How do you sell your gear?

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Jul 21, 2010
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cliffwang said:
neuroanatomist said:
I use CL exclusively. You need to decide what you're willing to take. Personally, I only buy for 70% or less of the current new item price. I've had good luck selling at 75-80% of new. Include good pics in your ad, product -type pics ('seamless' white background, a piece of paper works just crop tight). Ask for a phone number in the reply.

LOL. Now I know why I feel the resell value of my gears were so bad.

Indeed. But, I should say that buying used is how I 'test drive' lenses. I've re-sold far more used lenses than I've kept (in one case buying a new copy of the lens, but that was the 24-105, which was break even at the kit lens price) - that's why I only buy 'cheap'. I get to try the lens for as long as I want, and usually for no net cost (and several times, net gain!). Plus, I can afford to wait for the good deal, and have cash to jump on it when I see it.
 
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neuroanatomist said:
cliffwang said:
neuroanatomist said:
I use CL exclusively. You need to decide what you're willing to take. Personally, I only buy for 70% or less of the current new item price. I've had good luck selling at 75-80% of new. Include good pics in your ad, product -type pics ('seamless' white background, a piece of paper works just crop tight). Ask for a phone number in the reply.

LOL. Now I know why I feel the resell value of my gears were so bad.

Indeed. But, I should say that buying used is how I 'test drive' lenses. I've re-sold far more used lenses than I've kept (in one case buying a new copy of the lens, but that was the 24-105, which was break even at the kit lens price) - that's why I only buy 'cheap'. I get to try the lens for as long as I want, and usually for no net cost (and several times, net gain!). Plus, I can afford to wait for the good deal, and have cash to jump on it when I see it.

Great idea to try some gears. I want to try some lenses which I don't really need. Maybe this is a good way to let me try them. Thanks for sharing the idea.
 
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RLPhoto

Gear doesn't matter, Just a Matter of Convenience.
Mar 27, 2012
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bykes said:
Hello all.

New to the forum, but I've been a long time visitor to the site. I'm sorry if this has been discussed before, but I'm having a tough time selling some gear. I'm trying to sell my canon ef-s 17-55. I've had it up on Craigslist for a few weeks with about 1 or 2 interested in buying that have backed out of at the last minute. I really don't want to put it on ebay to avoid fees.

I was just curious if anyone knew of any other outlets to sell used gear.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Craiglist

Good Friends

Evil Bay

Fred Miranda

Lastly, Pawn Shops. :mad:
 
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bykes said:
Hello all.

New to the forum, but I've been a long time visitor to the site. I'm sorry if this has been discussed before, but I'm having a tough time selling some gear. I'm trying to sell my canon ef-s 17-55. I've had it up on Craigslist for a few weeks with about 1 or 2 interested in buying that have backed out of at the last minute. I really don't want to put it on ebay to avoid fees.

I was just curious if anyone knew of any other outlets to sell used gear.

Thanks for any suggestions.
I've used fredmiranda and am quite happy with it. No such luck with craigslist, just got lowballers, bottom feeders and flakes.
 
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Mt Spokane Photography said:
I am normally able to sell for enough extra on ebay to cover their fees and then some. If you follow the Paypal Rules, you are covered from scammers.
Fred Miranda sellers typically get a lot less than ebay sellers, and end up paying the Paypal fees. There is no protection from scammers, so its the riskiest way to sell.

Last I checked, and last time we discussed this, this was not true. If, as a fredmiranda seller, you use paypal non-gift, the paypal agreement provides the same level of protection from scammers that it provides to those who use their service via ebay.

It is true that the fredmiranda site itself does not provide any protection. In general, it is as risky or safe as the method that you use to collect payment given the parties with whom you transact. Much like ebay, it's possible to check the bona-fides of counterparties. Since it's a forum, you can also check if your trading partners appear to be legit (e.g. do they participate in the forum outside of trading gear ? Do they have a professional website or a flickr or smugmug page ?)

Ultimately, how "risky" the different methods are is an empirical question (e.g. what is the expected loss per transaction for a buyer/seller for each method ?) I don't believe anyone has posted much in the way of hard facts on this (here or anywhere else).
 
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Jul 26, 2011
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If you are near a large population center, Craigslist is fantastic. It has definitely gotten worse over the years though. People want ridiculously high money when selling and too little when buying and you have all the scammers. But it's still the best way in my opinion. When selling, pick a air price, and be willing to drop a little further. I think it's psychological, if you drop the price a little, the other person thinks they were able to work themselves a deal and they will buy. I have gotten so many great deals buying and selling on Craigslist, it's worth the effort.
 
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neuroanatomist said:
Indeed. But, I should say that buying used is how I 'test drive' lenses. I've re-sold far more used lenses than I've kept (in one case buying a new copy of the lens, but that was the 24-105, which was break even at the kit lens price) - that's why I only buy 'cheap'. I get to try the lens for as long as I want, and usually for no net cost (and several times, net gain!). Plus, I can afford to wait for the good deal, and have cash to jump on it when I see it.

LOL - Yep, the Craigslist "rental". Great way to go!
 
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I have used craigslist exclusively. As others have mentioned, certain factors help, such as selling in a large metropolitan area (in Chicago here) and requiring a telephone number for contact.

I also agree very much with others here on how helpful it is to have good-looking photographs of what your are selling. I get top results for listings with photographs where DOF is shallow (I use a 50mm f/1.2L for CL photos). Naturally, meeting in a public place is recommended. To avoid lowballers, I include a line in my listings to the effect of "price is firm".
 
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I've had very good luck with CL so far. Sold a couple of point & shoots, lenses, cell phones and a monopod to a cop who showed up in uniform in his police car, paid cash and left. Most recently I sold my 50D to someone who wanted me to meet him closer to where he's at (45 minute drive for me) and he actually paid more than I was asking to cover gas.

I'm surprised that I haven't sold my EF-S 10-22mm yet (lots of lowballers though) since I listed it at the same time as the 50D body. I was confident the demand for the lens would be much higher than a 4-year-old camera body. Haven't got lucky yet.
 
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ssan said:
I've had very good luck with CL so far. Sold a couple of point & shoots, lenses, cell phones and a monopod to a cop who showed up in uniform in his police car, paid cash and left. Most recently I sold my 50D to someone who wanted me to meet him closer to where he's at (45 minute drive for me) and he actually paid more than I was asking to cover gas.

I'm surprised that I haven't sold my EF-S 10-22mm yet (lots of lowballers though) since I listed it at the same time as the 50D body. I was confident the demand for the lens would be much higher than a 4-year-old camera body. Haven't got lucky yet.

I hear what your sayin. It's suprising what sells and what doesn't. Apparently the Canon 17-55 is one of that doesn't sell!
 
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What about KEH? I have had only positive experiences both buying and selling used gear with them. Their buyers visit cities around the US from time to time, so it may be worth checking if they will be coming to your area anytime soon.

I attended one of these sessions, and they surprised me by offering more than I expected for the items I brought - more even than their automated website valuation tool quoted. Of course they have to make a profit so they will turn around and sell for more than they paid me, but I was very happy with their valuation. They pay in cash on the spot, so there is zero risk and you always have the option to say no if you think you can do better elsewhere.

The gear I sold was all old Bronica MF stuff in very good condition, mostly ETRSi E or EII lenses that I was upgrading to the PE series for those that know this manufacturer. I'm not sure how their valuations for recent Canon equipment would stack up against CL or fleaBay, but if they set up shop close by it certainly is convenient.
 
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neuroanatomist said:
bykes said:
Apparently the Canon 17-55 is one of that doesn't sell!

I sold mine the day after I listed it on CL (and that was only because we couldn't fine a mutually agreeable time on the day I posted the ad).

I've sold plenty of things on Craig's list that sold immediately in my area. Mostly furniture. I guess I need to be patient.
 
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This thread's re-inspired me to get off my duff and get the writeups done tonight.

For one or two items, I've decided to state the price is firm (because I'm not really certain I want to sell them). On others that I have decided to be a little flexible on, is it enough to not state it's firm?

Is it even worth mentioning not to lowball, or just outright ignore the responses?
 
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