Super Rare Pinkham...!

[Jay Skjonsby]

SUPER RARE PINKHAM BI-QUALITY 14 SOFT FOCUS 8X10 LENS.

This is a listing that showed up in my saved ebay searches today. I clicked on it and the auction had already been pulled? Seriously! I have seen this happen so many times in the last three years I can hardly take it.. What is going on? Who is snapping these things up? And what are they saying to the seller... IF YOU SELL THIS TO ME I PROMISE YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY IMMORTALITY.. Lets get real.. I know there are people out there with alot of money but did some one offer this person 10K for this thing to pull the auction.

There is another Pinkham on ebay right now for buy it now for 5K.. Why hasn't that one disappeared?

If anyone has any insight into what is going on I would be grateful for any information. I am sure there has to be hundreds of people out there watching this.

Jay

[Mark Sawyer]

Quite a few P&S lens sales on ebay are scams. Perhaps this one was identified as such and ended by ebay.

[eddie]

why? you want a P&S? i got a 12 inch VQ i will sell you....

[OldCrow]

They come on and go off because the very eager collectors that have money burning a hole in their pocket say something like this.. "Whats your bottom line on this lens??...okay well I will give ... and you end the auction early and you can skip the feebay fees..." So the seller gets what he thought it was worth and no fees, and the buyer gets it for far less then he would have spent.

Oh and you should buy from Eddie. He is one goofy S.O.B, but he knows his lenses and wont steer you wrong. Honestly he is one of the best people to deal with when it comes to camera stuff.

[John Schneider]

Yep, eddie is as straight a shooter (pun intended) as they come. I've gotten some very nice stuff from him, and he is great to deal with.

[Brian C. Miller]

Eddie sent me stuff before I paid for it. You can't get a better seller than that!

[cosmicexplosion]

eddie shot my pet kangaroo..dont trust him.

[cyberjunkie]

They come on and go off because the very eager collectors that have money burning a hole in their pocket say something like this.. "Whats your bottom line on this lens??...okay well I will give ... and you end the auction early and you can skip the feebay fees..."


Too much fantasy. :)
The sad truth is that ALL of those auctions are scams!
I've acted myself for two of them, contacting Ebay and reporting a possible scam.
After a few hours the auction was offline...
You can easily tell what's going on because every time there is the same old picture.
IIRC the photo was taken by a forum member who originally sold the lens.
Probably some scammer noticed the very high price, and saved the picture and some infos about the item for future (mis)use.
Most of the times the starting price is very low, but you are asked to contact the seller...

I can't afford a P&S, but i like to watch the auctions of expensive lenses, i find it very interesting.
Recently the trend is toward a substantial increase in price. I guess i'm not the only one who noticed this trend, it looks like the professional scammers are diversifying their "interests".

have fun

CJ

[OldCrow]

Well I know for a fact people do indeed end auctions early for the right price. I have done it with lenses and cameras I was selling on feebay.

Also some rare lenses are showing up on feebay now because sellers that would never sell on there before (like Eddie) are now going on there to earn more money off their lenses and cameras then they would on these little forums. The global market is getting into big brass lenses and the prices are going up.

Like when I posted that I wanted over 1025.00 for my 18" verito... and everyone thought I was nuts and would not get it. Well I got it two days later when I posted it on ebay. Yes ebay sucks and yes their are shady people on there. Yet not everything is a scam.

You just have to beware of two things. Ship with insurance and pay through paypal. These protect you when selling or buying. So if someone tries to pull a scam it gets squashed quick.

If the person has 0 feedback and is in Hunan provence... think twice about it... okay think five times about.

Rare lenses are showing up all over now that people outside the photography world are getting wind of it. Hell my inlaws have snagged me two studio cameras with 4 huge lenses all together in the last three months. Brass is a buzz word now, as well as soft focus seems to be.

Just be safe with your information, do not contact them off ebay or pay without paypal... unless you personally know them. Then they can not do anything to ya.

There is a oinkham bi-quality on feebay right now... and its not a scam.

[P Fisher]

I too would totally take my super rare Semi Achromatic Series I off ebay if somebody offered me like $10,000 for it

I'd do it tonight actually ;)

[Jay Skjonsby]

Hi Everyone, THANKS FOR ALL YOUR REPLIES..

I guess I was naive and didn't realize the scammers had moved into Large format Photo. But why not if that is where the high ticket items are moving they should be there..

Eddie... you sound like a dagor77.. I am surprised' I am not aware of you but you sound like someone I should be acquainted with.. I started my pursuit of soft focus lenses about 6-7 years ago I have a couple left. P&S being one of them. I am looking for things 14" and up for 8x10. Eddie, How do I get in touch with you.

Greatly appreciate all you comments!

[CP Goerz]

Actually if Eddie 'sounded' like me he would have said....


This lens is THE preeminent tool for the photographer who wants to throw all caution to the wind and invest in a collectible that will increase in value TENFOLD in the space of just a blink of our earth bourn time. While you are in possession of this wonder of optical glory you will be LAUDED by all both knowing and unknowing in the field of fine portraiture! Paths will be beaten to your door with SHOVEL READY projects that will bring luster and gold to its owner/practitioner. May I suggest a mere 10% of your salary for an item that will last longer than your marriage....'


Now THAT is what 'dagor77' would have written(and I should know ;-)

[eddie]

Actually if Eddie 'sounded' like me he would have said....


This lens is THE preeminent tool for the photographer who wants to throw all caution to the wind and invest in a collectible that will increase in value TENFOLD in the space of just a blink of our earth bourn time. While you are in possession of this wonder of optical glory you will be LAUDED by all both knowing and unknowing in the field of fine portraiture! Paths will be beaten to your door with SHOVEL READY projects that will bring luster and gold to its owner/practitioner. May I suggest a mere 10% of your salary for an item that will last longer than your marriage....'


Now THAT is what 'dagor77' would have written(and I should know ;-)

that is EXACTLY what i said!

;) :p :eek:

[Tim Layton]

To the OP. Don't worry about spending your money on a P & S unless you just want it as a collectible. As others have already stated here on the forum, you have several low cost options for a SF lens. You could modify a Scovill Waterbury lens by taking out the aperture or you could take the front lens off a Petzval or you could do the classic Mark Sawyer trick and make your own soft focus lens with a 99 cent magnifying glass and a piece of cardboard for a lens board.

Tim