Old Cameras on eBay: Questions for Buyers and Sellers

Buyers can avoid buying junk if they ask the right questions. Sellers can bidding by providing information. Sometimes people sell broken junk claiming "they don't know much about cameras." Other times, people have nice stuff that is poorly described, so bidding remains low as people are skeptical about whether it is junk.

Seller need to present a want to do is try to present some decent indication of the gear's condition. Most people want to buy something and use it, not bother with trying to fix it. If you don't say anything, people will price the risk of gear being in very poor condition into the final sales price.

So here are questions that buyers can ask and seller should address.

For lenses:

• Move the aperature and focus ring. Do they move freely and smoothly?
  
• Open the aperture and hold it up to an LED light. Can you see clearly through it? Does it look hazy or have any spider-like growth. Are there bubbles in the glass? Generally haze can be cleaned by a pro, but spider-like growth (fungus) or bubbles (seperation) are can permently effect the photos and the lens.
  
• Are the scratches? Minor scratches which generally come from cleaning are common and do not really effect picture quality.

For the camera:

• Wind and Release the shutter. (Your camera will require two small strokes of the winder lever). Did it go smoothly? Repeat at different shutter speeds. Try to time the opening of the shutter curtain at one second and a half second. Are they accurate?
  
• Look through the viewfinder? Is it clear?
  
• Attached a lens. Change the focus on the lens while looking through the viewfinder. A second image should move. How distinct is the second image? Try it indoors
  
• Look at the shutter curtain. Does it appear to be wrinkled or have any tiny holes?