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I have a bunch of older Canon gear I probably should have sold 6 years ago when I switched back to Nikon with the D800E but now that I've been rummaging through though older retired gear I'm wondering where the best place to sell it is.  Most of the gear dates to late 2004 to 2006 and includes the two bodies, the 1DsMII and 1DMII as well as the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS, EF300mm f/4L IS, and an EF100mm f/2.8 Macro.  I have some lessor lenses that are not  likely to be worth much these days but they're doing me no good, lenses like the 28-135mm walk around, and a 50mm f/1.4.  Other items include an EF 1.4x II extender and an EF 2x II extender and finally a Right Angle Finder C and a 580EX Speedlite.  Also some miscellaneous batteries and the like.  So, a decent amount of older gear that was always maintained in good working order.

So, I haven't sold any camera gear since about 2006 and don't really know where the best place is to sell them.  Yes, I'd like the best offers, but I'd rather not deal with places frequented by hucksters looking to cause problems.  Any pointers are appreciated.


Brian

If not sell, donate to school and take a tax deduction at "retail" price?? If that is still allowed in tax year 2018. Just a thought.

You can get quotes for your gear at B&H, KEH, and MPB. They are naturally lower than you can get from selling on your own, but if the price is right it eliminates the hassle.

It seems that the lenses you list would still be very desirable to many people. Craigslist works for me. I only deal locally unless I am sent a postal money order before shipping. I cash it at the P.O. so the chance of a counterfeit is less. I don’t list a phone # or email address, but use Craigslist relay to communicate and ask for a phone # where the interested party can be reached. Using CL relay doesn’t reveal your email address to the other party. I’d also use a new throwaway email address so that if it starts getting spam, you can shut it down. Meet your prospective buyer at a safe location, not your home. I haven’t been burned yet, but beware of suspicious sounding inquiries.

Joe

I still like Fredmiranda.com
mike

I sell everything through MPB now, no muss no fuss!

Just finished selling stuff to MPB, no problems and quick payment.

Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback, it's been quite a while since I last sold gear and am dubious of many of the public markets on the internet so getting feedback from people you trust is important.

EJ and Bob, I've not dealt with MPB before, any tips to make things smoother and avoid pitfalls? Do they broker third party sales in which I and the customer contact each other or do they act as a middle man in which I and the customer do not contact each other? I presume they take a cut -- how much is that?


Brian

Brian Stirling wrote:Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback, it's been quite a while since I last sold gear and am dubious of many of the public markets on the internet so getting feedback from people you trust is important.

EJ and Bob, I've not dealt with MPB before, any tips to make things smoother and avoid pitfalls?  Do they broker third party sales in which I and the customer contact each other or do they act as a middle man in which I and the customer do not contact each other?  I presume they take a cut -- how much is that?


Brian

Brian,

Just go to their web site, MPB.com.  They have instructions and all the information you need. You fill out a list of the equipment you want to sell and submit it to them. They come back to you with a quote. If that is acceptable, you send them the equipment at their expense. They check out the condition and send you a revised offer.  If that is acceptable, you indicate that and they send you a wire transfer to your bank for that amount. That's it.  Clean and neat. Oh if their offer is not acceptable to you then they send the equipment back to you at their expense.

It's as simple as going on line, telling them what gear you have and a few minutes later you get a quote. Accept the quote and a few minutes later you get a FedEx label. Once they get the gear, if it meets your description of condition, they transfer money to your bank account.

Thanks guys, that does help. I'll start that process shortly...


Brian

If the first quote is too low, speak to them and they just might up the offer, not by a lot but it could be worthwhile.

Well I just completed my submission of 15 items so we'll see how long before they reply and with what amount. I tested all the gear and the only item that doesn't work is the 50mm f/1.4 lens -- it won't AF.

It's hard to part with gear that cost over $20K new when the likelihood is that I'll probably not see more than 12-15% of that, but it's doing me no good lying in a closet.

I have some older/obsolete Nikon gear as well but I doubt I'd get much for any of the gear I'd want to part with. I have an F100 and D100 bodies which can't be worth very much and a few lenses of lessor quality that are also of insignificant value so selling would be a waste of time. The F100 was my first Nikon camera and the D100 was my first DSLR so there is some value in the nostalgia and as personal collector items.

Man our hobby is expensive!


Brian

Another update ...

I got my quote and am pleasantly surprised that it's about what I figured it would be and more than I feared it might be -- not a great deal more but more nonetheless. I will need a couple boxes to send the stuff and I guess we'll see if they re-evaluate the offer when it arrives. I have always been very careful of my gear and labeled all but a couple items as "excellent" so we'll see how that compares to there evaluation.

There were a couple items they did not quote on so I guess I'll be keeping them -- anyone need a RRS L-bracket for a 1D(s) MII body?


Brian

I've sold about a dozen lenses to them over the last couple of years and only one time did they lower the initial quote and tht was due to some dust in the optical path reducing it from their highest rating to the next one down. It was something like a $50 delta. KEH on the other hand has never even once honored their initial price offer.

I've received a couple of quotes from MBP, and while reasonable they didn't beat B&H. B&H also adds value to the quote if you have the box and all of the original items.

Charlie Woodrich wrote:I've received a couple of quotes from MBP, and while reasonable they didn't beat B&H.  B&H also adds value to the quote if you have the box and all of the original items.

Does B&H pay cash or just store credit?

E.J. Peiker wrote:

Charlie Woodrich wrote:I've received a couple of quotes from MBP, and while reasonable they didn't beat B&H.  B&H also adds value to the quote if you have the box and all of the original items.

Does B&H pay cash or just store credit?

You have the option to pick one or the other.

E.J. Peiker wrote: 
KEH on the other hand has never even once honored their initial price offer.

I got a quote from KEH for three identical Canon chargers, two new and one used. I sent them to KEH expecting to have them discounted, but was pleasantly surprised when they actually sent me more than their quote. They beat the other companies quotes by quite a bit.

Joe

That's good news, maybe they are feeling the competition...  I once sent them a brand new Zeiss lens that had been completely unused except for an evaluation.  It was in perfect brand new condition and they came down 20% from their offer upon receiving it for "wear and tear" which was utter horse manuer.  Their reputation has been slipping significantly over the last few years.  Maybe they are trying to repair that.