I'll start off by saying I'm not really a collector. I'm just a guy who gets a huge thrill out of actually using something from a distant age to take photos with in the present world. It gives me a sense of connection with those in the past, a feeling of "continuity" in the flow of time. Someone owned and enjoyed the lens in the 1860s, then someone else around 1900, someone else in the 1950s, and now me. And then it will be someone else's turn. I like finely made old things, and am a natural pack rat. I find that camera gear seems to accumlate in my closet like snow! My philosophy is if I haven't used something at least once in two years, I should sell it. Another philosophy is to acquire nice things and then sell them to buy something even nicer.
I have a pretty nice little collection of about five pre-Civil War Petzvals, all work on 4x5. Do I need five of these? No. I'm thinking that in the months ahead I should sell some of these and put the money into something I will use more often. I will keep my best lens from that period, but just don't need or use five. (Or is it six?) SO, while I hate to see my pets go, I'm a practical Midwestern guy. I'm not using all of them and it's tying up money better used on something else. My question is, when is the best time of year to sell something like this? Ebay seems a bit slow right now. It might pick up in November with people looking for gifts, but really how many gift buyers would venture into something so specialized? There's a flurry in January, and then prices really drop in February until the weather warms up in late April. Should I wait until then to sell a few things off? I could sell a few here on the B&S board and not have to deal with the fickleness of ebay, or the high fees of Westlicht. I can wait; I have no immediate need for the cash, and the money will just go back into vintage photo gear.
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