MF lens prices

[cyrano]

I'm having a cut back here and will be offloading a bunch of lenses at some point and shall be sticking with up to 5 or so keepers. Is there any reliable source for pricing or is the usual method being check out the for sale prices on private listings as Ebay is somewhat erratic regarding asking prices?
Any help appreciated.

[ZoneV]

I think the search for the Ebay sold prices is best.

Further help could give this list from James L. Colwell
http://www.jcolwell.ca/photography/lens$db/index.htm

[Himself]

Moved from marketplace.

[Pancolart]

Asking on this forum perhaps. We love to evaluate lenses .

[marcusBMG]

Bear in mind that street cred on this forum is getting lenses for next to nuffink

[LucisPictor]

[calvin83]

[-rageQuit-]

Then you should ask the opposite question:

"I'm looking for lens X. I've seen it as a Buy-it-Now for YYY. I think this is too much. How much should I expect to pay for one in Z condition?"

And add 20% to that, say. This is provided you're not trying to shift some Hanimex horror.

[bychance]

Ask what you would like as a starting price in auction and see what happens. Then you may get more, or, will know it is worth keeping until later.#

Whatever, you cant win

[newst]

The lens databases in Pentax Forums (www.pentaxforums.com) usually provide a current pricing guide for the lenses they review, and they review a lot of lenses, not just Pentax. The reviews are generally user/owner reviews so the pricing guidance is based on an average of what the reviewers are paying for their lenses.

The same kind of information is also provided in the lens reviews at All Photo Lenses (http://allphotolenses.com/)

[inombrable]

[mo]

Take into account what you bought it for and what you would like to get for it...I did use ebay as a base,but also what I knew about each lens and tried to set a fair price.

[Tervueren]

I think the profit bubble is starting to leak, for instance a couple of years ago the minolta 58mm 1.2 was regularly fetching over 500gbp and now they struggle to reach half of that.

[ZoneV]

[calvin83]

[marcusBMG]

So here's a question: what lenses are selling now for more than they cost originally (on average)? note that I haven't specified in real terms we can kick that aspect around...
Example 1: tamron adaptall 06B 350mm mirror. average ebay auction final cost ~£330
Example 2: flektogon 35mm f2.4 .. ditto... over a hundred quid.

[calvin83]

[clockwork247]

[Pancolart]

Manual focus lenses are better currency then most major currencies. Not exactly gold solid but close enough . OK, many lenses excluded from this generalization but we vaguely know which ones by now.

[marcusBMG]

Certainly the economics of collectibles applies to numerous quality original mf lenses: finite supply, potentially increasing number of collectors/users.

[Gardener]

[Tervueren]

[Mos6502]

I remember when the Diana toy camera fad was at its peak about 9 years ago. Boxed examples were selling for $200+ it was crazy. Now a nice boxed example might bring $50 if you're lucky.

While the lowest valley of manual lens prices is now gone and never to return, I think prices have more or less stabilized - excepting particular fads and specific trends. It only takes a few over-hyped articles or forum threads with a large enough audience to inflate prices for something of limited availability for a year or two, but it does pass.

As for what it's worth? If it's something sought after and well known start it for 99 cents on ebay and you'll find out what it's worth in a week. I've even sold a car starting for 99 cents and was not disappointed. If it's something particularly rare or obscure - then list it for what you want to get out of it. If the price is too high it won't sell. If it's too low it will sell immediately.

[Gardener]

[nikono]

The starting price should equal shipping cost to attract attention.