M6

I just bought an M6. I've been lusting after one for years. Occasionally, when I feel somewhat flush with cash, I troll ebay. But then I wonder about the sellers and how certain I can be they'll deliver. The cameras don't come cheap.

On a whim, I checked Craigslist. Someone was selling a bunch of cameras and lenses for $3500 obo. Among them was a Leica M6 with a 2.0/35 ASPH Summicron lens. I sent him an email and waited.

Sunday night, I received a response. We exchanged emails and then I called him. He said he was shocked at the response to his ad. No one seemed interested in his Nikon equipment, but everyone was calling about the Leica. He said that he was feeling harrassed by some of the potential buyers. He told me the best offer he had received so far, and while I was hoping for a little less, I said I might be able to match it. He said some people had looked at the camera and they had proclaimed it near mint. They offered to pay by check, but that he wasn't accepting checks. He didn't believe in checks. He said that they always bounced. He was looking for someone to pay in cash, and that the first person who gave him cash would get the camera. I asked if I could come see it. He said yes and we arranged to meet Monday at noon by the 30th Avenue subway stop in Astoria.

With a subway strike looming, I took the train from Prince Street. The trains were slow. I transferred to an N at 14th Street and took it into Queens. The day was clear but cold. When I got to the street level, I called. Joey answered and said he was near the Trade Mark supermarket. I walked towards the store looking for him. I passed a man on a cell phone and looked at him and pointed. He wasn't talking into his phone but I heard Joey's voice. I smiled and apologized. It turned out he was waiting in his car.

Joey told me he's an exterminator. The camera equipment was left by his uncle, who had recently died. He said that his uncle had left him a storage bill of $800.00, and that the storage facility housed cameras, clothes, and furniture. His uncle had recently rented a new house and furnished it with new furniture in anticipation of a few lucrative gigs (his uncle was as photographer). But the gigs fell through. He had spent all his money on the furniture and was soon unable to pay the rent. He was evicted. Then he caught pnemonia and died.

Joey was about to throw everything away until a friend came over with another friend who was a photographer. The photographer friend took one look at the equipment Joey was about to trash. "Do you know how much this is worth?" he asked. "A couple of hundred dollars," Joey guessed. "Try a few thousand," his friend said. Joey looked up a few things on ebay and then decided to list on CL. Then the calls started coming in.

I took a look at the camera and knew I wanted it. It's TTL as opposed to classic, but I can't remember now the differences and I was tired of constantly looking for a good deal on a used M6. I told Joey I had $800.00 in cash and could pay the rest by check. He said no. He didn't have a checking account and he reiterated the fact that he felt checks always seemed to bounce. I went to the bank to withdraw more money, but I had hit my ATM limit for the day. I wrote a check to myself and had it cashed.

Walking back to Joey's car, I saw he was on the phone. "It's that other lady," he told me. A woman had called earlier offering more money for the camera. He told her he was already meeting me and that if I had the cash, then it was mine. The woman had called begging him not to sell. He said it was too late.

I gave Joey the money and asked him to write a receipt. He said if he had known I wanted one he would have used one of his printed ones. Either from his brother's business selling pianos or from his exterminating company. He said he didn't understand cameras. He said he's happy using a disposable and was still in awe that a camera could fetch so much money. He said that he had found a buyer for one of the Nikons and was meeting him on the opposite corner in another 1/2 hour.

When he was done counting the money, he offered me a ride back into the city. I thanked him and said that the train took me right back to work. I told him that as soon as I had made some images with the camera I'd email him some. He thanked me. I said goodbye to his daughter, who was hiding in the car. She was home sick for the day, and very pleased. He got back into his car to wait for his next meeting, and I turned to walk back to the subway, beaming all the way.
Posted by eku at December 19, 2005 2:52 PM