Quote Originally Posted by Steven Tribe View Post
I had to venture into the center of Copenhagen to-day, to have my own 2 lens checked at the optician!

I discovered that there was a new shop selling "our" equipment. The "old" shop, Photographica, gave up stocking old items and lists everything on Ebay without any retail attempts. It is now just a source of chemicals, paper and film.

Anyway, this new shop had a display outside the door consisting of a European copy of the Century bi-poster stand, a 1900 Görltzer studio camera mounted with a Dallmeyer 3B. It has stood there a long time over this summer in direct sunlight and the rain showers of the last few weeks. Surprising, the mahogany has stood up well so far, just a little mat and bleached.

But the real shock is the pricing of the Dallmeyer 3B ( and another 3B in the shop). Both were set at at 25,000 DKK which comes out at about 4,640 USD. Neither was in great condition with scratches and achromat separation/discolouration. I suppose that retail sellers use the more outrageous Ebay listings to fix their asking prices. So the current trend for fantasy BIN or starting prices prices on Ebay for any old brass is having an effect way beyond the Ebay world.
I run into this problem all the time. Local sellers using the highest ebay BIN price they find and acting like experts. The also don't understand how missing parts and poor condition affects value. Politely suggesting they check the prices of the sold listings, works sometimes. I've given up on "sellers" that don't list a price--they usually have a a vague, but insanely high price in mind.