Well, guess what. Turns out that a lot of camera buyers, particularly younger ones, don’t give a hoot about the latest imaging and optical technology and are more tempted by vintage digital compacts from the early 2000s – the kind of gear you see on online marketplaces or in charity shops/thrift stores.
This is not exactly breaking news – we’ve covered the popularity of retro digital compacts before – but we didn’t realise that the interest in old digicams, with their comparatively puny resolution and leisurely autofocus, is quite as big as it is.
It’s certainly not news to Zak Megson and Danielle Gollings, two enterprising 20-somethings from the northern English city of Leeds. Since they began selling old digital cameras on eBay as a side-hustle in 2020, they’ve shifted over 46,000 units and now run a flourishing business called Digicam Collective that turns over £600,000 ($688,877) a year!
We caught up with Zak to find out more, and why under 30s in particular are falling over themselves to acquire these cheap and cheerful digital compacts of yore. So how did Digicam Collective get started?
‘Originally we were buying anything we could find that looked like a good deal, including trainers and odds-and-ends, so we could sell on eBay,’ Zak explains. ‘I remember seeing an old Pentax film SLR, and contacted the seller. It turned out he had a whole garage full of camera gear, which he no longer had room for.
On a whim, Danielle and I drove over to Barnsley and took it all, including some digital compacts, a Nikon DSLR and lots of accessories. We started selling the compacts on eBay, and there was instant demand. At the time – 2020/1 – there weren’t many people selling these on.’
Older cameras appeal to the ‘imperfection generation’
So why does Zak think there has been such an upsurge of interest in older digital cameras, particularly compacts?
‘I think it’s partly nostalgia. For a lot of people of my generation, they see the old family photos taken on a point-and-shoot compact camera, whether film or digital, and want that same effect/look on the photos they take now.
But I also think a lot of it is to do with people getting a bit tired of phones, or more specifically, all the distractions that come with taking photos on a phone.
If you are at a gig, for example, everyone has their phone with them. You are there trying to enjoy the performance and take photos, but you get distracted when your phone keeps pinging away with notifications from social media, or a worrying email from work, for example.
You don’t get these distractions with an old camera, and they are also trendy – a lot of people on TikTok are talking about having an ‘analogue 2026’. So I think people are trying to step away from phones and algorithms.
On our website, we tell people not to try and ‘perfect’ their photography. Life isn’t perfect, after all, and having a few imperfections in an image is probably more true to your experience.’
Sourcing the cameras
‘We used to pick up a lot of cameras at car boot sales/garage sales, although we don’t go to so many now. House clearances are a great source of cameras too, so we build relationship with house-clearance specialists.
More recently, we’ve been sourcing cameras from people who’ve bought abandoned storage units. Third-party marketplaces, such as Facebook Marketplace, are also good sources for cameras we can pick up cheaply and then sell on at a reasonable profit.’
Zak and Danielle’s business has moved beyond just being on eBay, and the duo is about to unveil a new website, where they will also be able to buy-in used cameras (in a similar fashion to MPB and other specialist used retailers). ‘We want to be a kind of We Buy Any Camera’ type service, so we are also looking to buy in broken or faulty equipment which we are often able to repair,’ Zak adds.
Filling a gap, being more green
Zak reckons that the success of Digicam Collective shows there is a gap in the used market, with bigger ‘preloved’ retailers focussing on higher-end DSLR and mirrorless gear, rather than the cheap and cheerful digital compacts that are now back in fashion.
‘Bigger used camera retailers have to increase their margins to cover their operating costs, so it makes sense that they focus on the higher-end stuff. Our average sale price at the moment is around £40.
When we buy in cameras, we will pay people a good price, a fair price, for the kind of camera gear that nobody else will take. We also save people the hassle of sourcing and selling cameras themselves through Facebook Marketplace or eBay.’
Following on from this, Digicam Collective offers a 30-day returns policy on all the cameras it sells, along with a 60-day warranty covering mechanical faults.
‘As the cameras we sell are older, there is always the risk that a sensor fails or a ribbon cable comes loose or something… we are really focussed on being able to fix these issues ourselves. Neither me or Danielle have a technical background, but there is a lot of help online when it comes to fixing up cameras, and we can always call in specialist expertise.
Indeed, as part of our community building we are going to start posting YouTube videos with tips for fixing an old camera, rather than throwing it away.
This is important to us, as another key reason for setting up the business was our concern over the environmental impact of discarded semi-conductors for instance – anything we can salvage has to be good for the environment. We also have a partner in Japan who can help with fixing old cameras, as they have easier access to parts.’
Striking gold with golden oldies
Digicam Collective is currently focused on older, ‘funkier’ cameras rather than more recent DSLR and mirrorless gear, though it doesn’t shy away from buying or selling these if good examples become available. ‘A lot of people don’t realise how much older, lower-end digital cameras could be worth,’ notes Zak. ‘My grandma, for example, was about to take a box full of camera gear to the recycling centre, but fortunately I managed to get them off her first!’
Does Zak sometimes worry that the current demand for funky digital compacts from the noughties will prove to be a passing fad?
‘Earlier on we were, but we’ve been in business for around five years now and we’ve only seen the demand increase. In the last year, we did about £600,000 of revenue… when you factor in eBay and our trade partners in Singapore and Japan, we have sold over 46,000 cameras. It’s become a full time job for me and Danielle, and we employ a small team as well.’
According to Zak, particularly popular compacts include the Nikon CoolPix, Canon Ixus and PowerShot ranges, along with older Panasonic Lumix models. ‘These brands fly off the shelves. You’d be surprised though, even 5MP Vivitar compacts also do well, selling for about £30; people love ’em!
We’ve noticed that there are now Facebook and Reddit groups dedicated to obscure compact cameras. It’s crazy how many people are really into them… so if you are thinking of getting rid of an old digital compact, hang on to it. We will buy it off you!’
To find out more about Digicam Collective, see the eBay page. The new look website is about to be unveiled at the beginning of February.
