Were would you refer me to sell my bag of Nikon F3 equipment so that I can fund the purchase of an M6 set up? All suggestions welcome and appreciated! Many thanks to all.

-- Brooks (bvonarx1@home.com), June 07, 2001

Answers

You can try the classified section of www.photo.net, also, a reserve auction on www.ebay.com.

-- Dan Brown (brpatent@swbell.net), June 07, 2001.

Am yo sho dat u wanna do dat?

-- Bill Mitchell (bmitch@home.com), June 07, 2001.

Brooks:

I sometimes teach "newbies" photography, and often recommend used, higher-end Nikon SLR equipment as their first camera. I have two individuals currently who may be interested, however they are leaning towards AF. If you send me a list of what you have, and how much you want, I will forward it to them.

I second Photo.net and eBay as the two online sources for selling (and buying) used equipment. Also, dealers will very often trade, but since they need to make a profit, you will not get nearly as much for your used gear.

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), June 07, 2001.

I would recommend ebay for probably the highest prices. The highest bids are usually for sellers with a history of positive transactions so the bidders feel comfortable. If you know someone who frequently sells there you might having them sell for you. Having good descriptions and photos of the items for sale also helps.

-- Gerald Widen (gerald@sfa1.com), June 07, 2001.

i did that very thing, sold all my nikon gear on ebay and bought leica stuff. i got pretty good money for the stuff on ebay, probably better than i would have gotten by any other method...

-- Tristan (tristan@tristantom.com), June 07, 2001.

I sold all my Nikon gear (all manual focus stuff) to folks on the NikonMF mailing list. I'd posted it there prior to putting up an Ebay auction, and none of it stuck around long enough to auction.

Godfrey

-- Godfrey DiGiorgi (ramarren@bayarea.net), June 07, 2001.

Brooks:

I sold all my Nikon and Canon gear on EBAY to buy Leicas. Browse current auctions to get an idea of fair selling prices and then set your reserve accordingly. You can get much more on EBAY compared to selling to one of the local or national photo equipment stores

-- Muhammad Chishty (applemac97@aol.com), June 07, 2001.

I know that nobody would recommend this, but, this morning I took all my old Nikon stuff to a Leica dealer, traded it all for two brand new M6TTL, (.72 & .85) and even got a brick of film to boot. I did not give them a nickel. I never would have the patience to do the e-bay thing.

-- Steve LeHuray (icommag@toad.net), June 07, 2001.

"I never would have the patience to do the e-bay thing. "

it's actually kind of fun to watch your item(s) get bid up higher and higher. on the other hand, if no one is bidding, it's very frustrating..

-- Tristan (tristan@tristantom.com), June 07, 2001.

Steve, you must've had a s...load of Nikon gear!

-- John Fleetwood (johnfleetwood@hotmail.com), June 07, 2001.

Brooks, pay close attention to Mr Mitchell's post above. Unless you know precisely what you're doing, hang on to your F3 if at all possible - you may regret parting with it. I'm not sure the quality gain of Leica lenses outweighs the versatility of Nikon technology for everyone. I did exactly what you propose and still haven't seen a mindblowing A3 print from my 28mm Summicron (probably need a tripod and slower film). I'm also getting more underexposed negs than I ever did with my F3. Still working on it....

-- Peter Mackay (pm@novonordisk.com), June 08, 2001.

He's not going to regret selling his F3 much, if at all, if he sells it on eBay, since he'll be able to buy another one for a similar price. eBay has completely changed my approach to gear, and other belongings too. Now, if it isn't being used actively, I don't forsee a specific use for it in the near future, and it has no sentimental value, it's outa here. I've never regretted it -- there's nothing worse than having money tied up in stuff you aren't using.

-- Mark Ciccarello (mark@ciccarello.com), June 13, 2001.

OK Mark, I take your point. Being from Europe I'm not familiar with eBay but I imagine one can't handle equipment before buying.

-- Peter Mackay (pm@novonordisk.com), June 14, 2001.