Auctions and a little look in the mirror.

[twinrider1]

So I won a bunch of items in a local online auction. I wanted one item, an old vacuum tube tester, but also bid on a bunch of old camera gear, along with some scientific equipment. Turns out there was metric ton of stuff that nearly filled my car.

You really can't take it with you.
I've been going through the stuff, thinking about the guy that owned it all. It's all quality stuff. Thousands of dollars worth of gear, reduced to being piled up in a bunch of boxes and sold for $100.
Don't get caught up in obtaining stuff.


Obsolescence is sad
It's difficult to admit that some things, no matter well they were made, have virtually no value. Some of this photography gear is amazing. There is a 400mm lens (Soligor, made by Tokina), all metal and the focus ring turns so smoothly. Makes my modern plastic kit lenses feel gritty. But it's long, heavy compared to the new stuff, and it doesn't autofocus or have a built in gyroscope, so it's worth maybe $30 on eBay.
There's a 6" lens that probably weighs six pounds, made by Bausch & Lomb. I'm guessing it's for a large format developer. It threads together, 3 parts. Threads are so fine, like grooves on a record album.

 

[Raizinman]

I use to go to auctions and especially storage locker auctions. My three car garage was stuffed to the brim of 'treasures'. After spending too much time in trying to sell this crap I just got myself a trash dumpster and got rid of it all. Much happier now.

 

[boomerang]

Don't get caught up in obtaining stuff.

Interesting comment within your post about you obtaining stuff.

 

[Artdeco]

I hear you, just bought a ton of stuff to start reloading...

 

[mikeford]

I bought a load of junk once at an auction all piled up on a heavy warehouse cart which was not included. A few items I wanted, but it was a big pile and nobody else was bidding on it, so got the whole mess cheap. Uneven surface on the loading dock caught one of the wheels on the cart and stuff spilled off every which way. As I am picking it all back up everybody at the auction could now see what was in the piles and started making me offers for things. Made money on the spot, unfortunately may still have some of the junk.

 

[lxskllr]

I love going to flea markets/thrift shops and getting stuff, but the problem is I don't need much stuff anymore, and could really stand to get rid of some of the stuff I have. If I owned a suitable commercial space, I wouldn't mind being a junk dealer. Get all the fun of acquiring stuff, but you don't have to keep it.

 

[DrPizza]

I've purchased plenty of tools at auctions - it's been wonderful having certain "I'll only use this twice in my life" tools at times when I needed the tool. For power tools, unlike photography equipment, it's still just as useful today as it was 40 years ago. Like the photography equipment, it was far better built.

As a hobby, my wife is starting into refinishing old wooden furniture. She's done 3 or 4 pieces so far, and everyone has been very impressed by her results. Each of the pieces she did cost less than $50, less than $20 in materials, and compares very favorably to nearly identical items that are easily selling for $500 or more.

I'll also go to auctions, just for something to do. One summer, some greenhouse brought in a shit ton of perennials (plants). They started the bidding, $5, $6, ....,$14. Some lady got her choice and picked out one plant for $14 that she really wanted. "Anyone else want a plant at $14?" No one. Restarted the bidding. $3,4,5,... $12. Some other lady picked out 2 plants for $12 each. Eventually, it was down to $3 per plant, the winning bidder picked out 3 or 4 plants, and a few other people got a few plants each. There were hundreds left. "If you only want a couple of plants, this is it. Otherwise, you're buying a lot of plants." So, the auctioneer split it into 2 piles. So much per pile, hundreds of plants in each lot. I think my winning bid was $35 - so I bought both lots. The auctioneer moved on. Almost immediately, "I wanted some of the hastas, but I didn't want to pay $3 each. Will you take $2? "Sure." "How many will you sell me?" There must have been 50 of them. Within 10 minutes, I had sold nearly $100 worth of plants, and it barely made a dent in the pile. I had made a profit before I even paid for the plants.

 

[PottedMeat]

yeah tons o junk to be had at auctions.

got a really nice delta disc/belt sander for $5

some things go for ridiculous prices though.
really shitty shop tables made of 2x4s went for $60+
'bigscreen lcd tv's that are 5+ years old go for what was retail

i bid on a microwave + space heater for $4 for no reason whatsoever and won it.

...i really wish i had gotten that $800 bridgeport mill though

 

[twinrider1]

Interesting comment within your post about you obtaining stuff.

lol, hence the part about looking in the mirror. 🙂


But really, this stuff looked smaller online. I swear.