thinking of selling some gear...

[back alley]

...but wondering how the pandemic is impacting the process...
mostly thinking about the 'how' in what needs to happen?
do we disinfect what we are shipping, and how? are packages taking longer to ship...are prices down generally?

 

[maddoc]

I bought some stuff in recent weeks (photography related) from Europe, the US and China. Everything arrived quickly (in Japan) was packed as usual and I did not see any changes in prices recently.

I don't think that any seller thought about disinfecting at all but I washed my hands after opening the packages and disposal of the packing material.

 

[Beemermark]

USPS seems to be running a day late on Priority mailings. UPS deliveries (after they arrive at my local depot) take another 4 or 5 days to deliver. Delivery times vary widely from the norm from way too early to 10 pm. But the packages arrive safe and sound.

 

[Darthfeeble]

I tried to sell my GFX, I got one lens sold but not the camera and the wide. What does that mean? I might have priced things a bit high or times are tough. dunno.

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

Much of this is covered in this thread. I have sold a fair amount recently at perfectly sensible prices. I did not disinfect stuff I was shipping and send it via tracked shipping (as is best to do in normal times).

All I did differently was to give myself 3 business days to dispatch, so to add a buffer in the case of any delay.

 

[Rob-F]

I think that if it takes 2 or 3 days for the package to arrive, that may be long enough for the virus to expire. If it takes longer, that's even better. My wife and I put all arriving mail and packages in quarantine for 24 hours before opening, which would add another day for the contents to "decompress." We put incoming mail and packages aside, wash our hands, and leave them alone for a day. No matter how long it took the package to arrive, you don't know if the delivery person has the virus, so a 24 hour quarantine seems prudent. The virus is not thought to last more than 24 hours on paper or cardboard.

I haven't seen anything about how long it lasts on metal--only that it takes longer than on cardboard. If it doesn't last longer than 2 or 3 days, I should think it's safe to open the package after a 24 hour quarantine. Of course, one could always put the new camera on the mantle for a couple of days, and just admire it until it's safe to handle. 🙂 Wash hands after unpacking and handling.

 

[David Hughes]

With less junk in the post things have improved a lot.

A while ago nothing arrived before 11 in he morning and the latest would be about 5:30 in the afternoon. Now if nothing's arrived by 9:30 there won't be anything any later...

So it proves every cloud has a silver lining.

Regards, David

 

[ruby.monkey]

In all things, caveat emptor. The buyer will disinfect everything if he cares that much about it. As for the rest, I guess the only hassles would be in getting packing materials, and queueing at the post office.

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

Since Covid really kicked off I’ve bought things from the US and Italy and had no issues with postage. The US delivery was a couple of days late, the Italian actually a couple of days early.

I’m in Aus.

 

[jsrockit]

I tried to sell my GFX, I got one lens sold but not the camera and the wide. What does that mean? I might have priced things a bit high or times are tough. dunno.

Or it’s a camera that not too many people can afford (wanted) before the pandemic. Digital medium format just isn’t mainstream.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

It takes near month now to get something here via usps and Canadapost.
About two weeks from coast to coast via Canadapost and within Canada.
About one month from Canada to USA via CanadaPost and USPS.
Canadapost and USPS do have warnings for it on web sites.
I still sold everything, except Cron, but it is due to bad description, images. I have a lot of questions.

 

[Out to Lunch]

Re the GFX, the market has shifted: BHPhoto is now selling a new body for US$ 3,500 (US$ 1,000 instant savings). On eBay, I saw many sellers offering a pre-owned body for much more than that.

 

[jsrockit]

Re the GFX, the market has shifted: BHPhoto is now selling a new body for US$ 3,500 (US$ 1,000 instant savings). On eBay, I saw many sellers offering a pre-owned body for much more than that.

Exactly, that would put used prices at around $2700-3000 (about 75% -80% of new). And that sale seems to happen more often than the camera being sold for its normal price.

At that price, I will start thinking about buying one.

 

[JeffS7444]

My recent auctions went better than expected with all but one remaining within the USA. This would normally be unusual, but lately I've seen delivery times for goods from outside of the country taking an exceptionally long time to arrive via the postal service and supposed the reverse would be true too (?).

Germany -> USA: Took 4 weeks
Canada -> USA: About the same
Japan -> USA: 6 weeks and counting

I routinely clean items of visible dust and grime before shipment, because who wants to receive someone else's dirt?

 

[BillBingham2]

I wouldn't worry about "Virus" cleaning as the virus don't live on any surface for what I would expect are the duration of shipping times.

B2 (;->

 

[JeffS7444]

I tried to sell my GFX, I got one lens sold but not the camera and the wide. What does that mean? I might have priced things a bit high or times are tough. dunno.

Hard to say without seeing the original listing, but a quick look at past auctions on that auction site suggests that GFXes are still selling pretty well.

 

[jsrockit]

I wouldn't worry about "Virus" cleaning as the virus don't live on any surface for what I would expect are the duration of shipping times.

B2 (;->

How about the person touching the package when delivering or those that loaded the trucks? I guy could cough on it right before handing it to you. The outside box is certainly capable of having the virus for 24 hours.

 

[Damaso]

If it will take more than two days to arrive no real reason to go overboard. The virus can't live for that long outside the body. From what I've heard things are taking longer to deliver and prices are down. I think there may be more people selling in order to raise cash and fewer people buying...

...but wondering how the pandemic is impacting the process...
mostly thinking about the 'how' in what needs to happen?
do we disinfect what we are shipping, and how? are packages taking longer to ship...are prices down generally?

 

[Damaso]

We should probably all wash our hands after opening a package and before retrieving the contents. And again after for good measure.

How about the person touching the package when delivering or those that loaded the trucks? I guy could cough on it right before handing it to you. The outside box is certainly capable of having the virus for 24 hours.

 

[Emile de Leon]

I let all questionable packages sit for a week in a safe place..before opening..