MPB Photographic

PXed my 50D & siggy 10-20mm for a 5D a few years back and it all went fine. Your always gonna get a better price when selling privately but if your PXing for their stock the difference is not always that great

Steve
 
I've dealt with them in the past and it's been ok. Bought a lens from them recently which was definitely in worse condition than described. To be fair they took it back after a bit of haggling.
 
valb said:
I was offered £400 for a mint boxed 7D with 12000 actuations by MPB. Their cheapest 7D was just under £600 at the time with a lot more activations. A mark up of 50%. I suspect mine would have sold for more. I call that excessive.

I sold the camera on here for £530 ish. I received an extra £130 on the sale and the buyer saved at least £70. To me the maths speak for themselves. Unless you need a quick sale the forum wins every time.
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I am surprised you think £200 an excessive mark up, they're a business they need to make money. Once you take into account the cost of collecting the item, storage, and the possible extra expense of the warranty they offer I personally feel that's reasonable. Your always going to get a better price if you sell privately, that goes without saying, but sometimes you just need to move an item along quickly or you are PXing for some of their stock, and in those conditions MPB and just fine

Steve
 
:agree:
Also out of your £130 you had postage? (presumably you didn't offer a 3 month warranty either, so no big risk + do you have overheads like MPB?)

Don't get me wrong, I've used the classifieds on here too & it's a great facility. :cool:
 
jakeblu said:
I am surprised you think £200 an excessive mark up, they're a business they need to make money. Once you take into account the cost of collecting the item, storage, and the possible extra expense of the warranty they offer I personally feel that's reasonable. Your always going to get a better price if you sell privately, that goes without saying, but sometimes you just need to move an item along quickly or you are PXing for some of their stock, and in those conditions MPB and just fine

Steve
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As i said in my last post i agree that if you need a quick sale they are worth considering. But the choice between £120 more in my account or swelling MPB's profits is a no brainer.
 
I suppose it all depends on how much you value your own time. I sold my 50D to MPB. No doubt I could have got about £50 more if I'd sold it privately. But that would have involved several hours of my time, rather than about 20 minutes to sell via MPB. For me it was well worth the money to save that much time and effort.
 
I've never had any problems buying on here or, for that matter on e-bay. Also had no problems selling on here but sometimes items just don't sell. MPB are fine; and to valb, MPB's mark ups are not excessive. They don't charge for collection, they provide a warranty for the goods they sell and they have to make a profit.
 
I think it depends on the gear as well, if you're trying to sell them a very common item, i.e. a Canon 24-105, you're probably better going private, after all they already have 36 of them in stock.

However the Micro 4/3 and Fuji X gear I've got quotes for are fairly in line with what stuff sales for on here in my experience, when you consider there is very little risk and free collection it's a no brainer with some items.
 
Great to hear all the feedback guys, thank you all for taking the time to comment.

In terms of quote pricing we do always strive to be extremely competitive. For clarity as well we would like to state that Valb's quote was £450 including free courier collection (£400 sounded low to us too).

tijuana taxi - please PM details of this as it is not in line with customer service practice so it is important we get this rectified for you.

We hope everybody is having a lovely weekend and managing to get out to take some pics in between the rain showers!

Thanks again.
 
tijuana taxi - please PM details of this as it is not in line with customer service practice so it is important we get this rectified for you.
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Thank you, I have sent details via PM

Cheers
Rich
 
just bough Nikon D5100 & 55-200mm lens for my 14 year old nephew, had 2 fuji lens also off tthem in the past, always been great service........!!
 
valb said:
I have no objections to them making a profit but I find their offer prices a lot lower than the prices they sell the same items at. I think their mark ups are excessive.

Never had any of the problems you quote selling on any forum. Unless someone is desperate for a sale they will get much more selling through the forum. i for one will stick to the forum in future.
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They provide a service for those that do not want the hassle of selling privately and at the opposite end provide a service for those that want to buy s/h with the assurance of a guarantee. You must also take into account that vat is levied on the profit margin on s/h items if bought from a non vat registered member of the public, if bought from a vat registered source vat is paid on the full selling price.....as I understand it. That and all the other overheads (of which there are many running a business) have to paid for and leave a profit for them to buy their bread and butter, so all in all in my opinion the offered prices and selling prices are in general fair.
 
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Very pleased to say that after dealing with Matt at MPB my postage refund has been credited to my acount

Matt also assures me that with newer policies in place this situation would not arise with more recent purchases than mine

Cheers
Rich
 
I have bought and sold from MPB and always been happy with the condition of the equipment and the customer service.
 
valb said:
I have had several prices from them for kit i wanted to sell but the offers were always very low. Usually about 60% of what i finally sold the items for.
.
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It may be worth noting that 400 quid (in fact it seems 450) is not 60% of £530 - in actual fact 450 quid is 85% of the price it was eventually sold for.
 
Matt bought most of our kit after we had to pack up, and that took four transactions in all. He struck me as a very straightforward and sensible guy. TBH the price he gave us for our 4 x EOS1DMkIII bodies astonished me, and when he bought 8 Canon L lenses off us in one hit, we trousered about 30% more than the interweb reckoned we'd be lucky to get. I got a distinct impression that one thing he was determined not to do was make the same mistakes that Paul Beaumont did with MXV ...
 
I've bought from MPB on two occasions and found them to be great. I bought a used 120-300 2.8 Sigma from them about 18 months ago for £800 which I still think is good value even today. Then about a year ago I bought a 1DmkII that was described as very worn and in poor condition (pretty much on its last legs, but the price was only £189 so it was worth a go!), which didn't work. I could get it to work most of the time buts other times it just wouldnt turn on or take photos. I got in touch with MPB and they were very quick at sorting the issue out. They arranged for the item to be picked up and then tested it to try and find the fault. They were unable to replicate the problem as it was very intermittent so offered either a full refund or to send it off for repair. I asked for a refund and received it no problem. All of their replies were fast and I dealt with the same person throughout. Would definitely buy from them again (if they had the lens I'm after!!)
 
big soft moose said:
It may be worth noting that 400 quid (in fact it seems 450) is not 60% of £530 - in actual fact 450 quid is 85% of the price it was eventually sold for.
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Big soft moose - do you by any chance work for MPB?

Another post that adds more heat than light to the subject for discussion. If you bothered to read my post carefully you would have seen i said "usually about 60%". You have assumed that applied to their offer for my 7D. Dangerous things assumptions.

I was going to ignore MPB's post about their offer to me but for the record the enquiry to them about an offer for my 7D was not made in my name or anything like my name. Makes me wonder how they could possibly identify my enquiry and how much they offered me.

I am getting tired of the number of keyboard warriors on this forum who want to criticise other people's points of view and those who are personal and offensive in their posts. I have much better things i can do with my time so this is my last post on this or any other subject.

If anyone feels motivated to reply to this go ahead but please note I will not read it.
 
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I have dealt with mpb a couple of times. I bought a budget dslr for my daughter and there was a couple of problems, camera not exactly as described, strap missing that should of been included. To be fair to them they were more than helpful in terms of resolving the problem and all was sorted within a few days. I have also sold them some equipment and I was happy with the price and the service was great.
 
I've bought and sold with MPB a quite a few times and always found their prices quite reasonable and the hassle free collection service is superb. Would certainly recommend them buying or selling.
 
I was happy with the service i got from them, and a fair price for my ef 100-400,
 
I have used MPB for trading equipment and found them to be very helpful and well priced. When you consider the alternatives ie big auction sites which leave you in danger of losing your money and goods through dodgy rules on receipt of products and always being in favor of the seller ( of which are there are many scammers ) or taking risks through individuals on other sites whom you have no guarantee with , I feel the prices and service of MPB are second to none. I have recently looked at a few other camera shops who are following suit but there trade prices are lower so MPB still gets my vote.

www.andrew-davies.com
 
valb said:
Big soft moose - do you by any chance work for MPB?

Another post that adds more heat than light to the subject for discussion. If you bothered to read my post carefully you would have seen i said "usually about 60%". You have assumed that applied to their offer for my 7D. Dangerous things assumptions.
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Nope - satisfied customer is all , and I did read your post carefully - trouble is its rubbish - if they offered you 85% on the 7D , (and about that on everything I and various others have sold them) then they don't 'usually' offer 60%

valb said:
I am getting tired of the number of keyboard warriors on this forum who want to criticise other people's points of view and those who are personal and offensive in their posts. .
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massive irony in you both making it personal and criticising my opinion in this post then - not to mention being willing to post allegations about a trader but not backing them up with figures .... keyboard warrior much ? !
 
I've used MPB Photographic a few times for various bits and bobs. As has been said, they don't always give you what you could get for your gear but it's reasonable and saves a lot of hassle. I've bought and sold from them with no issues.

I recently purchased a 70-300mm f/5.6 lens for my other half from them. They neglected to send the lens hood that should have been included. When I called them they were very apologetic and one was dispatched by first class post. Pretty good service.

What I do tend to find is that a lot of the descriptions are copy and paste jobs, so take a good look at the photos.
 
Bought from them on several occasions and also part ex'd once. The part ex was painless and I feel I got a very good price on the lens I traded in (better than some of the cheeky offers I got on here, anyway!) and as said totally hassle free.

Been happy with most of the stuff I've bought through them, too. Most notably my most recent purchase - great after sales service.

Harry.
 
CraigB said:
I've used MPB Photographic a few times for various bits and bobs. As has been said, they don't always give you what you could get for your gear but it's reasonable and saves a lot of hassle. I've bought and sold from them with no issues.

I recently purchased a 70-300mm f/5.6 lens for my other half from them. They neglected to send the lens hood that should have been included. When I called them they were very apologetic and one was dispatched by first class post. Pretty good service.

What I do tend to find is that a lot of the descriptions are copy and paste jobs, so take a good look at the photos.
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you got a 70-300mm for your other half ? - good swap :LOL:
 
as mentioned before I purchased from MPB numerous times without fault..

did my first part ex which started on the 22/05, I accepted their fair offer, they put aside the item I was after, collected my items on the 23/05, emailed me on the 27/05 to say items received and all was good and I needed to ring them to which I did and they got my bank details as they owed me monies as the item I was buying was less than they what I was selling, then in the afternoon I received email that item was booked for delivery 28/05, checked bank and money owed had been transferred to bank, item turned up this morning..

just cannot fault the hassle free part ex, no haggling no having to go post office and no postage costs from me at all.
 
Ive sold and bought with MPB before and they've been great!

I think something they need to look into is giving an incentive to part exchange, i'm looking to sell/trade-in a lens against one they're selling. Ive seen it cheaper on another used camera site in better condition but they refused to price match it or offer slightly more for my lens. If they offered a lesser price when part exchanging I think that would be much better for them, similar to how a lot of other used sites do.

Thats just my opinion though, I think it would work better for them rather than losing the sale. Apart from that though, I always check their site for items and get a quote to sell if im looking to as my experiences have been positive so far.
 
Another thumbs up for MPB.

Sold a 600D body to them and was given what I thought was a very respectable price. Like some have said, I could have got a bit more privately but it was a hassle-free sale and just what I required at the time.
 
Bought a 1D mk2N off them recently in their sale for £200, then part ex'd it for a 1D mk3 elsewhere and got £300 for it!!

I LOVE MPB :D
 
Happy seller here... Decided to sell on all my remaining m43 kit once friends had picked off the juiciest morsels. Yes, I could have likely made more selling individually, but didn't want the hassle of haggling or posting a bunch of parcels. MBP collected quickly and paid the quoted price quickly, my biggest paranoia was disagreement on condition but there was none of that.

Oh and their offer was in the region of a third more than my local friendly used gear shop, which I imagine is the only reason said shop is still in business.

As someone said, they're offering a service to a particular type of customer eyes fully open... moaning that they're going to make a profit and you could make more money elsewhere is sort of laughably naive.
 
I have used Mpb on numerous occasions to buy and sell equipment. I've sold a 450d, a 7d and bought a 1D iv - all my experiences have been positive. I do agree that you can get more money selling privately, or maybe even eBay (but eBay does cost a fair bit) - but I don't begrudge them being able to turn a profit. That is what they are there for at the end of the day. Absolutely hassle free, transparent and efficient.
 
IME you definitely need to take their gradings with a pinch of salt. Their part ex prices are very good in comparison to all other offers i have been given from other stores.

And they are a bit rubbish with quotes. I got a quote from them for a lens, part ex'd my stuff to them and then got a request for payment that was well in excess of the original quote. They made a mistake on the original quote and weren't interested in sticking to the agreement.
 
I have bought from MPB a few times - notably a 500 f4 L, and an 800 f5.6 L, no problems except one of the lenses i bought had a small speck of dust inside the lens which was NOT mentioned on the description ... does not affect the optics at all but pretty annoyed it was not mentioned on the site and I am pretty OCD when it comes to keeping my lenses and gear in top nick, etc.

Sadly, it strikes me as one of those businesses which was great when it started up as a small outfit, but the bigger they get, the worse they get, i think. Seems to mirror a few people's experiences.

Though, I do want an IR converted camera, but not sure if they get them in anymore since i haven't seen one in stock for a loooooong time!
 
I've bought numerous things from MPB and part-ex'd gear with them too. Never had any issues at all. Everything has always been in as-described condition (or usually actually better than described) and their prices are very fair IMO.
 
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