Lens price jumping up?

[Hellmark]

Hey, is it just more or does it seem like lens prices are going up in general. Like, I've been looking at getting something in the Helios 44 family, and they've been going a bit nutty. So many reviews have talked about getting them for $10 to $20, yet lately I've seen them go for as much as $105 (actually being bid upto, and selling at, not just people asking that much). I am cool paying more, but not quite that much more (I've been trying to keep my lens purchases under $50 a piece while I am still learning).

Is it just me, or anyone else noticing this? Not just on the Helios either, but encountered it when trying to get some nFDs, my Industar 50-2, etc.

[visualopsins]

Welcome Hellmark

This morning I notice big jump in prices on new auction listings, 25-50% or more. Sellers gearing up for Holiday sales? IMHO Holidays have always been a time of low sales...maybe not as low as Jan-Feb....

[cbass]

Which country are you buying from and where are you located?

[stevemark]

Quite on the contrary - on a local (Swiss) level, this year more interesting stuff seems to be available than 2-3 years before, and at lower prices. Probably many people sitting at home are starting to clean up their basements, attics and closets ?!?

[Lloydy]

Prices are down in the UK, I've sold some stuff recently to a dealer friend at rock bottom prices, he has a bricks and mortar shop and was short of stock, but I know what he's going to sell it at and it's not a huge profit. The big prices are gone. I've spent most of the money on 'new' stuff that I'm getting off local Facebook pages and Gumtree, people are clearing stuff out and after cash in these difficult times so there is more stuff, and lots of bargains, but it's mainly common stuff that we've already got too many of. I don't need any more Zenit or Praktica. The good stuff is scarce, I have dropped lucky a few times though.

I usually only sell at the Camera Fair that's held four times a year, but they've stopped since covid and I can't see them starting again anytime soon, and the prices there were dropping last year, most of the dealers obviously use ebay sold listings as a price guide, but we were lucky to get 2/3 of those sort of price. Even the good stuff wasn't selling at anything like the price we were seeing two years ago. I might have to give in and use ebay...

[calvin83]

Common lens are more cheaper these days but rare lens in good condition are more or less the same. It is harder to find good deals on eBay than ever as people have more free time to spend.

[Hellmark]

I'm in the US, and I've mostly been looking for US based sellers, because with stuff going on here shipping through the mail is a bit precarious at best (lots of stuff getting lost, or huge delays, because the current administration had sort machines dismantled, causing so much to be done by hand. Stuff from overseas usually gets handed over to the postal service after it gets in the US).

I was just looking at a 28mm nFD, and it was going for $200.

[walter g]

[Blazer0ne]

...

[cooltouch]

regarding the USPS, I've noticed some delays, but not significant enough really to mention.

As for lenses, it seems to me it matters greatly what lens is being offered. Premium quality lenses, like the Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 (for Contax SLRs) sell for $225 to well over $300. More pedestrian lenses, though, seem not to have moved much in price. For example, one of the all-time great macro lenses, the Nikon 55mm f/3.5 micro is still abundant on eBay in the $35-50 range. Another Nikon that has dropped noticeably in price is the 180mm f/2.8 AIs ED. I'm finding several prices in the $170-200 range now. Used to be this lens was always hovering between $300 and $350. Canon's nFD 50mm f/1.4 is relatively unchanged at $70-100. I've seen several examples of Canon's 300mm f/2.8 L selling in the $900-1000 range, which seems like a pretty fair deal to me, yet the 400mm f/2.8 L sells for $1000 to $1200 more. And there are listings for the 500mm f/4.5 L at close to the same price as the 300/2.8's.

If you want to move over into medium format, in this category it seems pretty clear that prices are continuing to climb steadily from their nadir which was a little more than 10 years ago.

So it seems to be a mixed bag to me and I think it comes down mostly to desirability.

[cbass]

[visualopsins]

[Hellmark]

As far as the postal system right now, I've had multiple packages go missing during shipping, or missorted, or stuff show up a month late, or not at all. Had one that went from Cincinnati, went from there to Kansas City, then to Omaha Nebraska, had an attempted delivery to the Boys Town headquarters, dropped back off with a post office in Nebraska, then was taken to the local St Louis sort facility, taken to my local post office (O'Fallon, MO), sent to a post office in East Peoria, Illinois, then to one in Peoria, then the St Louis sort facility, left there only to return there the next day, then went to the local post office again before it was delivered to me. I have friends that work at the regional sort facility, and they're saying things are a freaking mess right now.

For me, I'm fairly content with APS-C. Full frame would be cool, but way out of my budget for what is a hobby. Luckily too the sort of stuff I like to shoot doesn't need any big glass (street photography, wider landscapes, portraits). Right now, the main stuff I'm after is a wider nFD like a 28mm, a Helios 44-2 or 44m-something, maybe a 55mm Super Takumar, and the 16-50mm Sony E Mount kit lens. On the Sony, I've seen cameras with the lens go cheaper than the lens on its own.

[philslizzy]

Helios are what everyone wants it seems. There's nothing special about them in reality.

I have a couple, kept because they are 'hip'. I've used them a few times and can't be bothered with the busy bokeh at full aperture and lack of sharpness when it counts.

[D1N0]

[Blazer0ne]

...

[Hellmark]

The reason why it is part of the government is because of how wide spread the US is, there are areas that it isn't cost effective or profitable to deliver to. For the private carriers in the US, they typically hand things off to the USPS for those deliveries because they can't be bothered to go there. Well, there is some that want to privatize the postal service, which would hamper delivery to those areas. The current Postmaster General spent most of his career working for those sorts of companies, and still has in the neighborhood of $75 million invested in private companies. If it was a job creation scheme, why are they not hiring more people? Even seasonal hires are down compared to the competition. UPS is hiring 100,000 seasonal workers, FedEx is hiring 75,000, while USPS is hiring 35,000 seasonal workers, where as USPS handles way more volume (142 billion parcels last year, vs 2.28 billion for FedEx, and 5.5 billion for UPS).

Still, for me, I know that I have been impacted a good amount this year by the changes that is going on, so I've been trying to rely more on getting stuff that would go via other services since dealing with package insurance is a nightmare. If things were like any other year, I'd prefer using USPS, as historically I've had better service than with UPS or Fedex.

Still, getting a bit in the weeds on things. Is there any ebay sellers, other websites, any particular lenses, etc for a newbie to get some lenses for their starter collection? Right now I have a nFD 50mm 1.8, 80-200mm Kalimar FD, Industar 50-2, Canon 70-300mm EF, and a semibroken 18-55mm EF-S (autofocus is kinda janky, only turning in the one direction). I'm shooting with a Canon Rebel XSi, and a Sony NEX-5T (I'd eventually like to upgrade to a Sony A6400, but out of my budget).

@Blazer0ne, I'd not say time is my enemy, with the exception of if I am having to do a chargeback or file a claim for lost packages, usually you have a time frame to do that in, or else you are SOL. I can't exactly to afford to spend money on something only to never get it and not get my money back either. If something is going to take a while, ok, that's fine, as long as I actually get it.

[jmkmva]

Just FYI, little or no “Privatizing” is going on in a country with a history of privately held companies and industries. Yes, the Post Office is an exception. And yes, I live in the US.

Switching back to the topic. I have found that it is becoming more difficult to find quality examples of Nikkor, Pentax Takumar, Canon FD FL and R, and Minolta MC and MD. These are primarily the lenses I use. When available, the prices are high relative to a couple of years ago. As can be expected when supply drops.

I have not sold a lens in 2 or 3 years and have purchases only 2 or 3 in the same period. Online is my only real source.
There are few if any retail stores, thrift shops, flea markets, or the like selling used photographic equipment.

Have sellers including individuals run out of inventory? Do we have all the vintage glass we want?

[Lloydy]

We certainly haven't run out of inventory, there is a ton of stuff out there - covid lockdown and redundancies has brought a lot more stuff to the market, here in the UK non essential shops are closed so the Charity shops ( Goodwill ) aren't able to take anything, and people are making the effort to sell whatever the hell they can.

People like me are lucky - at the moment. I'm retired, I have regular pension income and no debt, I'm not going to restaurants and pubs or on vacation, I've filled the tank of my thirsty 4x4 twice in the seven months of lockdown - instead of weekly. I can indulge my hobbies and luxuries, and I truly appreciate that so many can't in these difficult times. But...the few people like me aren't driving and regulating the prices, the people on the breadline are. I see cameras, lenses and whole kits for sale on facebook and gumtree and they are there for weeks on end, until the prices are dropped dramatically, like 75% drops. If it's good stuff, I'll go for it. I generally get it as well. On the other side - I'm not selling anything at the prices I know the stuff is worth, I sold a perfect Takumar 55 / 1.8 today for 2/3 of what I was asking, the profit was enough for two beers, the lady who bought it has been laid off from her job, but like so many of us she subsidizes her hobby by selling something to get what she wanted, and that is the economy that is bringing prices down. When it comes to a choice of food on the table or something for our hobby, food is going to win, and we're heading that way.

[Slalom]

To me prices are down but only where there are a lot of samples. If something is slightly rarer its price may hold. Also when you get below 28/35mm a lot of the older lenses are expensive if they are worth having. And APS-C owners may create extra pressure down there as 1.5 X 24 is 36mm. Then micro 4/3 ....

[Lloydy]

[jessebear]

I typically have one thing or another coming from China and I'm seeing about an extra two weeks for most packages throughout most of 2020. I got into lenses a few months ago and have purchased several from Russia. Most arrive within 5-6 weeks, and all of them have made it here. Some Russian sellers seem to have trouble accurately describing lenses though as all have arrived in not quite the stated condition, though they were all packaged very well. But I digress.

The present USPS allegations notwithstanding, I think some of the shipping services from Russia to the US actually require sorting by hand, so it's definitely slower. Quicker shipping is possible though. My brother had a package arrive from the Ukraine in less than a week, and I received a Jupiter-21M from Moscow last month in 8 days.

US sellers of old Soviet lenses will want more money for the same thing. Personally unless it's a really good deal I've just been sticking with whoever has the best price for what I want - even if it's in Russia or the Ukraine.

[KEO]

[caspert79]

The prices of 80's and 90's point&shoot camera's went up a lot! People pay insane prices for Yashica T4 / T5 or Olympus Mju-2.

[Mike Deep]

If you think privatizing mail service in the US is a good idea, I'd say take a good look at how well that's worked for internet service in rural areas.

Hint: It hasn't.