Selling Your Gear

[Shadowman]

I often wonder why people want to sell their gear, especially those who sell new items within months of its release? I know, none of my business but what gets me is the prices that are charged, for instance I saw a Nikon 200-500 lens for sale for $1,150, original price I believe was about $1,400, why is a 3 year old lens selling for such a high price when technically it is only worth about $600 if purchased for business purposes? Also, telling my age, but photo gear used to be pawned and the buyer never got more than half for a new item, so why today is gear being offered for so much and yes balking at such high prices means you won't get a chance of even touching the item at book value prices, but what this means is the market (eBay or whatever platform) is causing inflated prices. I based the $600 on depreciation which for most users won't matter but if you purchased for business you won't be able to write off the excess price paid.

[Manfred M]

It's called supply and demand.

The seller can demand whatever they want and if a buyer is willing to pay the price, they will be happy. The flip side is that a buyer recognizes that the item is overpriced and the seller cannot sell it.

I had exactly this situation come up earlier this month when I went to look at a lens I ended up buying. I saw a used lens for $CAD 900 and a new one was $CAD 1000. For me the discount was not sufficient to buy the used lens. I have bought used lenses in the past when they were selling at what I considered a reasonable price.

[Shadowman]

It's called supply and demand.

The seller can demand whatever they want and if a buyer is willing to pay the price, they will be happy. The flip side is that a buyer recognizes that the item is overpriced and the seller cannot sell it.

I had exactly this situation come up earlier this month when I went to look at a lens I ended up buying. I saw a used lens for $CAD 900 and a new one was $CAD 1000. For me the discount was not sufficient to buy the used lens. I have bought used lenses in the past when they were selling at what I considered a reasonable price.

Like eBay, I've seen product offered that doesn't move have frequent price drops, risky to wait but sometimes might be worth the risk.

[zen]

As you point out, John, just because it's listed at a certain price doesn't necessarily mean it sells for that price. Same with Manfred's $CAD900 lens. It would be interesting to follow that particular item and see what the seller actually got for it. But generally, I agree with your point- and put it down to human foibles. We always think something we own is worth more than it is to someone else. Take one of your treasured antiques to a dealer once and see what he says the market price is. As I have been a number of times, it's shocking. And half the time, I end up keeping the item because I'm not willing to let it go for a price that represents its value on the market.

As to things new or almost new, I tried a grip on my 5d4 and absolutely didn't like it, so took it off and put the thing up for sale. Same thing; new, in original packaging, original manuals and warranty card, but no takers at the price I wanted. So, I still have it!

Zen

[Shadowman]

As you point out, John, just because it's listed at a certain price doesn't necessarily mean it sells for that price. Same with Manfred's $CAD900 lens. It would be interesting to follow that particular item and see what the seller actually got for it. But generally, I agree with your point- and put it down to human foibles. We always think something we own is worth more than it is to someone else. Take one of your treasured antiques to a dealer once and see what he says the market price is. As I have been a number of times, it's shocking. And half the time, I end up keeping the item because I'm not willing to let it go for a price that represents its value on the market.

As to things new or almost new, I tried a grip on my 5d4 and absolutely didn't like it, so took it off and put the thing up for sale. Same thing; new, in original packaging, original manuals and warranty card, but no takers at the price I wanted. So, I still have it!

Zen

Hi Zen,

Thanks for commenting, I can see selling an unused accessory, at a local camera store there's a $15 take as is table, quite a few old lenses but I've never really taken inventory of the items.

[russellsnr]

Hi, Two comments from me, 1 some wll not agree with. Bought a used Sigma 150-500mm from a company that deal with a lot of used equipment and had it for maybe 6 months but found it to heavy to lug around so attempted to trade it in against a lighter lens and as I had not used it more than about 6 times thought would get a decent offer as it was in the same condition they sold it to me me but they offered me over £100 less as a trade in and when I asked how come they said they work on tight margines and yes I no they need to make a living but I was quite shocked at the devaluation after only 6 months. Ebay!! I use a lot as do not have really a decent camera shop/s where I live and what I cannot understand when it comes to auction items is why when you can buy an item new for example £150 people bid £135, £140, or even £160 they just do not do there homework or are they sitting on there brains?

[Shadowman]

Hi, Two comments from me, 1 some wll not agree with. Bought a used Sigma 150-500mm from a company that deal with a lot of used equipment and had it for maybe 6 months but found it to heavy to lug around so attempted to trade it in against a lighter lens and as I had not used it more than about 6 times thought would get a decent offer as it was in the same condition they sold it to me me but they offered me over £100 less as a trade in and when I asked how come they said they work on tight margines and yes I no they need to make a living but I was quite shocked at the devaluation after only 6 months. Ebay!! I use a lot as do not have really a decent camera shop/s where I live and what I cannot understand when it comes to auction items is why when you can buy an item new for example £150 people bid £135, £140, or even £160 they just do not do there homework or are they sitting on there brains?

Hi Russell,

The devaluing might be related to depreciation, useful life was considered only five years.

[DanK]

Some people make (what I consider to be) silly decisions. If you look at used prices at a retailer who handles volume, you are likely to see used prices, both for purchase and sale, that make sense. They have an idea what the larger market will bear. However, there is always a huge variation around the mean market price, and eBay and the like have exposed that to us. People post and bid on eBay regardless of their sense of the market.

What I find more remarkable is that vendors that use Amazon Marketplace will often post prices for used goods that are HIGHER than the new price on Amazon. Often the difference is small, suggesting that the smaller vendors haven't been able to keep up with Amazon's price fluctuations. However, occasionally they are quite large. I've always wondered whether anyone ever clips on the "more buying choices" link and buys a used item for less than the new-item price.

[Tri Danimal]

I've always wondered whether anyone ever clips on the "more buying choices" link and buys a used item for less than the new-item price.

I almost always check the more seller's option. I often find a lower selling price without shipping, however, once you add in the shipping price many times the item is at or even higher than the Amazon price.


I think the selling. buying price comes down to what its value for you at this moment in time.

Real Life Story

We (my partner, myself and a team of 4 others), were shooting an Armenian wedding mid-2018 with 450 people, 2 bands 2 dance groups, etc. It was a huge job and worth lots of money for us. Some how all 3 of our CF cards got bent (as in could not get into the 1Dx card slot) and we had 30 min before the bands and dancers started performing. I had my wife run down to the local best buy (big box retailer whos way over priced) and get the 5 remaining CF cards they had in stock. We knew we way over paid but we were able to get the shots we needed fo the video which resulted in 5 more refferals. The price point of the cards was a non issue at that time, but if we could have had the time we would have ordered online for better priceing.

[rpcrowe]

I also marvel at the prices some folks ask and often get for used items on eBay.

A way to determine how much eBay items actually bring in is to do an "Advanced Search" and check the box that designates "Completed Auctions". That way you will learn how much items actually sold for rather than how much they were listed for. It also tells you the prices that the items that didn't sell were listed as.

Sometimes, as with all auctions, there is a bidding frenzy on an item and folks might bid more than an item is actually worth. This doesn't happen as much as it did with the prevalence of programmed bidding such as using eSnipe.

One final thing, regarding lenses. Expensive lenses hold their value far better than cheap lenses. Case in point, a 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS lens which lists for $348 at B&H. You can pick up one of these lenses used on eBay or Craigslist just about any time for a hundred dollars or right about that. OTOH, the Sony 85mm f/1.8 lens which lists for $598 at B&H often sells used for $500 (and frequently more) on eBay...

The cheaper kit lens loses over 70% of its value on the used market while the 85mm f/1.8 loses only about 17%...

Another dynamic is when a company replaces one item with another. The price of the item that has been replaced will often take a nose dive on the used market. IMO, if the new Sony A6400 had included IBIS, the used value of the A6500 would be reduced. As is, I think that both the A6300 and A6500 used prices might take hits because of the low list price of the A6400...

I have bought used items on eBay and from private sellers through craigslist.com but, only buy used when the price is right. I purchased a used 85mm f/1.8 Sony lens for $450 and it has worked just fine. If I had purchased locally, it would have cost me $598 plus an extra $48 in California State Sales Tax. So I saved almost $200 by purchasing used. I have also purchased new items - I will buy a new item when it has recently been released because there are often few available on the used marked and I would wonder why someone is selling an item just a few months after buying it. My favorite way to purchase camera gear is to get factory refurbished items.

[LePetomane]

If you want a shocker take a look at the trade-in values at Adorama or B & H for lenses and other gear that is still in production.

[tclune]

...Also, telling my age, but photo gear used to be pawned and the buyer never got more than half for a new item, so why today is gear being offered for so much and yes balking at such high prices means you won't get a chance of even touching the item at book value prices, but what this means is the market (eBay or whatever platform) is causing inflated prices...

I'm no economist, but my understanding is that e-bay has reduced the friction in marketing terms. That is, it is easier for a seller to find an interested buyer with e-bay than it was for the local pawn shop prior to the internet. Nothing is worth anything if there is no buyer for it. By increasing the buying population to the entire world, the average amount a sale can garner goes up. You can either say that this inflates prices or allows sellers to reap something closer to the theoretical value of the item they are selling. Nonetheless, I always sell my old equipment by trade-in when I buy new equipment. I realize less profit, but run zero risk of the transaction being fraudulent.

[DanK]

I'm no economist, but my understanding is that e-bay has reduced the friction in marketing terms. That is, it is easier for a seller to find an interested buyer with e-bay than it was for the local pawn shop prior to the internet. Nothing is worth anything if there is no buyer for it. By increasing the buying population to the entire world, the average amount a sale can garner goes up. You can either say that this inflates prices or allows sellers to reap something closer to the theoretical value of the item they are selling. Nonetheless, I always sell my old equipment by trade-in when I buy new equipment. I realize less profit, but run zero risk of the transaction being fraudulent.

I think there is a statistical issue at work as well.

A merchant dealing in used gear has to base her purchase prices on the expected sales price. Mathematically, the expected value would be the long-run mean, but in practice, I suspect it is not that, depending on other factors. eBay, by contrast, shows you more of the entire distribution of transactions. If you look at completed sales, you will eventually see cases that sold for much less than what a retailer would expect and cases that sold for far more. No merchant could stay in business if she priced purchases of used goods on the expectation of having customers at the high end of the distribution.

Markets entail much more irrationality than classical economics recognized. If you want very amusing but hard evidence of this, read Dan Ariely's Predictably Irrational. I'm not an economist either, and I don't know whether anyone has studied this seriously, but I suspect that the auction format on eBay boosts the high end of the distribution even higher. People get caught up in the bidding. I don't use eBay much, but I have caught myself doing this--setting my price limit in advance but then thinking "if I go up just a little more, I might be able to beat this person who just bumped my bid..."

[Shadowman]

I'm no economist, but my understanding is that e-bay has reduced the friction in marketing terms. That is, it is easier for a seller to find an interested buyer with e-bay than it was for the local pawn shop prior to the internet. Nothing is worth anything if there is no buyer for it. By increasing the buying population to the entire world, the average amount a sale can garner goes up. You can either say that this inflates prices or allows sellers to reap something closer to the theoretical value of the item they are selling. Nonetheless, I always sell my old equipment by trade-in when I buy new equipment. I realize less profit, but run zero risk of the transaction being fraudulent.

I've seen inflated prices offered on more platforms than just eBay, I'm speaking mostly about the seller who offers an item that clearly has lost some book value, some items like diamonds can fluctuate in price merely by supply and demand and I suppose camera lenses can be valued in the same way, but from a economic/accounting point of view book value is book value.

[Rufus]

...but from a economic/accounting point of view book value is book value.

From an accounting point of view book value just reflects a depreciation policy, and has no relation to market value unless an item us revalued to reflect current market value. The profit or loss on disposal (market value minus book value) just indicates that an asset was depreciated to quickly or too slowly. Ulimately cash is king and it is the maximisation of the net the proceeds on disposal that really matter.

[Shadowman]

From an accounting point of view book value just reflects a depreciation policy, and has no relation to market value unless an item us revalued to reflect current market value. The profit or loss on disposal (market value minus book value) just indicates that an asset was depreciated to quickly or too slowly. Ulimately cash is king and it is the maximisation of the net the proceeds on disposal that really matter.

In my first post I mentioned that book value of an item may not matter to most photographers purchasing gear, but it does reflect the "real value" of the item from a financial point of view; not from an artist's point of view.

[Rufus]

In my first post I mentioned that book value of an item may not matter to most photographers purchasing gear, but it does reflect the "real value" of the item from a financial point of view; not from an artist's point of view.

I am not sure how an artist would value an item. Something might have artistic value or sentimental value but from a financial point of view the "real value" is the higher of what the item can be sold for (market value) and the present value when deployed in the business (in terms of the future cashflows it is estimated to generate).

As has been said earlier, as in real estate and used cars, asking prices are one thing, actual amounts paid when a sale is made is quite another.

At the point of sale the value to both buyer and seller is agreed, albeit other parties might well be inclined to place a different value on the same item.

[Shadowman]

I am not sure how an artist would value an item. Something might have artistic value or sentimental value but from a financial point of view the "real value" is the higher of what the item can be sold for (market value) and the present value when deployed in the business (in terms of the future cashflows it is estimated to generate).

As has been said earlier, as in real estate and used cars, asking prices are one thing, actual amounts paid when a sale is made is quite another.

At the point of sale the value to both buyer and seller is agreed, albeit other parties might well be inclined to place a different value on the same item.

How would an artist value an item? Probably just desire and that might be enough to justify the purchase and spark the high offer.

[Tronhard]

Personally I have avoided the whole issue of selling my gear by just keeping it all! Well, all except a couple of items...

Consequently I have a large collection of bodies, lenses etc., in their original boxes and packing going back to the last century (good heavens that sounds ancient!). I still use the gear from time to time because I enjoy it. That Japanese tidiness expert, Marie Kondo would approve as they"give me Joy".

[Shadowman]

Personally I have avoided the whole issue of selling my gear by just keeping it all! Well, all except a couple of items...

Consequently I have a large collection of bodies, lenses etc., in their original boxes and packing going back to the last century (good heavens that sounds ancient!). I still use the gear from time to time because I enjoy it. That Japanese tidiness expert, Marie Kondo would approve as they"give me Joy".

I tend to hold onto my gear as well, I do sometimes give a few items to family or friends.