[monochrome]

Aw, no 40mm pancake?

M40/2.8 + M100/2.8. (Maybe + M35/2.8, which was a gift). Selling M28/2. K lenses will work just fine on an MX.

I have way too many lenses I never use.

[Marcus Rowland]

Enjoy the sorting out process!

I never know how it'll turn out with these job lots, I usually break even, but sometimes I get surprises. Another lot I had a few days previously had five lenses that looked good but turned out to be in very poor condition - e.g. a Helios 44 with surfaces so badly damaged that I ended up selling it for £11 instead of the usual £20+ - and a teleconverter that looked like it might be worth a couple of pounds in the photo, but turned out to be incredibly rare; it was for the Olympus Pen FT half-frame SLR and selling it more than covered the rest of the price of the lot. So far this lot isn't giving me any surprises, and as I said it'll probably be a case of breaking even or a modest profit.

What's really nice is when I find something for myself, but it's been a couple of years since my last good find, the 500mm lens I still use which cost a tenner.

[cyberjunkie]

What's really nice is when I find something for myself, but it's been a couple of years since my last good find, the 500mm lens I still use which cost a tenner.

I have the same experience. Outside of the usual common stuff, there are very few occasions on Ebay right now.
Sometimes I read on this forum about some real steals... but most of them come from accidental finds in real life.
Ebay used to be a treasure trove, if you were patient (and knowledgeable) enough.
Auctions limited to a single country saw very little competition.
Now most sellers seem to be aware that civilization doesn't end at the borders of one's country, and not all foreigners are savages or thieves
My two greatest finds were both "Buy It Now" and the cost was about 100 euros.
One was a Kodak 4x5" with a Symmar/Compur, an iris-style lens holder, and my most desirable large format portrait lens. The only coated Cooke Portrait: Series IIE.
The other was a no-name Petzval purchased from a renowned photographica seller. They couldn't open it, or in some way identify maker and provenance.
I found a way to do it, using non-photographic tools
I found a unique lens layout (reversed Petzval), and inked on the rim of two glasses I found the answer: Voigtlander & Sohn - Wien und Braunschweigh.
So it was a Voigtlander prototype made before 1862!
Asked prominent collectors and the author of a book about Voigtlander lenses. No one ever saw anything similar

These two nice finds would both work as nice fireplace stories for cold winter evenings... a pity my friends have no interest whatsoever in old lenses

Cheers

Paolo

[dadipentak]

not all foreigners are savages or thieves

Wait--what?!

[savoche]

Wait--what?!

Don't you believe him! He's a foreigner!

Umm...

Never mind.

[Ex Finn.]

Now wait a second...

[cyberjunkie]

Don't you believe him! He's a foreigner!

Umm...

Never mind.

Yes, I'm a foreigner. Even where I was born.
I've spent too long time elsewhere.

Of course a smiley would have made it clear: I was kidding, or to be more accurate, exaggerating.
Written language can be quite tricky, the same sentence would sound different in conversation.
A missing smiley made my phrasing a bit heavy and perhaps rude. I'm sorry for that, I was just making fun of our own prejudices, everybody has some, myself included.
There is some truth in what I've written.
Through the perspective of photographic Ebay sales I have seen a slow but steady change of attitude.
Years ago there were more sales limited to a single country. Many times I had to ask specific permission to bid, some other times I was the sole bidder... and of course the seller didn't get the "real" market price (whatever that "real" means...).
Some people are still quite defensive, though.
There are germans who don't sell to an Italian, and of course italians who would never ship to Malaysia, Korea, etc etc.
As an Italian, who married a US citizen, and spent long time abroad (The Netherlands, UK, Turkey, South East Asia), I've learned that there are good people and bad people everywhere, and that nationality is not very relevant.
Getting a bit off topic... so better get back to proper photographic matters. Something I forgot to write
In my last post.
After buying many hundreds photographic items, large format, medium format and compatible with my Pentax cameras, I have found that the best sources of nice finds have consistently been
Ebay.de, Ebay.it and Ebay.co.uk.
Lenses coming from Japanese vendors are usually very clean, and some large format stuff is available only in the USA, but after VAT/shipping charges prices aren't great anymore (at least for EU buyers).
On the negative side, nothing special to report. The only time I was cheated, in the proper sense of the word, was from Latvia, not a scammer's paradise, as far as I know (money promptly refunded by PayPal, fortunately).
I guess the scammer was just a bad apple. There are a few in any basket, according to personal experience

Cheers

Paolo

---

Last edited by cyberjunkie; 10-26-2017 at 08:58 AM.

[savoche]

Of course a smiley would have made it clear: I was kidding, or to be more accurate, exaggerating.
Written language can be quite tricky, the same sentence would sound different in conversation.
A missing smiley made my phrasing a bit heavy and perhaps rude.

No, no, no offence taken! Myself, I'm a foreigner to all but 5 million people in this world

But yes, written language can definitely be tricky, and even more so for those of us writing in a foreign language (not that I will hide too much behind that).

I was just making fun of our own prejudices, everybody has some

Very true, nobody goes free - and, fire away!

I guess the scammer was just a bad apple.

Yes, there are bad individuals everywhere. It could be that we are better at smelling out "our own" scammers than those among people from elsewhere, but beyond that there is hardly any sensible reason to distrust "the others" more.

[monochrome]

One of the great Pentax ‘Holy Grail’ lenses, FA*200/2.8, at an irresistible price. *

There goes the D FA*70-200/2.8.


* My Office Address is now Confirmed in PayPal

[Canada_Rockies]

* My Office Address is now Confirmed in PayPal

Might help with SWMBO for you, but my office is right here: one story below hers in our shared dwelling place. Sneaking stuff past her is somewhere between extremely difficult and suicidal ...

[timw4mail]

My latest acquisition is a CD with scans of some 6x6 medium format film.

[monochrome]

Might help with SWMBO for you, but my office is right here: one story below hers in our shared dwelling place. Sneaking stuff past her is somewhere between extremely difficult and suicidal ...

I’ve reached the point where i’m even uncomfortable with all this buying. I only use the K lenses, Limiteds and ‘*’ lenses. There’s even some doubt about the DA Limiteds.

Whatever I decide, a number of lenses are going out the door, and SWMBO can see those boxes

[timw4mail]

I’ve reached the point where i’m even uncomfortable with all this buying. I only use the K lenses, Limiteds and ‘*’ lenses. There’s even some doubt about the DA Limiteds.

Whatever I decide, a number of lenses are going out the door, and SWMBO can see those boxes

What is SWMBO?

[Canada_Rockies]

From a long running British crime author, "She Who Must Be Obeyed" is the inspector's wife.

[monochrome]

What is SWMBO?

I don’t know, but I know I don’t want to know what happens if SWMBO ever sees the spreadsheet. *


* She Who Must Be Obeyed.