P3D Re: Realist in Europe?

["Dr. George A. Themelis" <DrT-3d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I am little bit biased since I sell Realists in the USA, but I would
like to caution those considering this route:

>My second Realist 3.5 I bought through the eBay Internet auction 
>site. I paid $100 for it, but I had to cough up an extra $25 for 
>(surface ) mail.
>So my first advise to any European Realist user-to-be is: check out 
>http://www.eBay.com/ regularly

Buying an unchecked camera from people who don't know what Realist
is, involves always a risk.  Yes, you might pay less, but are you 
willing to take this risk?

My experience with Realists is that they need some basic inspection,
adjustments, maintenance, to be in good working order for a reasonable
amount of time.  If you buy a camera made 50 years ago that has not
been used the last 30 years, you better be skilled in camera 
maintenance to get it to work right.

I work in all my Realists, taking them apart, cleaning the shutter,
checking speeds, lubricating film advance (most important!), cleaning,
checking and adjusting infinity focusing, adjusting rangefinder,
cleaning viewfinder, etc.  I then add $35 to the price of the camera.
I sell Realists from $95 to $175.  Subtract $35 and you have the
"street price".  Wouldn't you pay an expert $35 to make sure that
the camera is adjusted and functioning well?  I provide a good
warranty and will replace the camera if anything goes wrong (and
things can go wrong for any camera that has not been tested in the
field with film).  I also supply an updated instruction manual and 
provide unlimited technical support :-).

Shipping rates:  I ship airmail to Europe for $20.  You will have the
camera in a week to 10 days.  That's not much higher than the $10
that some Ebay people charge to ship in the USA.

So, buy stereo cameras from Ebay if you 1) feel lucky, 2) have the
skills to deal with camera problems.  If not, then "buy from someone
you know, Doc". :-)

>My second advise is: 
>Come to the next fair in the Euretco building in Houten, the 
>Netherlands on the 8th of November. You'll have a great time.

I wish I could come and bring my stock of 40 Realists!  But it would be 
very expensive!

Regards -- George Themelis

PS. I wasted a lot of time monitoring and buying from Ebay and got
"fried" a couple of times.  Now, I don't bother any more.  That's
why God created "sell-3d" :-)


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