Selling my old film for a profit to buy new film..

Huss · Oct 14, 2020

Just saw that expired film is selling for more than fresh film! Before I used to buy expired film at a steep discount vs fresh.

This ad on ebay says it all (and there are many more like it)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Multiple-L...716616?hash=item3feb5d8e08:g:HS4AAOSw9R1fhOdL

$10/roll of expired Kodak Tri-X! B&H sells it for $6.49 fresh.

And if you look at the ebay ad, he's had plenty of buyers.

So maybe I should sell all the old film in my freezer and replace it with fresh stock! And pocket the difference...

MultiFormat Shooter · Oct 14, 2020

Huss said:
Just saw that expired film is selling for more than fresh film!

$10/roll of expired Kodak Tri-X! B&H sells it for $6.49 fresh.

And if you look at the ebay ad, he's had plenty of buyers.

That makes literally no sense. That people are buying it, makes even less than no sense. If I want Tri-X, I'll stick with fresh film from B&H, Adorama, etc.

BradS · Oct 14, 2020

Bat shit crazy.

DonW · Oct 15, 2020

Gee I have 89 rolls of Classic Pan 400 135 to get rid of......

PhotoJim · Oct 15, 2020

Several years ago, I sold a Vivitar 500/8 catadiopotric lens with Nikon T-mount on eBay.

B&H had the lens new at $99.99 US.

My lens sold for $107 US.

Pentode · Oct 15, 2020

"There's a sucker born every minute"
"A fool and his money are soon parted"

I still buy expired film often but only if A) It's steeply discounted or B) It's film that I like and can't get anymore. Even in the case of B, I won't pay a king's ransom for it. It's always amazing to me when expired film is sold at prices higher than fresh, and it seems to be happening more and more. I can only imagine that the buyers are young, new to film, and mired in some fantasy that old film will give them some sort of 'vintage look'. It's the vintage look of grain and fog!

Chan Tran · Oct 15, 2020

It makes no sense to buy expired film when fresh film is available even at higher prices. I strive for predictability in photography and expired film throw that out the window. Although I love film I do not like the surprises like many who use film because the fact that they don't know what kind of results they are going to get.

removed account4 · Oct 15, 2020

BradS said:
Bat shit crazy.

several years ago a friend sold an empty box on Ebay for 35$ plus shipping...
and there was this guy in England who was here on this site a while ago who had 1000s of rolls of expired film that he was selling for 10$/roll, I think he claimed he was one of LOMO's suppliers but it might have just been his sales pitch.

BradS · Oct 15, 2020

Huss said:
.....maybe I should sell all the old film in my freezer and replace it with fresh stock! And pocket the difference...

I definitely would.

foc · Oct 15, 2020

It really doesn't matter if it is crazy or not.
What matters is that someone is willing to pay a price for what they want (or perceive they want).
If logic was applied to apparel purchases, then the fashion industry would not exist.

DonW · Oct 15, 2020

All my Classic Pan 400 has sold!

MattKing · Oct 15, 2020

The only problem with this situation is that it highlights the fact that a lot of people are acting under the belief that fresh film cannot be easily obtained.
And that isn't good for those of us who depend on the availability of fresh film.
That being said, in some cases it is easier to buy internationally on eBay than it is to buy internationally from a retailer.

Wallendo · Oct 15, 2020

The EBay listing is interesting.

I can see people paying $10 for the two "Tri-X pan" rolls for collecting reasons or just to shoot the classic emulsion. On the other hand, 4 of the rolls were really "TX400" which is widely available fresh at good prices The way his sales are set up, I would be hesitant to buy, even for collecting reasons, as he doesn;t distinguish between Tri-X Pan and TX400.

Pentode · Oct 15, 2020

Chan Tran said:
It makes no sense to buy expired film when fresh film is available even at higher prices. I strive for predictability in photography and expired film throw that out the window. Although I love film I do not like the surprises like many who use film because the fact that they don't know what kind of results they are going to get.

While this is true for small quantities, I only buy expired film when I can buy enough to allow for testing. That eliminates any surprises when I actually use it. In most cases film that was long expired but well stored behaved exactly as it should have. But, as I said before, I’ll only take the chance if the price is steeply discounted. Otherwise I buy fresh.

removedacct1 · Oct 15, 2020

MattKing said:
The only problem with this situation is that it highlights the fact that a lot of people are acting under the belief that fresh film cannot be easily obtained.

Actually, I think its more likely a lot of people are acting under the misguided belief that old, stale film possesses magical properties and will bestow the buyer with glorious artifacts delivered by the angel, Silver Bromide. Anyone who does 2 minutes of searching online will quickly realize fresh film is readily available.

Steve@f8 · Oct 15, 2020

I’m considering buying fresh now, keep it 5 to 10 years and sell for a massive profit. There appears to be gold in the Kodak line up.

removed account4 · Oct 15, 2020

paulbarden said:
Actually, I think its more likely a lot of people are acting under the misguided belief that old, stale film possesses magical properties and will bestow the buyer with glorious artifacts delivered by the angel Silver Bromide.

Its the siren's song. The trick is to ride the whirlpool going faster and faster and stay at the top, and floor it just before you get flushed into the jagged rocks. ... but then you have to be careful of the Cyclops.

Brendan Quirk · Oct 15, 2020

I also think that it is the quest for magical mystical artistic artifacts.

DonW · Oct 15, 2020

Brendan Quirk said:
I also think that it is the quest for magical mystical artistic artifacts.

Exactly!! Like Lomo weird coloured folm.

ic-racer · Oct 15, 2020

Old film is better. I know, I read it on the internet, so it must be true.

Chan Tran · Oct 15, 2020

Steve@f8 said:
I’m considering buying fresh now, keep it 5 to 10 years and sell for a massive profit. There appears to be gold in the Kodak line up.

You can contact Kodak Alaris and Ilford to convince them that they can make great money by simply printing an old expired date on them.

W_Taylor76 · Oct 15, 2020

This definitely must be the new gold mine. Find some of your rare old film and make a fortune. In this eBay listing, 1 roll of Efke 820IR for a mere $75. It's the last one so you better act fast since the other 3 have already sold at the great price.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/EFKE-INFRA...112761?hash=item2629fb9cb9:g:lEUAAOSw93xdrPkO

removed account4 · Oct 15, 2020

Brendan Quirk said:
I also think that it is the quest for magical mystical artistic artifacts.

ic-racer said:
Old film is better. I know, I read it on the internet, so it must be true.

not sure if it is magical or mystical or better but I hav been shooting only expired film for 15 close to 20 years not out of choice but
because I bought film for a large job that fell through because of 9-11 and well I was broke afterwards raising kids and no money for fresh film. and currently still can't afford fresh film so I make my own photo emulsion and coat things with it .. even cheeper than the cheapest of films... or I buy expired or short date film from a trusted source ( roll film )...
in non-extreme storage conditions and with an active developer like ansco130 or d72 or a developer like sumatronal130 there isn't much difference between fresh and expired film. not sure I would ever pay more than fresh film but some people are all jazzed up to shoot olde-stuff.

foc · Oct 16, 2020

Does that mean I am made up for life, if I sell this, with expiry July 1983?

Raghu Kuvempunagar · Oct 16, 2020

Will the price go up significantly if the expired film is also pre exposed? Maybe we can also add an element of surprise by pre exposing only a random set of 50% of frames in the roll? The prospect of double exposure, overlapping frames, and the odd single exposure should surely add a significant value to the roll.

Selling my old film for a profit to buy new film..

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