Where/how to get rid of an enlarger?

[John Kasaian]

Surely you can find a good home for a 4x5 enlarger!
just list it in the for sale forum here.
Omegas and Beselers are always in demand somewhere.

[neil poulsen]

Randy Moe: "A working head is very important to most."

Oh dear, I think I'm in trouble.

[ixodid]

I appreciate all the replies and suggestions.

The enlarger model was included in my post originally but the moderators suggested the specifics should be removed so as not to appear like an ad.

I will try to find a home for it - there are a number of avenues to try. I, too, would not want to scrap it. It's complete and in good working order.

Otherwise, I will be able to post it in the For Sale For Trade sub-forum after I've been a member for 30 days.

-- Jay

[Corran]

Definitely post it here when you are able. Last year I drove several hundred miles to go pick up a second 4x5 enlarger in top condition with head and lots of accessories. Plenty of folks still using them - just not necessarily in your backyard.

[jim10219]

Have you tried selling it on Craigslist and Facebook? I sold an Omega C760 about a year ago for $200. It took about two months to get rid of, but I was asking a steep price. Then again, I was also selling it with some easels, trays, grain focuser, timer, lenses, etc. None of it was top notch stuff, but it was a complete darkroom, minus the chemicals.

I see listings for enlargers all of the time here, and Oklahoma is anything but a film friendly region of the country. If they're priced pretty low and in excellent condition, they tend to sell within a month. Ones listed for free don't last more than a week. So if you can get rid of them here, I'm sure you can get rid of them just about anywhere. As long as they're in decent condition.

[Jim Jones]

Some enlargers easily convert to copy stands, and work quite well in that second life.

[Tin Can]

Yes they do! I use an old Leica enlarger which comes with a copy camera conversion.

I also converted a Polaroid MP3 ala Glennview design, but now use an Arkay Studio stand as it gives way more height. 9 feet.

[Heroique]

Thanks to Seattle’s CL, someone paid me to come get a beautiful Omega D2v.

“I’m going digital!” the wedding photographer explained w/ exuberance.

But my exuberance was greater, as $50 was handed to me for the inconvenience of picking-up the obsolete, space-gobbling hunk of metal and glass. Lucky me.

[Drew Wiley]

My Durst L184 almost instantly converts to a deluxe copystand, without sacrificing any of its utility as an 8X10 color enlarger. Pro equipment like this, if in good condition, has about a 50/50 chance of being either hauled to the dump when a lab closes down, or else fetching serious money from someone who genuinely needs it and can also afford to have it crated and shipped. I find current inkjet printing a poor substitute for large format optical prints; and evidently enough other practitioners do to have scooped up nearly all the still crated new, or else fully refurbished, Durst commercial units still left in the world. I know a number were shipped to China at full price, up to 100K US apiece. A few more might still be in crates in Italy. And I know someone holding out for 75K here on a highly automated Durst unit here; and he will likely get that amount. Lesser Omega F's and Durst L's are a different story. The Omegas and Beselers went to landfill, and the Dursts were offered to me exclusively, for free, provided I could move them. Took only one; and it was a helluva chore to get out of its original location. Don't need more. So all of that makes me a great fan of digital photography - it causes a lot of really nice film gear to finally be affordable! And wedding photographers? Seemingly everyone who owns an entry-level digital camera is now a starving wedding photographer. But there is a lady in this area who has done well enough to have just upgraded her studio to a very expensive street location, and ONLY offers black and white true darkroom prints from actual film shots. Quality still sells. It has a distinct niche. There are actually a number of commercials enlargers still in use in the neighborhood, including teaching facilities. But they apparently themselves do not have space for any more.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Ya wanna get rid of it? Throw it into a public park. Call 911 saying that it might be a bomb, an alien device. It will be gone by the next morning.