[bikehead90]

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How much would a K1000 and MESuper be actually worth? Because of the resurgence of film photography, I know the prices of the K1000 have gotten to be ridiculously high, and the MESuper is priced higher than when I started photography. I usually do a lot of shopping on shopgoodwill, and I see K1000 bundles with JCPenny lenses go for, IMO, laughable prices. This is my personal K1000, second gen, great shape, and has a working meter. My, again personal, MESuper could probably do with a CLA, but it works as should. I would definitely add some lenses to sweeten the deal, but I’m more concerned with the cameras’ values.

Normally I’d check the forum’s price research page, but I’ve bought and sold 3 other K1000’s that never come close the $120+ that I’ve seen others sell for, so I’m confused.

The money from these two cameras would go toward either a LX or a 6x7(MLU)/67

[Astro-Baby]

Its worth whatever somone will pay, there is no intrinsic value in a product beyond the materials used to make it. Value is in the mind of the buyer.

20 years ago a mint Nikon F was worth almost zip, today it might hit £400. Heck somone in the UK last week sold a load of Star Wars toys for close on half a million. Are they really worth that ?

[c.a.m]

Valuating an object is often difficult. While we can use recent sales on eBay or Pentax Forums, or dealers' list prices, to establish a range of asking prices, sometimes the market will surprise us.

One time I listed an Olympus 35SP on eBay. The camera had been carefully restored and it was in excellent condition. I had set a modest starting price, and it ended up selling for almost twice what I thought I would get if I were lucky. In other cases, I sold lenses at below the average market selling price, even though they were in excellent condition. So, one never knows.

The K1000 is popular, so the selling prices tend to be higher than one might think is reasonable for this basic camera. It's good for a seller, though!

- Craig

[stevebrot]

Normally I’d check the forum’s price research page, but I’ve bought and sold 3 other K1000’s that never come close the $120+ that I’ve seen others sell for, so I’m confused.

Ask what you would be willing to pay. If you think the value is higher, ask a higher price. You can always mark down later. For either camera, a sale will be easier if sold with a lens and with the ME Super, the lens may well constitute the bulk of the value to a buyer.


Steve

[aslyfox]

Its worth whatever somone will pay, there is no intrinsic value in a product beyond the materials used to make it. Value is in the mind of the buyer. . . .

I agree

there is no guaranty of receiving a set " price " for any used equipment

you name your price and attempt to convince the buyer to pay it

what can you say that makes your item special from another similar item

how rare is it

and why

unfortunately unless you are willing to pull it from a sale, the chances are you will not make what you think it is worth

[ramseybuckeye]

I don't know why the K1000s on ShopGoodwill got so high, it's mind boggling, especially when there are no returns, sky high shipping prices, no guarantees that anything works, and often horrible descriptions and photos. I guess it's the thrill of the find. I have bought quite a few items on there, sometimes no one bids, but the K1000s get a ton of action.

[boriscleto]

I don't know why the K1000s on ShopGoodwill got so high, it's mind boggling, especially when there are no returns, sky high shipping prices, no guarantees that anything works, and often horrible descriptions and photos. I guess it's the thrill of the find. I have bought quite a few items on there, sometimes no one bids, but the K1000s get a ton of action.

Then they get listed on Etsy for twice as much. Canon A series too.

[DWS1]

What I find interesting is on Ebay if you can find one listed as an actual auction it sells for 50-75% of the price of ones listed as buy it now. Applies to almost everything on Ebay. I guess that's why very few things are listed as auction any more. I wonder how many of those listed actually sell.

[Lhorn]

Agree with Ramseybuckeye regarding shopgoodwill. The prices people pay for poorly photographed, “untested,” no description, “no returns” items are at the upper end of the price range that others pay for items advertised as fully functional and returnable on other sites. It makes no sense. They are some deals to be had on less desirable items but not K1000s.

Judging by prices on my local Craigslist I feel like I see K1000s in the $75 range plus or minus. ME Super as more of a $50 camera. In both cases I’ve seen those prices on cameras advertised as fully functioning and sometimes linger for a good while before they are sold.

[Michail_P]

Then they get listed on Etsy for twice as much. Canon A series too.

Classic models. Their price range is ascending the past few years. Unfortunately the (majority of the) sellers overestimate the camera’s condition and collection value. They often have no idea of the technicalities and hope that neither does the buyer. The descriptions are flattering and the items “flawless”. We’re talking slrs... not to mention rangefinders and even some high quality compacts. Prices tend to be where sellers want, if there’s always a buyer. Of course there are some real gems of the analog world, but IMHO the actual quality of the optics and the construction is often understated because the popularity is a much more critical factor for a seller.

[Lhorn]

On a related topic, perhaps I’m late to the game in noticing this but it seems like a ton of old camera stuff listed on eBay now gets listed simply as “used” with no effort made to give an indication as to whether it works on not. I understand the rationale but it turns eBay purchases (where there previously a modicum of buyer protection) into a crapshoot like goodwill. Of course the prices are no lower than they were before, you just have to buy it having zero right to expect it to work.

[aslyfox]

I'm reminded of a story that my dad told me when I went to sell our house

I had called him and he told me something about selling a house and shockingly, don't you know, he was right

___

I called a realtor who went to our church

the realtor came into the house and [ as dad predicted ] she walked through the house, took notes
and then asked to sit at the dining room table and get a cup of coffee

she then said [ as my dad predicted ] " your house is worth $$$$ "

and [ as my dad instructed me, ] I said " ok, sold "

she said " what "

I said, " you know I'm an attorney, you made me an offer and I accepted "

she said [ as my dad predicted ] " no I didn't, all I said is what you should get for it "

I said " No, what I will get for the house and land is what we can convince some one to give us for them "

_________________

that is true for any thing you sell.

what do you know - you can learn from your parents

It is not only about old camera's, but about lenses as well. I see that the prices of old M's and a few K's are going up. I have looked at a few and they had either fungus or more dust than is acceptable, oily diaphragm blades and so on. They informed buyers about that kind of "defects". They did not give the lens a CLA and just sold it. But as they mentioned it in the description the year warranty they give on used items did not apply to the defects of course. This was at an established camera shop in my country. I even found a lens that had been disassembled (which had gone bust during the operation) and they sold it as a lens "with light marks of use". To my amazement all these lenses got sold. If you wanted to use these lenses you had to disassemble it yourself (and loose the warranty, just as with new ones) as an amateur but they are the professionals that have (or ought to have) the right equipment to do so.
But it has to do with brand names as well. A while back they had two 35mm F2's on offer, a Samsung version (rebranded FA 35mm F2 AL) and a Pentax version. Both had the same condition, but for the Samsung version they asked €100 less.

[Lord Lucan]

Ask what you would be willing to pay. If you think the value is higher, ask a higher price.

Personally I would not pay more than £40 for a K1000, even if I wanted a camera like that to use myself. There are lots of equivalent cameras of that era on Ebay under £50. If I were selling one however I would look at the "Sold" prices on Ebay (as I would sell I through them) - actually I just did and the average price (eyeballing it) is around £150 k1000 | eBay . That is in the UK, but the OP does not give his location.

What I find interesting is on Ebay if you can find one listed as an actual auction it sells for 50-75% of the price of ones listed as buy it now.

It cuts both ways. Very often someone puts a BIN price because they are impatient and pitch it low. Or they don't know the true value and underprice it, and you can snap it up before anyone else. I have had some incredible bargains from BIN items. It is dealers who have high BIN prices, and I tend to avoid them anyway.

it seems like a ton of old camera stuff listed on eBay now gets listed simply as “used” with no effort made to give an indication as to whether it works on not

You just avoid those, or you can make an informed judgement, or you can take a calculated risk. Wording often gives a clue : eg saying they can't test it because they have no batteries is BS considering they could raise pehaps another £100 of they only put a couple of AAs in it for a few minutes. OTOH, some kit sounds like it is being sold by the owner's widow - looks in good shape and probably well cared for (the kit I mean) but they just don't know how to test it. The real crap shoot is charity shop sales - they are well meaning, but haven't a clue, and their prices are low.

[dave_roe]

Value all comes down to what you are willing to pay.

Yes the market will be driven by auction sites but the value is often inflated due to folks bidding to win at any cost attitudes.

There are places that list equipment based on condition and if it is considered rare. You could always take all the prices found and do an average.

For me I set a price based onj how important it is to own and willing to pay and stick to it