would be interested...

Pawn shop employees laugh at me.

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