pgk Posted March 20, 2014 Share #1 Posted March 20, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) A friend asked me about some old cameras which had belonged to her father. Now I'm not looking for values but more advice regarding how best to deal with everything. In essence she hast an early M3 (1955) outfit (35 Summaron LTM + adapter, 50 Summicron and 90 Elmar collapsible lenses and accessories. Cosmetics are very good indeed but not perfect - everything is well kept but has seen careful use. The problem is that whilst the camera works well (shutter sounds great) the rangefinder patch is decidedly faint and the lenses do have some faults - light haze and play in the collapsible Summicron and some internal hazing in the 90 and less in the 35mm . My question is whether it might be worth dealing with the problems prior to valuing and selling (which I can see costing a fair amount) or whether to value and sell everything as is? Has anyone got any suggestions or has anyone gone through a similar process and gained experience of dealing with such an outfit? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 20, 2014 Posted March 20, 2014 Hi pgk, Take a look here Some advice sought on friend's M3 outfit.. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Ulrik Posted March 20, 2014 Share #2 Posted March 20, 2014 I would sell everything "as is", descibed and photographed as good as possible via Ebay. This way you will get what the market is willing to pay for it and the price and fees are well documented. I have sold gear for other people in the past and have the feeling that transparency is very important. Ulrik Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomB_tx Posted March 20, 2014 Share #3 Posted March 20, 2014 I agree - the cost of full service seldom increases the selling price enough to cover the service costs. I was given a 1955 M3 with LTM lenses, and a few LTM Leica models (IIIf, Ic) in the lot, and all needed service. Checking with my favorite technicians the service costs were more than the typical selling prices of the gear. I did have some serviced by Youxin Ye, as his prices were significantly lower. The shutter of this M3 had jammed, so I had it repaired, and it is fun to use again. It is a dual-stroke, and the wind sometimes slips, so Youxin recommended a single-stroke conversion as the best fix. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitz Posted March 20, 2014 Share #4 Posted March 20, 2014 Many buyers have the skills to repair the equipment themselves. Their time is free to them so it saves them money. There is often more of a market for equipment needing simple repairs than for fully functional equipment. That would not be true for collector quality (no sign of use) equipment. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted March 20, 2014 Share #5 Posted March 20, 2014 I join the suggestion to sell "as is" : practically speaking, suppose you spend X money for a general CLA and lenses hoveraul, even if you attach the repairer's receipt in your ebay listing, this fact can make the potential buyer thinking "God only knows how BAD was this set before this repair..." and this, by istinct, knocks down the "virtual base price" to which X is added... with the risk to approach the extreme case quoted by Tom ("virtual base price" = 0) Btw... if it is a 1955 model with a s/n in the 7xx.xxx and all the contemporary details (glass pressure plate, old time scale, of course Double Stroke) put in evidence that it is an "original first series".... in the mean, they are a bit more valued as collectibles... and small defects are better forgiven; if the Summicron 50 is a "under 1.000.000" this is also a certain addon value... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share #6 Posted March 20, 2014 Thanks everyone. I've asked a couple of other people outside the forum who say the same. The camera sits inside the set of cameras (from the forum's wiki) 730001- 746450 from 1955 (16449 built in this batch) and is DS, does have the glass pressure plate, old style shutter speeds, etc. The M3 and the slightly smaller serial number are lightly engraved relative to the other top plate engraving which may be standard? (Double) wind-on is amazingly smooth and the shutter sounds wonderful even after nearly 60 years. I would describe the condition as 'carefully used' if that makes sense. The lens is a 5cm collapsible Summicron also from1955 from the 1190001-1195000 batch and has an E39 UVa and the early version IROOA (not marked with IROOA) hood so may well have been supplied with the camera. I believe the camera was actually bought second-hand in the 1960s and has remained in the family ever since, and so it is still very 'original'. Depending on what the owners think, I will make up my mind where to sell it (I have a suspicion that it may just need to be homed with someone who will enjoy it rather than a highest bidder). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted March 21, 2014 Share #7 Posted March 21, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Just to give you an idea of servicing cost I had my M4 (owned from new) fully serviced including a full RF rebuild and new frame mask just before Christmas last year by Peter at CRR in Luton, UK. It was £250. Lens service costs vary depending on how much disassembly and renewing of the balsam on cemented groups is needed but if you used someone like Malcolm Taylor I think you would have to budget at least £125-£150 per lens. He did a very satisfactory rebuild of my 40mm Summicron C earlier this year but I cannot tell you the exact price, as he coded the mounts on 5 other lenses at them same time and I just received a composite price. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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