[Tom2727]

Hello,
My father is asking for me to sell his old Pentax ME camera with 4 extra lenses from the 1980s. I was planning on selling them on eBay. My question to the group is...is it better selling individually or just do a large group sell?
It's a:
- ME camera w/ a1:1.4 50mm lens
- 80-200mm 52mm lens
- 28-90mm 1:28-3.5 67mm lens
- 1:3.5 135mm lens
- 1:2.8 28mm lens
and a AF200s flash.

Thanks for any insight.

[MarkJerling]

Hi Tom
Welcome to the forum. We do have a for sale section here, called Marketplace. You will need to donate to the forum to use that but it is a good place to sell gear.
But, to answer your query:
In my view, you're more likely to get a better price if you sell the items individually. As is often the case, someone may want one of the things you're selling but may have no interest in the rest.
Kind regards,
Mark
(New Zealand)

[archaeodude]

Hi Tom, and welcome to the forums from the fens of England!

As a previous poster has stated, you might very well get a better total price if you sell the items separately.

That being said, you might sell them more quickly if you offer them as one (or two) lot(s) of several items. In my experience, you may get quite a bit of interest in lenses only to have a hard time finding a buyer for the camera body and/or flash unit.

One last consideration is that you might give more joy to a perspective buyer by offering them a good set of kit all in one lot!

[Kevin B123]

Hello Tom,
Are all of the lenses Pentax?, some third party lenses like Vivitar are also sort after.

Condition is important too, are the lenses clear? (dust is normal). Fungus or separation of the lenses (milky appearance) are going to affect the value.
Flick the aperture lever with the aperture ring set wide open, Does it snap back quickly?

The camera body, if working will have some value too. Selling as untested will affect the value since the buyer is taking a risk that it is not working and it may not sell at all.

So bundling the kit into a couple of lots, the buyer will likely take the lot for one item and consider that the other items, if working are a bonus.

[aslyfox]

welcome to the forums

you will find friendly members and a lot of knowledge here

I would advise you to research what you are going to sell so you get some idea of the value

for the ME, look here -

Description:
The Pentax ME was introduced in 1976 as the most compact SLR ever for the 24 x 36mm film format.

The introduction of the Pentax ME was a bold move by Pentax in that it only provided one exposure mode - Av exposure automation. The photographer set the aperture, the camera would set the shutter speed. The camera did have a +/- 2EV exposure compensation - this was the only means by which the photographer could influence the exposure.

There was one mechanical speed, 1/100 s, which was intended as a backup in case the batteries went dead. Metering was not available in that mode.

The view finder was large and bright, larger than on the full size K-series of film cameras introduced the year before.

An SE (Special Edition) model variant was introduced later with brown leather.

An external 1.5 fps winder was available.

Read more at: Pentax ME - Pentax Manual Focus Film SLRs - Pentax Camera Reviews and Specifications

for the lenses look here:

if Pentax:

Pentax Lenses - Pentax Lens Reviews & Lens Database

non Pentax look here -

Pentax Lenses by Sigma, Tamron, Zeiss, and more - Reviews and Specification Database - Pentax Lens Review Database

and the flash here -

Description:
This relatively compact flash has 25% stronger flash output than the AF 160S, with which it otherwise shares most features.

The AF 200S was designed for use with the compact MV, MV1 and ME Super cameras, but it can be used on any camera with a hotshoe.
The flash has two Auto settings where a sensor in the flash meassures the exposure and turns the flash off when the subject has received the right amount of light. You manually set the aperture corresonding to the selected auto setting.

The flash also has a manual setting where it always fires at full power.

When fully charged, the flash sets the camera's shutter speed to the flash synchronization speed, and also enables the camera to show a "flash ready" symbol in the view finder. This additional automation is available with the MV, MV1, ME Super and later cameras. On the ME, MX , and "K" film bodies, the AF 200S works just like any other Auto flash.

Optional accessories (shown in photo above): A wide-angle adaptor which broadens the angle of view which is covered, and a telephoto adaptor, which extends the range. . . .

.


Read more at: https://www.pentaxforums.com/accessoryreviews/pentax-af-200s.html#ixzz6v1ZLuhkI

[Rudy]

Sell them individually in the forum marketplace

[ramseybuckeye]

Individual sales will bring more than a lot, but the zoom lenses may be hard to sell, those may do better bundled with the camera if the goal is to get rid of them. When you sell make sure you have good photos showing all parts of the item, and make sure you get all of the information written around the front of the lens and on the sides. And a clear description of condition and anything you know about the lens. As mentioned earlier, there is the Marketplace here that you can also sell on, and another option is Mercari, I’ve had better results there than eBay over the last year when I sold some items. One advantage Mercari seems to have is shipping contracts with carriers so you get a lower shipping cost, make the item more attractive to a buyer.
Hopefully your lenses are all Pentax brand, or another high quality brand, that will help. Good luck!

[Sidney Porter]

Sell them separately. You might want to bundle the 28-90 zoom and maybe the flash with the camera. This could be an enticement to someone looking to try out film, but you are potentially trading faster sale for less money.

There is a market for the prime lenses outside of pentax users. Mirrorless user like to adapt old lenses

[caliscouser]

Yes, I'd also suggest selling the 50mm, 28mm, 135mm separately. Then bundle the camera, two zooms lenses and the flash together.

[ShutterPro]

Welcome to the forums.

[Kerrowdown]

Welcome, good luck with your sale

[Photos-by-Chas]

Hello,
My father is asking for me to sell his old Pentax ME camera with 4 extra lenses from the 1980s. I was planning on selling them on eBay. My question to the group is...is it better selling individually or just do a large group sell?
It's a:
- ME camera w/ a1:1.4 50mm lens
- 80-200mm 52mm lens
- 28-90mm 1:28-3.5 67mm lens
- 1:3.5 135mm lens
- 1:2.8 28mm lens
and a AF200s flash.

Thanks for any insight.

There are several alternatives for you to use. One that I would try is listing all the items together and emphasize that you woill sell them separately or in groups as a buyer might wish. Someone may wish to buy just the 80-200, but another may wish to get the camera body with one or two lenses, and still someone else may want the whole lot. Also, posting the information with photos will be beneficial so prospective buyers can see the actual item.

[Tom2727]

Thank you all for your input. I've decide to put them up on ebay. All the lenses are near perfect. The lens cases, not so much. But the lenses are fabulous. Thanks again for all your feedback. It really helped me figure out what to do.

[Lord Lucan]

I've decide to put them up on ebay.

So have they gone up individually or as a job lot?

You will get more selling individually, even if you only sell half the items. Logically, it is highly unlikely that anyone would want that particular combination of items. Job lots are mostly only of interest to dealers, and they will only pay low prices because they need to re-sell at a profit (individually of course).

Also, that 1:1.4 lens is something special and might fetch more than all the rest put together (assuming it is Pentax - some go for over £100). But it gets "lost" selling it among a job lot. If any of the lenses are not Pentax branded they might be as well be sold with the camera, because independent branded lenses of that era don't fetch much, unless there are something special, which mid-range telephoto zooms are not. Similarly the AF200S flash was a very widely sold basic unit and Ebay is flooded with them, so it might be better to put that with the camera too.

I have been trying to sell an independent 75-250mm zoom, and a better specified flash than the AF200S, for over a year at prices hardly covering the cost of the wrapping paper and the fuel to drive to my nearest post office. It is a buyer's market right now.

BTW, the references to "52mm" and "67mm" seem to be filter screw sizes, which is not a main part of the lens description and could be misleading. By all means mention them in the detailed descriptions but not in the titles.

[reedik]

Welcome to the forum!