My $40 eBay 'bargain' film camera turned out to be a flashlight in disguise

I bought a vintage Minolta from a seller on eBay last month for $40, thought I scored a deal. When it arrived, the shutter sounded fine but every roll came back blank. After wasting $15 on two rolls of Portra and development fees, I finally took it to a shop in Cleveland. The guy laughed and showed me the light seals were completely gone and the mirror was misaligned. Apparently the seller knew what they were doing, just sold a broken shell. Now I'm out $55 total and have a nice paperweight. Anyone else get burned by a 'tested' camera on eBay and find out the hard way?

2 comments

2 Comments

anna_hill17d ago

The shop tech in Cleveland probably saved you more money in the long run by catching that before you wasted more film. At least now you know exactly what to check for when buying used gear, especially those light seals and mirror alignment. Did the seller have good feedback before you bought from them?

patriciamoore17d ago

Oh man, I've been there. A good shop tech can save you from a real headache. I always give used gear a thorough check now - run a roll of cheap film through it first thing before putting anything important in there. Also learned the hard way to ask sellers about the last time the camera had a CLA, not just if it works. A few extra bucks on the front end beats finding out your shots are toast after a whole weekend of shooting.