Can’t make sense of gear pricing at the moment

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Jeff
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Are people to lazy to check out prices , as I posted below I have been humming and arghing over a used lens purchase for a few weeks .. so going through classified on here , e.bay, and various online outlets ... one thing has really stood out some sellers are asking far more for used lenses than the price you can buy from some retailers with no quibble returns policies and 12 month warranties ..

It looks like sellers are just plucking a price out of the air without researching the market ,but even more stupidly people are buying them .

And as well as that some retailers are plucking prices for new equipment out of thin air to i.e just spotted a t.c on e.bay from a well known retailer brand new in box .. so I phoned them up to see if I might get it slightly cheaper direct ,nope it was £40 more and the advise was to buy it from/via e.bay WTF is going on
 
people sell for "what" they believe it owes them", i honestly think people buy without really researching or assume that its "more" so must be better.

Its always confused me as well, i see stuff for sale and think "you'll be lucky, as its only x for new" and then see it sell and wonder to myself if it's just sheer laziness or stupidity or maybe I'm just tight and do my research to save a few quid ??

but as you say, i have a curry's a few hundred yards from work, go online, see an item, nip over and its more, get told the old "online price only" rubbish, argue for 10 minutes, stand there, order from my phone and wait to collect :thinking:
 
I've also noticed on ebay that some people are asking way above value for a used lens and some people are more than happy to buy it.
In quite a few cases the asking price is more than the prices on mpb.
 
Years ago, when I was after a tripod, eboy prices were over the new price from a UK seller (official retailer of the brand).
 
Do not forget on ebay the market opens to the whole world via the world wide shipping program so quite often an EU buyer will by my gear as they get a better deal still purchasing from UK with the very poor GBP>EURO exchange (great if you earn your money in EURO's and want to buy GBP priced products though) seems to be working really well at present for that type of sale
 
Your post seems to say that it is lazy, not researching or plucking prices out of thin air.

I say I consistently see people who overcharge on purpose and know exactly what they are doing.
 
Do not forget on ebay the market opens to the whole world via the world wide shipping program so quite often an EU buyer will by my gear as they get a better deal still purchasing from UK with the very poor GBP>EURO exchange (great if you earn your money in EURO's and want to buy GBP priced products though) seems to be working really well at present for that type of sale

Very true, I recently sold a new bag to a chap in Germany, he paid 100 quid for it plus whatever Ebay charge for their global postage.
I was in Germany the previous week and happened to see the very same bag in a photo gear shop, price was €210
 
Very true, I recently sold a new bag to a chap in Germany, he paid 100 quid for it plus whatever Ebay charge for their global postage.
I was in Germany the previous week and happened to see the very same bag in a photo gear shop, price was €210
yes that is one explanation that's valid as I have sold stuff via there global program and the bids have been higher than expected .but I was referring in the main to u.k sellers and buyers as you will probably have noticed some won't ship abroad
 
It's not only photographic gear.

I'm after a particular watch. It's discontinued but still available brand new from a particular UK-based retailer - they advertise it on their own web site, Amazon.co.uk and eBay.co.uk (at the same price). There are at least 4 second-hand copies of this watch advertised on eBay.co.uk, all at more than the new price! (I tried making a reasonable offer on each of these, pointing out the new price, but all were declined).
 
I don’t think it’s easy to price something at the moment. It seems to me that the value of camera equipment is going through the floor. I often look through the archives to see what similar items have sold for on here previously. It can be difficult to price match against used sellers like MPB, WEX, Park etc because items are not always of identical condition. Their prices can change due to stock levels or getting rid of stock that’s been around a long time.

I think it’s quite simple to sort out on. If you find a price cheaper than made an offer based on that (most sellers are quite reasonable). If they accept the offer great, if they don’t move on and buy from where you found it cheaper.
 
My used equipment comes with a lot of sentimental value, hard to put a value on it really!

A few of points:

As Adam states eBay opens you up to the world, there are plenty of other countries that face much higher retail costs, far less availability and the UK benefits from being geographically small yet still a very advanced economy. It makes sense to target other countries where they'll pay a premium.

If you sell something at an inflated price but the market is happy to bear that price, is it really an inflated price?

Pricing is a little bit weirder than normal too thanks to the exchange rate and a lot of price increases across the board, I used to think buying a £1.2k 70-200mm f/2.8 was especially high end now I don't even blink at a £1.2k 50mm f/1.4, not sure at what point my understanding of camera prices shifted so dramatically.
 
TBH, I really don't understand what this thread is about or what the gripe is. Aside from the seller and his buyer what business is it of anyone else whether the price is too high or not?

Retailers that use eBay to trade will, as do almost every other retailer irrespective of whether they are on-line or bricks and mortar, price their goods at what they think they can get for it. That's business. Let's face it, there are plenty of photographers who charge more than their skills are worth.

If you don't like the prices on offer then go elsewhere but don't gripe about it.
 
yes that is one explanation that's valid as I have sold stuff via there global program and the bids have been higher than expected .but I was referring in the main to u.k sellers and buyers as you will probably have noticed some won't ship abroad
yes that is one explanation that's valid as I have sold stuff via there global program and the bids have been higher than expected .but I was referring in the main to u.k sellers and buyers as you will probably have noticed some won't ship abroad

This has happened to me too, I recently sold a pair of IS Canon binoculars to a guy in Italy via the global shipping program and got more than I paid for them three years ago.
In the past I have always opted for UK sales only but if this is a typical result I will happily do it again.
 
Godox Ad200.... Why are used prices way higher than new? Sometimes 2X. I'm happy enough with new particularly if I can use ebay 20% offer, but still why would anyone pay like £400 for it without all the extras?
 
The price you pay is the real price.
Last week many very ancient Flymo gave up the ghost... The new one that I wanted was retailing for £117 and above..
However Flymo's own online refurbished store was selling. It as a Gold as new grade for £69. And with a full guarantee. Which I thought was a no-brainer I ordered it on Monday 2pm and kit arrived 12pm Tuesday. Only. 22 hours and free delivery. There was not a mark on it.
It is hardly surprising there are so many closed shops.
 
Prices have been creeping up on ebay for over a year, however the thought of some moron using my equipment for a week then opening a spurious dispute via paypal makes me avoid selling on it if possible.
A week? On PayPal, they have 180 days in which to make a claim...
 
Godox Ad200.... Why are used prices way higher than new? Sometimes 2X. I'm happy enough with new particularly if I can use ebay 20% offer, but still why would anyone pay like £400 for it without all the extras?

They might be priced like that but they don't sell, highest used sale price I've seen is £235.

As a general rule a seller should always ask for more, too many people want to haggle so starting with your bottom price just leads to awkward conversations.
 
A week? On PayPal, they have 180 days in which to make a claim...

How many successful claims have you seen that were made after 180 days? I've no doubt it happens but I'm not sure how much time and energy you should spend worrying about it.
 
How many successful claims have you seen that were made after 180 days? I've no doubt it happens but I'm not sure how much time and energy you should spend worrying about it.
There are certainly scammers who are known to open a claim on day 179, in the hope that the seller won't notice and/or will have disposed of any Proof of Posting.

If somebody is willing to "borrow" your equipment by opening a fraudulent claim (which is the concern that I responded to), there's a fair chance that they will also seek to exploit the 180 day period provided by PayPal.
 
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The price you pay is the real price.
Last week many very ancient Flymo gave up the ghost... The new one that I wanted was retailing for £117 and above..
However Flymo's own online refurbished store was selling. It as a Gold as new grade for £69. And with a full guarantee. Which I thought was a no-brainer I ordered it on Monday 2pm and kit arrived 12pm Tuesday. Only. 22 hours and free delivery. There was not a mark on it.
It is hardly surprising there are so many closed shops.

Its the same on the fuji refurb store - I see lenses going used on eBay for more than you would pay there - at Fuji you get 14 day no quibble return and everything i have got from there is spotless (and has a 12month warranty)
 
There are certainly scammers who are known to open a claim on day 179, in the hope that the seller won't notice and/or will have disposed of any Proof of Posting.

If somebody is willing to "borrow" your equipment by opening a fraudulent claim (which is the concern that I responded to), there's a fair chance that they will also seek to exploit the 180 day period provided by PayPal.
if you follow the rules i.e list your tracking number when posted they can't do that . it's the ones that cant be arsed that get ripped .
 
if you follow the rules i.e list your tracking number when posted they can't do that .
Listing the tracking number may help you defend against an Item Not Received (INR) claim, but it will do nothing against a Significantly Not As Described (SNAD) claim, which is what most of the scammers will raise.
 
Listing the tracking number may help you defend against an Item Not Received (INR) claim, but it will do nothing against a Significantly Not As Described (SNAD) claim, which is what most of the scammers will raise.

That doesn't really make any sense if you think about it, who's going to believe a not as described claim half a year after they've had the item?
 
That doesn't really make any sense if you think about it, who's going to believe a not as described claim half a year after they've had the item?
You have to realise that (1) PayPal are very process driven (and the scammers understand and exploit exactly how those processes work), (2) most claims will be decided by a bot, and will never even be seen by a human being, (3) PayPal will have zero technical knowledge about cameras (or any of the other millions of different categories that they manage payments for), and (4) it's no skin off PayPal's nose if the seller has to reimburse the buyer.

Scammer: "I bought this camera six months ago and haven't used it much. When I tried to use the Flux Capacitor on it today it wouldn't work and it must have been like then since I received it, so want a refund"
PayPal: "Certainly, sir. Please return it to the seller and we'll ensure you get a full refund (including postage both ways). Have a nice day".
 
You have to realise that (1) PayPal are very process driven (and the scammers understand and exploit exactly how those processes work), (2) most claims will be decided by a bot, and will never even be seen by a human being, (3) PayPal will have zero technical knowledge about cameras (or any of the other millions of different categories that they manage payments for), and (4) it's no skin off PayPal's nose if the seller has to reimburse the buyer.

Scammer: "I bought this camera six months ago and haven't used it much. When I tried to use the Flux Capacitor on it today it wouldn't work and it must have been like then since I received it, so want a refund"
PayPal: "Certainly, sir. Please return it to the seller and we'll ensure you get a full refund (including postage both ways). Have a nice day".

Very true - worked with eBay & Paypal for many years, and you come to realise that it's not a safe place to sell items of value. It's far too easy for a buyer to get a refund. Lots of people specifically use eBay to exploit the system as they know it's dead easy to get a refund and they won't suffer any repercussions / negative feedback. In fact scammers are protected by eBay due to data protection, and can repeat and repeat and repeat and get away with it.
 
You have to realise that (1) PayPal are very process driven (and the scammers understand and exploit exactly how those processes work), (2) most claims will be decided by a bot, and will never even be seen by a human being, (3) PayPal will have zero technical knowledge about cameras (or any of the other millions of different categories that they manage payments for), and (4) it's no skin off PayPal's nose if the seller has to reimburse the buyer.

Yes I've heard horror stories and I'm not claiming that you won't ever have problems but after having gone through a few disputes, they don't just immediately roll over for buyers assuming you've taken reasonable steps and after half a year that's going to be another argument in your favour.
 
GBP stinks at the moment and is still diving. A great time to pick up a British bargain if your money's in Euro or Dollar. The other way round, getting worse all the time... Gear prices have generally trended with inflation so unsurprising that anything ageing but still relevant may make close to the original RRP, that's currency independent.
 
I see all these horror story scenarios but in around 15 years of dealing on e.bay and having sold lots of high value items and I have a 100% pos feedback of over 1600 items I can honestly say that I have had two idiots complain one for a 50p item and the other for less than a fiver . both resolved quickly ... so has anyone on here had a major scam carried out on them , NOT I KNOW A BLOKE DOWN THE PUB ETC .. actual factual losses by TP members with facts and figures ?????
 
AH I see silence is golden .....
 
I see all these horror story scenarios but in around 15 years of dealing on e.bay and having sold lots of high value items and I have a 100% pos feedback of over 1600 items I can honestly say that I have had two idiots complain one for a 50p item and the other for less than a fiver . both resolved quickly ... so has anyone on here had a major scam carried out on them , NOT I KNOW A BLOKE DOWN THE PUB ETC .. actual factual losses by TP members with facts and figures ?????

Yes (and no) - it was over 10 years ago, sold a Blackberry on ebay, a couple of weeks later returned as 'not as described' and the cheeky git had sent a different phone back. However, as the tracked parcel was delivered they went in his favour. The no part is that I didn't lose out. They had given me a negative balance of £200 or whatever the item was, I said I would not pay that but as I had sold what I had been sent back for £100 I would send them that. They refused so I closed my account and didn't pay a think so was actually better off.
 
Yes (and no) - it was over 10 years ago, sold a Blackberry on ebay, a couple of weeks later returned as 'not as described' and the cheeky git had sent a different phone back. However, as the tracked parcel was delivered they went in his favour. The no part is that I didn't lose out. They had given me a negative balance of £200 or whatever the item was, I said I would not pay that but as I had sold what I had been sent back for £100 I would send them that. They refused so I closed my account and didn't pay a think so was actually better off.

Based on the available evidence to them how do you think they should have handled this instead?
 
I see all these horror story scenarios but in around 15 years of dealing on e.bay and having sold lots of high value items and I have a 100% pos feedback of over 1600 items I can honestly say that I have had two idiots complain one for a 50p item and the other for less than a fiver . both resolved quickly ... so has anyone on here had a major scam carried out on them , NOT I KNOW A BLOKE DOWN THE PUB ETC .. actual factual losses by TP members with facts and figures ?????

Likewise I've been using ebay since it first arrived, before paypal even existed.
I've only had one problem and that was a naive guy who set a very low starting price on an xbox 360 game that no one had bid on so I won it.
He decided to refund me as he wasn't prepared to sell it at a low price, ebay intervened and gave him a warning.
 
I sold a Nikon 85mm 1.4 (near enough a grand) on eBay, what felt like a ridiculous amount of time later (can't remember exactly, I think it was months) but exactly one day before the buyer could no longer do anything, I had an item not received claim come through and the buyer logged an unauthorised payment with his credit card company. All the funds were removed from my Paypal account immediately. I didn't have that much in my account, so was in negative balance and had to top it up just to legitimately use my account.

As luck would have it I still had the RMSD receipt in my drawer at work and could still access the Royal Mail page showing the delivery signature, many weeks later I had the funds added back to my Paypal account and case closed. Without that receipt I would have lost a £1k lens with zero comeback.

On two occasions I've sold perfect gear, insanely well packaged, to much later receive images from the buyer of damage that they've clearly inflicted on the goods themselves. One I had back, the other I gave a percentage refund to.

I now only sell here and to MPB.
 
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I sold a Nikon 85mm 1.4 (near enough a grand) on eBay, what felt like a ridiculous amount of time later (can't remember exactly, I think it was months) but exactly one day before the buyer could no longer do anything, I had an item not received claim come through and the buyer logged an unauthorised payment with his credit card company. All the funds were removed from my Paypal account immediately. I didn't have that much in my account, so was in negative balance and had to top it up just to legitimately use my account.

As luck would have it I still had the RMSD receipt in my drawer at work and could still access the Royal Mail page showing the delivery signature, many weeks later I had the funds added back to my Paypal account and case closed. Without that receipt I would have lost a £1k lens with zero comeback.

On two occasions I've sold perfect gear, insanely well packaged, to much later receive images from the buyer of damage that they've clearly inflicted on the goods themselves. One I had back, the other I gave a percentage refund to.

I now only sell here and to MPB.

It's stuff like this has me very wary of selling on eBay, I'll buy as it seems they always go in buyer's favour, but don't need the hassle of anything like this to sell a lens.

I use a local sale site where I can usually get more than what I'd be offered on here or by mpb, it can take a while though and you do have to put up with low ball chancers. They have a feedback scoring much like this site so it's clear to see who's reliable. After some years and about 100 odd trades I've not had any hassles. Just sold on there yesterday for a lot more than I'd have gotten on eBay or what mpb would have offered.
 
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I have noticed that used camera gear prices have gone up recently.
I purchased a 7Dii from this forum at a very good used price. I did a fair amount of research and it was just slightly under the going rate. I purchased it in was happy, seller was happy.

Gast forward2 or 3 months and prices for the said 7Dii started going up. This was around the time canon rumours sites mentioned that there will be no 7Diii !
So it is possible for used gear prices can fo up over time instead of down.
I noticed in a local camera shop to me that used 7Dii prices are high ATM.

However I have noticed sellers on here selling gear for almost or if not the same price as new item from an online retailer.
Point this out to the seller and you get the reply that is the price !.
Is there a belief that their item is truly worth the high price on forum,....mmm.. well to me it is what the market will bear.
I always check the online sites and compare to the seller on the forum and make an offer.

Is camera gear like cars, buy a new car drive of the dealer forecourt and in an instant it has lost 20% in value !
I am not sure any more as the likes of Ebay have opened up a world market which has to take into account exchange rates.
 
I have noticed that used camera gear prices have gone up recently.
I purchased a 7Dii from this forum at a very good used price. I did a fair amount of research and it was just slightly under the going rate. I purchased it in was happy, seller was happy.

Gast forward2 or 3 months and prices for the said 7Dii started going up. This was around the time canon rumours sites mentioned that there will be no 7Diii !
So it is possible for used gear prices can fo up over time instead of down.
I noticed in a local camera shop to me that used 7Dii prices are high ATM.

However I have noticed sellers on here selling gear for almost or if not the same price as new item from an online retailer.
Point this out to the seller and you get the reply that is the price !.
Is there a belief that their item is truly worth the high price on forum,....mmm.. well to me it is what the market will bear.
I always check the online sites and compare to the seller on the forum and make an offer.

Is camera gear like cars, buy a new car drive of the dealer forecourt and in an instant it has lost 20% in value !
I am not sure any more as the likes of Ebay have opened up a world market which has to take into account exchange rates.

Not true for honest sellers, I cant sell a lens that is like new with everything for £900.
New grey it is easily £1500+ and in a UK shop more like £1850.
Other people I sell selling a d800 for superb price and many other examples.
Its just you get some who want ALL their money back and will just sit on it waiting for a mug to offer near asking
 
More from idle curiosity than anything I've taken to checking the "sold" prices on Ebay and they're quite revealing. In many cases the prices are lower than some of the starting prices for auctions and much lower than the buy it now prices. I've also been told by a reliable source that some of the very inflated prices are money laundering scams although this doesn't seem to be generally known. :wideyed:
 
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