Recently I cam into posession of a M3. It has the lense it came with plus a wide angle lense. Don't know the specifics (its at home). Has light meter, sun shade, the "ever-ready" brown leather camera case and a carrying case. I know nothing about photography and was thinking about selling it so I can put a bigger down payment on a Harley or pay for some school. I've had it looked at by some pawn shops and camera stores and they said it is in pretty good condition. But, neither could give me a dollar amount on the stuff. One pawn shop said he knew a guy that would give me $1500 for it the way it is. Is that a fair price? Blake

-- Blake Hawley (bkhawley@hotmail.com), March 20, 2002

Answers

Blake:

You can check completed auctions on EBAY to get an estimate for the value of your equipment. If you provide more information about the camera and lenses, including condition, serial number, focal length, etc., there are many Leica experts on this forum who can give you a very good estimate of their value. If you are at all interested in photography, you have an excellent kit to do some serious shooting!

-- Muhammad Chishty (applemac97@aol.com), March 20, 2002.

Blake,

Go home tonight, take the equip. out, write down each model (M3, Summicron...), write down each serial no., and note each item's cond. as you would when you buy a used a Harley (Leica shoppers/owners/users are picky like Harly people). I have a friend who has a Harley and he told me to be careful of the rivets in my jeans when mounting the bike; "you might scratch the paint", sheeesh.

-- chris chen (chrischen@msn.com), March 20, 2002.

Oh, I forgot, post the info here tomorrow.

-- chris chen (chrischen@msn.com), March 20, 2002.

With respect to condition and price - I know Leica people are very careful of condition. But, suppose someone has done the equivalent of scratching their name on their Harley and etched their social security number on the top plate of a Leica M3, about what percentage might this take off the value, assuming nearly perfect cosmetics and operating condition otherwise? In other words, how much less do I offer on a nearly perfect M3 but with the owner's social security number etched on top?

-- tom (therbert@miami.edu), March 20, 2002.

Tom,

Prices are definitely lower for such marred items: somewhat less than the cost of a new top plate from Leica ($400, is it still possible?). I care less-and-less about cosmetics than I used to (except glass). I figure that it'll be a long time before I sell anything. So, I recently picked up an M3 where a number was scratched on the body inside the bottom plate. The camera had a 2001 CLA and recovering by DAG w/receipt for $480 (!). I figure the body cost me <$200.

I have a near mint M4 with a stylized signature engraved in the back of the top plate that I picked up for $1100 w/Summarit. So, as is often said: use the equip.; they're just tools; don't collect...

-- chris chen (chrischen@msn.com), March 20, 2002.

I agree with you Chris and quite possibly I may be able to get a marked up Leica at a excellent price just because someone ELSE does care about such markings.

-- Tom (therbert@miami.edu), March 20, 2002.

Chris,

What if it happens to be James Dean's social security number? ;-)

-- Ralph Barker (rbarker@pacbell.net), March 20, 2002.