graflex

[npenitenti]

Hey, new to the forum and had a question about a 4x5 camera. my buddy has a graflex pacemaker in his closet and im going to be paying his mom for it soon, she has no knowledge of cameras, i dont want to pay what they're going for on the internet @500$ its not really worth it to me, im thinking of offering 250-300$ for it. does that sound like a reasonable price?

[Jon Shiu]

It depends on condition and model, lens and accessories. If it is new in the box $500 might be a fair price. If it is moldy and corroded, $20 might be a fair price. Not knowing the details, $150-200 might be a fair price to offer for a local sale, which would be lower than an "internet" price.

Jon

[Alan Gales]

I'm a small time Ebay seller and like Jon says it really does depend upon condition. You said that this camera has been sitting in the closet. Unused? If so the shutter probably needs to be cleaned, lubed and adjusted. CLA's can cost around $100.00 or a little more including shipping. Ebay prices tend to be high on these cameras. Of course the Sellers do have fees but still Craigslist is a lot cheaper. Like Jon says, $150-200 may be a fair price locally unless it's ratted out and then I would say pass.

[Alan Gales]

One more thing. I don't know if you are talking about a Speed or a Crown Graphic. The Speeds have a focal plane shutter in addition to the lenses leaf shutter. If you are talking about a Speed you may need to have the focal plane shutter adjusted if you intend to use it.

[Patrick13]

At the very least be prepared to "waste" a few sheets of film to test shutter speeds and operation, even with a CLA variances are allowed and you can build a baseline model of what to expect from your exposures.

[toolbox]

I handle a lot of Speeds, and I have yet to see one that didn't need the FP shutter serviced on arrival. They usually sound like a blender full of rocks...they didn't sound like that when they were new lol. If the OP was going to use the FP shutter at all it's worth getting it serviced first. They're actually quite accurate when working properly. Most will really hit the advertised 1/1000th of a second (OTOH, some won't no matter how tight you wind the spring lol).