"Worst trade ever"

[darinwc]

OK, we have the best deal ever. Now here is the reverse. What is the worst trade or purchase you have made and why?

Here are mine:

4. Giant 30" by 20" leather photo album labeled "Deardorff". Has about 20 vintage 8x10 black and white prints of babies and kids. I paid $100 for it, but now that I have it I have no use for it and I doubt I could get $10 for it.

3. Olympus 35RC. Paid $50 for it thinking it was complete but when I received it it was missing parts and was damaged. Thats what I get for not looking at the pics well enough. I really wanted to try to return it, but it was very plain that it was damaged in the pics. I sold it here for $20 i think. The recipient was able to combine 3 cameras into 2 working units.

2. "free darkroom print dryer" -An ad on craigslist. I thought it would be one of the nice units to feed fiber prints through. Instead it was a much more vintage thing. Streched canvas over a wire frame with a light bulb socket underneath. Very crude. Not something I will ever use. For some reason I took it home anyway..(?) Been collecting dust in my garage ever since.

And my number 1 "worst trade ever" (drum roll please)...

1. "BROWN" Horizontal Copy Enlarger - Price $1
I placed a starting bid on this just for fun.. and ended up winning the auction. The seller was quick to point out that I was contractually obliged to buy it and take it away. I asked if it would fit in a pickup and he laughed, said it was 15 feet long. I must have been delusional that week and I rented a big U-haul and drove 100 miles to pick it up. All the time having no frigging clue what I was going to do with it.

When I got there, it was still bolted to the walls of the shop. I helped him detach it, clear a path to the truck launch, and move it 30 feet or so. When It was just to the mouth of the truck launch, I re-measured it and it was actually 17 feet long. That made it too big to fit in the truck and close the back. Thats when I came to my senses and backed out of the deal. I didnt make it back to the rental shop in time, so I was changed for an extra day. Ended up costing me $250.

Worst part is, my wife uses the incident to remind me of my stupidity whenever I get a crazy idea in my head.. "17 feet!"

 

[5stringdeath]

LOL that was awesome

 

[vanourek]

My worst trade was a Kiev 88 CM labeled as CLA'd and resealed. Every speed was about 1/50, both film backs had light leaks, metering prism was about 1 EV off from good exposure.
Gladly, the seller returned money and took the Commie-Blad back

 

[Maretzo]

My worst trade was a H2-22mp with a 50-110 lens. Heavy and cumbersome. I just made 50 pics and sold it on ebay.

 

[Trask]

My own stupidest sale? I was around 19, and had this SM Leica. The focusing was off, so I advertised it for sale and two guys came and bought it (this was back around 1971, back when Shutterbug was the main way of selling gear - sigh.) I seem to remember that it had this odd stereo lens to go with it, which I wasn't quite sure about.... Probably sold the whole thing for $150 or something. Forty years later I still wonder what I really had. Ah well, that was the same time I was selling my McIntosh 275 tube power amp in order to buy some Hafler kits. I know, I know, silly dumb youth....

 

[Chris Nielsen]

My worst was buying a Nikon 8008 package from a good friend of mine, my first 35mm camera since coming back from digital and also my first Nikon, for $800. I don't blame him really, he had no idea that the 35-70 would develop a loose screw and then jam, the 28mm and the 70-300 I discovered were full of fungus and the camera electronics finally just packed up. Oh well. Started me on the Nikon road and I still have 1 or 2 pieces of that kit left

 

[Lanline]

Back in 1985, I bought a Mamiya M645 1000S with metered finder & motordrive - something like $1,800 if I remember correct. Traded it a year later for '79 Yamaha 650 motorcycle... which was wrecked a few months later after losing control after going thru a gasoline spill on a curve.

 

[brianmquinn]

A Canon Snappy S that I bought new at a local Drug Store for $50. I then found I liked to take pictures and decided I had to upgrade my equipment. So I traded it for a Pentax ME. The person who owned it felt the Pentax was too complicated for her and liked the little Canon. Since that day I have spent over $15,000 on camera equipment alone. Plus I now own a darkroom and I don't even know how much I spend on film and processing.

 

[Bob Carnie]

Bobby Orr away from the Boston Bruins.

 

[Rick A]

A Canon Snappy S that I bought new at a local Drug Store for $50. I then found I liked to take pictures and decided I had to upgrade my equipment. So I traded it for a Pentax ME. The person who owned it felt the Pentax was too complicated for her and liked the little Canon. Since that day I have spent over $15,000 on camera equipment alone. Plus I now own a darkroom and I don't even know how much I spend on film and processing.

Soooo...... How was that such a bad swap?

 

[brianmquinn]

It was what started my LBA.

 

[david James lee]

winder M-motor for leica M4. paid 175.00 yours for 50.00 including bateries....

 

[Marek Warunkiewicz]

Bob, when you are right, you are right. The Orr thing was a mystery. And what about Wayne?

 

[Focus No. 9]

A Canon Snappy S that I bought new at a local Drug Store for $50. I then found I liked to take pictures and decided I had to upgrade my equipment. So I traded it for a Pentax ME. The person who owned it felt the Pentax was too complicated for her and liked the little Canon. Since that day I have spent over $15,000 on camera equipment alone. Plus I now own a darkroom and I don't even know how much I spend on film and processing.

That is scary...I've spent approx. 10% of your total in the last three months and most of it is junk. It started with a Pentax P3n. BTW...I have a working Canon Snappy 50 ...you wanna make a trade?

 

[Steve Smith]

The seller was quick to point out that I was contractually obliged to buy it and take it away.

Whilst you are contractually obliged to pay for it, I think you could have got away with not picking it up.


Steve.

 

[Vonder]

How about a recurring "worst buy" that I keep doing over and over? I keep buying Fujica AX-3 bodies thinking, well, maybe THIS one works. My latest was last week, and in addition, this ebay seller seems to be a real pice of work too. Hot shoe was dead so I returned it for a refund - not one word from the guy since. Have an open claim on ebay.

That's FOUR of these pieces of junk so far. Will I ever learn???

 

[Jeff Searust]

Bought a dozen 4x5 film holders on e-bay---- reading closer and after opening package, discovered I had purchased a dozen dark slides for 4x5 film holders-- doh....

 

[Shangheye]

And my number 1 "worst trade ever" (drum roll please)...

1. "BROWN" Horizontal Copy Enlarger - Price $1
I placed a starting bid on this just for fun.. and ended up winning the auction. The seller was quick to point out that I was contractually obliged to buy it and take it away. I asked if it would fit in a pickup and he laughed, said it was 15 feet long. I must have been delusional that week and I rented a big U-haul and drove 100 miles to pick it up. All the time having no frigging clue what I was going to do with it.

When I got there, it was still bolted to the walls of the shop. I helped him detach it, clear a path to the truck launch, and move it 30 feet or so. When It was just to the mouth of the truck launch, I re-measured it and it was actually 17 feet long. That made it too big to fit in the truck and close the back. Thats when I came to my senses and backed out of the deal. I didnt make it back to the rental shop in time, so I was changed for an extra day. Ended up costing me $250.

Worst part is, my wife uses the incident to remind me of my stupidity whenever I get a crazy idea in my head.. "17 feet!"

Tha is unbeatable!

 

[paul_c5x4]

Bought a dozen 4x5 film holders on e-bay---- reading closer and after opening package, discovered I had purchased a dozen dark slides for 4x5 film holders-- doh....

Oooo... I've been looking for a couple of spare slides. Wanted to cut a couple up to do some 2x5 landscape shots.

 

[dbonamo]

I guess my worst trade/deal would be when I found a Wing Lynch Model 5 processor, about 250 miles from me, for Free. It came from a studio that was going strictly digital. So I decided to go for it, it would cost me about 130.00 with truck rental and gas. When I went to pick it up the processor it was not in the best of shape, bit it still was usable and the tube set was with it also, and the guy decided to empty his freezer so I got over 100 rolls of various 120 and 35mm films.

On the way home, 5 miles from my house, I got nearly T-Bone by someone running a stop sign, I reacted quickly enough that he missed the main body of the truck and hit the back tire, which jolt loose the processor and damaged it beyond repair. To top this off, the driver ran away, hit and run..... The only thing damaged on the truck was a slight scratch on the rear bumper and I mean slight, and the rim and tire needed replaced Of course the rental agency decided a new bumper was needed and paint, over 1800.00 to repair, at least I was insured...

But still the this venture cost me over 500.00 after insurance deductible and rental cost. I guess the silver lining is I got ton a free film and now have a box of WL processor parts....lol

 

[removed-user-1]

My worst deal never happened... I found a guy selling a ton of used darkroom accessories on Craigslist, for $25, in Charlotte. At the time I was living in Boone, about two hours away. I really wanted the stuff, it was mostly trays, easels, a timer, a 35mm bulk loader, and other random things, easily worth a couple hundred dollars altogether. No enlarger or other bulky equipment. I drove the two hours after arranging a meet and the guy just stopped answering his phone. So I drove back to Boone empty-handed. Maybe somebody offered him more.

 

[CD55]

I didn't have a deal but recently came upon a Craigslist ad for a bulk film loader ($6) and 8 reloadable film cassettes($5) for $11 total. So I emailed the contact person and after a few days I get this reply:

> Hi,
>
> First of all, I'm sorry for taking so long to answer your
> email.
>
> There is another person who sent me an email before you,
> and he is willing to pay more than the price I have listed.
> So he is likely to get them.
>
> Let me know what you want to do.
>
> Thanks for your interests.

Needless to say I told go with the first person (if there ever was one) and I didn't buy the stuff. If the guy thought I was going to get into a bidding war he was wrong. I'm sure this happens a lot but this was the first time it happened to me.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

I know this is not photo related, but I sold my '67 mustang fastback with a 289/4barrel and a 4 speed for a Datsun 210!

Jeff

 

[CD55]

I know this is not photo related, but I sold my '67 mustang fastback with a 289/4barrel and a 4 speed for a Datsun 210!

Jeff[/QUOTE

Ouch. This must've happened in the 1970's. My older brother basically did the same thing, traded in a Plymouth Barracuda for a Toyota Corolla back around 1974-75. Of course now he wishes he had back that Plymouth.

 

[Jeff Kubach]

I know what you mean, even though that Toyota and Datsun/Nissan are excellant cars, still I love those Detroit iron form the 1960's!

Jeff