Is nobody buying gear any more?

rob-nikon said:
The classifieds on here are pretty much dead compared to a few years back. There are several reasons why that’s occurred. The increase in grey imports on here hasn’t helped as it practically means uk bought kit needs to be 50% new price. The problem is that sellers want a good to great price whilst most buyers want a bargain to low price. The problem is both can’t happen. What’s needed is a fair price.

I would rather buy from someone on here rather than eBay as I’ve meet some nice people when buying and selling on here. That’s one of the forum member bonuses.

Personally I think the classifieds needs another shake up otherwise it’s probably the end of them. Changes made a few years back haven’t help as visiting numbers have dropped but I can understand why they were made. The current set up has become a mess as there is a huge amount of open dead sales threads as the ones who managed their sales thread can’t archive or do anything themselves. One idea to help the classifieds would be a few rule changes such as photos and PayPal as the only payment option. If the sellers covered PayPal fees it would provide buyers protection, and if buyers pay postage it could potentially relieve all of the cost burden on sellers and hopefully lower asking prices because there wouldn’t be the whole rising asking prices to take postage and haggling into account. If sellers were expected to manage their sales threads it could work better. If they don’t meet the rules then they get a classifieds holiday for a week/month.
Click to expand...

Some excellent points there Rob, the archiving thing needs sorting out urgently, really is a mess.
 
I can't imagine a less fashionable system now than crop DSLR. MPB will give you £110 for that Macro, I'd bite their hands off.
 
johnf3f said:
FleaBay has it's place - in my case my photography gear. What bargains have I had??

First was a very cheap Canon EF 400 F2.8 L (the original one) - so cheap that when I traded it in I made a profit + he sold me his (nice nick) Wimberley 2 for £200.
Picked up a very nice Canon 300 F2.8 L IS for about £1k less than the going rate, had to replace the hood lock but that was only £60 - still working perfectly 8 years on
Brand new 1DX for £1400 less than the current UK price? Yes it spoke Chinese but was remarkably easy to teach it English!
Canon 800 F5.6 L IS for an embarrassingly low price, nearly 6 years on and still my favourite lens.
Canon 24-70 F2.8 L Mk2 - only about £400 off - well you can't win them all, lovely lens though!

I won't bore you with backpacks, tripods etc etc and probably a couple of cameras/lenses that I have missed. So I would definitely suggest that you avoid FleaBay/EvilBay - leave the bargains for me:)
Click to expand...

Blimey John, you said you are poor but those are not poor lenses even when “cheap”!
 
johnf3f said:
FleaBay has it's place - in my case my photography gear. What bargains have I had??

First was a very cheap Canon EF 400 F2.8 L (the original one) - so cheap that when I traded it in I made a profit + he sold me his (nice nick) Wimberley 2 for £200.
Picked up a very nice Canon 300 F2.8 L IS for about £1k less than the going rate, had to replace the hood lock but that was only £60 - still working perfectly 8 years on
Brand new 1DX for £1400 less than the current UK price? Yes it spoke Chinese but was remarkably easy to teach it English!
Canon 800 F5.6 L IS for an embarrassingly low price, nearly 6 years on and still my favourite lens.
Canon 24-70 F2.8 L Mk2 - only about £400 off - well you can't win them all, lovely lens though!

I won't bore you with backpacks, tripods etc etc and probably a couple of cameras/lenses that I have missed. So I would definitely suggest that you avoid FleaBay/EvilBay - leave the bargains for me:)
Click to expand...

Sounds like you have done well as a buyer. Has your experience of selling been as good?
 
Timing of purchase can also play a part, as an example Camera Jungle have a 20% discount on used purchases at the moment they had a Canon 135 F2L listed. After discount £407 for a excellent condition lens with 12 months warranty at the same time same lens for sale in the classified section £495. No criticism of the seller asking £495 but given the choice I would have bought from Camera Jungle.

I only every buy now if I consider an item is good value
 
Giblets said:
Sounds like you have done well as a buyer. Has your experience of selling been as good?
Click to expand...

Sorry I have no idea on selling things on E Bay - I simply haven't tried selling anything there! However I do know a local vendor who does and is very unhappy about the way E Bay treats sellers, he feels everything is set up to make buyers happy even when they are dishonest - his opinion, I have no experience so cannot comment.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Blimey John, you said you are poor but those are not poor lenses even when “cheap”!
Click to expand...

Yes I am poor - I don't even qualify for UK income tax! Or any benefits either:mad:

Yet I am sitting here in my 4 bedroom semi, with my lowish mileage car sitting outside, with my nice camera gear (we won't go into my other optics, Hi Fi, RC aircraft, archery gear etc...etc) sipping on a nice 10 year old single malt. Oh yes up until nearly 3 years ago I was a heavy smoker too.

I spent 34 years in the finance industry so I know how to budget! In my experience most people waste more money than they intentionally spend.

I can quote you my income - but I would prefer it to be by PM as it is a bit embarrassing.
 
Last edited:
For buying and selling, to attempt it here is to deal in a niche marketplace. Ebay by comparison is as worldwide as you want to make it.

There's risk in everything, but most people are pretty honest, and you do your own risk assessments to weed out the total crooks.

Describe things fully and honestly, and expect others to do the same. Avoid the obviously ignorant, or call them to the bar.

I've won and lost, but it's been a reasonable game. All my stuff now is secondhand, some of a certain vintage, and it all works well.

Occasionally something wasn't up to scratch and I've paid to have it serviced, but it was always worth it and never more than £50.

The main thing is to enjoy photography, and produce meaningful images. Inspiration and technique can't be bought.
 
johnf3f said:
Yes I am poor - I don't even qualify for UK income tax! Or any benefits either:mad:

Yet I am sitting here in my 4 bedroom semi, with my lowish mileage car sitting outside, with my nice camera gear (we won't go into my other optics, Hi Fi, RC aircraft, archery gear etc...etc) sipping on a nice 10 year old single malt. Oh yes up until nearly 3 years ago I was a heavy smoker too.

I spent 34 years in the finance industry so I know how to budget! In my experience most people waste more money than they intentionally spend.

I can quote you my income - but I would prefer it to be by PM as it is a bit embarrassing.
Click to expand...
If its embarrassing why keep telling people you are so poor?
 
I prefer to buy on here if I can, and have bought quite a few things over the years with only one issue.
I have bought grey though as it was cheaper than buying used.
I've also bought new from local shops.
I suppose it can depend on what I'm looking for, and who/where has it for sale.
 
Cagey75 said:
I'm thinking he means he's bought these over the years not at one time. Not really mad spending over many years.
Click to expand...

Guessed that was probably the case, think we need an icon for "tongue in cheek"
 
tijuana taxi said:
Or tea in my case
Click to expand...

Sometimes both for me one after the other :D

As for selling used gear, on the site I mostly use it tells you how many people are watching your item [bit like ebay]. Atm I have something up on there with 7 watching, not one bid. It's almost as if they wait it out until you drop the price, skipping the haggle part.
 
Bobsyeruncle said:
If its embarrassing why keep telling people you are so poor?
Click to expand...

Because I am trying to tell people that the CAN have the gear they want! After all I have - so why shouldn't others?
 
i have had a good experience with all items purchased from this forum and is the first place I look if i want stuff, or to be tempted by stuff. I've seen quite a few things I'd be interested in and i've felt they are a good price but i just dont the *actual* money or justification for buying them (just today, the 70-200mm f2.8 for around £520 was very tempting, but i do not have that money spare after a bit of a heavy year for car and pet costs and overall spending)
 
isobarik said:
So when’s the right time to get rid of my EF stuff?

Dave
Click to expand...

If you're going to do it for definite, then no time like the present really. or the answer could be whenever someone is willing to buy it at a reasonable price from you
 
simonbarker said:
I quite fancy a A7RIV, magic me up a super cheap one please! :p
Click to expand...

Sorry I have tried a couple of Sony A7's - no optical viewfinder - so not much use to me therefore I haven't looked into prices. Also Sony do not make up to date lenses in the range that I primarily use so, again, why would I look into their system and pricing?
 
johnf3f said:
Sorry I have tried a couple of Sony A7's - no optical viewfinder - so not much use to me therefore I haven't looked into prices. Also Sony do not make up to date lenses in the range that I primarily use so, again, why would I look into their system and pricing?
Click to expand...
It was a joke. That's why it's got a smiley at the end.
 
Raymond Lin said:
ASAP, every time Canon release a new R mount body/lens, that is every % drop in used EF gear.
Click to expand...

As the "R" system stands at the moment it is great for many users - but, for me, it is pretty much useless. No long R lenses, poor AF and a hopeless viewfinder for my needs.

Having said that The existing lenses are superb and, for many users, the R system is the "Dog's Dangly Bits" - just not for me.......yet.........
 
Bobsyeruncle said:
It was a joke. That's why it's got a smiley at the end.
Click to expand...

If I could find a camera you want at a bargain price I would be happy to let you know, so long as I didn't want it!

I wasn't sure if the "Smiley" was a bit of fun or a challenge;)
 
Brazo said:
When both buyers and sellers seemingly are unable to wait ‘minutes’ for a response in for sale threads (cough Sony 200-600) then isn’t it any wonder they are being sidelined.
Click to expand...

Seen this many times, a sale thread goes up, and on the same day the seller is posting 'if nobody wants this it's off to MPB" - I mean ... if you're that eager then just ship it
 
Cagey75 said:
Seen this many times, a sale thread goes up, and on the same day the seller is posting 'if nobody wants this it's off to MPB" - I mean ... if you're that eager then just ship it
Click to expand...
And same person is not exactly quick to respond to questions from potential buyers....
 
johnf3f said:
Sorry I have tried a couple of Sony A7's - no optical viewfinder - so not much use to me therefore I haven't looked into prices. Also Sony do not make up to date lenses in the range that I primarily use so, again, why would I look into their system and pricing?
Click to expand...

I don't know if I've asked you this before so soz if I have but what do ovf's allow you to do that EVF's don't?

The advantages of optical systems must be few and very specialised now to the point that at the moment I can't really think of any that affect me whereas the advantages of evf's are many and do.

I took 200 pictures the other day, there were no stunners as it was a poor light day but every single one was in focus even though I focused all over the frame and every one had a good exposure with no need to chimp and retake. Having a near 100% hit rate is very addictive.
 
woof woof said:
I don't know if I've asked you this before so soz if I have but what do ovf's allow you to do that EVF's don't?

The advantages of optical systems must be few and very specialised now to the point that at the moment I can't really think of any that affect me whereas the advantages of evf's are many and do.

I took 200 pictures the other day, there were no stunners as it was a poor light day but every single one was in focus even though I focused all over the frame and every one had a good exposure with no need to chimp and retake. Having a near 100% hit rate is very addictive.
Click to expand...
Pixel and lag free view with no battery drain for taking a look. EVF's are getting better without a doubt and they do have some big advantages but the frankly woeful battery life when using them is annoying. You could almost negate the weight savings from losing the mirror box by having to carry 4 spare batteries instead of 1.
 
johnf3f said:
Sorry I have tried a couple of Sony A7's - no optical viewfinder - so not much use to me therefore I haven't looked into prices. Also Sony do not make up to date lenses in the range that I primarily use so, again, why would I look into their system and pricing?
Click to expand...

You went in a little too hard on my comment, it doesn't really matter what you or I think of a specific product but I was making the point that when you go for used equipment or wait for special offers unlike buying new you can only get what's made available and that usually means a good wait for newer stuff.

Which is completely fine, a little patience never hurt anyone but when you need something...
 
Last edited:
I also like the classifieds, and have bought. But in partial answer to the original question, the stuff I'm buying at the moment doesn't exactly come up very often on the TP classified (large format cameras and film holders).
 
Kei said:
Pixel and lag free view with no battery drain for taking a look. EVF's are getting better without a doubt and they do have some big advantages but the frankly woeful battery life when using them is annoying. You could almost negate the weight savings from losing the mirror box by having to carry 4 spare batteries instead of 1.
Click to expand...

I don't know if lag is an issue for many people, certainly not for me in most occasions. If you have aperture/exposure effect (or whatever it's called) on and f8+ in low light then yes but looking through an ovf with dof preview on at f8+ will give you next to nothing to look at in low light either. Other than that evf lag isn't an issue for me and the stats seem to say it's insignificant compared to human reaction times.

Yes batteries can be an issue but as I'm not a machine gunner it's not an issue for me even with a 1st gen A7 which some would say has terrible battery performance.

Just wondered.
 
I’ve bought and sold in the classifieds over the years and been happy with the deals, not anymore though.

I got a quote back from MPB today for six Fuji lenses and a body + grip, it’s a touch lower than I had hoped but I just can’t be bothered trying to sell here, too much hassle - the price gougers annoy me.

MPB will collect so factoring in postage costs I won’t be far behind selling the items individually and it’s all done in one go, not everyone’s first choice but I value my time very highly:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top