Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/03/03
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]In the days before ebay, it was very difficult for a private individual to get a fair market price for used gear. A good shop might offer you 60% of what they would sell your gear for. Dealers advertising in Shutterbug were a little better, but not much. In '95, at a particularly low financial point, I attempted to sell a Mint M3 in New York. B&H offered me $450. Flyers posted at all the decent pro labs in Manhattan brought zero results. Ended up shipping it to Jim Kuehl, who gave me $700. It probably would have fetched a 1,200 or more from a collector somewhere. Ebay has brought a level playing field to buying and selling. Is that so wrong? Patrick - --- Mark Rabiner <mark@rabinergroup.com> wrote: > "Beddoe, Neil" wrote: > > > > I find eBay an excellent alternative to hiring > gear. Buy something, use it > > for a few months and then sell it for what you > paid for it. > > > > Neil > > > > I find the idea contemptuous. > I think people should buy a camera and take pictures > with it. Die with > it. That's the full cycle of the thing. > > It's not a baseball card. > > Pass it on to your grandchildren. I think that's > what a tool Like a > Leica M camera is all about. > It stays in your family for a few generations. > > I've got a nephew I've never met just signed up for > photography courses > at Columbia University in New York City. > I'm leaving him quite a few zero's worth of cameras > in my will. > The kids barely heard of me. For all I know they've > kept me a secret. I > hope he gives the Leicas a fair shot before he sells > them to buy more Nikons... > or a Chevy Bronco. > > Buy a camera, marry it. Get to know all it's > nuances. > These people who trade systems every year - ASK TO > SEE THEIR PRINTS! > Half the time they won't have any at all the other > half it will be a > stupid short stack of un-edited 4x6 machine prints. > > The sad fact i feel that most people don't realize > is that once people buy a camera; there's nothing > left to do but to take > pictures with it. > The game is over. It's a tool. You bought it you > use it. > It's a shame when the thrill comes from the buying > and selling and not > the using. > > This buying and selling; buying and selling is not > photography. > > And as this list is called the Leica USER group. Not > Leica BUYER AND > SELLER Group, it's not what we are all about. > > But if we run out of money we just SELL SOMETHING ON > EBAY (almost as > much fun as buying) and that frees up more loot to > then BUY SOMETHING ON > EBAY. So we can keep it for a month and a half. > > > We had "Guilt" in a tread heading even though it was > mostly talking > about something else. > > The "Guilt" of buying an expensive camera like a > Leica and especially > Leica because it's low tech approach would > apparently not justify the expense. > > The me the "Guilt" comes from not using the camera. > Months later having > few prints to show for it or slides. I see guilt in > that. > > I cant see any "Guilt" coming from a camera one > carries around every day > -- at any price. > > But i do see "Guilt" from complaining about it to > give an excuse to > trade it in for a new toy a short time later. > > "I think the Canon lenses are better, I'm going > Canon" > > Me I don't enjoy buying stuff. Makes me very > nervous. I sweat blood when > ever i have to spend more than a grand on something. > Pink stuff rolls > down my forehead. And I try to buy stuff as close > to home as possible > and from people (camera stores) which already know > me. ...a repeat > customer. That way if it DOES screw up I come back > there and slap it > down on the counter. And expect another one which > works on the spot. > > Don't suck us into auction threads folks! > Money money money. Greed, Avarice, dilettantism. > > We need to get back to owning what is ours. Taking > care of it properly. > And see what it really can do for us. > > As the Ebay mentality takes over more and more our > overall concept of > ownership completely fades. We never own anything. > We are just playing > auction games with it. Have we enjoyed using it as > much as we've enjoyed > buying and selling it? > But more importantly. Have we given the thing a fair > shot? I think the > people who designed and built it, marketed it and > sold it deserve at > least that. > > > Mark Rabiner > Portland, Oregon USA > http://www.rabinergroup.com > Email: mark@rabinergroup.com > Fax: 503-221-0308 > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html