Man, selling is HARD work, why do you guys like it so much?

N

noimmunity

scratch my niche
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I've been selling some things over the past couple of months, and man is that hard work! I guess it's probably a little easier in North America, but still there isn't a piece of photo gear on earth that does all the email, then packs itself into a box and walks itself over to a postoffice!

I see a number of people who are virtual revolving turnstyles with their gear. I guess when you do it a lot, it becomes second nature, and you keep all the "supplies" handy. But still, this is a BIG energy drain no matter how you slice it, no?

I mean, selling feels good after it's over. Nice to move on, nice to pare down, nice to reload...but I don't wanna ever sell another piece of gear again (YEAH RIGHT, famous last words, ha~!).

But seriously folks, this has CHANGED the way I look at cameras. I now look at them with a skeptical eye, seeing not just the fun in the moment, but also the potential future hassles. DON'T BUY suddenly has a whole new meaning for me!

Please share your gear selling survival strategies here...
 
Would it be possible that you've just turned 40 ?

Time to start collecting then.

But please do NOT get into gathering photo bags before you turn 50.

:D
 
Strategy? I own a store, where I receive boxes daily that are stuffed with styrofoam packing materials and bubblewrap, so I save the packing and boxes for shipping. I have USPS, UPS and Fedex accounts for my business, so everything I ship is written off as a business expense. My delivery drivers are here at least every other day, so I rarely have to go to the post office or pay for a scheduled pick-up.

As far as why I continue to sell gear, every time I make $50 or $500 on something, I get to buy some lens I've 'always wanted to try.' I just sold a few pieces of art for a client, that WAS a big hassle, but my commission from the job paid my property taxes for the year. It was definitely worth the trouble for me...
 
Hmmm lemme see... in the last couple of months I've sold four bodies, a raft of lenses, a bunch of flash stuff, sold a half-dozen bags and backpacks, bought a couple of bags, bought four bodies, bought a raft of lenses, a bunch of flas stuff... I just changed over completely from one complete system to another. Fortunately, that's not something I do regularly!

It is a hassle tho... making good images of what you have for sale, boxes, packing materials... eBay, Craigslist... fortunately here, the USPS and UPS both have really easy to use online ways of buying postage and labels, so for me, once it's packed and ready to go, it's just a matter of dropping it off.

I think I'm done selling for now... AND buying. :rolleyes:
 
Selling can feel good once it's done, I like seeing my flat emptying out. I try to sell more than I buy, and it's a hassle sometimes, but generally it's fairly painless.
 
I tend to sell more than one thing at a time. Only one trip to the post office. Keep boxes and stuffing from GAS, and, voila; packaging! In an excellent small world, GAS, network type thing I once received a package that had been reused. The original mailer was a person I just sent a lens to.
 
I hoard boxes (flattened) and packing material (in a plastic garbage bag).
I have sold and bought stuff on this forum and it is simple and easy.
Worse part by 1000X is going to the Post Office (don't get me started on that). But, other than that, I have no gripes.

PS . . . I have never shipped outside the continental USA. That may be a factor.
 
I agree that it can be a hassle. I use packing materials I save from work and ship in Priority Mail flat rate boxes to simplify. I turn over quite a lot of cameras because I enjoy using the cameras just as much as capturing moments. I can't afford to have a growing collection, especially when wanting to try different Rolleis, Leicas, and other expensive gear. When there is something new I want to try I am very patient and shop around for a good deal. Then when I get bored and want to try something else I am usually able to sell it for about what I paid. Plus, it has the added bonus of keeping the wife happy. She knows that every time she sees a new camera arrive that I have sold another piece of gear to pay for it rather than dipping into our savings. Now she gets excited to see me enjoying new equipment rather than giving the evil eye :)
 
I shop almost exclusively online these days, so I always have a supply of boxes in various shapes and sizes. If I happen to be selling a piece of gear, the packing supplies are always on hand.
It also makes it easy that I live 4 blocks from a USPS branch and one mile from a FedEx office.
I finally set up a FedEx account - so I handle all the packaging, forms, etc. from my house. I just walk into the FedEx office and hand them the box. Done.
 
The trick to avoid having something to sell is to TRY to be more selective about what you buy in the first place. I read an interesting blog post the other day where it was suggested that you buy things from places that DO NOT have very favorable return policies. The idea is that if you know up front that a return would be a hassle or you'd loose money, it may make you more hesitant to buy in the first place and hopefully only buy what you really need/want.

I get more frustrated when I post something for sale and I don't get any interest or strictly low-ball offers and the item doesn't sell right away. Once I decide to sell something I generally want to move the item as quickly as possible.
 
I only really sell a lot if I'm dumping a system,and I've done that only three times since I moved to America. I've sold a lot on eBay but no longer because of the fees. Yesterday I just sold my last Nikon lens after getting rid of a camera I really liked - the Fuji S5. I sell all my stuff on the FM forum because of the very low cost of entry and the volume of users. It's just a great place to sell, most of my recent stuff has sold in a day or two.
 
shanenoir said:
That's why I just don't sell. Keep it all :D
Click to expand...
Pretty much it. Cheap stuff just ain't worth the hassle of trying to sell it nowadays, and if there's even a slight chance I might to want to keep the expensive stuff I'm thinking of selling, there ain't much sense in selling that either.

Selling articles is hard enough work.

Cheers,

R.
 
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