Sometimes it seems like everything is happening on 2nd Street.
As part of my current mania for downsizing I am thinking of selling off all but my essential cameras and lenses. These would include a fairly large collection of Panasonic mFT cameras and lenses, the erstwhile but eccentric Sigma fp and its seemingly endless supply of accessories, several full frame lenses and many more lights. I could trade all these things in at Precision Camera but they don't buy gear they accept it for trade. And, as I've said, I'm trying to get rid of stuff, not just rearrange the deck chairs.
Without judging my acquisitions and disposals could you let me know in the comments the ways you have found best to get sell off gear you are done with? Do you list it on some site like FredMiranda.com? Do you move it through KEH.com? Are you brave enough to try Craig's List? Do you have a secret formula for doing transactions on Ebay? Do you package items together (ex: A GH5 + a PanaLeica 12-60mm)?
Do you sell each item separately? How do you vet buyers?
Has anyone ever had any luck at selling lights online?
I'm not anxious to act but I'd like to go totally out of character and actually research this instead of just jumping out of the plane first and checking to see if I have a parachute on after the fact....
Thanks in advance.
49 comments:
I guess you have plenty of readers, why not post your list here?
I have had very good results with MPB both for outright selling and trading.
I am happy with the way they do business.
Just sold some stuff at MPB and got my money very quickly. Have had problems with KEH taking over a month to get paid.
Selling the gear yourself will give you the most return. If you don't want to deal with the packing/shipping hassles if you sell to your readers, you could restrict sales to those willing to pick the gear. Pay in advance through PayPal or Venmo, etc., then you put it on a table just outside your office at an appointed time =s no contact sales.
I've been happy with KEH for both buying and selling. Modest waits for payment, no complaints. I'm sure I'm leaving $$ on the table, as the expression goes, but it's an absolute breeze to do.
Another vote for MPB, but u can probably get more on EBay.
I used Roberts Photo Pro to sell off some of my gear.
Very easy - just send them a list of what you got & they will offer an estimate - be sure to list if you have original boxes, etc. The final price is adjusted (if needed) when they get the gear and do a final inspection.
Honest and great customer service - granted the price offered is heavily discounted, but that seems to be the case for KEH and others too.
Let me know what MTF gear you have - I have the 12-100 & a wide zoom, but not much else now, so may want to grow my inventory again!
Thanks - Chris
The bulk of my experience buying and selling has been through eBay, and I have been more than happy with the experiences almost without exception. If you go that way, invest some time in reseatching ads for similar products and develop an approach that reflects the quality of the seller and the merchandice. Good photos are one of the more valuable marketing tools and you should ace that.
All that said, I think you're very well positioned to just bypass the middle man and list everything here. Your audience already understands and supports what you do and I believe you'd be very successful very quickly.
I've had two too many nightmarish experiences on eBay to ever bother listing anything on there ever again. I've had good experiences with B&H, KEH and MPB but I'd much rather sell on FredMiranda because the vetting has already been done for me and I can get much more for what I'm selling.
KEH and MPB will both quote in advance, prices do vary.
I have had KEH downgrade a new in the box lens (it was a as it turned out unused backup for a system I decided to leave) to 3 grades below my accurate description of LN. I found B & H more honest to deal with. I haven’t sold on Fred Miranda recently but had good experience there before the low ballers and resellers moved in. I have had good experiences with MBP, too.
Hi Kirk:
I've sold my old stuff locally and sent items to KEH without any problems. You can expect KEH to give you half of the item's value. They do have to make a profit.
I suggest you list your stuff here on your blog and see if some of us might be interested. I've done private party purchases too. I simply send a check and get the items after the check clears. I am a trusting soul I suppose. Most people are honest. Life is too short to be a cheat!
I figure if the worst thing that ever happens in my life is a transaction goes south so be it. It has not been a problem for me but I am an optimist:)
As someone else mentioned, you likely have a bunch of eager mFT users as regular readers.
Chris DC
I have bought and sold on eBay for the last 16 years or so, much less recently. I see several factors that discourage, though do not totally stop, me from using eBay. First, as a buyer, I find today's sellers much less willing to work than even a dozen years ago. Rather than accurately describe an item, supplemented with plenty of images, many now simply resort to "condition is used." Right. Second, as both a buyer and seller, the run-up in retail shipping rates make it all but infeasible to buy or sell modest dollar value items. As has always been the case, you will find about 15% of your selling price goes to eBay and PayPal fees. Lastly, I will not buy from a "newbie" seller on eBay -- I want to see a solid track record of successful sales. I'm finding a lot of expensive gear on eBay being offered by people with zero, one or two prior sales these days. Fell off a truck . . ..
If you do decide to sell on eBay (or any place for that matter), never package a lens with a camera. Something always gets under-valued in that sale. Too, as a buyer, I am much more interested in cameras and lenses that come with all the original items including the serial numbered box. That tells me I'm dealing with a seller who has cared for his or her camera gear. At least for Nikon, I've got to know the original product was imported by Nikon USA and not a grey market import.
I have sold gear to KEH in the past. I found them to be straightforward, honest, and fast to pay when the gear reached their shop. They make it easy to sell to them. I have friends who have purchased from KEH and been delighted. Expect to receive about 50 cents on the dollar if you sell them gear. This is a price point familiar to many used items, photographic and not. I have had success in using KEH's selling price points as a guide for pricing my gear on eBay. I see them as the "blue book" of used camera gear.
I have been toying around with lightening the gear cabinet this winter. I am thinking first in terms of selling my gear to KEH.
Most of my recent stuff has gone via KEH, no problems. For a few items I checked eBay average recent selling prices and decided that even with the eBay commission and the loss due to shipping being under estimated the hassle was worth it it, but that’s less than 10 percent.
You might just see what response you get from listing stuff on your website. You are going to have to pack and ship items regardless. I am certainly interested in what you are selling.
A bad experience turned me away from eBay. I've had good luck with Craigslist, but that was back when one could meet at a coffeeshop. No packing or shipping (I'm lazy); walk away with cash.
You don't seem lazy, so I'd agree with others here about just selling them through the blog. You'd probably get a decent price; certainly better than sending them off to KEH or similar.
Who is MPB? Asking for a friend ;)
MPB, I never heard of them, so I ran a search. Thanks a lot for cluing me in. I've already submitted a dozen cameras and lenses for a quote. What they don't want will go to KEH.
I've sold film cameras and Leica M lenses through popflash photo. I'd use them again.
MPB for sure. I used to do business with KEH and thought they were good, but lately something has happened to them so they just aren't very responsive. If quick and painless is your goal then MPB is the one.
Positive experiences with KEH, Roberts/Used Photo Pro, and Popflash. Popflash, however, takes longer to pay but does say that upfront.
I've sold many items on ebay over the years, but not many in the past two. Successful bidders fail to pay, so items have to be relisted.
Stay away from Craigslist. Many buyers want something for nothing. Others make appointments and fail to show up.
I've been buying and selling on the internet for at least 25 years and have never taken a loss on either my photo gear or my books (I've been collecting, buying, and selling photo books for many years). In fact, I don't currently have a camera or lens that I didn't buy used from an internet site.
The fora that have worked best for me are Fred Miranda, photography-on-the.net, and RFF -- rangefinderforum.com. I haven't used eBay for at least 20 years.
Do a bit of research on the above fora to find out what items such as yours are selling for, then set your price accordingly. Accept only PayPal or Venmo (although I have no personal experience with Venmo) and make sure the money is in your account before you ship.
Good photos of your equipment are essential (no problem for you), and it will help your items sell if you offer to absorb shipping charges and PayPal fees. (Charge a little more if you need to.) Package the items well, and insure them. Always get a tracking number, of course, which you will also send to the buyer so he'll know when to expect his purchase. I've made scores of transactions this way with no problems.
If all goes well, ask the buyer for feedback on the forum, which will build your credibility.
This is all dead easy. You have been throwing away scads of money by trading in rather than selling your equipment yourself.
Changing the subject, if you sell your m4/3s equipment, your history says that you will find yourself buying similar items again sooner or later -- probably sooner.
And finally, if you still have a Neewer Vision 4 flash, name me a price.
I've used Craigslist, but I don't think it's too useful for photographic items. Not that many listings. Sellers over-value their ancient cameras, and buyers look for give-aways. It's a great way to unload functioning appliances after an upgrade. Might be useful for light stands.
I've used eBay since 2001. I don't believe that you will be on the buying side, so I'll concentrate on the selling side. First step is to search for the thing you want to sell, to learn what the market is doing. To the right of the "search" button you caan select "advanced", and on that page, look for "Search including" and check "Sold listings." This will give you all recent transactions. I usually go down the list, the first dozen or two items, and jot down the prices. Next, take some good square pictures. (Pet peeve: "photographers" who post fuzzy images, or lenses bearing a layer of dust.) Then, package the item, usually into a carton (recycled Prime boxes?), with whatever protection makes sense. Do NOT seal the box at this time. And do not use an oversize box, because that could inflate the shipping charges. DO mark on the box what's inside. These boxes tend to look alike, and realistically, you're not going to remember what you packed. Measure the box's three dimensions. Weigh it. Finally, create your eBay listing, with whatever pricing your gut says (after reviewing past sales history) people would be willing to pay, and a good, honest description. I tend to favor a 7-day auction, a slightly lower opening bid than I would really like, and a "Buy It Now" price that would make me happy. I don't ship out of the USA, and I like to use the USPS Priority mail.
USPS Priority Mail flat-rate boxes, available at post offices or by ordering from USPS.com making shipping easier. No worries about weight or postage costs that increase with distance from sender to recipient.
+1 for MikeR's ebay selling steps and his appraisal of Craigslist.
I have used B&H a lot. They make it easy and I have never had a problem.
I've had a couple of bad purchases on ebay so I really try to avoid it. The sellers out of Japan are pretty good. They take things like reputation and positive feedback quite seriously however in recent years the item descriptions are somewhat optimistic. Robert's Camera and B&H have always been good experiences for me. Even though you can get the most money on Craiglist I am very wary of having strangers drop by my house. You can arrange meetings elsewhere of course but then you are dealing with people who don't show up, or are late or who try to bargain an already agreed-upon price. Too much of a pain in the ass for me. Honestly I like your idea of simply dropping a box off at Precision Camera, take the 50% shave, and enjoy your peace of mind. I'm probably going to do that with our Canadian camera chain, Henry's, when things open up. Time to clear out my shelves. Your readers here would probably be pretty easy to deal with as well.
I've kind of soured on eBay after using it since it was new. I had to cancel a recent sale because the shipper lost the item. In fact, the shipper claimed to have never received the item, even though I had a tracking number. So I cancelled the sale (by the way, I specified USA sales only.) and refunded the buyer's funds. Sure enough the package was delivered a month later. I contacted the buyer. He said he wanted the item. I contacted eBay, told them what happened. They said thanks and charged me their fee. Then the buyer, who as it turned out, lives in the Ukraine, told me I had shipped to a USA reshipper and he wouldn't get the item for another 3 weeks. And, he wouldn't pay me until he received the item and saw it was OK. 3 weeks later he received the package, decided it was OK, but stiffed me for the shipping because he had to wait so long. I told him I expected to receive the full price including shipping, as agreed. Ebay has been completely useless at resolving the issue. It wasn't a lot of money, but the whole experience just soured me on eBay.
My experience with buying on eBay is checkered. About 70% of the time a buy was OK, about 30% I got screwed and had to send it back.
KEH has been great to buy from. I've never sold equipment to them, however. Their grading system is extremely conservative. I bought a couple of 45-50 year old Nikkor lenses, described by KEH as "ugly". Seriously, I would call them very good to excellent-.
I tried Craigslist to sell a set of old studio strobe lights. I met the buyer at the local police department. We plugged in the strobes in the lobby so the buyer could test them, he handed me the cash, and we both drove away happy.
Bottom line, for me, is that I probably won't use eBay again.
Kirk, i hope I'm not being an "enabler", but you might want to trade in some of your gear for an S5 = a substitute for the smaller m4/3 gear. (It would also serve well for video)
And now we are getting all these smaller L-mount optics (-;
I buy and sell off Ebay. But I wouldn't recommend that for you, as most likely you don't have a strong history.
For you with your diverse readers. You should first list items here. Then sell off to the other stores suggested.
I was always too uneasy about Ebay to go near it — until I decided to take a flyer on selling a lot of household stuff to avoid moving it. To my surprise it worked well...no buyer problems, no scams. Next came a lot of photo gear, both mine and my daughter’s. Stuff long since replaced. Once again, each transaction clean as can be. Comparing the Ebay “sold” prices to KEH and B&H used provided adequate pricing info. I knew they buy at half of their assumed sales price and was happy to take about 80% of that margin for myself. Anybody who can wade through all of “The Intelligent Investor” should have no problem putting together a price both attractive to buyers and satisfying as a seller.
And, yes, your own blog is the best possible marketing channel. Whether you sell direct or refer buyers to an Ebay listing, letting Ebay handle the payment processing, label printing linked to discounted shipping rates, etc. in return for their fee is up to you and your comfort level. I’ve found it worth the cost.
I’ve sworn off buying new gear, but when it comes to M4/3....well, uh, I dunno - whatta ya got?
Kirk, you've received plenty of good advice from others here about the best platforms on which to sell gear. I understand you don't want to trade for new stuff. The only thing I'll say is, maybe don't sell? If you do sell the gear the natural impulse will be to say, "Out with the old and in with the new." It will be much easier then to rationalize the purchase of "a few" new things. ;-)
I agree with Olivier.
G9…?
Actually on second thought, I think you should pack up all thr gear you want to get rid of and head over to Precision Camera and trade it in for a GFX100S with a 110mm f2 and 80mm f1.7 len.
I want your take on the system and didn't a friend just call you recently saying you need to avoid all reason and just buy it?
Never sell body and lens as a bundle. You will get better prices if you sell items separately.
Kirk:
I recall you have a local friend planning to bu into the GFX100 system. I suggest you give all your unwanted items to him. Let him trade them into Precision Camera towards his purchase. Then he can pass his savings onto you in the form of cash. Easy Peasy:)
Chris DC
Another vote for the Precision Camera GFX 100s deal....
I have bought and sold hundreds of pieces of camera and audio equipment here in Austin over the last six or seven years. I have had very few regrets. I have met lots of interesting people and made a few friends!
With the pandemic this makes it a little more complicated, but I'm still doing doing it at a much slower rate and unfortunately almost no interaction.
I feel like I make a little more money and the buyer saves money. As a buyer, you be wary and as a seller you be truthful and things usually work out.
Making friends is a great bonus.
I use Ebay grudgingly.
Precision Camera is great, but .. you already know what to expect. Sounds like you do not intend to trade-in for more gear.
Thanks for sharing your journey!
Tom
Any thoughts on which lenses you might want to re-purchase when the GH6 comes out? : )
I have bought quite a few things via Fredmiranda, but not sold anything there. It's a good place to sell items that are not too obscure. I've sold hundreds of cameras, lens, etc. on Ebay with very few problems. Craigslist hasn't worked well for me. Mostly just people responding with low-ball offers. In a big city like Austin it might work better.
Nearly all of my buying/selling has been on Fred Miranda for the past 15+ years. Never had a negative result. I had one negative buy result on eBay, bought a "fictional" EM1 that after sending the money via PayPal, I started seeing new reviews for the seller posted about not receiving purchases. After eBay's required wait periods, they refunded my purchase dollars to PayPal. Happy ending on this fraud. Later I bought a nice EM1 on FM and still later sold it there too. Recently, after reading your comments about the Contax 135, I found one on eBay "But it now" for $125 plus shipping from Japan. It arrived less than 4 days after purchase via FedEx very well packaged, looking barely used, and it surprisingly including a matched Contax 1A filter that was not stated in the listing. I was amazed, plus it performs like your characterized yours. I am about to list a few of my closet-stored EF lenses on FM. I have no experience selling on eBay, but have been thinking about trying that. I always use PayPal for added protection.
I’ve never sold to MPB (only bought, all good experiences) but they get generally good reports in U.K. Since they only deal in used photographic gear and have a physical presence in at least U.K. Germany, US it may be they can take advantage of variations in what is selling well in the various countries,
Low-value and/or difficult-to-ship items: Sell locally or donate to charity.
Easy to ship, higher-value items: eBay. But besides the fuss and bother of detailing, photographing and describing the goods, there's the matter of finding suitable packing material, and that last one can be a particular challenge if you pick yours out of cardboard recycling bins as I do: All-new materials from sources like Uline will give you a real appreciation of how costly good cardboard boxes really can be! I box and weigh all items ahead of time, so bidders know exactly what they will be paying without needing to query me for shipping quotes. eBay's Global Shipping Program also means I can serve customers around the world without the bother of filling out customs forms or standing in line at the post office. Downside to GSP: Even to Canada, delivery times can be sluggish right now.
Postage: I buy via eBay, so all outgoing parcels are prepaid and already labeled and I can simply drop them or arrange for the carrier to pick them up from my doorstep.
eBay caveats: Just recently, eBay has started promoting payments directly into one's bank account, touting lower fees versus PayPal. But I have not yet tried this option and haven't reviewed policies to determine whether I lose some seller protections if I do.
Selling / trading into a dealer: Have only rarely done this myself, would assume one gets best rates if they opt for store credit rather than cash? But IMO, store credit is something best used up promptly, as it puts a person in a position of being an unsecured creditor.
Just my 2¢
Jeff in Colorado
...and another 2¢ because I'm in such a giving mood:
Bundle items or sell separately: I have no firm rule, but will review how previous eBay auctions fared, bearing in mind that an auction for a $50 item can require just as much work as one for a $5000 item.
Security: Ugh, I'd prefer not using a residence as return address, much less inviting random strangers in my area to drop in.
Jeff in Colorado
Hi Kirk.
A lot of helpful comments for you already.
Re ebay and PayPal, as a seller you need to know that for items over $750 a signature is required for seller protection (in addition to a tracking #). But it's not clear to me how that works - if at all- in these Covid times where carriers drop parcels at the doorstep, ring the doorbell and leave.
I'd be interested in knowing what M4/3 gear you want to sell.
Thanks, Daniel
Kirk, I second the idea of just selling the stuff on your blog. It would also provide interesting content, as we could see what you were getting rid of and could write some amusing stories about some of the items. People would be buying a camera with a story behind it. That provenance adds value in certain cases. Like Elvis’ pink Cadillac.
B&H and KEH are good if you just want the thing gone, don't want any hassle, and don't care that you won't get full value for it. If it's old or has become too obscure they probably won't buy it.
Thom Hogan used to regularly unload his old gear on his website (I bought a mini trekker from him) He was firm on his prices and shipping and I think it worked well for him.
I regularly sell on eBay and have never had a problem. Be nice, be generous with the photos, a little humor in the descriptions seems to help. Do not list an item until it's packed in a box and you know what the shipping will cost. Box goes unsealed on a shelf with a sticky note. When the sale is made, put a thank you note in the box, buy your postage from eBay, print the eBay label. Make sure the postal person scans it when they pick it up. Missed pickup scans will freak you (and your buyer) out.
OT: What I am asking myself: Is "Gus's" proper US English grammar? I expected "Gus'" (because the name already ends in "s") but I am not a native speaker.
Hugo
I buy and sell on Fred Miranda’s site. Have been doing it for years. Safe, self regulated, with good exposure.
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