Cyclebum

Always a hot topic on touring forums.

Seems that the latest and greatest last about a month before another latest and greatest appears. I ask, why buy new?

Did a bit of snooping in a small local pawn shop the other day. There were 5 point and shoots to chose from. I walked out with a shirt pocket size, touchscreen Sony Cybershot with a Carl Ziess lens and too many shooting options to mention. For $50. If I'd been smarter in the ways of pawn shops, probably could have got it for $40 or less.

So, next time you're in the market, check out the pawn shops. A treasure hunt. Might find a Nikon DSLR for 80% off.

Accordion

And when your first repair comes up two months later and it's $400 you're screwed. That's the way it always worked out for me at least. I only buy new now. Sure there are great deals out there and people have taken five pictures and then put the camera in a drawer for five years but that's not how it happens for me. I always get the guy that had four problems with the camera and dumped it at a pawn shop.

I'm the same way about bikes. I've got a 2010 Cannondale CAAD9-5 sitting in my garage with ONE dent from my knee in the seat tube and I can't bring myself to sell it. I could probably dump it at a pawn shop for $300 but I feel sorry for the next guy to get it.

Yo Spiff

I've gotten some very nice deals at pawn shops on point & shoot cameras. They often undervalue them. DSLR's on the other hand, they tend to overvalue big time. I frequently see older DSLR models that I wouldn't pay over $200 for being offered for around $500. I could buy the brand new current model for that price.