selling question

There is a guy in the Philadelphia area looking to move out of Philadelphia (can you really and honestly blame him!?!?!?) and needs to get rid of darkroom materials. I am going to look and he said that I can have what I want cheap. There are enlargers and trays and other stuff. He has already tried Craigslist.org and met with no interest. I told him to contact me only as a last resort. He contacted me.

What advice can I give him to get even a paltry amount for his stuff? I certainly do not have the room to take it all, but both of us will hate to see it dumped. Is there any way out of this dilemma? - David Lyga

Make a list and put it in Classifieds - for sure somebody will show interest in some stuff if the price will be right?

David Lyga said:

There is a guy in the Philadelphia area looking to move out of Philadelphia (can you really and honestly blame him!?!?!?) and needs to get rid of darkroom materials. I am going to look and he said that I can have what I want cheap. There are enlargers and trays and other stuff. He has already tried Craigslist.org and met with no interest. I told him to contact me only as a last resort. He contacted me.

What advice can I give him to get even a paltry amount for his stuff? I certainly do not have the room to take it all, but both of us will hate to see it dumped. Is there any way out of this dilemma? - David Lyga

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I wish ,I knew the answer to this myself.I couldn'y give it away.So ,I hung onto what I couldand giving it away would just devalue it even more

I can't speak for the U.S. but the funny thing is that on the U.K. e-bay my impression is that the amount of analogue stuff is shrinking and all of it sells.

I wonder why it can't even be given away in the U.S? I keep on looking for 4x5 enlargers in the local rubbish dump as stated in an article by someone quite well known in our analogue game and have failed miserably to find one

Perhaps he was using poetic licence.

pentaxuser

PM sent David.

s-a

Look it all over. Negotiate the lowest price you can live with. And take it all home. When you get home, sell what you don't want on Craigslist or eBay or here, and get your money back. Take your time. It's an investment.

I'm not sure it would be a good investment ^^^^^^

John Koehrer said:

I'm not sure it would be a good investment ^^^^^^

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Oh, I know. But, if I end up with more money in my pocket than when I started . . . I like to think of it as an investment.

OK, now I am going to rain on the proverbial parade and not enjoy doing it. I should have waited to post until AFTER I had looked at the stuff. Listen carefully:

Joe's number in the Port Richmond area (Castor and Frankford) is 215.285.5420 (he told me to give it out on APUG) but I will rain on your parade: I was just there and there is next to nothing but junk. He means well but he simply did not know anything about his father's stuff. He wants to get rid of it but, actually, there is little to get rid of.

He DOES have an Omega D2 and several large easels, including a four-bladed one, but even after I looked through boxes I could find nothing but 'lenses' (probably from microscopes but with no redeeming value) and maybe a color analyzer or two. I went up there on SEPTA transport and I spent a total of $1 for a set of Kodak Polycontrast filters and a color filter. NO chemicals, NO paper, NO film, NO trays, NO timers, etc. Go ONLY if you need either the enlarger and/or easels. Also, he has, what I think to be a disassembled B2 Omega.

pentaxuser: What you just said concerning stuff selling rapidly in the UK is utterly astounding to me (and perhaps to other Americans, as well). But, please do not embark upon British Airways for Philadelphia International just yet, as the above caveat should be sufficient to scare you away.

I am truly sorry folks: I do hate when I force myself to recant and admit wrongdoing. Sometimes these deals can be utterly fantastic, sometimes not. But, again, for the enlarger: his price is very, very 'flexible', as he wants 'out'. I depart with Latin: caveat et vale. - David Lyga

With some exceptions, it takes a lot of time and effort to sell darkroom equipment. Some items (like plastic trays) generally aren't worth the cost to ship. Most enlargers are extremely hard to sell; the only market seems to be 4x5 and some high end enlargers like Focomats. Though color heads do seem to be of interest. Again, shipping is an issue. With high quality enlarging lenses so cheap, it can be tough to sell low end lenses.

Often, it's best (financially) to "part out" an enlarger; the negative carriers, condensers, and lensboards may be worth more than the rest of the enlarger.

But there are always exceptions. Some here (I think) wanted to buy a 23c lamphouse. I think stainless steel and even porcelain trays have some demand (for alt processes?). Still some interest in Thomas Duplex safelights.

pentaxuser said:

I keep on looking for 4x5 enlargers in the local rubbish dump as stated in an article by someone quite well known in our analogue game and have failed miserably to find one

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Just to add salt to the wound....

I picked up an L1200 a while back for a paltry £50 - OK, a few small bits were missing (like the PSU) but I thought it worth getting even if it was only for spares.
Keep your ears open, and if you are prepared to travel to collect, one will turn up at the right price eventually.

I'm De Vere based in my darkroom and running a back-up MG500 system on a modern 504 chassis (as far as these things go) controlled by a RH Designs F-stop timer, the PSU for the more recent head failed and so the back-up is in-fact an older unit, originally used with a 203 chassis which needs some attention and is unused at the moment; so yes, one does seem to need a supply of spares in order to keep going. My 5108 dichromat has thankfully not failed as of yet, although the De Vere original timer needed some work to function reliably.

Tom

APUGuser19 said:

That's why they call it Dregslist. But it is a good site if you want one of the $250 Canon AE-1 deals with the Tamron zoom. But to its credit, I did manage to haul away a whole pickup truck load of goodies for $200 once, including an 4x5 Chromega (old color tape style) and a 14x18 Seal press, which was worth the 200 alone. As well as all sorts of goodies, trays, gadgets, and doo-dads. One of the best hauls I ever made.
But if you ever want an RB 67 for only a THOUSAND DOLLARS,, Craigslist is the site.

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I bought two RB67 bodies, 3 backs and 4 lenses off Craigslist a couple of years ago for $500.00.

And this current Craigslist deal for an RZ67 Pro II, back, 110mm lens and AE and waist level finders for $600.00 isn't bad: http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/nvn/pho/4675940140.html

So, it depends.

Correction: in addition to the Omega D2 there is, what I think, a disassembled Omega B-66 (not B2).

Getting bargains can be deceptively easy and actually has happened with all who are posting here. However, like casinos, the addiction can lead to reckless behavior and one can try to 'force' a bargain in his/her mind when the reality is really expensive. Look over what is offered: the seller is not necessarily trying to deceive and might simply be 'not knowledgeable' about the stuff offered. - David Lyga