Biggest "steal" you ever made...

[Lachlan 717]

he had an estate seller sell off his estate

How did he have an Estate Seller sell off his Estate before he died?

[Heespharm]

How did he have an Estate Seller sell off his Estate before he died?

The surviving family sold it... Sheesh must I explain all the details... In your will you can also have it written that your estate be sold off thereby executing a command beyond the grave.... LAWYERED

[rob]

Yesterday, I got a like new pentax spotmeter V (late serial #, complete with case and cap) for $5.99 at Goodwill

[walter23]

I just ebay'd a pacemaker speed graphic with 90 and 127mm lenses, 2x flashes, grafmatics, and other stuff, for what I thought was a ridiculously low price.

After winning the auction, and looking at the pics more closely, I realized that it has a graflex back (those old ones from the Graflex SLR days - no spring back, just clips to hold the film holders). Oops. Fortunately I have a graflok back that I can swap for the graflex back or I'd have been really annoyed for not noticing it earlier.

Strange though; had no idea you could even get a pacemaker speed graphic with a graflex back. I guess it was for people who had a lot of graflex holders and didn't want to switch.

[eddie]

oh yeah. i was in Burma when my meter broke. some how i found a pentax digital spot meter for sale in a second hand camera store. got it for $80. i have been using it now for over 5 years!

best part was that he was asking $100. i talked him to 80. then i used a $100 note that had a "bad"serial #. that is to say back then no one would take serial # bills that started with "CB" not even the duty free people on my china air flight!

[goamules]

... back then no one would take serial # bills that started with "CB" not even the duty free people on my china air flight!

That's because CB stands for "Currency Bad".

[Frank_E]

I just ebay'd a pacemaker speed graphic with 90 and 127mm lenses, 2x flashes, grafmatics, and other stuff, for what I thought was a ridiculously low price.

After winning the auction, and looking at the pics more closely, I realized that it has a graflex back (those old ones from the Graflex SLR days - no spring back, just clips to hold the film holders). Oops. Fortunately I have a graflok back that I can swap for the graflex back or I'd have been really annoyed for not noticing it earlier.

Strange though; had no idea you could even get a pacemaker speed graphic with a graflex back. I guess it was for people who had a lot of graflex holders and didn't want to switch.

ya Walter I was the guy just before you that was only prepared to go to $202
was also concerned that the were few pictures of the back
and no reference to the fact whether the focal plane shutter worked
but with the two lenses, case and filters etc it is definitely worth that price

nice catch....

[walter23]

ya Walter I was the guy just before you that was only prepared to go to $202
was also concerned that the were few pictures of the back
and no reference to the fact whether the focal plane shutter worked
but with the two lenses, case and filters etc it is definitely worth that price

nice catch....

Heh, I've always wondered how often us guys from this forum are the ones fighting over these things. Good eyes regarding the back; I usually look really carefully, but I was blinded by greed because of the angulon 90 and grafmatic(s?), and willing to take some amount of risk; the seller didn't clarify that anything worked, condition of bellows or lenses, etc, so it's a bit of a gamble. I didn't feel like asking either lest the answers come back positive and drive the auction price up I also figured it would go a bit low because the seller, oddly, only wanted to ship to Canada, reducing the pool of bidders considerably.

I'll let you know how it turned out.

Re the back, I just assumed that because it was a pacemaker that it would have the standard graflok back; I had no idea they even equipped them with graflex backs.

Anyway, I was only prepared to go about $20 higher than you, because of the risks regarding condition (though had I noticed the graflex back you probably would have gotten it, because the seller not photographing it and not mentioning it makes him seem slightly dishonest).

[walter23]

then i used a $100 note that had a "bad"serial #. that is to say back then no one would take serial # bills that started with "CB"

What's the story with this? Is it counterfeit or something?

[Frank_E]

Heh, I've always wondered how often us guys from this forum are the ones fighting over these things. Good eyes regarding the back; I usually look really carefully, but I was blinded by greed because of the angulon 90 and grafmatic(s?), and willing to take some amount of risk; the seller didn't clarify that anything worked, condition of bellows or lenses, etc, so it's a bit of a gamble. I didn't feel like asking either lest the answers come back positive and drive the auction price up I also figured it would go a bit low because the seller, oddly, only wanted to ship to Canada, reducing the pool of bidders considerably.

I'll let you know how it turned out.

Re the back, I just assumed that because it was a pacemaker that it would have the standard graflok back; I had no idea they even equipped them with graflex backs.

Anyway, I was only prepared to go about $20 higher than you, because of the risks regarding condition (though had I noticed the graflex back you probably would have gotten it, because the seller not photographing it and not mentioning it makes him seem slightly dishonest).

There is no question that the ad was misleading. I did probe abit before deciding to put in the bid. This was my exchange with him:

my question:

“…since you mention your darkroom, the implication is that this is a camera you previously used. Can you say that the last time you used the camera (many years ago) at that time it was functioning properly. Are you aware of any defects. Thank you…”

his response:

“..It was used many years ago by another photographer, I have never used it personally. At the moment I am not aware of any defects. Its a little tricky to open, but the functionality of the camera seems to be good. The aperture and shutter are smooth, the focus plate in the back works great. The tilt and slide rails are smooth as well. Im not familiar with how the flashes and the grip work, or if you can even get vintage flash bulbs anymore, but I imagine if you were using flash with this camera you would be using new technology. If you have any more questions let me know…”

his response "at the moment I am not aware of any defects" also causes one to be abit wary. His response seems to have alot of qualifiers. But I figured for $200 dollars it was worth a shot. The lenses alone are worth at least $150.