The struggle to sell unpopular gear at bargain prices.

[Certain Exposures]

It is real.

I have seen how fast people flip the popular equipment. A Leica disappears in no time.

 

[Kino]

Unfortunately, a lot of the market is driven by fashion, hype and "influencers".

Sorry for the "old man shouting at the clouds" moment, but utility and practicality are not very attractive to the crowd that treats photo equipment as jewelry.

Sure, there is an advantage to using the very best equipment, but a competent photographer can use the most basic equipment to do good work.

 

[chuckroast]

Unfortunately, a lot of the market is driven by fashion, hype and "influencers".

Sorry for the "old man shouting at the clouds" moment, but utility and practicality are not very attractive to the crowd that treats photo equipment as jewelry.

Sure, there is an advantage to using the very best equipment, but a competent photographer can use the most basic equipment to do good work.

The newest camera I own is 10 years old, the oldest is 73 years old.


I do not buy new. But, I am thrilled that people like influencers and jewelry collectors exist. They ensure a steady supply of lightly used high end goods that can be bought at significantly lower prices.

 

[Chuck1]

I look at the new prices of linhof items at a place like B+H, and that helps justify purchases (as delusional as this may be)

 

[MattKing]

I have good results using Craigslist to sell the sort of 35mm SLRs that appeal to young/newer photographers.
Not necessarily the absolutely most popular cameras, but ones with a good reputation.
It also is quite satisfying seeing someone new with all this taking the camera away to use it. Their enthusiasm is heartening.

 

[brbo]

If it doesn't move it's not a bargain.

 

[Laurent]

I have good results using Craigslist to sell the sort of 35mm SLRs that appeal to young/newer photographers.
Not necessarily the absolutely most popular cameras, but ones with a good reputation.
It also is quite satisfying seeing someone new with all this taking the camera away to use it. Their enthusiasm is heartening.

I have the same experience using the local equivalent. One needs to be patient, some cameras take months to go.

One of the most satisfying experiences I had has been selling a Canon EF to a young guy who found it very cool (he used a Yashica FX) and was as astonished as I am seeing this beautiful camera. I'm sure she's in good hands!

 

[Rayt]

From experience much of it unfortunate, I would not buy any camera if there’s any question of repairability. I would buy a Leica, mechanical Nikon, Rolleiflex, TLR, Linhof, etc not because I am a muppet for hype, fad and influencers but the need to use and maintain such gear. Who in the US will repair a 2000 series Hasselblad or Contax AX? Meanwhile repair techs can fabricate shutter curtains for Barnacks.

 

[oneeyedpainter]

It is real.

I have seen how fast people flip the popular equipment. A Leica disappears in no time.

Mostly hype, a desire to "walk in the footsteps of the great masters of auld" in the hope that the same gear will yield similarly good pictures, and perhaps also ignorance (in the literal meaning of lack of knowledge) of other brands and models.

I think we live in the most exciting times to buy old analogue gear, if you know what to look for. I bagged three Yashica lenses on ebay (28mm, 135mm and 70-200mm) for 50 quids in total. They work great, sharp as new, and they are indeed Zeiss lenses assembled by Yashica under license in the early 1970s...


OneEyedPainter

 

[Sharktooth]

I guess it all depends on what you consider is a "bargain" price. With the extremely high cost of film and processing now, and the low cost of decent digital, it will only be attractive to a dedicated (or hallucinating) few.

Ask yourself why you're selling the item anyway. If it's because you have other cameras you'd rather use, and don't need this one, then that's going to be the same thoughts as those wary few that might have been interested in the past.

The better solution is to stop buying this stuff in the first place.

 

[4season]

The trick to Leica on a budget is knowing what to buy and how much to pay. Some stuff is cheap, but there's not much demand, while other prices are sky-high, but for how long? As of 2026, I would not pay top dollar for an M6TTL or M7, while other models have become relative bargains.

 

[chuckroast]

The trick to Leica on a budget is knowing what to buy and how much to pay. Some stuff is cheap, but there's not much demand, while other prices are sky-high, but for how long? As of 2026, I would not pay top dollar for an M6TTL or M7, while other models have become relative bargains.

Exactly. You can buy a terrific M2 for well under $1500 US if you wait and look around.

 

[Milpool]

It’s not just photo equipment. For me anything less than a few hundred dollars isn’t worth the aggravation so I just throw it out. More expensive stuff I’d rather use for batting practice than haggle over most of the time.

 

[ic-racer]

I drop stuff I don’t want at the “free table” at Fotorama.

 

[Pieter12]

Donate it to a thrift shop.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Unfortunately, a lot of the market is driven by fashion, hype and "influencers".

Sorry for the "old man shouting at the clouds" moment, but utility and practicality are not very attractive to the crowd that treats photo equipment as jewelry.

Sure, there is an advantage to using the very best equipment, but a competent photographer can use the most basic equipment to do good work.

not everyone is so competent. I'm better off getting the best equipment money can buy

 

[Agulliver]

If you have something considered "unpopular" but which is perfectly functional, donate it to a charity/thrift shop.

It is also worth considering why and whether something is unpopular, or if it is otherwise difficult to sell. If I open up eBay here in the UK and search for Zeiss-Ikon, a hundred folding medium format cameras from the first half of the 20th century will come up. Chances are the vast majority of them work. But I have four already. I don't need another. Other than the Super Ikontas, none of them will fetch a lot of money unless they're in pristine condition. And yet they're all capable of taking great photographs.

There are plenty of examples of cameras that you'll see often if you trawl the auction sites, charity shops, jumble sales, street markets etc....but which aren't particularly sought after....in part because they're so common. I've thought about selling one of my Zeiss-Ikons but really, I'd get very little for it and someone would probably turn it into a lamp. If I keep hold of it, at least it will get a roll of film through it every few years.

Then you do have the models made desirable by both serious reviews and influencers. Try buying a Canon AE-1 or Olympus Mju these days! Lovely cameras for sure, but not at all worth the premium placed upon them.

 

[Certain Exposures]

If it doesn't move it's not a bargain.

I was trying to sell a pristine, tested Nikon FM body with freshly installed light seals, a new rubber eye piece, and a body cap for $50.

Emphasis on was.

I have good results using Craigslist to sell the sort of 35mm SLRs that appeal to young/newer photographers.
Not necessarily the absolutely most popular cameras, but ones with a good reputation.
It also is quite satisfying seeing someone new with all this taking the camera away to use it. Their enthusiasm is heartening.

I love this feeling! I have given away things to people I know would use them well.

If you have something considered "unpopular" but which is perfectly functional, donate it to a charity/thrift shop.

Then you do have the models made desirable by both serious reviews and influencers. Try buying a Canon AE-1 or Olympus Mju these days! Lovely cameras for sure, but not at all worth the premium placed upon them.

I have a tale to tell about a Canon AE-1 Program. I may share it here when I have more time.


Also, I just made a related post here with a question about Leicas.

 

[bfilm]

I look at the new prices of linhof items at a place like B+H, and that helps justify purchases (as delusional as this may be)

I have never understood the Linhof distributor prices in the US. Buy it from EU or UK, even with customs duty it is far less expensive.

 

[BHuij]

Unfortunately, a lot of the market is driven by fashion, hype and "influencers".

Sorry for the "old man shouting at the clouds" moment, but utility and practicality are not very attractive to the crowd that treats photo equipment as jewelry.

Sure, there is an advantage to using the very best equipment, but a competent photographer can use the most basic equipment to do good work.

This isn't an entirely new phenomenon. My dad worked at a camera store in LA in the early 80s. He said he frequently had people come in who didn't really speak English. They'd point to the AE-1 Program in black (never the standard silver version), buy it with a standard 50mm f/1.8, and walk out. They never bought film, they never came back in. "Photo equipment as jewelry" indeed.

 

[chuckroast]

This isn't an entirely new phenomenon. My dad worked at a camera store in LA in the early 80s. He said he frequently had people come in who didn't really speak English. They'd point to the AE-1 Program in black (never the standard silver version), buy it with a standard 50mm f/1.8, and walk out. They never bought film, they never came back in. "Photo equipment as jewelry" indeed.

See also "Veblen Goods":

Veblen good - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

(I would point out that not purchasing something useful because some faddish influencer has recommended it, is just a silly as buying it because of that influencer.)

 

[AnselMortensen]

Some folks need to be told what to buy.
Some do market research.
Some just go with the easiest decision.
How many people use Ken Rockwell's reviews when camera gear shopping?

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

The newest camera I own is 10 years old, the oldest is 73 years old.


I do not buy new. But, I am thrilled that people like influencers and jewelry collectors exist. They ensure a steady supply of lightly used high end goods that can be bought at significantly lower prices.

The newest camera I have is a digital that's 2 years old. The oldest piece of camera gear I have? 184 years old. The oldest I use? around a century, give or take a decade. I actually have a Voigtlander Petzval lens that I can and should use more often that's around 160 years old. That lens was an absolute bargain (along with another lens that was cosmetically ROUGH but fully functional, I paid $200 on an online estate auction). So bargains can be had if you pay attention.

 

[Ardpatrick]

This is an interesting topic. For the moment my strategy for dealing with the OP’s dilemma is to not deal with it; I simply do not sell anything. I only buy stuff, as I need it.

I know it’s not very sustainable in the longer term, but most of my gear I remain attached to, whether I’m using it at the moment or not. And usage varies. Sometimes something becomes relevant again, after a period of under-use.

As to money invested - usage is where I look for a return on my investment. I don’t buy anything with a view to resale value, whether there is any at a later point, or not. Of course I care for my gear, because I want to keep using it. Every camera I currently own I’ve had for >15 years. They’ve each given plenty of useful service.

Where I’m based there isn’t a big used market - it’s hard to get stuff in the first place. Everything analogue is imported. Selling gear also has to be an international affair, because the pool of interest locally is small for specialist gear.

When the day comes to sell off my gear, I think I’ll know it.

 

[abruzzi]

(I would point out that not purchasing something useful because some faddish influencer has recommended it, is just a silly as buying it because of that influencer.)

Though also worth pointing out that not buying a infuencer reccomended thing because those reccomendations have inflated the cost far above value can be a rational decision. To me the epitome of this was the prices some of the Contax point-and-shoots were going for (and still may be) compared to an Olympus/Nikon/Canon/Pentax P&S going for 1/4 the price or less. (I haven't look at this market in years so I don't know if this is still true today.)