Where does everyone buy their used camera gear?

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sds

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Name
Andrew Anderton
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Hey everyone,

I'm new here to Talk Photography.

I've bought and sold quite a lot of used camera equipment over the years, and it's interesting how much prices can vary between different retailers.

Just wondering where everyone tends to buy their second-hand equipment these days? Do you prefer established retailers like MPB and Wex, or do you tend to use eBay and private sellers?
 
With lenses I go direct to Japan and retailers over there. I only by anything classed as" mint or near mint" because they are like new. saved several hundreds of £ with 4/5
lenses bought
 
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realspeed said:
With lenses I go direct to Japan and retailers over there. I only by anything classed as" mint or near mint" because they are like new. saved several hundreds of £ with 4/5
lenses bought
Click to expand...
Interesting haven't tried Japan in a while, is that through eBay? How do you find the import fees?
 
sds said:
Interesting haven't tried Japan in a while, is that through eBay? How do you find the import fees?
Click to expand...

Import fees depends on item value. Even so including import duty and any UK carrier costs are still cheaper. than same item equal quality.,

What one has to remember that in Japanese culture " loosing face" such and mis-represention is a terrible sin and definately to be avoided. We noticed this when we were in Japan, everything has to be exact and correct

2 more from Japan

2+.jpg


Panasonic 35-100mm F2.8 lens

example new or used? direct used (below) import from Japan Cost £593 WEX new £999 UK used £798


123.JPG

What I do is go onto Ebay look for the lens I am interested in. see which has from Japan . next is to look at all others from japan for same photo . if same it is a stock photo and avoid, Next take a good look at the item interested in as in clear lens and for any marks/scratches etc. Next in description look for MINT OR NEAR MINT ONLY. DON'T EXPECT TO GET THE LENS BOX OR PAPERWORK.

I also make sure I have insurance as sending back could be expensive and item has no warranty

Panasonic 100 -400 mm lens again from japan

ghj.JPG



advert for above I bought on ebay




Note TOP MINT

[TOPMINT] Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 Micro-Four-Thirds Lens

[TOPMINT] Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmar 100-400mm F4-6.3 Micro-Four-Thirds Lens​

£650.88
Sold by:
tokyo_master_photouser ID
 
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MPB and Wex
 
I've used Harrison Cameras a few times and they've been very good. Bought a few things from mpb without issue. And even had some great deals on eBay.

I do get a bit annoyed with mpb lens listings though. They'll often be "very good condition" and then you click the link and read the description and almost always find it has moisture and/or fungus in the lens, or the autofocus doesn't work or similar. I don't care how good the outside condition of the lens is if it's knackered on the inside! Or given how much emphasis they put on photographing every item uniquely the description often doesn't match the picture: "doesn't come with lens hood", well why is it in the first photo then?!

Having said that I bought my Nikon 50mm 1.8G lens from them in well used condition for £50 and it's been great. Optically sound, just looks worn a bit on the rubber focus ring. Probably my favourite lens now.
 
I used to buy lots on here and occasionally from LCE , Facebook marketplace or eBay
The issue now is I can buy it cheaper or just slightly more grey than most are asking and expect to get for their used kit.

You can also never tell if in fact they bought grey to start with and are chancing it.
I never understand when they say they will just trade in if they don’t get the asking as anyone can check those prices and it’s always hundreds less that they want to sell privately.

Occasionally you can find good buys on eBay but it’s also got a bit of a price gouging of issue.
People have just become a bit unrealistic when it comes to selling used kit.
The widening amount of grey stores on the past few years has definitely made it better for buyers
 
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Most of mine has been via e-bay, but local car boot sales & charity shops get quite a fair proportion too. One of the local charity shops has a large photographic section typically with at least 30 bodies & 40 lenses (mainly older stuff). I tried to stop visiting it since retiring as my pension could disappear far too rapidly..

Yes I know I'm a cheap skate.
 
I've only bought four bits of camera equipment used, four compact cameras. I bought one in the classified section here, and the other three on eBay.

I had one problem with a camera off eBay, as it wasn't made clear there was damage. I returned that, and after getting a refund, I bought another version of the same camera. I still have all 4 cameras, and they have all worked, and continue to work perfectly.
One of the cameras was getting a replacement of the first digital camera I got for nostalgia reasons, rather than for using, as the original was stolen. It was weird holding that camera again.

I am looking to also get a DSLR that was also stolen in the same incident as the other camera above, and have occasionally been looking on eBay, MPB, and London Camera Exchange, though I have not seen the one I want to buy yet. I want this camera to be able to create camera profiles for images I took with the original stolen camera.
 
Carmarthen cameras, CEX, WEX, and Ebay,
So far I've been lucky with Ebay and not had anything duff.
I prefer Carmarthen camera or Wex though.
 
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Petrochemist said:
Most of mine has been via e-bay, but local car boot sales & charity shops get quite a fair proportion too. One of the local charity shops has a large photographic section typically with at least 30 bodies & 40 lenses (mainly older stuff). I tried to stop visiting it since retiring as my pension could disappear far too rapidly..

Yes I know I'm a cheap skate.
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Interesting, I haven't tried car boots and charity shops in a long time!
 
swanseamale47 said:
Carmarthen cameras, CEX, WEX, and Ebay,
So far I've been lucky with Ebay and not had anything duff.
I prefer Carmarthen camera or Wex though.
Click to expand...
Not many people mention CEX! Haven't tried them for camera gear yet, the 5 year warranty is tempting though
 
Nikon photographer said:
Estate sales, auctions, usually for job lots of photography gear, which 99% of the time I sell on, although these days I've stopped picking out items to keep,
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Good to know that you buy and sell equipment! After years of buying and selling myself, I've recently launched a comparison site which allows users to sell their items to multiple trusted businesses in one place.

Reaching out to businesses at the moment. I'll send you an email via your site incase your interested in buying more stock :)
 
@sds @Nikon photographer as you both seem to be into trading cameras, can I please remind you about not advertising unless pre-agreed and paid for? TP is not a trading website it is a forum which has a small classifieds section. I think you are both straying from the original topic into something that promotes your sidelines.
 
Whenever possible, from a local retailer so I can actually see and try an item before handing over any payment. Occasionally through the classies here.
 
sds said:
Interesting, I haven't tried car boots and charity shops in a long time!
Click to expand...
Both are very variable in general. One of the car boots around here has a lot of antiques, so usually has some cameras /lenses. The more local one only has camera gear occasionally half the time I don't see anything photo related.

Charity shops other than the specialist one rarely have anything now, I don;t think it's just that I've cleared them out.

Being dragged round by my mrs, I at least have something to look for :)
 
Reputable shops as I like to have warrranty. I use the website set up by a member on here to check used lens prices, and just filter out ebay.

usedlens.co.uk

Used Cameras & Lenses - UK Price Comparison

Compare used camera and lens prices across 40+ UK retailers. Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Leica and more. Updated three times a day.
usedlens.co.uk usedlens.co.uk
 
lindsay said:
@sds @Nikon photographer as you both seem to be into trading cameras, can I please remind you about not advertising unless pre-agreed and paid for? TP is not a trading website it is a forum which has a small classifieds section. I think you are both straying from the original topic into something that promotes your sidelines.
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I'm sorry, but I wasn't sure that I was promoting my photography sales, I'll refrain from answering anything linked to questions like this in the future
 
You included a link to your sales web page in your signature, hence my comment. It was a warning, not a toys out of the pram moment.
 
sds said:
Hey everyone,

I'm new here to Talk Photography.

I've bought and sold quite a lot of used camera equipment over the years, and it's interesting how much prices can vary between different retailers.

Just wondering where everyone tends to buy their second-hand equipment these days? Do you prefer established retailers like MPB and Wex, or do you tend to use eBay and private sellers?
Click to expand...

For used cameras and lenses that are discontinued, I start with www.camerapricebuster.co.uk then I also check a great site called https://usedlens.co.uk created by a member here. I tend to avoid eBay out of personal choice.

However, if it's a camera or lens that is still quite new and still in production, then I go to the grey market and buy it new, often for less than you can find used. My favourites being Panamoz and Cotswold Cameras.
 
On a slightly related topic RE facebook - I've not really explored it that much because most stuff I see listed is at equivalent prices to MPB, Wex, Park etc but without the warranty or reputation for quality and trust.

What on earth makes people think they can sell their equipment privately for the same price as you can buy it on MPB with so much more security? And is anyone buying these things off facebook at these prices? I doubt it...

I wouldn't, I'd pay a fairly hefty premium for the security offered by one of the big retailers - i.e if you want me to buy off your privately its going to have be significantly cheaper to offset that risk - but when I've enquired on the odd occasion there doesn't seem to be much flexibility for movement in their pricing. I find that really odd personally.

FYI I've bought from MPB (7Dii, 135 F2), and FFordes (7Dii) second hand in the past.
 
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I have used the Market Place on this site to purchase 2 Nikon cameras and a camera backpack with no issues and gear has been excellent. I have also used Wex and LCE with no problems (only one purchase of a lens from each).
 
A_S said:
On a slightly related topic RE facebook - I've not really explored it that much because most stuff I see listed is at equivalent prices to MPB, Wex, Park etc but without the warranty or reputation for quality and trust.

What on earth makes people think they can sell their equipment privately for the same price as you can buy it on MPB with so much more security? And is anyone buying these things off facebook at these prices? I doubt it...

I wouldn't, I'd pay a fairly hefty premium for the security offered by one of the big retailers - i.e if you want me to buy off your privately its going to have be significantly cheaper to offset that risk - but when I've enquired on the odd occasion there doesn't seem to be much flexibility for movement in their pricing. I find that really odd personally.

FYI I've bought from MPB (7Dii, 135 F2), and FFordes (7Dii) second hand in the past.
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I have bought from Facebook occasionally but only locally where I could test the item. Additionally the seller was sensible on asking price - he was looking for a bit more than MPB's trade in offer. I don't think I'd trust it for items that needed to be posted.

If people priced sensibly then the item would sell; part of the issue appears to be people not doing sufficient research to establish current market prices but relying on their original purchase price.However I seem to recall a while back here in the classifieds there seemed to be a spate where prospective purchasers were offering less than the trade in values
 
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sds said:
Not many people mention CEX! Haven't tried them for camera gear yet, the 5 year warranty is tempting though
Click to expand...
When I've sold odds and ends they give it a very good going over.
And the items I've bought all worked fine.
 
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