Used Polaroid cameras in Detroit typically sell for $34 to $150. Instant cameras are bought to be used, so the whole sale rests on one thing: proving it fires and that film is still made for it.
Selling a Polaroid camera in Detroit
Detroit has more automotive knowledge per head than anywhere else in the country and an enormous stock of older housing. Car parts and tools sell to people who know exactly what they are looking at, and mid-century furniture surfaces here regularly.
The older housing stock means genuine estate clear-outs are common, and those are where the better furniture comes from. Automotive equipment circulates continuously rather than seasonally.
The city is spread out and everything is collected by car, with easy parking. Distances are long, so agreeing a meeting point on a main route rather than a specific address saves both sides time.
On car parts, confirm the exact fitment rather than the model name. The local knowledge is real and sellers will usually know precisely what it came off, so ask for the specifics before you travel.
Handing it over in Detroit
Peer-to-peer payment apps dominate private sales, and buyers will usually offer one before they offer cash. Sales tax does not apply to a private sale between individuals.
What Polaroid cameras are worth
What lifts the price
- Models that take film still in production
- Folding models with intact bellows
What pulls it down
- Perished bellows with light leaks
- Corroded battery contacts
Working out what yours is worth
- Confirm which film format it takes and whether that film is still sold
- Shine a torch inside the bellows in a dark room to find leaks
Getting it ready
- Load a pack and take a shot. A camera that has not been tested is worth far less because most old instant cameras do not work.
- Check which film format it takes and confirm that format is still in production, since several are not.
Photograph
- The camera closed and opened, whole, from the front
- The film compartment with the rollers visible
Put in the description
- Model, and the exact film format it takes
- Whether it has been tested, and with what result
Light and easy to post. Remove any film pack and batteries before sending, and pad the bellows on folding models, which crease permanently if compressed.
Listing is free and there is no selling fee, so the whole amount the buyer pays stays with you. You and the buyer agree the handover between yourselves.
Same region (Michigan)
Common questions
Where can I sell a Polaroid camera in Detroit?
List it free on WishThrift and deal with the buyer direct. The city is spread out and everything is collected by car, with easy parking. Distances are long, so agreeing a meeting point on a main route rather than a specific address saves both sides time.
Does it work?
Load film, take a picture, photograph the result. This single test is worth more than every other thing you can do for an instant camera listing.
How much is a Polaroid camera worth in Detroit?
Most used Polaroid cameras change hands for $34 to $150. Condition and completeness move that figure more than anything else.
More: selling a Polaroid camera across the United States, what Polaroid cameras are worth, everything second hand in Detroit, or Cameras & Photography in Detroit.
Guide range converted from sterling at the 2 August 2026 rate, not a quote — sellers set their own price.