I have bought and sold a number of cameras on eBay over the last 5-10 years. Recently I sold two Olympus pocket film cameras I had owned since new. I had used both of them in the last year and was just ready to try something new. The one was an Olympus XA, which is a high quality rangefinder pocket camera that comes with a clamshell case. Mine has worked perfectly for over 30 years and very likely will work for another 30.
This camera has been highly rated by many. It is a solid completely adjustable small rangefinder with a good Olympus lens. I think most of the reason I sold it is I prefer a 50mm lens to a 35mm as on the XA. Plus I just consistently got better pictures with my Olympus OM2n. I was surprised by how much this camera sold for. It was about half of what I paid for it new.
The second pocket Olympus I sold was an Infinity Stylus. This was one of the first auto focus clamshell type cameras. It was also reviewed well over the years. This did not bring a lot of money, but the person who bought it is getting a very reliable camera that I have shot several thousand pictures with. Again, most of the reason I sold it is I just like the 50mm view as opposed to the wider view with this camera.
The lens in this camera is not the higher end Zuiko found on the XA above. And therefore the results from this camera were of lower quality than the Olympus XA with similar film. This camera had worked reliably for about 30 years.
The key to any sale or purchase is knowing what the fair market value of an item is. I like old cameras and look at them on the internet a fair amount. So I knew about what each of the above cameras should sell for and listed them appropriately on eBay. My favorite camera of all time so far is the Olympus OM2n. I have had one since 1980 and these are great picture taking machines. Recently I had been thinking I would like to have a second OM2n camera back so I could load people film in one and keep landscape film in the second. I was not planning on buying right now until I came across a full Olympus OM2n camera setup with one back, 50mm, 28mm, & 135mm Zuiko lenses, plus a motor drive, flash, few filters, and a nice case. In my opinion it was priced at way lower than fair market value. And the seller was rated 100% by eBay.
So I put in a bid at their opening price. I went back the next morning and was still the only bid, but upped my highest pay about 11 bucks over my opening. So I crossed my fingers and won. I ended up just 50 cents bellow my max bid. I think I won because I put in a max bid a dollar over what I figured people would max bid at.
The camera and kit arrived a few days later and the condition is excellent. The motor drive has a bit of wear/damage on the bottom, but nothing bad. After checking the meter it is a stop under. But the motor drive works, and if I don’t want to take the camera apart and adjust the meter I just set it to a stop over. In my opinion looking at recent sales of similar items I could resell what I bought for twice what I paid. But I am not planning to sell.
My comments would be these. 1. Knowing the fair market value of an item is the most important piece of knowledge you need when buying or selling. 2. Dealing with a reliable seller is very important also. 3. Buying and selling film cameras on eBay is fun.
I was able to add the second OM2n for less than my two pocket cameras sold for. The OM2n with the lenses, drive, filters, flash, and case may have sold for $1,500-2,000 new. I paid $110.50. When I get some pictures back I will write another post. My first roll is about half used. I loaded it with Portra 400.
Bob Nuttmann 