How best to sell 1963 Reichert Zetopan and accessories to raise money for charity

[JSH]

Hello, I'm hoping that I've posted in the correct forum and that you wonderful people will be able to help me decide how best to sell this donated equipment to raise money for our local cancer support centre, in the UK.

We sell regularly on ebay, mainly donated cameras and lenses, so are very well aware that the better and more specific the description the better things sell. And also that selling individual pieces usually raises more than lumping everything together. However, Reichert don't make life easy for people who are not familiar with microscopy, as they don't put part numbers on the individual pieces. Plus there aren't too many of these on ebay to make it easy to research and for some items such as a Reichert KAM VBX I haven't yet found one online anywhere.

Our donor, who was a university professor, helpfully listed what he has donated, and I would very much appreciate your views on which are the star pieces, likely to yield the most money. The microscope is in its original polystrene packaging and there are other fitted wooden boxes, along with original packing for the KAM VBX.

This is what our donor wrote:
Reichert ‘Zetopan’ Universal Research Microscope

Basic: Stand, low-voltage illuminator with two filter slides, square mechanical stage, inclined binocular body, inclined monocular body, straight photographic tube, condenser carrier, regulating transformer.

Condensers (5): Two-diaphragm condenser, achromatic aplanatic condenser, Polyphos universal condenser, contrast condenser (phase & anoptral, black one), interference contrast condenser (grey one).

Auxiliary microscope: eyepiece to focus contrast condensers.

Objectives (16): With two quadruple nosepieces and two sextuple nosepieces
Bright Field:
4x Planachromat
10x Compensating achromat
20x Apochromat
40x Planachromat (for interference contrast)
45x Apochromat
63x Fluorite
100x Apochromat (oil)
100x Planachromat with iris (for interference contrast)

Phase Contrast (red rings):
Ph 10x Achromat
Ph 40x Achromat
Ph 63x Achromat
Ph 100x Fluorite (oil)

Anoptral Contrast (yellow rings):
10x Achromat
40x Achromat
63x Achromat
100x Achromat (oil)

(Achromat have standard lenses, fluorite lenses are better and apochromats the best, while planachromats have special flat field lenses. Anoptral contrast is, I believe, unique to Reichert and American Optical Microscopes who took them over.)

Eyepieces:
Pair of plano x6.3
Pair of plano x12.5
Pair of compensating x 8
Pair of compensating x16

Micrometer scales: Stage micrometer, eyepiece micrometer disc.

Accessories for Interference Contrast: Quartz double prism, Filter polariser, Filter analyser, intermediate piece.

Projection mirror for drawing etc..

Photographic accessories for plates, roll films and attachment to SLR 35mm camera. CAM VBX

Original sales brochures

[photomicro]

I have left a PM with some advice.

[JSH]

Thanks, will reply directly.

[JSH]

I'm being blocked from sending PMs as I'm too new.

Can you give me any clues as to who you are that I can then use for further research to find direct contact details? I think I may have already worked it out, but don't want to post anything in case you like to stay anonymous. Probably the first letter of your surname would be enough!

[apochronaut]

I'm curious why you don't ask the donor to give you some advice, since he donated the microscope and was clearly knowledgeable about the instrument?

[JSH]

That is what I would usually do, but his wife is very poorly and has recently gone into care and he's visiting twice a day, so I don't really want to add to his load.

[coominya]

Watch this auction out. It should give you an idea of where to start your asking price.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Reichert-Zetop ... 3096013806

EDIT: A few pictures of your scope would be quite useful for people here too.

[photomicro]

I'm being blocked from sending PMs as I'm too new.

Can you give me any clues as to who you are that I can then use for further research to find direct contact details? I think I may have already worked it out, but don't want to post anything in case you like to stay anonymous. Probably the first letter of your surname would be enough!

Sorry you are not able to reply, didn't realise newbies not allowed to PM.

It would probably not be polite to put an email on here, so have a look at; https://www.flickr.com/photos/66189529@N08/

you can send me a message on there

MS

[JSH]

It let me PM you after I'd done a couple of posts, hopefully you will have received it.

[Charles]

You could sell this with the description you have with plenty of pictures. You could sell as a whole package or with separate groups of accessories

Your higher cost items are the Polyphos universal condenser with the yellow banded objectives and th interference contrast condenser with the interference objectives. You could sell these as separate groups and the rest of the microscope and accessories as a package.

The ebay item referred to will sell for a lot less than what yours would since you have the above additional accessories.

Photomicro, you can message him here with your email address. He just can't respond with a message back but is able to read yours.

[JSH]

Thanks, Charles, selling in groups minimises work and probably nearly maximises money. Just one yellow-banded objective on its own sold recently for £165. Not sure whether the set of 4 would sell for 4X that or if they vary in value.

[Charles]

Thanks, Charles, selling in groups minimises work and probably nearly maximises money. Just one yellow-banded objective on its own sold recently for £165. Not sure whether the set of 4 would sell for 4X that or if they vary in value.

The Polyphos universal condenser and it's yellow banded objectives are like the Leitz Heine condenser and are relatively rare and very desirable. If I lived on that side of the pond, I would make you an offer.