So long eBay, hello Goodwill
I've been a member of eBay just about as long as it's been around. For a camera collector, it has been a great site to view vintage stuff and get a good idea regarding value and availability of specific brands or models. Going from searching local antique stores or pawn shops for older cameras suddenly became a waste of time with the tremendous variety of items suddenly available on the online auction site at any time, day or night. I was able to purchase cameras from the comfort of my home that I would never see in local haunts. Fabulous.
In the beginning, eBay was an open-city type location. It was a bit wild and wonderful. Fun, too. As with anything in capitalism, the higher the risk, the greater the reward. True, transactions could be a bit hinky from time to time early on, but mostly people were easy to do business with. We all built up our ratings by really trying to be the best sellers and buyers we could be. But there are always a few people with other intentions. As in anything. You took the good with the bad.
Paying for items was always the most delicate step. To their credit, eBay did a good job of trying to steer people clear of known trouble-makers or risky exchanges of money. Where once we could simply send in a personal check and wait until it cleared, suddenly PayPal appeared and became the transaction choice for many sellers. Didn't like that concept from the start, but as an available payment method for the nervous seller, it seemed appropriate, safer.
Then came the recession.
Like many other Americans, I've paid off my credit cards and have earnestly begun saving my money. Those wonderful credit card folk who brought us 30+% interest rates and numerous hidden fees made doing this a huge priority for me, and many others.
Whoops! Now PayPal is off-limits. And along with that, eBay. No more charging means no more surfing. Cash is king in our home (for now). Since eBay no longer will even let us transact with certified check, no more buying on eBay. Period. Light on, light off. I've even deleted the bookmark in my browser.
So where does a fella go for a vintage camera fix? Where online can you view junky, clunky, funky old cameras and still buy with cash? www.shopgoodwill.com. That's right, those good folk at Goodwill must have found out that selling vintage cameras at their local stores didn't make them as near enough money as listing them on a nation-wide auction site. That's good for us collectors.
Shopgoodwill.com is like an early eBay. The fun is back. Goofy stuff at reasonable prices, and you can pay sometimes by personal check! It's clearly not as polished a site as eBay, but who cares if you can slake your vintage camera collection bug with an occasional buy without whipping out the credit card.
I suggest you visit their site today. You'll find some great deals and you'll be doing a truly good deed by underwriting this very fine non-profit organization. So get a good deal and feel a good deal better by supporting www.shopgoodwill.com.
In the beginning, eBay was an open-city type location. It was a bit wild and wonderful. Fun, too. As with anything in capitalism, the higher the risk, the greater the reward. True, transactions could be a bit hinky from time to time early on, but mostly people were easy to do business with. We all built up our ratings by really trying to be the best sellers and buyers we could be. But there are always a few people with other intentions. As in anything. You took the good with the bad.
Paying for items was always the most delicate step. To their credit, eBay did a good job of trying to steer people clear of known trouble-makers or risky exchanges of money. Where once we could simply send in a personal check and wait until it cleared, suddenly PayPal appeared and became the transaction choice for many sellers. Didn't like that concept from the start, but as an available payment method for the nervous seller, it seemed appropriate, safer.
Then came the recession.
Like many other Americans, I've paid off my credit cards and have earnestly begun saving my money. Those wonderful credit card folk who brought us 30+% interest rates and numerous hidden fees made doing this a huge priority for me, and many others.
Whoops! Now PayPal is off-limits. And along with that, eBay. No more charging means no more surfing. Cash is king in our home (for now). Since eBay no longer will even let us transact with certified check, no more buying on eBay. Period. Light on, light off. I've even deleted the bookmark in my browser.
So where does a fella go for a vintage camera fix? Where online can you view junky, clunky, funky old cameras and still buy with cash? www.shopgoodwill.com. That's right, those good folk at Goodwill must have found out that selling vintage cameras at their local stores didn't make them as near enough money as listing them on a nation-wide auction site. That's good for us collectors.
Shopgoodwill.com is like an early eBay. The fun is back. Goofy stuff at reasonable prices, and you can pay sometimes by personal check! It's clearly not as polished a site as eBay, but who cares if you can slake your vintage camera collection bug with an occasional buy without whipping out the credit card.
I suggest you visit their site today. You'll find some great deals and you'll be doing a truly good deed by underwriting this very fine non-profit organization. So get a good deal and feel a good deal better by supporting www.shopgoodwill.com.
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