if you want bargains you have to work for it.... seek and ye shall find!!
Yep, can't argue with that, Al. Getting up early for a Boot Sale is definitely more effort than trawling eBay.
I was primarily making a comment on a sneaking suspicion I have that some sellers may think they can/should charge MORE for film when it's out of date, in fact
because it's out of date even when the same item is cheaper at a photo retailer and still in-date. I like expired film as much (possibly more than) the next person, but I don't buy it in order to tap into a prevailing aesthetic or with the expectation that my photos will look different. I buy it because it's cheap and because it generally gives the same results as in-date film.
If the film expired in 1974 then I might expect to find the unexpected upon processing, but if it expired in 2004 then the only reason I'd buy it is if it's cheaper than new stock. If it's really old, not made any more, collectible....whatever, then I'd expect to pay more than the going rate for an equivalent. But why would I buy a used football for £10 when I can get a new one for £5?
And this leads onto my other point. When I've watched the progress of a particularly expensive film on eBay, I find it rarely sells.
The irony in all of this however, is that since posting the original rant, I've had an
amazing run of buying cheap Polaroid film on eBay. I'm getting lots of Type 100 film for very reasonable prices.