Topic: Thrift store cameras becoming a rarity

[Francois]

I go from time to time to some of my local thrift store looking for decent cameras. It used to be I'd often come back with something nice. But in the last year (or maybe more), I haven't found much that was worth a penny. Sure, there are lots of plastic subscription type point and shoots... but nothing really nice.

So, I'm wondering if it's just a regional issue or if it's the same everywhere?

[Ed Wenn]

Francois, here in the UK there are thrift stores aplenty (generically known as 'Charity Shops' on this side of The Pond), but my experience of searching through them for cool cameras over the last 5-6 years is that good finds are almost non-existent...to the point where I really don't bother anymore.

I've had 2 charity shop successes since I was first bitten by the camera bug; one was in Kent on my first visit down there to meet Leon (a lovely Agfa Isola for ?5 that was in perfect condition and which is still in frequent use) and the other was in Hilo, Hawaii (an Ansco Pix Panorama for $1 that has also seen good service over the years although has been retired for a while now). That's two cameras in 6 years and about 12 charity shops a year on average. Not a good return. I was thinking the whole 'thrift store camera find' thing was a bit of an urban myth, but it sounds like you've had some successes over the years.

So, for me to complete the poll there would have to be an extra category along the lines of: "No change; it's always been patchy".

[sausage100uk]

I got a Voigtlander Vito CL for ?1 and an Olympus Trip 35 with Sunpak Flash ?2 at a local Boot fair, also got a ?40s ensign ful vue for ?1.50 on the same day.  charity shops tend to be businesses these days and will take cameras to camera shops or get someone to ebay them. Boot sales are the place to go. 

[formica]

well, we don't really have thrift shops here on most parts of the island(taiwan), but cameras in general here tend to be way overpriced(i constantly see people trying to sell on yahoo auctions the brownie hawkeye flash or even brownie bullet for 100 bucks u.s. - i hope no one is stupid enough to pay that much for them). luckily most of my toy and vintage cameras have come via my parents picking them up at thrift and antique shops in the states for not very much(ie under 20 bucks u.s. - hopefully much less as i told them not to spend much when they do this) which leads me to believe the stock hasn't dried up yet, but with the thrifts i think these sort of things go in waves...sometimes it's thriftscore city, other times it's nil.

                           william

[Francois]

Boot sales are the place to go. 

Sorry... what's a boot sale? (related to car booths, better known as trunk around here?)

As for finding stuff in thrift stores... I did once find an SX70 Sonar that seems to have an electronic problem (got screwed 10$ on that one)... that was maybe 5 years ago. But close to 10 years ago, I did find a mint Voigtlander Vitorette for around 15$...

I did once see a Yashicamat 124G (I left it there... they wanted 60$ for it... and I still regret not picking it up even though I already have 2 Yashicas), Also, there was once 2 Zeiss Ikon 35mm reflex cameras. These were the all time best I saw around 5 years ago. Apart from that, nothing from thrift stores. And nothing good ever since. They also raised their prices... I won't pay 5$ for a subscription plastic point and shoot!

[sausage100uk]

Boot sales are held throughout the summer months in the UK. You usually pay a small fee to take a car load of your unwanted stuff to a field where people will come and have a rummage, prices are usally cheap and its better than the stuff going to land fill. We have done two in the last month and have managed to make ?200 for two mornings "work" (I also got 4 cameras and some out of date film )

[Francois]

We have something similar around here, but cars are replaced by rented tables. The only problem with these is that people absolutely want to get back the money they spent on the rental (can't blame them). If you get there early, prices are high. If it's a slow day, some tend to raise their prices to make up for lost cash.

[david b]

I went to a car-boot sale in August (at Chelford fact-fans) and found one chap with a swathe of good condition old folding cameras, daguerreotypes, and assorted paraphernalia. Turns out he was the Professor of Optics at Manchester University, and although I didn't buy anything we had a very interesting conversation (yes, about optics) and he gave me a lovely glass Magic Lantern slide to take away.

Other than that my car-boot highlight was the lady - who looked somewhat like Benny from Crossroads - selling bags of carrots and polecats. Nice.

[moominsean]

i think ebay has killed the cheap thrift store camera. people look things up on the internet and price things accordingly. i've been to crappy mexican swap meets and the cameras are overpriced. 'antiques' they call them. i did pick up my imperial continental at savers for a couple bucks.
you know it's over when goodwill has a case full of $75 collectible books and expensive vintage items.

[LT]

.
... my car-boot highlight was the lady - who looked somewhat like Benny from Crossroads - selling bags of carrots and polecats. Nice.

If we had a Filmwasters quote of the month, that would win hands down.  My sides are aching.

[david b]

My work here is done.

[conn75]

Some shops here won't touch anything 'electrical', but if you know which ones to try you can sometimes still find a goodie or two. If I didn't already have a Zenit-E I would buy the one that's currently in a shop round the corner for a fiver.

[conn75]

I might buy it anyway and do nasty things to it.

[Francois]

I might buy it anyway and do nasty things to it.

It's a Zenith, keep it for spare parts

[astrobeck]

Garage sales and flea markets here in the US can render some quality finds for cheap.
You just need to troll them on a regular basis.

One thing I've found recently is the number of nice film cameras on Craigslist.
In Albuquerque there have been some nice Nikons and a few Pentax's listed recently.

Most of them went fast once school started, but I figure the camera market will be flush again as soon as the semester is over.  Thankfully a few schools around here still teach a wet darkroom!!!!

Look for Craigslist in your town on google.

Don't know if it's available in the UK??

[Francois]

I know people here sometimes want a lot of money for something that isn't necessarily worth it.

At my last Garage sale hop, a guy wanted 200$ for a screw mount pentax and a few lenses...

[al]

I've not seen much in thrift/charity shops, I think many of them are clued up enough to ebay photography stuff these days.

I don't get to many boot sales, but they do look a better bet.  Picked up a Agfa Clack and a Coronet folder for a couple of quid each at a local sale a few months back. Well worth getting up early on a Sunday morning

[Ed Wenn]

See any old ladies selling polecats, Al?