LF equipment for sale..... perhaps

Well now that I have gotten your attention I am not trying to sell anything here . I am wondering though with times changing and LF equipment becoming less avail able in many camera stores why this site does not provide an area where people c an offer to sell or buy equipment?

Please be aware that I am neither for nor against this idea at this time but rat her just curious as to why this policy exists. I am sure there is a very good re ason for having this rule implemented but would like to invite you to enlighten me and perhaps others. Once again I stress that I am not advocating a change but rather hopefully stimulating an interesting dialogue and perhaps enlightening o thers to possible alternatives of exchanging used LF equipment besides the obvio us such as Ebay.

Although I would not normally ask two unrelated questions in a thread I feel tha t this question requires only a simple yes or no so I?ll ask it now. After you h ave been visiting this site for a while and have become more knowledgeable in th e large format arena do you return to older threads and add to them?

Kind Regards,

I understand why there is no selling and buying as this is supposed to be for the disemination of knowledge but I do feel that a classified section would be useful since that would help those that are involved with this site to "stick together" so to speak and help with making available equipment at hopefully reasonable prices. Ebay is not the most viable forum as far as ethics is concerned and the people on this forum would certainly benefit from each other rather than being tossed out to the wolves.

As to the second question, yes I do.

Second question first: I do search old threads before creating a new one, either to find information or to add information I've learned.

First question: I'd rather not see for sale ads in the forum, but it might not be such a bad idea to create a connected forum for sales/trades within the community of the forum. For those who are uncomfortable with eBay, I recommend the classifieds at photo.net.

That said, I've made lots of eBay trades and have no horror stories to report. I'm realistic about what to expect, I read feedback critically, I factor possible repair costs in to the price I pay, and I don't bid beyond my limit. Most of the people trading LF equipment are knowledgeable (except for the occasional antique or estate dealer) and honest, I've found. Maybe we should have an item within the forum for feedback about individuals on eBay and the net generally who buy and sell equipment.

Go to the home page for this forum and scroll down to the bottom. There you will find links for selling and buying LF equipment. Especially the Photo.net classifieds.

There are many places through which to purchase camera equipment. No need to add one more, and certainly not as part of this forum.

As for EBay, in all the purchases that I've made, I've really only had one problem. In that case, I was leery about the feedback of the seller, but bid and won anyway. If a seller has a lot of feedback, all good, then I've not had a problem.

As for your second question, I don't think it's so much a matter of knowledge as experience. I avoid responding unless I've had direct experience with whatever questions has been posted.

Between eBay and PhotoNet we're probably well covered for buying/selling.

As to your second question, for the most part any reasonable question usually gets answered fully, negating the reason to revisit. Possible exception would be an new opinion on a camera or lens.

I am leery about a "sell" section, as it could quickly get out of control with dealers, etc, but I would like to see a "wanted to buy" section where members could answer by e-mail if they have the item wanted. We all at times are in the search for a special item or LF part, and a "wanted to buy" section could be a service to us all.

Regards,