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View Full Version : Mr Galli beats me out again . . .



Terence McDonagh
10-Sep-2007, 14:07
This time by a lousy $2 on a whole plate camera mislabeled as a 5x7. Bugger.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160154048390

Hugo Zhang
10-Sep-2007, 14:16
No surprises. He beats me constantly over the years, always by a few dollars. I am so dispirited now and I don't buy lenses from eBay anymore...:)

Dan Fromm
10-Sep-2007, 14:45
If you guys would bid what the items were really worth to you, you'd win more often.

Bid low, pray, and then lament is a good way to avoid being stuck with much.

coroner12
10-Sep-2007, 14:57
Thank God he beat me. I didn't really want it, but the high bid was around $135 for so long I thought I'd try and steal it.

Terence McDonagh
10-Sep-2007, 15:07
I (snipe) bid what I'm willing to pay. It's not the "losing" but the frustrating regularity with which I come in second to Jim that irks me . . . every time I think I've found a nice mislabeled auction, in swoops Jim and presumably his little army of green fellows. They must be able to smell mislabeled auctions . . .

It IS good for my wallet though.

lenser
10-Sep-2007, 15:07
5907

russyoung
10-Sep-2007, 15:36
Cheer up Jim will surely sell it one day and you can be the lucky new owner.
Russ

Ernest Purdum
10-Sep-2007, 16:42
I'm happy. I didn't bid on it and was hoping that somebody from the Forum would.

(Jim has outbid me on earlier occasions, though.)

Eric James
10-Sep-2007, 16:48
He'll may sell it to you "for a fair price", but I would guess that he'll hang on to the lens, for a while...

Michael Graves
10-Sep-2007, 17:40
Jim's beaten me. He's bought from me. It all works out in the end.

Brian Ellis
10-Sep-2007, 19:31
Don't feel too bad, you don't really know by how much Jim beat you since you don't know what his maximum bid was (though maybe he'd like to reveal that here : - )). Could have been $2 more than you, could have been $200.

Vaughn
10-Sep-2007, 21:14
An old mule packer told me that you are not really a packer until you have had a big wreck (which qualifies me!). Likewise, one is not really a photo equipment ebayer until you have been outbid by Jim (and perhaps bought something from Dagor77?)

Jim outbid me for a 14x17 filmholder that was set up for two 8x10 negatives -- he later offered it for sale, but the price was too high for me. He is a pro (and acts like one, to his credit!)

Vaughn

Terence McDonagh
10-Sep-2007, 22:39
Jim is surely a gentleman. I've bought a few lenses from him back when he was just Jim "G Claron" Galli, before his soft focus days . . .

Ole Tjugen
10-Sep-2007, 23:27
I have been outbid by both Jim and Dagor77, and I'm sure it will happen again. I've bought from them both too, and that will also happen again.

The only way I've found to avoid that is to look for mislabeled stuff - in German.

Struan Gray
11-Sep-2007, 02:17
The only way I've found to avoid that is to look for mislabeled stuff - in German.

But then you just get outbid by Arne :-)

big_ben_blue
11-Sep-2007, 08:44
I have been outbid by both Jim and Dagor77, and I'm sure it will happen again. I've bought from them both too, and that will also happen again.

The only way I've found to avoid that is to look for mislabeled stuff - in German.

Not so quick, Ole. The german subsite is one of my prefered hunting grounds too for the very same reason (hey, I even got a home advantage of sorts - being originally german, I can use my relatives there for "ship to germany only" auctions :D ).
But if it gives you any consolation, I am flat broke right now (just won a complete Watson's & sons package and a unknown presumably european 8x10/18x24 studio camera).

Chris - collecting cameras is fun

Ernest Purdum
11-Sep-2007, 08:54
Yesterday, I spotted a shutter on German eBay that wasn't just EU only, nor Germany only, but pickup only. I envy those who have a way of getting around the Germany only listings, but in this case even that wouldn't necessarily help.

Ole Tjugen
11-Sep-2007, 08:55
But then you just get outbid by Arne :-)

True. And in French, too. Not even Swedish is safe.

Richard Kelham
11-Sep-2007, 13:34
Bid low, pray, and then lament is a good way to avoid being stuck with much.




That's what I do – but I'm still stuck with more than I *really* need....

Dan Fromm
11-Sep-2007, 13:39
That's what I do – but I'm still stuck with more than I *really* need....Richard, even camera shows can be dangerous. Went to one on Sunday, came home with an 80/2.8 Xenotar in #0 Synchro Compur P. Front surface of lens with the classic "cleaned with steel wool" look. Shutter well gummed up. And I don't shoot 6x6. But oh! the price was right. And the lens even passes light and forms an image. I shouldn't have asked the price.

Dave Wooten
11-Sep-2007, 13:45
While you all were dilly dallying over the "full plate" I filled my plate with a lovely 14 x 17 portrait lens in pristine condition! :)

athanasius80
11-Sep-2007, 16:26
Well Jim outbid me on the camera, just means he and I will have to horsetrade on parts for his truck!

Terence McDonagh
12-Sep-2007, 05:45
I'm thinking someone needs to really start eBay Anonymous. I know there is a section of blogs labeled as such, but it is on . . . . eBay. That's like having an AA meeting at the bar.

What I need is a way to lock the darn auction site so I can only access completed items. I always start by looking at bizarre and unusual old stuff and suddenly find myself wanting it. I originally started looking at eBay when I was looking to build my own LF camera, and it was one of the few places to see photos of all sorts of old equipment (the internet has grown a bit since then). It went from research resource to a way to buy stuff I don't really need. I have waaaaaay more camera equipment than I could ever really use.

Maybe I'll start simple and delete the site from my browser and try a two week hiatus.

Randy H
12-Sep-2007, 10:54
"The first step to recovery, is admitting you have a problem".
I don't have a problem. I could quit anytime I wanted to. All I have to do is turn off the computer. I just don't want to. I might miss the end of the auction on that 11X14....

Remember the song from the 70"s? "They're coming to take me away, hee hee hah hah... to the funny farm... where life is good..."

Terence McDonagh
12-Sep-2007, 13:59
The saying in my family is that, "AA is for quitters." And that's despite having a few in the family.

tom thomas
12-Sep-2007, 17:14
Tom Thomas here, I found that I won quite a few by deciding what I wanted to pay, then adding like $2.76 or some other odd/random cents value to my max bid. I'd lost quite a few by using even dollar and cent values, Looks like the Mr Gali is doing the same kind of thing. One penny can win it for you, I've found.

Jim Galli
13-Sep-2007, 12:24
Just saw this post :p

Nope, not tellin' what I 'would've paid' and yep, it may re-appear some time when I get done playing with it a bit!

I believe the lens is probably a re-branded Wollensak Versar but we shall see.

Quit??? Never. :D

Lightbender
13-Sep-2007, 18:29
Get used to it. Jim's outbid me on quite a few things.

I hope i get a deal again. But the reality is there are now too many people who are excellent at spotting the bargains.

I do like the fact that people from this forum and APUG are the winners. The LF and film community is a great group of people and they have done a great job encouraging new users. Rock on!

Terence McDonagh
13-Sep-2007, 20:29
Ah yes, the folks in quick-sand always pull in the folks trying to save them. It starts with a simple brass lens and ends with a 12x20 and six-pack of Artars . . . and a few soft-focus lenses . . . and a whole plate camera . . . or three . . . and a desire for a 7x11 (WHY didn't I buy that back and six holders Lens & Repro had on eBay for months? Sanity? Unlikely.) . . .

Darryl Baird
13-Sep-2007, 21:48
I'd say you are just about ready to step up into the really big leagues of camera collecting. For a glimpse into the world of genuine, certified camera fanatics look at the Austria photo auction house, Westlicht. They are now using eB*#&$%*y to run the final auction thing. You can bid live in person, by proxy, pre-bid online, or just online. It gets pretty wild as they'll move hundreds of items in a half-day. They start really early in the morning (cuz they're five hours earlier in Austria!). Get a pot of coffee and watch those Euros flying across the internet and the world. My heart pounds as I watch some exotic lenses soar into the thousands of dollars. Other stuff can't get a bite... weird stuff that is often a good user, but of little or limited collectible value. Lots of Magic Lanterns... which is what I'll be watching next time around (November).

**WARNING** THIS SITE CAN CAUSE GRAVE HARM TO YOUR FINANCIAL WELL-BEING

(you've been warned) http://www.westlicht-auction.com/index.php?lang=3

I have given into temptation a few times, but just their catalogs are wonderful to own.

Ash
14-Sep-2007, 04:45
I find that these forums/communities are probably the best place to get the almost-bargains. You're likely to pay a fairer price for a more accurately described item here.

Dan Fromm
14-Sep-2007, 05:53
Um, Ash, on eBay you can limit the price you'll pay. Bid sensibly and you'll have few regrets. You may also be outbid often, but if you're bidding sensibly in the first place that shouldn't bother you.

Ash
14-Sep-2007, 11:27
You miss my point completely Dan.

Dan Fromm
14-Sep-2007, 12:01
Ash, I got it. People who sell on bulletin board systems are no better than the scum who sell on eBay. And I sell both places.

FYI, I've been stung painfully in both of purchases from sellers on the southbristolviews graflex sales board. Once in several hundred purchases of photographic equipment on eBay. I don't think I've stung any of my buyers, which proves nothing.

Terence McDonagh
14-Sep-2007, 12:07
I have to agree with Ash that I've had better luck on the LF and APUG boards than eBay, but the choice is much smaller, and thus my sample is much smaller as well.

That said, I've found the stuff off these two boards to be exactly as described, and normally a more hassle-free transaction as I've typically bought from "known" sources.

Ash
14-Sep-2007, 13:38
Dan you have fallen into a few fallacies in your response (inductive/deductive [your transactions], ad hominem [in this case your peers, indirectly], etc). You have of course insulted many members on the forum and yourself in the process. :)