[twirlysphinx]

Lets assume I am not going to get into digital photography. It seems like enthusiasts like yourself like the lenses, what would you say is the realistic value of what I have?

[aslyfox]

a " collection " of any sort is only worth what you can convince a buyer to pay

you could contact KEH.com who will offer you a price for your equipment

you can post in the forums' Marketplace

The Pentax Marketplace | Buy & Sell Pentax Cameras and Lenses (United States) - PentaxForums.com

[Alex645]

Lets assume I am not going to get into digital photography. It seems like enthusiasts like yourself like the lenses, what would you say is the realistic value of what I have?

a) Selling any "collection" as a whole will usually yield less as a group than if sold individually.

b) Selling individual pieces, however, will take more time and effort and you may end up not getting any buyers for certain lenses.

c) KEH.com buys and sells used cameras and lenses like yours. They are experts at the condition of your gear once they inspect it and know what needs to be cleaned, lubricated, adjusted or repaired, and the cost for them to do that. They then have a sense of the market value for them to prepare it for sale, and will offer to purchase it from you. Depending on the condition they determine it to be in, their price, at best, it will be anywhere from nothing to perhaps 33% of the final retail price.

For example, currently they have four Pentax ME Super for sale. One is in excellent condition for $80, one has an inoperative light meter for $43, and they have two "as is" that are inoperative and either they can't fix it or it's not worth it for them to fix it so it's sold for parts only at $10 and $5. I don't know what KEH will offer you your ME Super, but if it's also in "excellent condition", I'm guessing they'll offer you $25-$30.

The advantage for the seller is you can send everything to them and forget about it. But you will get the lowest return.
The advantage for the buyer is that they offer a 180-warranty that you won't get from eBay or other vendors.

d) Pentax Forums has our own marketplace. Many members have bought and sold on this site. However, if you're not familiar with cameras and lenses, you may be dealing with a lot of returns because buyers here usually know exactly what is less than what you may thought was working perfectly.

e) eBay or Craigslist or pawn stores.

Your best bet for estimating the value of your equipment will be researching on KEH.com, PentaxForums.com marketplace, eBay, or Amazon. However, the cosmetic and functioning condition of the equipment will determine if it's worth $100 or $1 or everything in-between.

[photogem]

I have no photography experience at all, and received a set of camera equipment, looking to see if what I have is worth keeping or throwing out. Any info would be greatly appreciated


What I have
Cameras:
Pentax ME Super
Asahi Pentax SP 1000
Asahi Pentax ME

Lenses:
SMC Pentax-M 1:1.6 50mm (either 1,4 or 1.7)
Yashikor 35mm 1:2.8
Vivitar 85-205mm 1:3.8

Vinson Auto 2x Converter

Asahi Super-Muli-Coated Takumar 1:3.5/135
Tasman 1:2.8 f=35mm 55 (this lens could be something very rare!)
Eyemik auto tele converter 2x
Sigma Telemac Vario 2x auto

With no experience at all find a collector and do a swap.
Get in exchange a nice Pentax DSLR with one or two good Kit-lenses and maybe photography will tickle an interest.
It is a very nice hobby, but to start with film, M42 etc... these days for 98% the wrong approach.

The M50/1,4 is a very good lens, this Tasmanian devil possibly something very rare!
I must admit, never heard of Tasman before, but googled it.

[Lord Lucan]

Lets assume I am not going to get into digital photography. It seems like enthusiasts like yourself like the lenses, what would you say is the realistic value of what I have?

You will get much more if you sell the items individually rather than a lot. If you sell as a lot, you are either hoping to find someone who wants exactly the same combination of stuff that you are selling - which is extremely unlikely - or someone will want just one item out of your lot and will bid low accordingly. Even if someone does want just one item out of your lot, chances are they will not bid at all because they don't want to think they are paying for things they don't want, even if, unknown to them, they could have got the lot cheaper than for the one item sold on its own.

I have got some fantastic bargains by bidding for lots when I only wanted one item from it. I got two pro-grade flash units in a lot from Ebay for a fraction of the price they were going for singly, presumably because other people thought they only wanted one. I can put the second one back on Ebay for more than I paid for the two, or simply put it in the attic with the rest of my junk

For the going price of your ME Super for example, search Ebay for "Pentax ME Super", and on the page you get look in the column on the left. Tick the "Used" box near the top (this avoids most of the non-working ones), then go to near the bottom and tick the "Sold" box. This will show you what they have recently sold for. There, I just did it, and glancing at the results I would say they go for around £50 in the UK, where I am.

Don't take it to a dealer, they will suck their teeth, tell you it's rubbish, and offer you peanuts. Especially if you are not buying anything in return. Then next day you will see them advertise it as perfect for a price you had never imagined.

[aslyfox]

when I mentioned selling a " collection " I did not mean to imply trying to sell what the OP has as a group

I agree selling the items each with their own price

my point is that the market sets the price and the timing

not the seller

if you look at the marketplace you can find items that take quite a bit of time to sell