Why is it so hard to sell?

Ariston · Aug 23, 2020

I pulled out my RB kit to list for sale, because I needed to fund some recent purchases, and I hadn't used the RB in awhile. Well, I set it out, inventoried the kit, and even took photos for the listing... but I could not bring myself to sell it. It is just too much goodness, especially for close focus.

Why is it so hard to let go? I have more than enough cameras. Maybe it is just that I know deep down I'll end up buying one again for more money and maybe in worse condition.

Have you struggled with this problem? Is it a co-infection of GAS?

MattKing · Aug 23, 2020

It would be easier if they were still making new ones.

wiltw · Aug 23, 2020

It is hard to sell because it was so very expensive to originally buy, before digital. And now, you literally get pennies on the dollar.
My Bronica kit would sell for $0.10 on the dollar paid. For a cherry condition kit, that hurts far too much to let go of any of it!

Dan Fromm · Aug 23, 2020

Emotional attachment. I have one fairly valuable TTH lens, 100/2 ex-Vinten F.95, that came with a friendship I treasured. I don't use it anymore. It shoots no better at the apertures I normally use than my smaller lighter lenses with at least as much coverage. But I know that if I sell it I'll never be able to replace it for what it will bring. If I really, really needed the money, it would go.

Paul Howell · Aug 23, 2020

Other then selling a Konica T to buy an Nikon F, then trading in the F for a F2 and the F2 for a F3 I not sold any of my gear. I;ve tossed out a few bodies that were not worth repairing, and gave a couple of Konica Minolta filme bodies and lens to a friend, have the rest. My Kodak Retina IIIB, given to me as a high school graduation present in 1966, my Spotmatic 1967, even my Speed 1966, still have them. The Retina and Spotmatic need a CAL, but usable.

warden · Aug 23, 2020

I can't sell this one because I did that cool project with it and now we have memories together.
I can't sell that one because I waited a year for the angry man to fix it and now it's perfect.
I can't sell the one over there because it makes that awesome sound at slow shutter speeds.
I can't sell this one because I finally have all the lenses for it!
This one fits my hand just right.
And that one has gained/lost too much value to sell, really.
Look at that viewfinder!
And this one was a gift and who sells gifts?
B R A S S I N G

Sirius Glass · Aug 23, 2020

Here is an idea. Send it to me and I will post it for you on Photrio to sell. Selling it here will give it the best chance of finding a good home. After the sale, I will forward any proceeds to you. No commission nor selling fees. There, that will make it easier for you because you will not actually be selling it.

abruzzi · Aug 23, 2020

I have plenty of stuff, I’d happily sell, but there is no local market for film gear, and I don’t feel like booking and shipping, and even more, dealing with buyers long distance.

4season · Aug 23, 2020

Selling stuff can be a pain in the butt. My trick for getting myself to deal with it is to fund new toys from the sale proceeds of the old ones. So instead of seeming like an endless series of chores, each sale gets me one step closer to my goals.

MattKing · Aug 23, 2020

FWIW, while selling the film in this thread was a lot of work, it was both reasonably remunerative and very satisfying.
I got really tired though of dealing with the Canada Post website!

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...duction-now-canadian-dollars-all-sold.165783/

Ariston · Aug 23, 2020

4season said:
Selling stuff can be a pain in the butt. My trick for getting myself to deal with it is to fund new toys from the sale proceeds of the old ones. So instead of seeming like an endless series of chores, each sale gets me one step closer to my goals.

Yes, this is why I was about to sell the RB to begin with. It didn't help that I was out the day before with a different camera and regretted that I didn't have the RB.

I needed the camera very near to the ground, framed vertically, and close to the subject, but all I had with me was a 35mm camera. I had to basically lie in the mud, and still didn't quite get the shot I wanted. With the RB, I would have been easily looking down from above, with the back rotated, and closer. Not to mention I would have gotten a bigger negative.

Still, how many times do I run into that specific type of situation? Not often.

EDIT: I was so frustrated that day, I ordered one of those 90 degree Nikon viewfinders when I got home.

pressureworld · Aug 23, 2020

Will you be buying another camera with the proceeds? I hope you don't mind me asking.

Ariston · Aug 23, 2020

pressureworld said:
Will you be buying another camera with the proceeds? I hope you don't mind me asking.

I actually bought a new guitar and some other camera equipment (lens, etc) recently, so I was looking for a way to offset that. I’m going to have to sell something else instead, though.

4season · Aug 23, 2020

pressureworld said:
Will you be buying another camera with the proceeds? I hope you don't mind me asking.

That's the plan, but I'm still struggling to decide exactly what. Sony A7R IV is at the center of it, but non-camera purchases like a new iPad are still a possibility too. But film cameras not so much: Seems more like a seller's market right now and I can't work up a lot of enthusiasm for paying $850 for a Ducati Sogno.

iakustov · Aug 24, 2020

Ariston said:
I actually bought a new guitar and some other camera equipment (lens, etc) recently, so I was looking for a way to offset that. I’m going to have to sell something else instead, though.

I was in the same boat - I bought brand new F6 and had to sell my beloved Rolleiflex, plus now trying to sell Contax G2 kit to get a set of Nikon lenses. It was very difficult, but I had to..

Bikerider · Aug 24, 2020

Likewise. I have enough cameras to last a normal person a lifetime. The one that gets used least because of it's value is my Nikon F6. Several times I have been on the point of putting it up for sale, then pulled back. It really is a beautiful instrument to use and I know I will miss not having it and available to use. When I go off into the remote country it is my F6 and F100 I take, not my D700 and D600, which are more or less the same operation, but somehow less satisfying to use.
I am away walking on the west coast of Scotland for a few days next week and they will be coming with me plus 4 lenses. Hopefully the midge season is well and truly over so I can really get something worth while.

guangong · Aug 24, 2020

wiltw said:
It is hard to sell because it was so very expensive to originally buy, before digital. And now, you literally get pennies on the dollar.
My Bronica kit would sell for $0.10 on the dollar paid. For a cherry condition kit, that hurts far too much to let go of any of it!

Why would anybody buy a Bronica when prices of Hasselblads have approached the affordable? When cameras could be bought brand new Bronica was once a wise second choice when funds were limited, but just can’t compete in today’s used market. Not bad cameras. I would just use it and enjoy.

campy51 · Aug 24, 2020

I started off buying cameras at prices just to flip them for a profit but it seemed that I was buying the same cameras again, so now I want to keep them for their classic look and feel. I bought a Rolleiflex 2.8E Planar at a good price because of very slight separation and figured if it ever affected the photos I would try to fix it myself, but then I found a 3.5F at a good price and had a cla and said to myself I will sell the 2.8E to help offset the cost of the 3.5F, but it's been 2 months now and still haven't put it for sale. I have a number of medium format classics that I rotate and use but the sad part is my keeper rate is small and I know it's not the cameras. I just can't seem to focus fast enough to get the shot of my grand kids which is most of my shooting.

wiltw · Aug 24, 2020

guangong said:
Why would anybody buy a Bronica when prices of Hasselblads have approached the affordable? When cameras could be bought brand new Bronica was once a wise second choice when funds were limited, but just can’t compete in today’s used market. Not bad cameras. I would just use it and enjoy.

I purchased my Bronica system about 1990 when I was shooting weddings! Pros purchased Bronicas for weddings because the clients could not see any difference from Hassy shots, and Bronica systems allowed pros to keep a larger fraction of their income rather than tying it up in capital equipment.

Huss · Aug 24, 2020

I have a perfect Rolleiflex 2.8E that was serviced by Harry Fleenor that I hardly use because I use the 2.8GX more just because it is easier to focus and has a built in meter.
But the 2.8E is so much better built. Sometimes I think I really should just sell it, and all the other gear I have accumulated and really pare things down.

Same with my Nikon Fs (x2), F2 (x2), F3P and Ltd, F4, F6. When all I really need is one - F6? But I hate it's battery hogginess. Just used the F2AS for a couple of rolls and forgot how great it is..

PFGS · Aug 24, 2020

I struggle to let go of anything that would obnoxiously hard to replace. I regret selling my collapsible Summicron, for example, not because prices have since tripled or more, but because it would be a hassle to find another one so utterly free of any optical issues including cleaning marks - it was truly water-clear. I'm dead certain I'd have to send back several "EXC+++++" examples before I found one as nice.

Anything more garden-variety, if I'm not using it, I'd rather have out of the way. It's the individual shots that I get attached to, not the gear that made them.

mitrajoon · Aug 24, 2020

Ariston said:
I pulled out my RB kit to list for sale, because I needed to fund some recent purchases, and I hadn't used the RB in awhile. Well, I set it out, inventoried the kit, and even took photos for the listing... but I could not bring myself to sell it. It is just too much goodness, especially for close focus.

Why is it so hard to let go? I have more than enough cameras. Maybe it is just that I know deep down I'll end up buying one again for more money and maybe in worse condition.

Have you struggled with this problem? Is it a co-infection of GAS?

I view my film cameras as works of industrial art. Once they stop working I'll just put them on display.

https://jmlphotography.smugmug.com/Film/My-Film-Cameras/

Ariston · Aug 24, 2020

Huss said:
I have a perfect Rolleiflex 2.8E that was serviced by Harry Fleenor that I hardly use because I use the 2.8GX more just because it is easier to focus and has a built in meter.
But the 2.8E is so much better built. Sometimes I think I really should just sell it, and all the other gear I have accumulated and really pare things down.

Same with my Nikon Fs (x2), F2 (x2), F3P and Ltd, F4, F6. When all I really need is one - F6? But I hate it's battery hogginess. Just used the F2AS for a couple of rolls and forgot how great it is..

If you have too many F prism finders, I am in the market to buy one!

Andrew O'Neill · Aug 24, 2020

Years ago I put my RB system up for sale. Someone low balled me so I pulled it down. Glad I did. Love that camera as I still use it when it doesn't feel like a large format day.

Ariston · Aug 24, 2020

Andrew O'Neill said:
Years ago I put my RB system up for sale. Someone low balled me so I pulled it down. Glad I did. Love that camera as I still use it when it doesn't feel like a large format day.

The camera itself is much cheaper than the ATV you have to buy to carry it. I mainly use mine for subjects I can drive to, or are not too far from the road. It really is an outstanding camera with outstanding lenses.

Why is it so hard to sell?

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