MPB - how accurate are their "instant valuations"

BillN_33

BillN_33

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Have you sold to MPB?

if so did you get more or less than their initial email valuation?

their valuations seem OK especially when you consider that they pay to have the camera/equipment collected?

have you ever asked them to return the item if they reduce their valuation from that initially given?
 
After several transactions , sometimes more, sometimes less in most cases it’s only a few quid anyway.
i have found it’s not worth the hassle to have it returned if you really want to sell bearing in mind it’s usually a hassle free sale.
 
Ive bought and sold a lot with them over the last 3 or 4 years, and ive never been offered less than their original valuation, but have been paid MORE than their original valuation a few times. Always been happy with their service.
 
There are a lot of people's experiences with MPB in this thread: MPB
 
It not really a valuation, it's an offer based on your description of the item and how much whether or not they need the item. If they have too many of a particular item they may offer you a much lower price than it's real value or even tell you they're not interested.

If you are accurate/honest with your description then you will get what is offered, if you mis-describe it then you will get a lower or even higher offer. I have used them a few times to offload some items and have always got what was initially offered.
 
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Used them a few times now, and either got what was quoted, or above.
 
The last time I sold to them, I described my item as “like new” and they quoted as such. Upon their inspection they actually increased their offer. It’s a lot easier selling to them than selling privately.
 
Used them loads and never had an offer less than the online valuation. My most recent trade in of a body valued at £510 was upgraded to £550 when they received and inspected it. I've always been very happy with the service.
 
But they only ask for a one word description - Excellent, Very good, good etc., - or am I missing something?
 
I've always been honest with my evaluation for the quote, probably erring on the side of caution and mostly always got a bump in condition and higher offer. Never been disappointed.
 
Perhaps read the thread... it's not all been good either - variable..
 
taxboy said:
I recently had a quote from WEX but payment offer was credit from them and not cash. Presumably they do this for less in demand items ?
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They have always gave me the option of cash or credit
 
taxboy said:
I recently had a quote from WEX but payment offer was credit from them and not cash. Presumably they do this for less in demand items ?
Click to expand...

It used to be the case that they would only offer cash on certain products but that changed a while back.
 
I think nearly all my kit these days is SH.

And probably 75% of it has come from MPB.

I like them because it's easy, but I do think their valuations are sometimes harsh. But then we all think our kit is in better condition than it sometimes is.

I've never had an issue with buying things, based on their ratings. In some cases I would have said the item I received was better than their rating.

But I know I've sold a (fairly unusual) lens to them and they gave me a price based on their evaluation of good. Then I saw the same lens for sale and they rated it 'Excellent'. Because it was somewhat unusual (a Canon 35-350 L), and I recognised the same mark on the lens barrel, I could tell it was my lens.

I know they have to make money so they offer lower and charge more than a private sale, but I found that a bit sneaky.

I've also rejected a revised offer for a camera that I said was excellent and they said was well-used. Got that sent back and sold it elsewhere for more than their original offer based on an 'excellent' rating. But maybe that links back to my point above about buying - buying 'excellent' rated kit from them, when I got it, I'd have said it was like new'.
 
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Kell said:
I think nearly all my kit these days is SH.

And probably 75% of it has come from MPB.

I like them because it's easy, but I do think their valuations are sometimes harsh. But then we all think our kit is in better condition than it sometimes is.

I've never had an issue with buying things, based on their ratings.

But I know I've sold a (fairly unusual) lens to them and they gave me a price based on their evaluation of good. Then I saw the same lens for sale and they rated it 'Excellent'. Because it was somewhat unusual (a Canon 35-350 L), and I recognised the same mark on the lens barrel, I could tell it was my lens.

I know they have to make money so they offer lower and charge more than a private sale, but I found that a bit sneaky.

I've also rejected a revised offer for a camera that I would said was excellent and they said was well-used. Got that sent back and sold it elsewhere for more than their original offer based on an 'excellent' rating.
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That is sneaky!!!!
 
Kell said:
I think nearly all my kit these days is SH.

And probably 75% of it has come from MPB.

I like them because it's easy, but I do think their valuations are sometimes harsh. But then we all think our kit is in better condition than it sometimes is.

I've never had an issue with buying things, based on their ratings.

But I know I've sold a (fairly unusual) lens to them and they gave me a price based on their evaluation of good. Then I saw the same lens for sale and they rated it 'Excellent'. Because it was somewhat unusual (a Canon 35-350 L), and I recognised the same mark on the lens barrel, I could tell it was my lens.

I know they have to make money so they offer lower and charge more than a private sale, but I found that a bit sneaky.

I've also rejected a revised offer for a camera that I would said was excellent and they said was well-used. Got that sent back and sold it elsewhere for more than their original offer based on an 'excellent' rating.
Click to expand...

I'm going that way - when you deduct the eBay costs from what you get on eBay it is almost the same as the price offered by MPB

2 x M3's and an M6 will be going their way in the next few weeks
 
I've always had good service from MPB whether buying or selling. In one case with selling, they increased their valuation once they received the item as they decided it was in better condition than I'd said.

I've had one deal which went wrong: they gave me a valuation on a tripod head which I accepted, and sent the head to them. When they got it they decided it was an entirely different model to the one I'd sent and reduced the quote by about 75%. I emailed to say I wasn't interested, and the girl in customer service who dealt with my email got them to re-look at it and do the valuation again properly. I still wasn't happy with what they said, so they sent it back to me. I was fully expecting that all the bits I'd sent them in the box would be missing but no, it was all there. I didn't get the result I wanted but I can't fault their service.
 
I’ve sold a few items recently to MPB and in previous years. I’ve found them to be quite accurate often getting a slight increase in price for the same condition.

It really depends on your self evaluation of condition. If you choose as new when it’s actually in poor well used condition then they will probably mark it down. Be sensible in self assessment of the condition and it’s usually quite accurate.
 
I've both bought from and sold to MPB. I've had only a couple of problems with MPB and in both cases they put the matter right almost immediately.

That said, I think it's important to remember that, without knowing a great deal more about those writing these comments, you simply can't rely on them to make your decisions. I include my own comments in that warning.
 
If you are selling a DSLR they can use the shutter count against you. Even though mine was 54,000 on a pro body rated at 500,000, it was downgraded on that basis which was only available by pursuing the frequently asked questions where it is was a one word hyperlink. In there I found, after the fact, a series of numbers relating to condition. When I queried the difficulty of finding this I was deflected and had to battle get the offer raised. I was told they would review. Their response, when I checked after that, was to remove that table completely. So, it's a get out of condition rating free card unless they have restored it elsewhere. Might be worth a hunt. I did buy something very good from them early in 2023. I won't sell to them again.
 
You have to bear in mind that when they sell anything the VATman takes 20% of what they sell it for, so sellers will never get anything like their sale price, else they would go broke, and where would we be then.
 
Juts today had an email from them.. an item i sent was £415 but i sent with box and original manuals etc.. they upped the quote to £535
 
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