[Panache]

Not sure if this is the best thread to post this, but what can I do with a lens that is un-fixable!?

A couple of years ago, I bought a Tamrom 28-75mm 2.8 lens off the forum. I used it for about a year and loved it. Great range for what I do. Last summer, i started noticing the bokeh was wonky in a lot of my pics. I am not techy enough to be able to tell you at what focal point it was happening [because some shots were still quite clear]. But, too many shots were off and ruined because the focus was soft and off.
I sent it to Tamron for repair, but the repairman said that no matter what he tried, he could not get the lens sharp. It's a shame. Luckily they sent it back to me at no charge, but now I'm wondering.......what do I do with it?

[Adam]

Sell it for parts, and buy a new one. Are there any other options?

[Quicksand]

You can do what I did with an Accura Diamatic 135/2.8 that I just didn't like very much (very susceptible to flare, not that sharp, lots of CA):

Take it apart, bit by bit, contemplate how the stuff inside a lens works, and save the front element/group for a snazzy desktop paperweight and magnifying glass.

[Lowell Goudge]

I had a similar issue and they fixed mine, but it took over 2 months and a trip to Japan (thief lens, not me)

[vladimiroltean]

Actually, I find this subject very interesting, mainly because I too have some broken things that I don't know what to do with, and I simply cannot afford keeping them as paperweight items. Most of them are failed purchases on ebay, and I'd like to either recover the money I spent (I'm trying to save for a DSLR), or repair them myself and actually use them. The latteral problems that arise:
1. Who would buy 3 Spotmatics, 1 ME Super, 1 MV and a Jupiter 37A, all of them more or less broken, for the price I payed for them?
2. Another issue would be the place to actually sell them, because selling on ebay gives me no real control on final price, and here at the Marketplace requires another 20 USD which I don't have, because that's why I want to sell stuff in the first place.
3. If I decide to repair them, I will need some tools too, which I don't have and which are not free either. Buying screwdrivers and wrenches also does not guarantee that I will manage to actually repair something with them.

I may well be very pessimistic in seeing the situation, but I hear you that it really is frustrating to have money blocked in things you'll never use. I sold much of my guitar equipment because of that, but I had good luck with somebody willing to pay a good price for what was then just a piece of wood and some cables

Returning to broken film cameras, I figured out that I might be better off selling them not FOR parts, but AS parts. That means, $5 for this, $5 for that, and would be a pretty good business. I am not however sure of the morality of that, disassembling fixable cameras just for the sake of money. I kind of pity them, too.

Bottom line, I'm sure money is not everything in this world, but it's that now I need it for a Dslr, and I certainly won't let go of what H have until I obtain what I want. If I already had a digital camera, things wouldn't have been as they are. Why I am talking so much about money is because I'm sure you're also thinking about it too, otherwise you wouldn't have bothered to open this topic.
Pardon my very long post (it way be the longest at PF), it must be the late hour.

[Just1MoreDave]

If you can attract a couple of interested bidders, eBay can surprise you. It frees you from having to choose a price. You have to be prepared to accept whatever you get as a bonus, and mainly just get rid of the stuff. Because it is so large, someone is usually out there looking for whatever you're selling.

I've done a couple of camera repairs and even though they worked, I did not enjoy the process. Way too many tiny parts in there. One sure way for me to lose interest in an auction is to include a camera.

[RioRico]

Sell for parts, buy a new one. I have sold 'parts' lenses on eBay for astoundingly high bids. Start at one buck and see what happens. Out of a couple hundred sales of lenses and photo gear, I've been disappointed less than 5% of the time, and my profit margin is near 100%. But whatever the proceeds, it's good to get rid of an unusable lens.

[SpecialK]

You can do what I did with an Accura Diamatic 135/2.8 that I just didn't like very much (very susceptible to flare, not that sharp, lots of CA):

Take it apart, bit by bit, contemplate how the stuff inside a lens works, and save the front element/group for a snazzy desktop paperweight and magnifying glass.

Ha, that's what I'll do with my dead Sigma 70-300...