Looking to break into a hobby like photography but can't afford the high prices of new products? A thrift store could help you get started without breaking the bank. Where else can you save 99% on a vintage camera?
On the subreddit r/Leica, a photographer posted the incredible find at their local thrift store.
"A Thrift find of a lifetime," the post title reads. "I still can't believe I just found this."
"Walked into a thrift store I go to regularly and saw the lady working there stocking some new items on the shelf," the caption reads. "I grabbed what I thought was just another camera in a leather case, my heart dropped as soon as I saw the logo."
In images on the post, the OP shared a look at an old leather case with the tag marked $10.49 for the camera. Inside the case is a vintage film Leica M3 Chrome camera. The lowest retail price for that particular model is $1,798.
Because they are rarer nowadays than they were decades ago, the prices of film cameras are much higher. Finding a secondhand camera, especially a luxury camera, is a great way to save money toward a hobby or career like photography. According to CNBC, thrifters can save an average of $150 a month. That amounts to $1,760 a year.
Thrifting also helps keep unwanted items out of landfills, which cause water and soil pollution as well as planet-heating methane over time.
By thrifting, you can reduce the demand for new products and thus the pollution and habitat destruction that manufacturing creates.
Manufacturers are known to purposely design electronics, like cameras, to deteriorate over time and encourage shoppers to buy new items — a concept known as planned obsolescence. Thrifting instead gives power back to the shoppers, who can save money on some incredible finds that still have plenty of life left in them.
Other shoppers have lucked out in finding film cameras at similar prices, such as one thrifter who saved hundreds of dollars on a Fujifilm camera. Thrifters have been able to find other luxury items at steep discounts, too, including fashion items, cookware, and vintage furniture.
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Cheaper clothes 🤑 Commenters in the Leica thread could not believe the OP's find.
"You're lying right? He's lying right? Guys can someone tell me he's lying?" one commenter wrote.
Others were extremely jealous.
"I hope all of your shots are super overexposed or super underexposed going forward," one person joked. "Jk congrats on fishing this deal."
"I found a mint new canon rebel film camera in the box for $10 one time," wrote one commenter. "That was my best find. A leica is crazy."
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