Help needed after "inheritance".

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steveu1959

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Steve
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Hello All

This is my first post so please bear with me.

My dad has severe dementia and has just gone into a home. He was a keen amateur photographer and has given me his camera and equipment collection. Unfortunately none of the family are photographers so I need to get a ball park valuation (I have three brothers and will share the proceeds). I know nothing about cameras/photography so all help is much appreciated.

Here is a quick list and and any help or being pointed in the right direction would be very helpful:
- Rolleiflex H&D 1:2.8/80 in leather case.
- Rollioe Magic in leather case
- Rollei Cord
- Canon EOS 10 6D
- Canon AV-1
- Canon A-1
- Canon EOS 10
- Canon EOS 350D
- Minolta SRT101 F55

- Metz 45 CT-3 flashgun
- Canon 430 EX 111-RT (flash)

- Soligar 80-200mm f/3.5 (Sigma lens)
- Prinz Auto Reflex
- Vivitar 24mm 1:2.8
- Tokina RMC 24mm
- Tokina RMC Doubler C/FD
- Kiron 30-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Macro 1:4
- Kiron 80-200mm f/4.5

and the following Canon lenses:
- EF 35-100mm
- EF 22-55mm x 2
- EF 24mm
- EF 100-300m
- EF 50mm

Thanks in advance

Steve
 
Hi Steve
Really sorry to hear about your dad’s condition, this must be really difficult for all the family.
Re the list above, I’ve no idea what the forum rules are for valuations, besides there being a dedicated sub forum.

The problem is that some of your list above doesn’t appear to be what you think it says. Maybe some pics would help us identify what’s there so we can help with better descriptions.
Is the Canon EOS 10 6D a 6d or a 10d?


Though for general advice, I might suggest getting quotes from both WEX and MPB, it’ll certainly be easier than selling them privately, though obviously you stand to make a little more if you go to the trouble of handling the sales yourself.

There may be more knowledgeable members re the best place to sell the film cameras though. But the good news is that the film market bottomed out years ago, and the dwindling amount of kit still around means it’s now worth more.
 
You may also wish to contact The Vintage & Classic Camera Co who have a web site at https://vintageclassiccamera.com. I have dealt with them a couple of times and found them straightforward and helpful.

There is a company called MW Classic Cameras, which used to be very reliable but appears to have become untrustworthy.

That list contains some items that may be highly saleable and others which are not so much. I would suggest that you make a note of 5 or 6 possible buyers and send them each your equipment list, asking which items they would be interested in and a rough estimate of value per item.

Even if you did find someone interested in the whole package, I suspect such an offer would be far less than you could obtain by splitting it up.

I hope this helps.
 
Hi Steve

I would echo both the above, especially @Phil V re: the impact on you & and your extended family and wish you well.

So, if you can fully list the items with some photos, taken on a phone should be ok to illustrate exactly what you have.

In regard to that you have a mix of both film & digital gear, you may find that no one outlet would buy the lot in one purchase.
NB

However, though I have never used them I have seen a few good experience reports about ffordes.com who are based in Scotland

They offer a commission based sales service where.....copied & pasted here (with your list and photos I surmise your first enquiry of them will be informative.

"Ffordes was one of the first photographic dealers to offer commission sales on a large and professional scale, we have now sold in excess of 500,000 items for customers and the scheme has grown in strength and size. We can accommodate one or two items of unwanted equipment or a fully comprehensive outfit; one customer used us to sell an entire collection of over 320 camera bodies and lenses.

Each item is thoroughly checked and tested before sale and if any problem or fault is found, you will be notified before any repairs are carried out and the equipment offered for sale. We can arrange repairs at competitive prices and notify you of costs before work proceeds. The costs of any repairs are then deducted when the item is sold, so there is no need to pay up front.

For your convenience we can arrange for a courier to collect your equipment at our special contract rates. Your equipment is fully insured as soon as the courier collects it. Your equipment is also insured while in our possession.

When we have checked the equipment we will call you with our suggested selling price for each item: this is based on current market trends and over 50 years experience. If you are not happy with our valuation there is no harm done and we will arrange for the equipment to be returned to you straight away. Customers who have used us for commission sales in the past have usually been delighted with the sums they receive, we can ask more than a private sale as we can offer a trade-in facility, and also take credit cards as well as giving a full guarantee.

When a commission sale item has been sold you will be sent a remittance slip along with a cheque, or bank transfer payment, the remittance slip will show you what we have sold.

We will not accept an offer on any piece of commission stock unless we have spoken to you first; it is also unlikely to happen, as we know what the price should be.

We charge a set 20% commission: what do you get for that?

It will include the VAT we have to pay the government for the service we are providing.
It will include any credit card fees charged when an item is bought using a credit card.
It will advertise your equipment each week in the Amateur Photographer magazine and various other photography magazines we use from time to time.
It will advertise your equipment on our own Web-Site, which receives 5000 visits per day.
It will offer a 6 month guarantee with your equipment.
It will give you the expertise of over 50 years of selling photographic equipment with knowledgeable staff and a full back up service.

So take the hassle out of selling and give us a try."
 
We lost my father in law just over a year ago from PPA (Primary Progressive Aphasia, the condition Bruce Willis has). My thoughts are with you & your family.

Another vote for FFordes. They helped the family of a deceased member of my camera club with his photographic gear and I believe they sold the expensive items on a commission basis.

You have some cracking gear there and it deserves to be sold by a reputable retailer of film gear.

All the best,

Terry.
 
FWIW following @GreenNinja67 positive remarks re: ffordes

I looked on Trust pilot
Ffordes are greatly 5*
Vintage CC (in post #3) have 5* and 1* extremes with almost equally percentages across only 13 reviews

Were I needing to do commission sales I would go with ffordes.
 
One of the best ways to find out what your stuff is worth is to do a sold item listing search on ebay; that will tell you what people are willing to pay. But it is important to find the exact same item as sometimes small differences can have a big effect on value.

Screenshot-2026-01-04-at-2.00.03 PM.jpg
 
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Thanks everyone for your thoughts and helpful suggestions.

As suggested, I’ll take photos of each item of equipment as soon as I can and re post the list.

In the meantime I’ll look into the potential buyers/resellers you have all listed.

Thanks again for such a brilliant set of replies.

Steve
 
Finally got round to taking some photos of my dad's cameras. and photographic equipment.

I know the Rolliflex was his pride and joy but I have no idea as to the value of the collection and what to do with them all.

Thanks again in advance for help/suggestions etc,

Steve
 
Agghh - files (JPEG @ c.6 MB each) are too big. Any suggestions please?
 
steveu1959 said:
Agghh - files (JPEG @ c.6 MB each) are too big. Any suggestions please?
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Reduce to max 1024px any side and less than 500kb total size.
 
Mifsuds down in Brixham seem to still have an active film section.

Personally, I'd take the collection to a local dealer (or 2, if you're lucky enough to still have them!) for a sale as a job lot. Yes, you'd probably get more for it all selling individual items but factor in your time and I'm not so sure.
 
steveu1959 said:
Agghh - files (JPEG @ c.6 MB each) are too big. Any suggestions please?
Click to expand...
Pictures are useful to show condition but my not show the exact model numbers and lens details clearly. . ..so a detailed list is IMO a helpful guide to potentially inform responses:-

Make
Model Number or type
Lens information (applicable too for Rollei models) e.g. 40mm f3.5

Any other designatory details on the individual camera bodies and lens that may aid distinguishing small variations in model types.

Best of luck of with the sales ... .oh, IIRC ffordes in Scotland offer a commission sales service for gear including 'complete collections' of such estate gear.

gramps said:
Reduce to max 1024px any side and less than 500kb total size.
Click to expand...
 
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