Wondering if I can pick the collectives brains.

Father in law has a few old cameras he wants to sell, some Leicas and the like. Where is the best place to do this ? eBay not being first choice for a variety of reasons.

Facebook groups and such are welcome as are reputable commercial outlets, I just don’t want the one time I get f@@ked over as ae eBay seller being the time I sell his cameras.

Ffordes are good. They have an interesting range of vintage stuff. http://ffordes.com/

I sold a camera to them, got a quite reasonable price. And less hassle than Ebay etc. Especially as they are just down the road, so I can cycle over there to drop off the camera. 🙂

My FIL was a bit of a camera nut and he left us a collection of nice cameras, no fewer than three OM1s and a selection of lenses plus a couple of interesting Russian cameras, stuff I would have killed for as a teenager. Nobody was interested so we ended up flogging the lot for about £250 on Ebay in the hope that somebody would benefit and even get to use them.

There is quite a lot of difference between a Leica and an OM1 in terms of buyer interest.

If you want the most money then eBay, if you want the least then sell to a shop.

I’m not sure if there’s much difference in terms of money. I think Ffordes sold my camera for more than I could have got on eBay. Yes, they take 20% commission, but eBay/PayPal fees are usually 13% or so.

Maybe if it’s really rare you could get more on eBay, or you might get lucky with a bidding war. Or you might be unlucky and it sells for hardly anything.

Maybe if it’s really rare you could get more on eBay, or you might get lucky with a bidding war. Or you might be unlucky and it sells for hardly anything

Having sold over 1,000 things on eBay it really is not rare to get more on eBay that selling to a shop.  Shops offer about 50% of what I would get for most things on eBay

There is no such thing as being unlucky as you set a reserve just like any other auction

Try Real Cameras in Mancheater or Yorkshire Camera in leeds. They like old stuff, Yorkshire Camera dont touch digital!

Cheers so far, will be looking into those alternatives.

It’s not that we wouldn’t consider eBay but frankly don’t want the hassle of dealing with numpties that are just looking to rip folk off.

Hi squirelking.

I’d definitely be interested in buying some of the cameras, if you’d sell to someone off here?

Can you send me an email with some more details and some photos to trailofdestructionATgmailDOTcom

Cheers

My father left me over 150 cameras, plus the even more valuable lenses, be wary of what you’re selling as you may not realise it’s value, eBay was where I’ve sold most of them, I’ve still got 20 Leicas and countless lenses and accessories.

I’m not selling them myself so I’m okay there. If anyone’s interested I’d be happy to forward details when he eventually gets round to it.

No problem, I understand.  Well, when he does get round to it, please do drop me an email, as I really would be genuinely interested, and happy to pay reasonable prices.

Thanks again.

Honestly I’d go with eBay, have just done a bunch of old inherited camera stuff with no problems and was pleasantly surprised to pick up 60-100 quid each for a few obsolete 35mm cameras (nothing posh) that were about to go in the bin. It’s not like the vintage camera market is stuffed with idiot kids and chancers dealing in stolen bikes. IME.

Wondering if I can pick the collectives brains.

Having done a lot of this the last few years (buying and selling cameras, especially film cameras) eBay is often the best place to do it but there is a lot less in it these days to make the hassle worth while. Ffordes will definitely buy your stuff off you but unless they operate a different model to other sellers, they aim to make 50% on the buiyers price.  Someone indicated they only sell on commission of 20% and if that is the case then that’s easily the least hassle and best outcome as eBay and paypal fees will be 17% at least.

What I would say is list out what you’ve got on here and if I can I will tell you what those items are currently selling for. I always keep an eye on second hand film cameras, Leicas especially, so I should be able to give you an honest appraisal.

What I will say now is that if you have any M film bodies, they will be worth upwards of £600 each (for an M3 in reasonable condition). M6s are the ones everyone now wants and they are selling privately and in shops for upwards of £1200.