How I enjoy this hobby is not how You enjoy this hobby. Get over it.

[jnantz]

Hi Jim

Sorry, I'm kind of confused. Im not really sure what your political affiliation has to do with anything. I guess its a hobby, and again like most people, your personal work is under appreciated. Regarding the classifides, I stopped attempting to sell anything about 5 or 6 years ago. I guess you are in the same boat as the rest of us ?

John

PS. Big THANKS to the moderators.

[ic-racer]

This place may not be friendly to small time dealers. Get over it.

Seriously, though, none of Jim's ads have ever bothered me, but I think somehow I have the "For Sale" section turned off when I'm browsing here.

[Jim Galli]

Hi Jim

Sorry, I'm kind of confused. Im not really sure what your political affiliation has to do with anything. I guess its a hobby, and again like most people, your personal work is under appreciated. Regarding the classifides, I stopped attempting to sell anything about 5 or 6 years ago. I guess you are in the same boat as the rest of us ?

John

PS. Big THANKS to the moderators.

John, the political part of my "rant" was probably mis-calculated. But I've always felt marginalized in anything that has to do with the "arts" as a conservative. As to selling stuff, at this point I'll probably just blow the stuff out on ebay and move on to other things. Somehow the fun is gone, mostly. Not to worry, I'll make bad pictures of old cars until life catches up with me and I can't any longer.

[Jim Galli]

But there may also be some complaining about the rules as being the cause of a general decline in the use of the sorts of things we talk about and trade.

Many of us are already fully equipped, and the wave of buying used pro-grade large and medium-format film stuff being handed down from pros has perhaps run its course. Some items are getting more expensive (priced a good Pentax 67 lately?) but most are not, and this reflects the market. A year or so ago, I paid $300 in a high-end brick-and-mortar store for a Sinar P Expert kit (no lenses), with case and all the accessories, in really excellent condition. That $300 would barely have bought a Calumet ten years ago, and it’s what I did pay for a used Calumet 30 years ago when the Sinar would have been 10-20 times as much. I paid twice that a decade ago for a clapped out Sinar F that I had to just about rebuild.

If sales aren’t working as well here, don’t be too quick to blame the guidelines.

Rick “respectfully submitted” Denney

Partial quote from the other thread. This is very well said I think. It's just a different time now, less interest, less everything, and for me at least, less fun. Yes, prices are going down.

[Chance2]

I've been on the other side (on other forums), selling one or two items, and only on occasion, only to see my ads buried because a seller (quite often a "pro") has gotten into a back and forth with someone over what a great deal something is... or, someone comes along to tell everyone what a great guy the seller is... or, a seller gets bump happy with their multiple listings..

Unless there's been some recent changes that I'm unaware of, I think the system is pretty equitable as it is, but I can appreciate the OP's position. Maybe there's room for another category of ads where the rules would be enforced differently.

[PRJ]

I think the classifieds here work great these days. You can see what is for sale since the last time you checked. As you are scrolling down, when you see something familiar you know there is nothing else new. It used to be a mess.

There is an awful lot of navel gazing at LFF for some reason. Could be the old-white-guy syndrome. I think it drives people away frankly.

[Peter Collins]

+1 Jim Galli. My words would just be superfluous. You be the articulate man!

[Mark Sampson]

Jim,
nobody ever marginalized you here for your political views... because we haven't talked about politics... until you brought it up.
Perhaps you could take Edgar Degas as your exemplar... brilliant artist, hard-core conservative, and rabid anti-Semite as well as being a pioneering photographer.
If the market for old photo gear is declining, it's not because of this forum's sales rules. And while gear is an important part of large-format photography, it's only part of the whole.
I've enjoyed your posts and have enjoyed everything I've seen on your site... and you've added a great deal of knowledge to this community, for which I thank you. And I'm proud to own one of your prints.
Don't give up LF photography or posting on this forum- you've added a great deal to the common knowledge- more than I ever have, for sure.

[c.d.ewen]

Somehow the fun is gone, mostly.

My feelings, exactly. As you say, times change, people change.

There used to be a certain camaraderie amongst the casual sellers, e.g., Jim, myself, eddie (Gunks), Andy (C.P.Goertz/Dagor77) and others. That's missing now because folks rightly complained about some sellers posting a lot on the FS forum without ever contributing to the knowledge base on the non-sales forums. I'm afraid the solution chosen for that problem, and the discussions that went on at that time, took a lot of that fun away.

Charley

[Jeff T]

It takes the fun out of a hobby when you expect your hobby to make money. There are better ways to grow your money. I appreciate Oren and Rick and all the moderators for keeping the site alive and enjoyable for LF photography, not e-commerce, and I do support the necessary changes. Sure, I understand that we have a need to sell gears we don't use anymore to raise funds for other photographic needs, but it's no fun when the majority of the posts are about buying and selling.

I enjoy the discussions under Comments in the For Sale about the special features about a particular lens, however, I did not enjoy the comments on valuation or negotiation tactics. I was a bit sad when that went away. Bumping is annoying in any forum and I am glad when that went away.

Jim Galli, I hope you continue to make more images, and participate in discussions since I am always happy to see your posts.