Selling cameras (Page 2): Do you have a list of the cameras and accessories in your collection?

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Do you have a list of the cameras and accessories in your collection?

copladocus

I work with an auction company. We often sell old cameras and even darkroom equipment from time to time. I do not wish to be a doomsayer here but I do encourage you to manage your expectations regarding the amount of money you will get for these items regardless of how you sell, by item or in bulk. There are few who still shoot film but your potential buyers are more likely to be collectors. One of ours was a decorator and she bought them to use as decorative items only. I am always disappointed by the low prices we get for film cameras as so many of them are marvelous pieces of history and others have been wonderful examples of cutting edge technology in their day. Good luck

AndyH Loc: Massachusetts and New Hampshire

larryepage wrote:

The best way to sell depends a lot on what is in t... (show quote)

Larry,

Have you ever had any luck with a local technical school taking on older gear of any kind? I don't think many schools have such a program, as repairing forty year old cameras is not a growth area in employment. I've been turned down outright the last time I suggested that they might like some (high quality) darkroom gear. Unless you come across a specific teacher with interest, I haven't found it to be an area of much interest. I'd love to hear that I was wrong!

Andy

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

AndyH wrote:

Larry,

Have you ever had any luck with a local technical school taking on older gear of any kind? I don't think many schools have such a program, as repairing forty year old cameras is not a growth area in employment. I've been turned down outright the last time I suggested that they might like some (high quality) darkroom gear. Unless you come across a specific teacher with interest, I haven't found it to be an area of much interest. I'd love to hear that I was wrong!

Andy

The successes I have had are not with schools that would be interested in using the equipment, but rather as 'dissection' specimens like biology students do. It's really kind of depresding, but better than putting stuff in a dumpster.
We do have a business here that deals in old equipment, specializing in film equipment, but his business model doesn't allow him to pay much. I have occasionally donated to a technical school through him.

Flying Three Loc: Berthoud, CO

I had a small camera collection,which I was able to donate to my state historical society. I received a nice tax deduction and saved a lot of hassle. They took all but one camera, which it turned out, was my father's Kodak which I was hesitant to sell in the first place but didn't want to break up the collection.

Quinn 4

copladocus wrote:

I work with an auction company. We often sell old ... (show quote)

I have sold cameras through auction house, To tell true I did not make a lot of money, sometime loss money. Remember the house get 25% to 30% of the auction price of the camera sold for. At most auction up to 50% of the people are dealers, so their are looking for something that their turn over fast. Today cameras do not move fast.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Bob Abbott wrote:

I have a collection of about 250 old cameras,picked up along my life and wondered if selling per item or as a collection??? Thanks

You always get more selling anything one at a time verses selling it as a lot.
However, older film camera's rarely get what they are worth unless you have a very rare one.
If you want a value, go to ebay and look up what each camera actually sells for, that will give you a true idea what they are worth. Hope your not too disappointed.
If they are working you might want to consider donating them to a camera club that still uses film or civic organization.

ELNikkor

250 is a lot of cameras, but you must have collected them for some reason. It is a finite number, so take a month to make a few pages in Word on your computer, listing each one, its condition, age, and a reasonable price based on the value you can find it going for on the net. (Probably most of them are already on-line somewhere.) Publish the list in several places to see the kind of response you get and go from there...(Even I am curious to know what sort of treasures you might have there!)

Bipod

Time is money only if you are taking time off work: "opportunity cost".
Chances are, if the OP wasn't selling cameras, he'd be reading UHH.

Most of the labor is in photographing the items and then when they
sell, in packaging them to ship. He'll have to do that whether he sells
them in one lot or individually.

The only thing that would save significant time is to sell them locally,
e.g., via listing them on Craig's List. But unless he lives in a big city,
it won't reach a large enough market, and he'll end up getting garage
sale prices.

Yes, selling is work. But doing a bad job of selling can end up being a
lot more work --- accepting returns, settling disputes, etc. You end up
not making any money and you get a bad name. Business is business.

The easiest approache is to hold a "camara garage sale" and advertise
it on Craig's list, on posters, and with local photography clubs. But this
too works better in a big city.

Quinn 4

Craig's list can be bad news, be very careful. When posting a camera for sale, put in the add " Buying as is" and" no return". "Not shipped until check clear."

Purelightglow Loc: High plains

I've been watching a busy auction site; Catawiki. Buyer pays the 9% fee

Quinn 4

Purelightglow wrote:

I've been watching a busy auction site; Catawiki. Buyer pays the 9% fee

What % does the auction house charge the owner of the item that put up for sale?