Un-acquiring camera gear (in London, in particular)

[ninjin]

While I have not mastered the art of acquiring gear, I think it is fair to say that I am at least half-way decent at it. But having involuntarily lost my digital Leica and favourite lens [1] I am longing to go back to shooting like I used to and I am re-evaluating whether it is worth to have gear that I barely use any more.

[1]: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=161316

The problem is that I am a rubbish negotiator and have never really sold anything in my life. eBay scares me in terms of scams, on RFF I wonder if I am competent enough to describe the quality of the gear or if I am missing something, and while I like the camera stores in town I doubt that they can give me a price which is even remotely fair -- not their fault really, taxes and all that. Is there any kind soul out there with more experience that could give this un-acquiring novice some advice? I am not really looking to squeeze every penny out of the gear, just getting a fair price and making someone else happy.

[Edit: Removed listing of semi-pro and pro digital SLR lenses]

Pretty much any store will buy these at least, but from what I can tell you never get more than 50% of what they would sell them for. But maybe I am asking the wrong people? Or worse, maybe I am supposed to haggle which is something that I am rubbish at.

[Edit: Removed old lens, overhauled by Kanto Camera [2]]

[2]: http://www.kantocamera.com/english/aboutrepair.html

Not sure if I should sell this gem, I rarely use it due to the focal length not matching my style that well. When I showed it to a store they offered me 33% of what I paid for the lens and overhaul.

[Edit: Removed film gear and old accessories]

I have been told that I am better off eBay-ing which saddens me. Especially things that could very well be collectors items in a glass cabinet.

I also have some very old digital SLR bodies, but I don't think they have any real value at this point and I am better giving them to someone that is poor and desperate to get their hands on a "real" camera.

Apologies for the rather odd post, maybe if I worked less and hung out with other photographers I would feel a lot less isolated and lost over what I suspect many of you may consider to be trivialities.

 

[Steveh]

Hi Ninjin - I would highly recommend Ffordes commission sales - I did exactly the same exercise a few months ago with a whole bunch of Leica/Zeiss/Nikon stuff and sold it all through them because I had too many individual items to be able to face the idea of selling them individually. From memory they take 20% commission but their selling prices are higher than you would be able to get for a private sale so it ends up being a wash with Ebay in terms of fees given how extortionate Ebay fees are now, and you have none of the worries of a private sale.

http://www.ffordes.com/Commission_Sales

From experience high demand Nikon/Canon stuff will shift pretty quickly so I wouldn't expect the Canon stuff to hang around and they will give you a good idea of what the Summaron is worth and how long it might take to sell if you ask them.

They also buy outright but will pay you less than you'd get net of fees on a commission sale, for obvious reasons, so for me commission sale was the way to go. If you ping them an email listing the gear they will normally come back within a day or so telling you exactly what you could expect to get for all the items.

Good luck!

 

[sojournerphoto]

From a buying perspective Ffordes seem pretty straight and fair, so no reason to expect otherwise as a seller I think.

eBay is a complete pain, reckon on costs being close to 15% and you'll be about right. Positively, I recently had a failed delivery via the global shipping program and they refunded the buyer and I retained my sale proceeds.

 

[ninjin]

Thank you Steveh, commission sales would never have crossed my mind and now it seems like the obvious choice. Would you and others that have experience selling things in the UK say that Ffordes is the obvious choice to go for? I have to say, from their homepage it sounds like a wonderful way for someone like me that does not have the time to spend many evenings selling the gear. With what little spare time I have, I would much rather be out shooting...

 

[Steveh]

Glad to help! Ffordes were a relatively obvious choice for me because I've bought stuff from them many times and never had any issues even when I've had to return a couple of things - I'm sure there are other options but they have always been the first place I've looked for second hand stuff outside Ebay and I can't immediately think of another UK alternative tbh.

I think they probably see more volume than most other secondhand dealers which is a plus as well as my sense is they get lots of web traffic and turn stuff around pretty quickly.

I also meant to add to my original reply that they are quite good at advising you on pricing depending on whether you want a quick sale or to wait longer for more money - I had an M240 that stuck for a couple of weeks but then went almost immediately when I dropped the price to the level they told me would shift it fast - the know their stuff.

This is sounding a bit like an advert but just to be clear I have no affiliation with them!

 

[ninjin]

Well, if they are good, they are good. Personally, I have been singing the praises of Kanto Camera ever since they turned my 1949 Summitar into something so clean and functional that I had an M10 shooter play around with it in amazement -- forgetting about his Titanium Leica primes for a good two hours. Again, no affiliation, I just think they deserve the praise.

I have sent Ffordes an e-mail describing all of the gear, hopefully they can help!

 

[JoeLopez]

From a buying perspective Ffordes seem pretty straight and fair, so no reason to expect otherwise as a seller I think.

eBay is a complete pain, reckon on costs being close to 15% and you'll be about right. Positively, I recently had a failed delivery via the global shipping program and they refunded the buyer and I retained my sale proceeds.

Many find selling on ebay to be far from a pain. It takes minutes to upload a detailed listing and for the price, you can't beat the global audience your item has the potential to reach 🙂

 

[ellisson]

Many find selling on ebay to be far from a pain. It takes minutes to upload a detailed listing and for the price, you can't beat the global audience your item has the potential to reach 🙂

Agree.

Selling on eBay can get you a good price in the largest market if you provide a complete description and several clear photos of the item and any defects - as many as you would want to see before buying the item. Uploading is easy. Sell as "Buy it Now" or sell as an auction with a starting price that is the lowest price at which you would be willing to sell.

You can also list as "Buy it Now or Best Offer" - if you use this and you like an offer, accept it. If it is too low, make a counter offer. The potential buyer can make a further counter offer and you can too, up to 3 times. You are negotiating a price. If it is a reasonable, but you think it could be better, don't accept or reject immediately; you have 48 hours to see if there will be better offers from others. Negotiation.

Caveats:
1. be patient. If the item does not sell in the listing period, re-list it. I've had items sell on the third or fourth re-listing for the price I set on several items. If your item is in the price range of others that have sold, it will sell eventually (see 2. below).

2. Assess the market: Review ongoing and completed listings for the same item +/- accessories in similar condition as what you are selling. What is the price range at which they are selling? What have they sold for in completed listings (Use the 'advance search' to find this info). Look at the prices on other sites for used camera equipment.

2. Accept returns within 7-14 days.

4. Communicate: Encourage and respond promptly to questions from potential buyers.

One additional thought: Items I have owned and enjoyed using for many years have in some part "paid for themselves". Depending on your feeling about this, the selling price of your item may have more flexibility.

 

[ninjin]

First of all, a thank you for all the advice; it really made me get my act together – mostly. Pretty much everything is gone now, apart from the overhauled old lens (I need to learn eBay this month) and for some reason one of the nicer SLR lenses which is still with Ffordes [1] – everything else sold by them was gone within three months. I had a bit of a rough start with Ffordes in that I felt they did not communicate clearly by e-mail and over the phone. Things got much better once they sent me a scan of the equipment test sheet, after which I asked for two lenses back due to their repair estimates being dreadfully high – eating up roughly 66% of the profit for one lens. I took these two to Aperture [2] down in central London that gave me a much better deal. They are great guys and I will always be happy to recommend them for your camera needs in the English capital. As mentioned, Ffordes sold the rest – apart from one lens – within three months and I still find it difficult to understand how they moved an old Canon 40D from 2008! Well, I hope whoever bought it is happy. They are nice people and in the end the only sour point would be that they never explicitly stated that they would “repair” the Olympus XA and Canon 40D before selling them – but in the end I felt that they could keep the few pounds seeing how I would never have been able to sell it all on my own. Thank you all once again! I have now been on film – well, HP5+ really – for a year and I feel the urge to get a full-frame digital rangefinder again to complement, but more about that hunt in a different thread.

[1]: http://www.ffordes.com/
[2]: http://www.apertureuk.com/