Selling used equipment to Adorama

I have been trying to sell my Canon 500 lens for several months and have had absolutely no offers or even any interest. I got quotes from a couple of outfits that buy used gear and Adorama presented an offer very close to what I had set in my mind as the minimum I would take for the lens. All quotes I received were subject to inspection of the lens by the buyer.

Adorama will pay the cost of me shipping the lens to them and the cost of shipping the lens back to me if I do not accept their final offer.

Anyone have any experience with selling gear to Adorama? If so, I would appreciate hearing about it. Thanks in advance.

I'm sorry, I can't say about Adorama, but have you checked with KEH? I sold them some Canon chargers and I filled out the form online with honest conditions of the merchandise. I listed two as the highest used rating and one as new. When they received them, they actually paid me more than the online quote for them. Nobody else was buying them at that time! Needless to say, I was impressed!

Joe

Hi Bruce.  I have sold two Canon EF super telephotos to Adorama -- a 500 F4L IS USM and subsequently a 600 F4L IS USM.  Both experiences were very positive.  Adorama gave me fair prices for both of these super telephotos and 
a very fair price on the lenses I bought to replace each.  In short, Adorama is a fair and professional
business firm.

Best Regards,

Roman 

I have been trying to sell my Canon 500 lens for several months and have had absolutely no offers or even any interest.

I'm surprised you're having so much trouble selling this fine lens (I'm assuming it is the 500 mm f/4 and not the 500 mm f/4.5).

I see them regularly on eBay and they typically sell for $4,500 to $5,000, depending on condition. I doubt that Adorama or KEH will give you anywhere near that amount.

John

Don't do it.

PM sent.

I sold all my Nikon DX equipment to KEH this early spring. I boxed up a D2Xs, D300s, 8800 and Nikonos 4a with SB-105. I also included 4 lens. A 300mm F:2.8 AF, 75~300, Sigma 10~20 and Sigma 120~400mm, both sigma 1.4 & 2x extenders. I shipped all this to KEH. They quoted me $854.00,. I told them to send it back. I got an advertisement about KEH being at Woodward Camera in Birmingham. They gave me a check for $2440.00. Around 3 times more. Why only $854 in Atlanta but in Detroit 2440?

Sold 2 Nikon D700 bodies to Adorama earlier this year. The price they quoted is about what I expected. They gave me the quote, I sent in approval, and payment was received in less than a week. It was a pleasant experience.

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but are folks still using fredmiranda.com to sell used gear?

I noticed a couple of 500's sold in the past few weeks.

Mike

Thanks to all for your comments. I think I will explore options other than Adorama.

Bruce Sherman wrote:I have been trying to sell my Canon 500 lens for several months and have had absolutely no offers or even any interest. I got quotes from a couple of outfits that buy used gear and Adorama presented an offer very close to what I had set in my mind as the minimum I would take for the lens. All quotes I received were subject to inspection of the lens by the buyer.

Adorama will pay the cost of me shipping the lens to them and the cost of shipping the lens back to me if I do not accept their final offer.

Anyone have any experience with selling gear to Adorama? If so, I would appreciate hearing about it. Thanks in advance.

If there is anything I can help you with, please don't hesitate to email me directly: Helen@adorama.com

Larry Shuman wrote:I sold all my Nikon DX equipment to KEH this early spring. I boxed up a D2Xs, D300s, 8800 and Nikonos 4a with SB-105. I also included 4 lens. A 300mm F:2.8 AF, 75~300, Sigma 10~20 and Sigma 120~400mm, both sigma 1.4 & 2x extenders. I shipped all this to KEH. They quoted me $854.00,. I told them to send it back. I got an advertisement about KEH being at Woodward Camera in Birmingham. They gave me a check for $2440.00. Around 3 times more. Why only $854 in Atlanta but in Detroit 2440?

I had a similar issue and I asked about it before having them ship it back.  Ends up that they only quoted one of the items.  I had sent it in two different boxes and didn't aggregate the entire quote.

MND wrote:Don't do it.

PM sent.

Concerned to see this as it sounds as there were unresolved issues, Mike. I can't ID your transaction without additional information, but if there is anything I can do in relation to your past experience, please let me know: Helen@adorama.com

Bruce Sherman wrote:I have been trying to sell my Canon 500 lens for several months and have had absolutely no offers or even any interest. I got quotes from a couple of outfits that buy used gear and Adorama presented an offer very close to what I had set in my mind as the minimum I would take for the lens. All quotes I received were subject to inspection of the lens by the buyer.

Adorama will pay the cost of me shipping the lens to them and the cost of shipping the lens back to me if I do not accept their final offer.

Anyone have any experience with selling gear to Adorama? If so, I would appreciate hearing about it. Thanks in advance.

Bruce,
I have sold to Adorama on two occasions, was treated fairly.  no problem for me.  that aside, if Helen says she can help, you can count
on her doing just that.  Had a SNAFU on a order one time, had trouble getting it resolved until Helen entered the picture.  when I had
contact with her, she  resolved the problem very quickly, If you want, give her a try,  opinion  born out of results, only a customer,
no other ties to adorama   Jimbo 

You should have no problem selling your 500mm on Fred Miranda, I've sold several long telephotos there over the years.

Steve

I have had nothing but great experience with Adorama. Just remember they are going to give you a lower price than you would sell it for because they are going to make a little money on your used lens when they sell it. As long as you're cool with that, no problem. (Just like trading in a car as opposed to selling it yourself)

The advantage is time.....you can sell it to Adorama quickly and move on as opposed to listing it and maybe waiting months or longer.

Bruce.

I had the same issue with my 500F4 a few months ago. I live close to the city so I contacted Adorama and they gave me a ok number via email ($3500). I went to the store and they attempted to tell me how bad shape my 500 was (not) and that my replacement foot drove the value down (???) and offered me $1k less than what we were talking. I got pissed and called my original contact Avi Hadef, he called the used dept and they gave me the original number so I was happy.

Overall I was happy but if I was not local I think the story would be different.

Lou

I've bought and sold a lot on FM, including my Canon 600 MkII and Leica stuff. The key is pricing things just a little below the last successful sale if it is a popular item. For a less common item pricing it around what somebody would pay for at a used listing in say Adorama for the same condition may work. Often you may be able to sell it for even more depending upon the buyer, if he is willing to pay taxes and shipping that may be incurred  from a dealer.

If the buyer has good feedback on FM it should be no problem. You will get the occasional low-ball offer too from somebody just trying you out.

In general it is harder to sell a higher priced item especially a lens.

Pradeep

Where are you trying to sell the gear?  Where is your listing?  I'd like to see it.  Some forums are slower than others.  Ebay is a good place, but the fees will get you, just up the price a bit.  That 500 should not be an issue selling if it's the 500 f4 IS.  Mine sold on FM pretty much just after listing it, but timing is important.  This time of year may be tough with the holiday season near.  I spoke with a gentleman that sold to Adorama and got around $1,000 or more less than if he sold himself, but he was ok with that because he didn't want to bother with selling it.  That's too much of a commission for me.  I sold mine around Feb or Mar this year and got what I asked for.  Be patient and check those that previously sold and price appropriately.

Note: listings that say things like net to me, you pay paypal fees and shipping I skip over.  I have much success selling items by pricing all inclusive (i.e. fees, shipping etc.) and not nickel and diming folks.  That turns me and from what I've read others away.

Methodical wrote:Where are you trying to sell the gear?  Where is your listing?  I'd like to see it.  Some forums are slower than others.  Ebay is a good place, but the fees will get you, just up the price a bit.  That 500 should not be an issue selling if it's the 500 f4 IS.  Mine sold on FM pretty much just after listing it, but timing is important.  This time of year may be tough with the holiday season near.  I spoke with a gentleman that sold to Adorama and got around $1,000 or more less than if he sold himself, but he was ok with that because he didn't want to bother with selling it.  That's too much of a commission for me.  I sold mine around Feb or Mar this year and got what I asked for.  Be patient and check those that previously sold and price appropriately.

Note: listings that say things like net to me, you pay paypal fees and shipping I skip over.  I have much success selling items by pricing all inclusive (i.e. fees, shipping etc.) and not nickel and diming folks.  That turns me and from what I've read others away.

Agree. People do not like to pay anything more than the asking price, most of us are too lazy to calculate fees and shipping. I usually mention clearly in my ad that the price is all inclusive, even use the word 'shipped' in the title to emphasize that. I do mention that the shipping is by USPS or whatever and any different method may mean extra charges.

I also sold my 600 MkII in less than 4 days of listing it on FM, got a great price for it too. 

The other thing is that even though everyone knows what the product looks like, it helps to have several shots of the item and if there is any blemish (even the slightest obvious scratch), to highlight that in the images, people appreciate that degree of honesty. A '10' rating should really mean that, as good as new. 

I clean my item thoroughly, and wear white gloves (not kidding) while packing it so there is no smudging from fingerprints etc. I usually keep all the accessories and the box in pristine condition and sometimes will watch a youtube video of a new one being unpacked so I can pack it exactly the same way. 

You won't believe how much this helps in your feedback, everyone loves to get something that looks and feels new even though they know it is used.

Pradeep

I will add to couple comments to Primus' post. The photos should be quality photos, too. Also, I take photos of the packing, just in case it get's damaged or the buyer tries to make some sort of false claim, especially if you deal with Paypal. I have photos to show how secure the item was packed.

Primus, I had an experience in the past on FM about photos. I ask the seller for photos of the gear and then several posters (close forum buddies it seems) actually posted that the seller has tons of feedback and that I should not ask for photos; I should trust the seller eve though I don't know the seller - amazing. However, I've noticed that trend has changed and folks know to post images if they want to sell their gear. Those that don't post images, I skip. They should know better.