8mm Forum: Over-Valuing

This is topic Over-Valuing in forum General Yak at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Simon McConway (Member # 219) on February 15, 2018, 06:17 AM:

Have you ever run into a situation where someone feels their collection of cine stuff is almost on the verge of being priceless? Someone I knew, felt the following was reasonable:

Bell & Howell 601 16mm projector £900 ONO
Chinon Super 8 cine camera £500 (orig box)
Elmo S912 Editor £1000 (studio use)
Eumig S910 Super 8 sound projector £1000 (Used in The Odeon... he thought)
T & J Super 8 sound cartoons £150 each.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 15, 2018, 06:27 AM:

I only have two words to describe that person, i dont give a monkeys if its someone on here or not, but unfortunately i cannot use such words on here. you get my drift i suspect. [Wink]

Posted by David Baker (Member # 3259) on February 15, 2018, 08:27 AM:

Hey guys , here in the states we call them " FLIPPERS " - ( that way no vulgarities are said ).
Yes , I personally know several people on this very forum that think it's " GOLD " .
180.00 ( USD ) for a beet - red print ?? Or more ??
Yes , Simon , I think it really hurts the hobby and can discourage a new - comer too .

Posted by Barry Fritz (Member # 1865) on February 15, 2018, 10:48 AM:

Could it be some of these people are just terribly uninformed?

Posted by Dave Groves (Member # 4685) on February 15, 2018, 11:07 AM:

Unless you are 'in the know' the value of film stuff would be a mystery. A lot of people think anything old is antique, therefore of great value to specific collectors. It's unlikely they'd waste time trying to find out. I look with astonishment at what folk are asking for some films and I'm even more astonished that they seem to find buyers. But it's the same with a lot of things. Anything out of circulation goes up in price and there are gold diggers in our hobby the same as any other.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 15, 2018, 11:21 AM:

Agree with much here but for the people who are in the know then they are doing the hobby a lot of harm. I have always said as long as a film is priced accordingly as a start price with honest descriptions then where it ends is fair do to the seller. Ebay should bring back a listing fee dependent on the start price to stop these flippers from extracting the urine [Big Grin]

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on February 15, 2018, 11:41 AM:

Terribly uninformed ... [Smile]

Posted by Terry Sills (Member # 3309) on February 15, 2018, 12:11 PM:

Yes they are most probably uninformed and for us 'informed ' they are ridiculous prices, but they are perfectly entitled to ask what they please. I really don't see what harm they do to our hobby, but perhaps they would be wise to list as a Buy it now with a Best offer option so that the market dictates the price - as it always does most usually.

Posted by Melvin England (Member # 5270) on February 15, 2018, 12:26 PM:

It is so irritating to see these silly prices appearing on Ebay from people who are either not "in the know" or are just blatant opportunists.
It creates a double edged sword. If someone is just disposing of their relatives equipment without a clue to value, they should be able to refer to the going prices on Ebay as some type of guide-line as to what to charge......... so they do that, and see these turkeys trying to flog a 400' for a mint and then follow suit thinking all their birthdays have come at once!

What is even more irritating is, as has happened to me, I sell a 400' at £X, and a week or two later it is back on the listings at £X + £50 together with MY original photographs to illustrate it!

.

Posted by Terry Sills (Member # 3309) on February 15, 2018, 02:20 PM:

Join the club Melvin
That happened to me, only it was a projector, and it was a member of this forum.
But I guess that is opportunism and it will always happen, so now I list stuff at a high price with a Buy It Now with a Best Offer option so that I can dictate what it goes for. At least that way I can have no regrets. If someone else can sell it at a profit then good luck. Listing it that way also gives you the benefit of exposure for 28 days.

Posted by Robert Crewdson (Member # 3790) on February 15, 2018, 05:28 PM:

Then you get someone selling a film, saying, 'No other copy to be found on Ebay'; anyone would think it was the only copy in existence; next week another copy could turn up.

Posted by Simon McConway (Member # 219) on February 16, 2018, 04:54 AM:

Perhaps we should make a separate thread out of the lines dealers use which are also connected with over-pricing. For example:

I saw this sell for XXXXX on Ebay last week
This was worth XXXXX back in 1980
This cost me XXXXX
This projector has been serviced... means I sprayed WD40

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on February 16, 2018, 06:39 AM:

Terry,
the way it could cause some harm to the hobby is possibly anyone thinking of joining it. I know these are few and far between but if i was looking on ebay to get an idea and i saw a listing with"mega rare horror film Squirm, seems ok but untested & hard to find" i would not be looking to bid, i would steer toward the digital projection. I use this example as every time one comes up for sale it seems to have a start price of £50 or more, i sold one recently with very good colours for £27 which is actually a good price, if anything i did well, but there are many on there at the moment with stupid prices and although we wont pay these prices and do have a bit fun looking at it i think any newbies would be put off for the greedy tossers trying to cash in when they dont have a clue. At least start with sensible prices then,(as i keep saying), if it goes sky high then thats what someone wants to pay. [Wink]

[ February 16, 2018, 02:28 PM: Message edited by: Tom Photiou ]

Posted by David Baker (Member # 3259) on February 16, 2018, 08:02 AM:

Well said , Tom !
Being a top - rated seller here in the states for many years , I have experienced all the reasons for " gouging " for " Gold " related to film sales . I myself sell 16mm , super 8mm and 35mm films . I think one of the differences I do so well is I'm not a " flipper " and honestly sell films reasonable so I can help our hobby grow , not so much as to make a ton of money .
Here is a typical listing of just how I present a sale :

https://www.ebay.com/itm/122957833253

And yes , plenty of people buy off me in hopes of " flipping " , and they're STILL stuck with it !
Yes Simon , I think you covered quite a few reasons as to why films are over - valued !

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on February 16, 2018, 11:38 AM:

Funny Simon!!!

I must say, however, that tghese uninformed sellers have also graced me with films that they had no idea as to how valuable they are, and have rediculously low prices asked, and I really luck in getting them!

Posted by Terry Sills (Member # 3309) on February 18, 2018, 05:44 PM:

Osi
Yes we have all probably benefited from that scenario and it goes someway to negating Toms theory. Any newbies wil not just look at the high prices asked, but also the low prices. Most people these days are quite astute in their purchase decisions and even if they are concentrating on the high prices, they might well think - ' look at these prices for old film! I'm going to get in on this'.
But I think in the end most newcomers will enter the hobby because of a sincere interest in film and also as has already been mentioned, anything 'old' attracts attention these days.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on February 20, 2018, 11:52 AM:

Agreed, Terry! [Smile]

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