The "My Own Pawn Star" Story

Pawn Star Fred

It was an ordinary day.  Fred has just left with my camera collection.  He was like my own personal pawn star.  For those of you who watch "Pawn Stars" on the History Channel, you will know what I mean.  Fred is a dealer in antique cameras and accessories.  I contacted him about a month ago to find if he was interested in purchasing my camera collection that I began about 15 years ago.  My first purchase was a small camera with box that sold for $1.98 when it was new.  I paid $10 for it.  All plastic and didn't give very good photos.  Over the years I would pick up a stray camera here and a unusual photo there, but never spent much on any of them.  I just enjoyed the search and purchase.  I installed display cabinets in my office where I would place the collection for primarily myself to see.  I enjoyed it, but very few others ever bothered to look at it.  As time passed I got rid of the display cabinets and packed the collection in boxes and put them in storage.  Then started a new collection of Caribbean art.  When I started writing stories for my blog I dug a few of the old cameras and photos out of storage and included them in my stories.  One Daguerrotype I purchased had a love note and a lock of hair in it.  Paid $20 for it.  Pretty neat!  One Kodak Brownie camera was brown with an anniversary seal on it.  And the list goes on and on.  I thouroughly enjoyed buying every item in my collection and enjoyed displaying them .... for primarily myself.  Probably had close to 40 old camera and a slew of accessories and photos.  Then I got to thinking about what will happen with the boxes of old stuff when I pass and thought ...... that's not going to happen.  I'm going to sell everything so that someone else can feel the thrill I did when I bought it years ago.  I visited a pawn shop near my home and met Dave who really wasn't interested in acquiring any cameras or photos, but did give me Fred's name and number.  When Fred showed up I wondered if I made the right move in having him visit to look and buy my collection, but the more I watched him go over every piece and tell me about the history of it I knew someone else needs to own them.  Now you have to realize that I thought I would get a fortune for my collection, but after spending a few evenings online and on eBay, I changed my mind.  Some of my cameras were pictured on eBay for $1 and no one wanted them.  Others were listed for close to $100 and no one bid on them.  Uh Oh!  I made a list of values based on the eBay prices and added it together.  Fred would probably only offer me half that since he was in the business to make money and would have to double what he paid me, so I came up with a final estimate of what I wanted.  If you add in the gas and hours I spent buying the collection I was going to take a licking.  Fred showed me on his phone what the cameras that I had were bringing.  He asked me how much I wanted.  I asked him how much would he give me.  It came down to ..... I asked you first!  I gave him a figure and he offered me half of that.  We each explained our reasons.  Just like on "Pawn Stars", round two followed.  I made an offer and he counter-offered.  Then there was silence as we both though it over.  "OK, I'll take $$$$," I told him.  He thought a short time and said, "I can do that," and we shook hands ...... just like on "Pawn Stars."  The entire time we were packing the collection I kept thinking I should have kept that camera or I should have kept that paper cutter, but after a few hours I am feeling pretty good about it.  The amount I got will not make me rich, far from it, but it is a good start towards my next purchase of Caribbean art which is a piece of marquetry I have been looking at for a few years.  I guess we both came out happy in the end.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. 

Table of cameras

Accessories 

Photos