EBay Is A Really Horrible Awesome Horrible Place

Now that a portion of the industry has "gone digital" there appears to be a surplus of film cameras and vintage film accessories up for grabs on EBay.

Now, I enjoy shopping on EBay. Something about having very specific interest in an obscure thing that others have, has a very strange bonding to it. For instance, if I had a fetish for Elvis dinner plates, I know I could probably locate some on EBay. And that just makes me feel better, because I'm not out of my mind for wanting to eat a peanut butter and banana sandwich off Elvis plates.

Here's the thing about film equipment: there's always a corresponding YouTube video for it.

Yes, as I am about to make a purchase on a camera, there is inevitably a YouTube video with some other hobbyist talking about his love of the camera I'm in the market to purchase.

Talk about an insane brotherhood. Today I was looking for a Bolex camera...this is a handcrank Swiss made 16mm camera manufactured from the 1940's to the present day. The collectibility of this item is that A) precision B) you can do stop motion animation C) no batteries D) cheap

Okay, I need to backtrack on D.

It is a cheap camera but....but...the presence on YouTube has driven the "trend" up. Therefore, no one will budge on their prices. Look...when was the last time you heard of someone who shot 16mm crank camera? How about shooting 16mm film in general? Where the Hell are you even going to develop this film? Only a handful of people know, and yet...no flexibility.

People's relationship to film cameras are an intriguing thing. Much like motorcycles, we all look at it with a lot of reverence and memory. How and why are we so connect to inanimate objects? I suppose it's all about the connections we make with people. I LOVE sharing my adventures with Bolex cameras the same way I enjoy sharing riding stories on my Honda CB450. And I've shot with hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cameras and lenses. But this camera is so much more personal.

I sometimes have long conversations with people about camera equipment that have NOTHING to do with the sale itself. We get each other. Of course, I sidestep the ones who just want to sell equipment and have very little patience for chitchat. But for the ones who are true students of analog filmmaking, they understand. Saw footsteps in the sand on a deserted island.

I'm not sure how others treat EBay. But to me, a certain communal quality creeps in. I know some people have more practical uses for it, but...I mean...didn't EBay tout itself as place that you could re-purchase your memories? I think it's a time machine sometimes.