Dealing with old photographic film--advice sought

[J N Winkler]

Recently I had to take some unexposed 35-mm photographic film out of the freezer it was stored in so the latter could be defrosted.  The film had been sitting there essentially undisturbed since 2005, which was when I began using digital cameras more or less exclusively.  I am now seeking advice from knowledgeable people on the best way to dispose of it.  (Yes, I know gelatin-silver film is now considered technologically obsolete and has receded to niche uses, but I would rather not just discard this stock if I can avoid it.)

The film that was stored was mostly color slide film (process E-6), including several 100-foot bulk reels and about 50 36-exposure cartridges (most in manufacturers' original cardboard boxes).  I would like to dispose of this in the secondary market, e.g. on eBay, and a quick survey of current auctions suggests that I might even make a profit doing so, since the slide film I used to shoot in quantity--mostly Provia, with some Velvia thrown in--has eBay auction prices around the $6 mark per roll of Provia and $10 per roll of Velvia.  I don't know, however, whether these are prices eBay auction winners actually pay for this film, or if the same film keeps getting listed again and again at prices nobody is willing to pay.  Has anyone had any recent experience trading film through eBay or a similar e-commerce site?

I also have about 25 rolls' worth of film that I purchased on bulk reels and then spooled onto reusable cassettes.  Naturally I can't expect to sell this in the aftermarket--in fact none of the cassettes is labeled, so I am lucky I can still tell the ISO 50 and ISO 100 films apart.  A quick check of prices suggests I can expect to pay $10 for processing and mounting only, or $13 for processing, mounting, and scanning (3600 x 2400 "medium resolution") if I send the exposed films to Process One in Overland Park.  Is this a reasonable price scale, or are there other photofinishers which can be recommended?  (I actually suspect I may be financially better off giving away this film to someone who is willing to take a chance on irregular labelling--the total cost of processing and scanning for 25 films at Process One's price scale is pretty close to what I paid for my current digital point-and-shoot, which I think needs to be replaced fairly soon.)

I'm grateful for any advice.