Camera Fairs ?

ok, so I am amazed at the prices on ebay and I want to actually see the stuff (cos two bargains off ebay have been a little dissapointing) but I am struggling to find any local camera fairs - or indeed many fairs at all, Nanites are the only guys who list quite a few but nothing close to me

An hour or so from Sheffield M1/M18 would be fine, I get to Bristol and Plymouth often enough that I could pick the right weekend

Any top tips for a camera fair virgin mostly interested in M42 wierdness to use on Digital ?

Try Wolverhampton Camera Fair Sunday 18 April. Google for details

I regularly haunt the Wolverhampton camera fair, the next one is on 18 April as Graham says.

http://www.wolverhamptoncamerafair.co.uk/

it's easy to find from the M54 and M6.

There's a good range of stuff there, and some overpriced junk, but I've had a few bargains.

I go to Beaconsfield a lot - usually some good bargains to be had. There used to be one near Leeds but I've never personally been there.

Best place to check is Amateur Photographer magazine - you'll find the coming week's fairs listed about 2-3 pages in from the back as a rule.

...and here's a tip - never pay the marked price, always haggle.

I think ebay has suffered as everyone now looks there as a first port of call, great for sellers but I have noticed that very few list their items as "buy it now" these days, which often used to be a way to pick up a bargain if you were searching at the right time (Got a very tidy ME Super with 50mm f1.7 for £28 that way).

Always haggle. Don't make an insultingly low offer, but if it's priced at, say, £25 then ask if they'll take £20. Likewise if you're there all day and an item hasn't sold then you may get lucky near the end, as traders don't want to have to load everything back into the van again so just might be willing to take a lower sum in order to get rid.

A farmer my dad used to work with had an interesting trick for haggling. He'd go along with cash in various pockets, pull out a likely sum and say "Hmm, well, that's all I've got on me see...". If unsuccessful he'd then rummage around and "find" more cash in another pocket until the seller was happy!