Best time to sell?

GeneW

GeneW

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As these pesky but loveable FSU cams start taking over my camera shelf (I have a 'new' Zorki 3M on its way), I'm feeling the need to clean house a bit and sell off some of my SLR gear, most probably on the auction site.

I'm not expecting to get great prices for these things (mostly Olympus OM gear and lenses) but I'd like to avoid rock bottom. What are good times of year to sell? Is right after Christmas a good or a bad time in terms of selling gear? What, in your experience with selling, are the most active periods?

Gene
 
I would post the stuff at photo.net first as there is a specific audiance there for photo equipment before you go to ebay. Then ebay I think is a little cool (lower prices) now, but I don't think overall the flucuation is that great.
 
The best I can tell, prices change with the seasons, tides and phases of the moon. The only thing I noticed that was consistant about selling was that nothing was consistant.

The only other advice I can offer is end any auction on a Sunday night, especially US pac coast time. For some reason, most sellers seem to be looking and bidding then.

Good luck.
 
Thanks everyone for the fast responses!

rover said:
I would post the stuff at photo.net first as there is a specific audiance there for photo equipment before you go to ebay. Then ebay I think is a little cool (lower prices) now, but I don't think overall the flucuation is that great.
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I'll do that for sure, Rover. I sold two CV lenses on photo.net a couple of weeks ago and had very pleasant transactions with the folks who bought them.

Gene
 
Let me know when you do Gene, I got an OM2 recently and wouldn't mind adding some lenses accessories at some point soon. Or PM with your list and prices. Thanks!
 
I did my own experiment. I listed 2 laptops one after each other. They were identical. I listed 1 for 10 days ending on Sunday night. I listed the other one for 1 day ending Sunday night. They sold for the same price +- $5.00

Sunday is the ticket. Avoid high profile Sunday night football games or big Sunday night events.
 
I've sold around 300 cameras, lenses, etc. on Ebay over the years. I don't think there is a difference in sales prices between seasons with one exception - August, (vacation season), is very slow.

My advice - clean the heck out of whatever camera you sell and make sure you let prospective buyers know that the camera will arrive clean.

Take bright, crisp, close-ups of whatever camera you sell - put them on a nice white background.

List all the features on the camera and take pains to mention which features work and how well, and also point out what doesn't work. If the meter works - say so. If the viewfinder glass and optics are clear - say so. If the body covering is in a great shape - say so.

Be as descriptive as possible - it will help raise the selling price. Be honest, but a bit of puffery is in order - after all, you are selling something. I'd be happy to send a sample listing if you'd like.

One caveat - buyers can be a pain in the neck. The vast majority are great, but every now and again, you run into a winner. I sold an Olympus RD to a guy in NYC - camera was perfect. He started to complain about it which surprised me - I came to find out that he had found a similar camera for half the price in another auction and this was his way of trying to kill the deal. I wound up giving him a refund, getting a damaged camera back three months later AND getting negative feedback from the worm.


EDIT - my favorite time to have auctions end on bigger ticket items is 12 noon EST on a Saturday or 9 pm on Sunday - snipers seem to be present at those times. Worst times - business hours. Evenings are always best, but avoid Fridays.
 
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There was a Seller in North Texas ( he is still around) who auctioned a Yashica Lynx 14e several years ago. I was one of the unsuccessful bidders. In addition to all of the other tips listed above, he had a sample photo taken with the camera. At that time the average price in e-Bay for a 14e was about $45. He sold it for about $80.

-Paul
 
Thanks for all that good advice. I've done way more buying than selling so this is fairly new territory for me.

digitalox said:
Let me know when you do Gene, I got an OM2 recently and wouldn't mind adding some lenses accessories at some point soon. Or PM with your list and prices. Thanks!
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I'll list it here first -- you guys always get first crack at anything I intend to sell. Then photo.net, then the auction site. I'll be getting this together in January or February.

Gene
 
Gene,
January is the month everyone sells the crap they got for Christmas and buys the good stuff they really wanted instead. Use all the advice above, and I think it is a good idea to post an image taken with the item, I have bought several items just because the seller had a good presentation, I'm a sucker for the wrapping :)

Todd
 
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