How to buy and sell used equipment

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How to buy and sell used equipment

I suspect a great deal of this blog will already be known to many of you, but for those who are just starting out in photography you may want to know what the best ways to pick up used equipment are. Also, some of this info may be helpful for those who have equipment they no longer use or are upgrading.

For buyers

Buyers have a multitude of places to buy used camera equipment these days. The following are the major options.

Buy it at your local camera store. Most larger camera stores sell used equipment. Typically the inspect it before putting it up for sale and will price it according to its condition. In general most of these stores are honest, though you’ll pay a bit more for the item than you would elsewhere.
KEH.com. This is the most reliable place on the Net to buy used equipment. They have a wide variety of equipment and their prices are fair, though a bit higher than if you purchase the item directly from the seller.
EBay. EBay can be a great source for used equipment, particularly if the item you are purchasing is hard to come by. However, you won’t know the true condition of the item until you receive it, so there is a fair amount of risk involved.
Craigslist. The variety of items is not high, though the more common items (such as newer camera models) are readily available there. Prices are all over the place, but you can usually negotiate. Always have common sense when meeting someone you don’t know. I have never had issues with meeting anyone through Craigslist to sell gear, but if you are a single woman I would meet in a public place.
Groups and clubs. If you are a member of a group or club, this is a great way to buy equipment. Usually these are people you know and trust, and their reputation is on the line when they say the equipment is in good shape.

In my opion, the best procedure for buying a used item is the following.

Look up the item on KEH.com. You should not pay any more than the price listed there. If you see a price that is too high, point out the KEH price to the seller.
Look on Craiglist for the item. This way you can see the item for yourself and best judge the condition it is in.
If the item is not available on Craiglist, consider EBay.
If you need the item soon and you are willing to pay extra for a good quality item, buy it from KEH.com or your local camera store.

For sellers

Admittedly, I have not purchased many items used. However, I have sold a number of items. The following are my opinions of the options above from a seller’s point of view.

Local camera stores have profit margins to make, so they will not offer you top dollar for your equipment. Honestly I would only consider selling an item through my local camera store if I were so ridiculously busy that I could not take the time to sell it myself and the extra money isn’t worth it to me.
KEH also doesn’t offer great prices to sellers. While they are great for buyers, I have had them quote equipment for me and the quotes were very low.
EBay works great if the item is a specialty item that only a few people would be interested in. For common items, I found that people are very cheap there. They tend to not want to pay much and very often my items wouldn’t sell there. I now almost never use EBay.
Craiglist. I have had a decent amount of success here. A lot of people still try to bargain regardless whether my price is already cheap, and some of the offers are downright insulting, however in the end I often sell the item there. Higher priced items are a bit more difficult, but I did sell my Sigma 80-400 OS there for a decent price. The key is your presentation and wording for the item. My wife has sold most of our baby items and old toys through Craigslist for very good prices.
Groups and clubs. I work for a large company that has a rather large photography group. I have sold several pieces of equipment (including my old 5D) through this group. Higher prices are sometimes possible through Craiglist, but as long as you are willing to post a fair market price (vs a slightly higher price) you should have no problem selling items in large groups.

There are a number of other sources to buy and sell items. A large site that I did not mention yet is FredMiranda. I know of a number of people who have purchased items from their forums, but I have not done so myself.

CalevPhoto