I am such a klutz!

This is the Konica Auto S2 that I received last week. On Thursday, I dropped it. The camera landed on one corner and apparently the wind lever took the brunt of the impact. It sheared off the tiny screw threads holding the lever in place. What's left of the fastener is that small brass piece down inside the rewind shaft - the one with two flats on either side.

After some colorful language, silently expressed inside my head as Mary and Lyndsay were in the room, I thought of a solution. I'd seen another S2 at a flea market in Tulsa. It was inoperative, so I'd go buy it as a donor camera for parts. This was gonna be easy!

At the flea market, I found the S2 quickly, then spent some time untangling it from the other junker/clunker cameras. I found the booth owner and offered $5 it.

"What! I can't believe you'd insult me like that so early in the morning! The lens alone is worth $25!" He snatched the camera from my hand, turned on his heel, and walked away.

"For $25 I can get one that works," I said. The guy seemed genuinely angry so I left. But then I started thinking. If an S2 in very good condition fetches maybe $100 on E-bay, and he wants at least $25 for the broken one, it should cost roughly $75 for a repair at a shop. That still doesn't account for any other defects, rotted seals, or cleaning. So his apparent value for the camera is way out of line. And in the final analysis, it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

I'm willing to pay five bucks. I'll probably go down there in a week or so and insult him again. It's one of my strong points, and I really kinda enjoy doing it.