so there's this Leica...

BrianShaw said:

Unfortunately that could be construed as shill bidding . Make your friend an offer... or don’t.

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+1.... (and, it's a nice camera!)

film_man said:

Look at ebay listings. Also look at stores and how much they would cost, you'll probably find there's not much difference. Some notes:

1. you cannot bid on your own listings on ebay. It is all sorts of suspect to bid on your own auction.
2. A store will offer 50-60% of what they would sell the item for. Given that ebay auctions close generally not that far off store prices your friend will loose a good 20-30% (accounting for ebay fees).
3. What is it worth to you? Make an offer. If the average price is (random numbers here) $2000 and you offer $1500 then your friend may decide to take it anyway. It is either $1500 hassle free or the promise of a $2000 sale that is $1700 net with the risk of the postal service smashing the camera and an unreasonable buyer returning it because this and that or some other thing you didn't notice.

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This is excellent advice. Your friend has other risks to consider with selling on eBay:
1. Time factor for listing, awaiting payment, waiting who knows how long for a bogus return claim.
2. Inconvenience of packing and taking to the post office or UPS.
3. Risk of scammers removing parts.

With a higher price trendy item, don't discount the latter. Sellers of Rolex or other prestige names suffer the same scammer factor. If you are selling a $100 camera, who cares? But a $1,500+ Leica?

Eli is already willing to buy it for $10.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/wanted-10-leica-rangefinder-for-personal-use.175289/

Perhaps it's also wise to keep in mind that it's not necessarily possible to reach a fair agreement with all and every acquaintance?

Key word is "friend" and in my interpretation that means fair.

Go to the KEH sell page and put the items in. Then whatever price you get, offer 10% over that.

https://www.keh.com/sell/reversecheckout/cart/sell

It's a sketchy situation in some ways. And no, you can't bid on it if you're the seller. If you do it using a second identity, it might even be criminal, but will certainly get you banned from the 'Bay.

Here's what I would do if I were you.

1) Investigate sold listings, KEH and other resellers' offers, and even B&M stores if you have any around.
2) Determine what you are personally willing to pay for it, and set that as the seller's reserve price.
3) Put it up for auction, with a reasonable timeframe, no "Buy it now" price, and see what develops.
4) If it goes for more than the reserve, then you've maximized your friend's return, certainly more than a wholesale offer, even with the eBay fees.
5) It it doesn't reach the reserve price, you should withdraw the item and buy it directly from your friend at the reserve price.

This depends on you being entirely ethical in all respects, but it's a way to give you a chance to buy it at a fair price. You should probably explain the plan to your friend up front and explain how you determined what you were willing to buy it for.

Andy

I definitely agree with @AndyH here; an auction with a reserve that you're willing to pay gives her a best of both worlds option, and gives you peace of mind that you haven't shortchanged her for your own benefit, you evil evil monkey!

In any case, I would suggest being transparent with her about your research. Obviously I don’t know her knowledge of all things Leica, but it would be a shame if you bought it from her at a “friends and family” discount and out of later curiosity, she sees and is bothered by completed auctions for Leicas (which may or may not be the same version as her Leica) that sold for 50-100% more than what you paid. We all know that model, condition, lens version, accessories, recent CLA, seller reputation, etc. will have a large influence on final selling price; your friend might not be aware of the weight of these factors.