I am lost. Where should I ask for advice for whole selling my gear, or selling it at a photo sale event, or meet, whatever they are called. I have never attended such and don't even know how to find them.
js in Minnesota
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I am lost. Where should I ask for advice for whole selling my gear, or selling it at a photo sale event, or meet, whatever they are called. I have never attended such and don't even know how to find them.
js in Minnesota
Can't help you there, I usually sell through this list, or rarely through the auction site. I think you'll reach a much wider audience that way.
How much and what do you have? If you or your heirs can manage it, selling via eBay will net you or them the most.
Time was when most of the good stuff offered at camera shows was purchased for resale by representatives/stringers of NYC used equipment dealers who offered their wares in the back pages of Modern and Popular Photography. Time was. Its been at least five years since I saw Tibor from Adorama at Second Sunday. Needless to say the reps/stringers paid wholesale or less.
I went to Second Sunday this morning. Practically no retail buyers, practically no LF (that's most of what you want to unload, isn't it?) gear on offer. A while ago Arnie Duren told he he was still making enough from sales there to justify the trouble of packing up and going. But he wasn't there today.
FWIW, when my late friend Charlie Barringer contemplated his impending death -- esophageal cancer, I don't recommend it -- he consulted with everyone who would talk with him about how/where to place his collection. Even me. The consensus was to offer it all to Westlicht. He died, his widow did a deal with Westlicht, Peter Koeln came by to supervise packing, ... She, my wife and I have discussed the outcome. Not as remunerative as she would have liked but she was spared the labor of selling it piece at a time.
I don't know whether your collection is as large or as valuable as Charlie's was, but you if have much that's valuable you should think about offering to Peter.
Now that I think of it, years ago Andrew Glover offered to sell my collection of lenses for quite a reasonable commission. You might want to talk things over with him, perhaps also with Jim Galli. The worst that will happen is that you'll be told to go away. Second worst is that you'll be told unwelcome truths about some of your treasures' values.
The last 2 Montreal camera fairs I went to (this year), most of what I sold was LF. A few leica lenses, a couple of old manual lenses for the mirrorless and the amateur movie-maker crowd, but I got decent money for lf gear mostly because I was the only seller. MF also sells reasonably well. I say you have little to lose trying a camera fair, it only takes a few hours to pack up some boxes and price things, and it's quite enjoyable to deal with anyone who has the lf bug face-to-face. Yes you can get 30% more selling on fleabay, but don't forget the ebay fees and returns, often damaged, and out of your control thanks to ebay's buyer-friendly policies. I have a number of broken items on a shelf that I can't resell, that ebay refunded and backcharged to me despite my complaints.
There are a few meets here in the portland / seattle area every year. I have been to two. they were fun, but I don't know that they were successful in moving inventory. I wish there were a more reliable portal for patient people to post wanted adds, then folks like you could potentially move their gear through that.
Is there a customs hassle?Quote:
The last 2 Montreal camera fairs
Awww, Jac, say it ain't so. :(
We have a camera show as it is called here in St. Louis. They have it twice a year at a Hotel. It's mostly 35mm cameras. Of course that is here and maybe there are better shows in larger cities like Chicago.
Like mentioned above, Ebay will reach your largest audience. This forum and APUG are good. You also might try Craigslist for any large items that are not worth much. Do not sell all your gear together for a one price deal if you want the most money for it. I can tell you stories about buying people's kits and then parting them out and the money I made.
I wish you well!
I would assume, for you in Winona, the logical locations for camera shows are Madison, Minneapolis, and Chicago. I can tell you from personal experience that Minneapolis is a bust as far as camera shows for selling equipment. Just very little activity and even less interest in LF.
As others have stated, this forum (especially since you're well known here), apug and ebay are your best bets.
National Camera in Minneapolis (actually, their Golden Valley location) would potentially buy entire lots, as would KEH. If you get 1/2 of what they would sell it for, consider yourself lucky.
This list includes Chicago shows.
Thanks so much. Madison (Mad Town) appeals to me for personal reasons. It is worth a trip! First I will put the large format stuff up here and maybe eBay.Quote:
Originally Posted by HMG
Very Best,
Jac Stafford
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