Best, safest way to sell these days?

[karateisland]

I'm stuck. I have a kit that I'm looking to sell to finance a purchase.

I'm open to selling on RFF, but I usually like to list in a few places for the best chance of getting a reasonable deal. Unfortunately, all of my options for selling seem more or less... bad?

* eBay/Fred Miranda seem more or less like opportunities to get scammed.
* Craigslist buyers always low-ball me, really hard. (And one guy offered me a handgun in exchange for my Minolta CLE a few years ago...)
* B&H/Adorama/KEH/local shops have offered me insultingly small amounts of money for my kits. $200 for a Z6 because the leatherette is slightly worn in one spot!

Basically, what I want to know is: How would you sell your gear if you were me? Is there an option I'm missing?

[Edit--From the responses to my post, it's pretty clear that Fred Miranda is NOT a place to get scammed. My mistake!]

 

[jordan.dickinson]

I usually sell here on RFF, or on Craigslist. I hesitate to sell on Ebay because of high fees, etc. but it's still an option and you'll get a lot of people looking at your cameras. For me, selling here on RFF has been great. You get to actually talk to people and most everyone here is buying and selling their equipment to try out new avenues, so we're all kind of in the same boat. Having a good community to sell makes the whole forum operate in a really impressive way. I feel like tons of members here have gear from one another. I know I do.

The one thing you might not have used before is Facebook Marketplace. I'm not on Facebook anymore, so I can't message people, but there are certainly tons of people selling photo gear on there and it looks like a pretty good avenue to find actual buyers, since you need an account to get in contact with a buyer/seller.

On Craigslist, I just hold out until I get a valid offer. It's certainly not easy to figure out who is legitimate on there, but I've not had any bad transactions over the last few years. I recently sold a Hasselblad 500 and an M8 on Craigslist, and though I was wary at first, both buyers were good people. Just gotta spend the time sorting through the nonsense, as you know...

Finally, I try to only sell things when I have the time to let them sit. If I'm in a rush to sell, I feel like I let my guard down. Additionally, it allows me to not worry about lowering my asking price below what I wanted. If you can be patient, you'll often find a buyer that just stumbles across your ad. If it's priced fairly, it'll usually sell... eventually.

 

[lonemantis]

After many years of buying and selling gear, I mostly just stick to RFF now. The community is great, and I haven't had any major issues in almost 10 years. I tend to price things lower on here than I could potentially get on ebay or craigslist, but I've found it's worth it for the convenience and higher success rate.

Maybe it's just where I am, but craigslist has become a real waste of time for camera gear, especially film-related. Everyone thinks their stuff is worth its weight in gold, but will also try and lowball you for 50% off. Even if you agree to a lower price, most of them just end up ghosting you anyway.

 

[David Murphy]

This site is a great place to sell. The members are quite reliable and honest, and the price to list modest. I also sell on Photrio (formerly APUG), which has a similar crowd. One needs to purchase a modestly priced membership to access the Classified section there, but that supports their excellent site too.

eBay is my last choice! eBay works however, but between eBay and PayPal, you will be sending about 20% of your proceeds, including the shipping cost, to Wall Street.

 

[jsrockit]

* eBay/Fred Miranda seem more or less like opportunities to get scammed.

Not really...both are pretty good as are the classifieds here. It sounds to me just like you are scared of selling in general.

 

[Huss]

I've used RFF, Fredmiranda, photrio and craigslist.

Craigslist always has low ballers - just ignore them. The site is free.
RFF is ok.
FM is ok - much bigger audience than RFF or photrio
photrio - film nuts so a good place.

I'll use ebay as the last resort because their fees are awful.

 

[karateisland]

Not really...both are pretty good as are the classifieds here. It sounds to me just like you are scared of selling in general.

Nah, happy to sell, and have been selling gear for years. Just trying to get the lay of the land and see if there are better options out there.

The thing re: ebay is that I know more than one person who has been scammed by a buyer there. Anecdotal evidence for sure, but when the site charges is known to side with the buyer no matter what, why even risk it? (That’s not even to mention the fees)

Fred Miranda is probably better, though, shouldn’t have lumped those two together!

 

[Larry Cloetta]

* eBay/Fred Miranda seem more or less like opportunities to get scammed.
?

Others have already covered most of the other bases, but I would like to put in a good word for Fred Miranda. They are really diligent about scammers over there, maybe all the warnings on the site have put you off unnecessarily.
Just don’t sell to anyone who doesn’t have a large posting presence over there with several “likes” and it should be completely fine. I have never had a problem there, buying or selling, but I don’t sell to “strangers” there.

I have actually had more problems here than I have ever had anywhere else, as a percentage. I have over 700 transactions on Ebay, with only 3 or so problems. Out of around 20 total transactions here, I have had 4 bad ones, three buying and one selling. Two larger bad ones were for cameras over $1,000. Both these lied about the condition, without a doubt, and refused a return. One was from a seller who only posts here to sell things, nothing else, so that one was on me. The other was from a seller, an older gent with over 1,000 posts who demanded payment by check. So, you just never know. (He hasn’t posted much the last few years.) It’s a small sample size and obviously my experience here isn't typical. Just saying.
The advantage of here or Fred Miranda is that you can sell to people you “know”. Step outside that window anywhere, even here, and it’s a gamble.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I sell, buy on RFF and eBay.

 

[oldwino]

Of course, RFF. But also on Fred Miranda, and I've never had an issue here nor there (FM). As Larry said, they do seem to watch things. I once had Fred himself message me to wait on a sale until he could vet the buyer (who was new to the forum). All turned out well.

Ebay is a last resort.

B&H will give you the "best" price for used stuff, in my experience, but nowhere near what you can get selling yourself. Of course, they need to make a profit too, so you'll get 60-65% of market value. Adorama and MPB have always lowballed me.

 

[oldwino]

I will add, too, that there are a LOT of Z6s out there trying to be sold, so I think that keeps the prices depressed. I guess a lot of disappointed Nikonians?

 

[karateisland]

I will add, too, that there are a LOT of Z6s out there trying to be sold, so I think that keeps the prices depressed. I guess a lot of disappointed Nikonians?

Maybe! I'm not disappointed, per se--in fact, super happy with the results--but tired of playing the "which lens?" game. Not looking for a ton out of this sale, so fingers crossed I can get my modest asking.

 

[Huss]

..

I have actually had more problems here than I have ever had anywhere else, as a percentage. ...

Same experience for me.

 

[benlees]

I generally use the Canadian version of craigslist. It is free. Yes, there are lowballers, yes there are people that will waste your time. Oh well. Sometimes you have to be patient. Most people that inquire are quite pleasant and have the same interests as you. Funny that!

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

I generally buy/sell either here or on Photrio, Pentaxforums or Fred Miranda. In all cases it's easy to see what kind of person you're dealing with (I won't deal with people who don't have posting history or feedback), and as long as your sensible it's fairly secure.

I'll also use Gumtree (Australian Craigslist) and FB groups and marketplace, but with significantly more caution.

 

[maigo]

Best, safest way to sell these days?

If you sell on eBay, unless it is a rare and desirable item and you want to bidders to drive up sale price, use Buy It Now.

I sold about 75 cameras, lenses and gear last year on eBay and every one of my early Auction listings was won on by random duckhead who cancelled bid after auction ended or who failed to pay until 10 days later.
So, I switched all my listings to BIN.
The challenge with BIN can be zero feedback bidder who created an eBay account yesterday and uses a freight forward company to send to China.
To avoid these cases, Reverse lookup every address you are asked to ship to and, if it's a freight forward, cancel in first few hours after BIN with reason "shipping address is suspicious" and you will not be charged a fee by eBay.
The China buyers *LOVE* any compact AF RF so be extra wary when selling those cameras.
Why Freight Forward is a problem? No PayPal or eBay seller protection.

 

[RichC]

If there's a camera shop near you that sells used gear, consider selling on commission. I do this with my local store in preference to online.

Commission is typically 25-30% - but as store prices are higher than selling privately, in reality the difference is more like 15% (give or take). I'm happy to take that hit because the store has the hassle of dealing with people, not me. Nor do I have the stress of worrying about things like items being lost in the post, or being scammed - again, that's the shop's problem.

The downside is that shops are only interested in taking on reasonably costly stuff that will sell reasonably quickly. So, your local shop will turn away rare, unpopular or low-value items that either won't make much of a profit or will hang around for ages cluttering the place up (nor do you want that, assuming you want a quick sale too!). Also, unless your item is very popular or priced low, it can take a few weeks, occasionally months, for it to sell - so commission sales aren't for you if you need cash fast.

My local shop is much more likely to sell on commission than to buy outright because they're not stuck with stock they don't want, and if the item turns out to have a genuine problem that's discovered after its sale, the shop simply refunds the customer and gives the item back to you.

Anyway, that's my preference these days: popular, high-value gear goes to my local shop to be sold on commission, unpopular stuff goes on eBay because of its huge audience.

 

[James24]

I've sold a lot on Ebay over the years, and have had very few problems. If the kit is described accurately, and photographed to show warts and all, this helps. But Ebay and Paypal fees add up to quite a lot, and the Ebay experience for sellers is not great these days. Mostly I have sold using Buy It Now - checking completed sale prices first and selling near the top of the price range if the item is good.

But in the past couple of years I have got fed up with Ebay and the way they discriminate in favour of buyers and have tried commission sales with UK dealers with good results. In particular, Classic Cameras in London who charge 15% have done well for me selling Leica kit. Ffordes are also worth considering and MPB are not too bad if an outright sale works best.

 

[Larry Cloetta]

If you sell on eBay, unless it is a rare and desirable item and you want to bidders to drive up sale price, use Buy It Now.

I sold about 75 cameras, lenses and gear last year on eBay and every one of my early Auction listings was won on by random duckhead who cancelled bid after auction ended or who failed to pay until 10 days later.
So, I switched all my listings to BIN.
The challenge with BIN can be zero feedback bidder who created an eBay account yesterday and uses a freight forward company to send to China.
To avoid these cases, Reverse lookup every address you are asked to ship to and, if it's a freight forward, cancel in first few hours after BIN with reason "shipping address is suspicious" and you will not be charged a fee by eBay.
The China buyers *LOVE* any compact AF RF so be extra wary when selling those cameras.
Why Freight Forward is a problem? No PayPal or eBay seller protection.

Good advice.
Ebay is pretty great for buyers if you are reasonably careful about checking feedback before purchasing.
Ebay will never take the seller’s side in a dispute however, so for sellers the deck is stacked against you, and you are pretty much at the mercy of the buyer’s honesty. I sell a lot on ebay, and will continue to do so, but am careful, which eliminates most potential problems. Most sketchy buyers are obviously so from their feedback or profile. Just cancel the BIN sale immediately if you don’t feel completely comfortable with the buyer. Ebay gives you several default reasons you can pick for doing so, and they never question it. Once you ship it though, you are completely vulnerable to the whims and desires of any scam artist or garden variety dirtball out there, because ebay won’t have your back, no matter what the truth of the matter might be.

 

[Huss]

Yeah ebay buyer scams can be anything from claiming you shipped them a box with a brick in it, to taking parts off what you sent them that they need, then claiming bits missing/it is broken.