Now is the time to shop.

[Amund BLix Aaeng]

Looking at the last nine 210mm Sironar-N/Caltar II-N`s sold on eBay, the average selling price was $304.
I put in a pretty lowball bid into my sniping service of choice yesterday and went to sleep. When I woke up I had a nice email from eBay telling me I won a 210mm Caltar II-N at $182.50 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=018&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&viewitem=&item=280060399301&rd=1&rd=1) Not the best description, but at worst I`ll be out $45 for a CLA...
I bought some stuff last Christmas too at below average prices, so I guess now`s the time! :)

[Geert]

sssssssshhhhhhhhh, don't tell the others! ;-)

G

[Nick_3536]

And I just watched a large print tank go for 75% of new. The stuff I'm vaguely watching seems to be going for more then it's worth.

[John Voss]

There were 4 Shen Hao lensboards (2 #0 and 2 #1) being offered by the same seller for a $12 per board opening bid that had no takers...well one did, but not the other three. They were all suddenly withdrawn. Maybe low is too low!

[Frank Petronio]

I know, I sold a nice Sironar-N in a fricking valuable Prontor Pro for the low $200s a couple of weeks back. It is a lousy time to be a seller. LF prices rise in the Spring when people get excited about summer time shooting again.

[stompyq]

The best deal i've seen was about six months ago. The seller had over 500 feedback and i was certain it wasen't a scammer. Wisner tech feild 4x5, starting bid of $99 (looked mint by the way). I forgot about it thinking it was out of my league. Well it didn't sell!! a week latter he relisted and it sold for ....... $1400 some thing.

[andy bessette]

There were 4 Shen Hao lensboards (2 #0 and 2 #1) being offered by the same seller for a $12 per board opening bid that had no takers...well one did, but not the other three. They were all suddenly withdrawn. Maybe low is too low!

Yo John,

I won two of the #0 boards.

best, andy

[Sheldon N]

I know, I sold a nice Sironar-N in a fricking valuable Prontor Pro for the low $200s a couple of weeks back. It is a lousy time to be a seller. LF prices rise in the Spring when people get excited about summer time shooting again.

Not to mention the other Caltar II-N 210mm f/5.6 in Copal that you sold me for $200 shipped a few months ago. I'm still loving that lens!

The funny thing is, I think I have the record for selling a modern 210mm plasmat for the lowest price on Ebay that I've seen. I sold a Caltar 210mm HR f/5.6 in an all black modern Copal 1 on Ebay about 6 months ago, and it went for $136. I would've gotten more for it if I were just selling the shutter alone.

[Jan Pedersen]

Sheldon, if you have more for sale in that price range i will be happy to drive in and pick it up.


jan

[Sheldon N]

Sheldon, if you have more for sale in that price range i will be happy to drive in and pick it up.

Heck, I'd buy more lenses at that price range too!

Actually, it's what happens when you let a $1 no-reserve auction run its course, and the fish aren't biting (bidding) that particular week.

I had a 240mm f/5.6 Caltar II-N in Copal 3 sell for $235 about 4 months ago that way too. I thought I'd gotten a good deal when I bought it for $399.

[Sheldon N]

Oh, and further proof that 210mm lenses are cheaper than dirt... here's a 210mm Sironar-N with decent glass and a recent CLA that's selling for $185 Buy-it-now. Go figure!

170062404813

[Capocheny]

Unless you're looking for an Expert 8x10 Jobo drum... :(

Or, a complete Jobo kit!

Or, a 110XL!

I think it really depends on the item you're seeking.

For example, I bought a Caltar 210 in Copal 1 a few weeks back for $157 plus shipping... only for the mint-condition shutter, which really was mint. :)

Cheers

[Frank Petronio]

The pisser is that somebody else will list some old Scheideristisy mid-60s lens in a gummed up shutter and get $400 for it the next hour... I just watched some fool pay $450 for a 60s-era 300mm when 15-year old Caltar versions sell in the mid-$300s.

Sinar-branded Sinarons sometimes go for cheap because few people search for Sinarons.

If you really want a laugh, watch what lenses in a Sinar DB mount sell for ;) every once in a while somebody will $900 for a lens that sold for $135 the week prior.

[Songyun]

just saw a 240 caltar-IIN sold for $312 on ebay. Maybe this is a good time to shop. But I have 90/150/210 combination with a wooden field camera, unless I wanna get a really expensive glass like 110 or any of those sironar-s, I guess that is pretty much what I need.
If I need a wider lens (like 20mm on 135) which one should I consider 75mm Rodenstock or 72 SA or 80SSXL?

[Peter Collins]

Prices seem to be in a slump. It's related, I'm sure, to the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged, and the 7% downturn in new housing permits for the last month. And here, in Mich, there's Ford's relentless train of offers of buyouts creating a chill in our nicely mild December. Oh, and last week, it was due to those planets! On December 9th, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars were within 2 degrees of arc in the pre-dawn glow. Lotsa factors.

So! Last week I bought a Wisner Technical 4x5 in very good condition, built ca. 1994 for just $750. How can new models list for $1,950?

ciao for now and Merry Christmas!

Peter

[Amund BLix Aaeng]

The pisser is that somebody else will list some old Scheideristisy mid-60s lens in a gummed up shutter and get $400 for it the next hour... I just watched some fool pay $450 for a 60s-era 300mm when 15-year old Caltar versions sell in the mid-$300s.

Sinar-branded Sinarons sometimes go for cheap because few people search for Sinarons.

If you really want a laugh, watch what lenses in a Sinar DB mount sell for ;) every once in a while somebody will $900 for a lens that sold for $135 the week prior.


SO true, the prices are all over the place.

[johnnydc]

Hopefully some sellers are finally beginning to realize the their stuff isn't going to fetch prices anywhere near "new". I came into the LF game kind of late -- only 3 or so years ago, but it always seemed to me that prices on pretty much everything were absurdly over-inflated. As much as I love film, the fact that it has become something of a four-letter-word in the marketplace means student enthusiasts like myself can finally get good equipment without going into enormous debt.

[windpointphoto]

This can be very easily explained. When I am involved in any auction it's always Buy high, Sell low. Never fails.

[Ash]

Strange, I was thinking the prices are all over the place too. I'm trying to pick up a bargain on a camera body, and I need shutters at some point. All the 'bay items I'm watching are going for crazy cheap prices, and I miss them because I'm too busy sleeping, or I'm watching them intently and they go for a fairly high price

[Christopher Perez]

It will be interesting to watch how the "world" economy and global reach of eBay responds to the US economy. $200Billion/year in home refinancing went directly into the US economy over the past three or four years. That's dryed up with the market topping out. So where's the next boatload of money for things and toys going to come from?

One could say prices of real traded items would continue to drop. Or one could say the Chinese will pay crazy money for certain items (just like Japan was for Leica gear and certain racing motorcycles a decade ago) with the massive rise of their middle class.

Stay tuned. We live in "interesting" times. :)

[Ash]

Hmm I won't blame a nation, but I'll blame collectors on a wider margin - my Leica cost more than I wanted to pay, simply because in its condition it could have been considered 'collector standard'. Whatever happened to using the stuff?

[Gary Smith]

Another part of it is the holidays. Last year, for a month or so before and after Christmas, things were very fairly cheap. Once people pay down their Christmas debt, things will probably go back up again. Thats the trend I have seen watching ebay for the last couple of years. Though with the economy the way it is, who knows.

Gary

[johnnydc]

Hmm I won't blame a nation, but I'll blame collectors on a wider margin - my Leica cost more than I wanted to pay, simply because in its condition it could have been considered 'collector standard'. Whatever happened to using the stuff?

I too suffer from "collector rage." Leicas are nice and all, but there's no reason a lens hood should cost $250. It's a shame that such a great tool isn't always able to get into the hands of people who actually want to use them.

[Turner Reich]

What a good snipping service?

[Ole Tjugen]

What a good snipping service?

I don't know about "snipping", but I use www.auctionstealer.com when I don't want to enter a bid until just before the end. But that's "sniping", and that wasn't what you asked about. Or was it?

Anyway I'm well satisfied with the free service here - max. three auctions per week, ten seconds before the end. The limit of three auctions per week is a good thing for me - or at least for my economy.

Since sniping is so widespread, I use it only because I sometimes feel that certain others will bid on anything I have bid on, presumably in the (erroneous) belief that I know what I'm doing. If they can manage to spot my name and enter a bid within ten seconds, they're welcome to it. Otherwise it's just a battle between the snipers, and the highest bid wins anyway. :rolleyes: