How Do You Sell Photo Gear?

I put up a lens for sale on eBay yesterday evening. I think the price is pretty keen for an example in such good condition, less than half the price of new. But it's been up for about 21 hours already and it's gotten two views.

Two.

That seems...weird. It's been a long time since I've sold a lot on eBay, but I seem to remember things getting hundreds of views and selling within a few days if not a few hours. This makes me feel like I might be out of touch. Have things changed? Is eBay no longer a place where people sell photo gear? I still buy things from eBay from time to time, but I haven't sold much of anything for years now.

Granted, I think I got a little too carried away with the writeup. But while that might account for it not selling, it wouldn't account for it not getting views. Or is it just this particular lens for some reason?

Any tips on this sort of thing from anyone who does it more often? I have a huge pile of stuff I was going to start listing. Equipment, books, a few prints, stereo equipment, razors, keyboards, film cameras, darkroom stuff, all kinds of things. This isn't an auspicious start.

Just wondering. I'd appreciate hearing the perspective of those who sell things on regularly. Thanks in advance,

Mike

Original contents copyright 2024 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)

Featured Comments from:

Kenneth Tanaka: "1. MPB.com 2. KEH.com Without hesitation. I have used KEH for many years. They're reliable and well-organized, but a bit slow. Some years back British (?) dealer MPB opened in the U.S. and presented an excellent competitive alternative to KEH. They are more automated, more modern, and generally zippier than KEH. They also generally offer more for items than KEH, although not always. (I generally get a quote from both for higher-value items.) Yes, you're selling to resellers who must make a profit. But compared to the fees and general hassle involved with selling on eBay I never feel cheated. eBay has fallen far out of favor for me. Creating their listings takes time, and getting anything sold generally takes a very long time unless you low-ball the offer. Plus their fees have really dulled their value."

Dave Rheubottom: "Yup, that's a problem—and pretty common. Have you looked back to previous sales of the same item, how frequent they were, and what they sold for? Also, have you checked prices and availability at online businesses who specialize in camera equipment. Having sold a bunch of camera/darkroom equipment lately on the same site, I found that 'looks' and 'bids' varied by season and day of the week. Be patient and don't be too committed to your own assessment of an item's worth. It is a market after all!"

Doug Vaughn: "I do nearly all of my photo gear transactions on the FredMiranda.com buy/sell board. There are many very good members who can be trusted. Unfortunately, a few scammers have shown up lately, like everywhere else. That's where the buy/sell reviews are helpful. I recently needed to unload about a dozen film cameras (most 1960s and older) because my "collection" was getting too large, and I couldn't possibly find the time to shoot with all of them. Used Photo Pro (Robert's Camera) was doing a buying event about two hours away, and I decided it was worth the drive to save haggling and shipping with a dozen different buyers. They gave me what I considered a fair price to eliminate the hassle."

Jim: "I was only an occasional seller on eBay, but the last transaction of selling my pristine 5Ds R resulted in so many eBay fees and such a low amount I may as well have sold at a yard sale. I won’t be going back. I have sold a few things without friction on Fred Miranda (photo) and azbilliards.com (cues, cases, etc)."

Comments

[lazaruz long]

i think all the "cool" kids buy & sell on facebook marketplace

[John Krumm]

I haven't tried recently, so can't say. Your description is like one of your blog posts from here, funny and helpful, a little digressive, but I doubt if it hurts anything. I'd buy it if I liked super-wides, but I stop at 20mm equivalent.

[Albert Smith]

I'm going to bookmark this thread and link it in my will. Who ever cleans out my house will need it. I have never sold a single camera ever. I have (guessing) 70 cameras and no less than 100 lenses, all first rate brands and desirable models.

I'd guess most of these will be dumped at a fraction of their worth by someone that couldn't be bothered to realize what the cache is.

[Jeff]

I think you just took a positive step toward getting a lot more views!

[Gary Merken]

Consider selling through a photography-specific site, such as Fred Miranda.

Or selling to a place that deals in used equipment, such as KEH, Adorama, B&H, or Midwest Photo. You may not get top dollar at those places as they'll have to mark it up for resale.

[AN]

To set the price, you have to look at current eBay listings for the same lens, and completed listings. It doesn’t necessarily matter how much the lens sells for new (unless that’s the only other way to get it). Also, yes, you did write too much; just include a brief, accurate description of the lens condition and what’s included.

I don’t sell as much on eBay as I used to, since eBay’s policies have tilted more buyer-friendly, and it’s not often worth the potential hassle versus selling to KEH or MPB.

[hugh crawford]

Perhaps the venn diagram of people looking for Fuji mount lenses, the people looking for Zeiss lenses, and the people looking for ultra wide angle lenses is an exceedingly small overlap of some relatively small to start out with circles. Also it is neither the new flavor of the week hotness nor the mythical they don’t make them like that anymore and they don’t exist now if they ever did cargo cult object of worship.

Now, if it were an older lens in a weird mount with singular artifacts, like oh say, overcorrected spherical distortion, coma, and multi colored flare from internal reflections, then you would have something worth paying the big bucks for.

[Dan Khong]

I normally let my local photo dealer sell by consignment. I have sold a film Contax P&S and Pentax Spotmatic (with 50/1.8 lens) quite easily at prices that I wanted. Maybe people now want to touch and see the equipment before they buy them.

[alan sailer]

I am not a frequent seller. But I did recently put up four Fuji items. Two sold very quickly. One took a few weeks and one took about a month.

They were all Fuji branded, not aftermarket. My impression of aftermarket lenses is that they are more niche products.

I don't think you can generalize about one item. I'd suggest putting a half dozen items out there, sit back and let whatever happens happen.

Cheers.

[David Elesh]

Of the things, you are selling, I have the most experience selling and purchasing audio equipment and cameras. For audio equipment, I have used usaudiomart, ebay, Craiglist, and TMRaudio.com The latter was really a barter. I sold a set of speakers and about another set, both used, and came out basically even. The choice of which of the above I use for audio depends on how highend the equipment is. I just sold a David Berning EA-230 amplifier using usaudiomart; it went in one day with three others wanting it. For photo equipment, I use ebay, Craigslist, and Adorama. I find that good, close photos and detailed descriptions are necessary. I set prices by seeing what others have sold the same thing and comparing their condition, documentation, etc. with what I have.

[Moose]

KEH
MPB

I've been selling (and buying) photo gear to KEH for many years. MPB is more recent, to me.

In a recent clear-out, I compared estimates/offers from the two on a bunch of bodies and lenses. Their tastes differed.

I've had the fun of selling to KEH in person when a buyer stops by at a nearby camera club meeting close by a few times a year. So, I took everything along. And all but one of the ones with higher values from Mpb came back home. KEH buyer Ken came close enough on one; said he couldn't for others.

So I did an on-line sale to MPB. Went fine, free, pre-paid shipping, etc. They downgraded one lens; didn't lose much and I expect they were right. Once I agreed, cash in the bank right away.

KEH gives prices on their web site. MPB emails a quote.

I've bought photo gear on eBay forever, less lately than before, but never sold any there.

This last clean-out amounted to quite a few items and a few thousand dollars.

BTW, folks are also selling/buying some photo gear on ETSY. Especially vintage, I think.

[MikeR]

171 views in the last 24 hours. Thats not too shabby. Mine and a good many other TOP readers, probably. If SEO still works, that ought to help.

I still use ebay, but the environment seems more "commercial."

[Kosch]

I think online selling, as a whole, has become very lucrative for very large sellers only; and especially eBay is no longer a great platform for individual sellers. My wife tried getting into some of the clothing sites so that she could make some bucks off of her many nice suits, it turned into an escalating forum of each of the sites asking her to pay a fee for X amount of upgraded/increased views.
I am pretty sure that you have to be a “Power Seller” or the like in order to get any decent amount of views of your product. These sites are making money on not only the transaction fee, but the sellers willingness to pay for views.
Selling online is an absolute business nowadays, it is not for the one-offs.

[Kent Wiley]

Not sure they're any better for the number of views, but fees are a little less than eBay. You might look into Gearfocus.com. I've sold a number of things there in the past couple years. Payment is possibly faster than eBay, and they will create shipping labels for you, which the buyer pays for. I've stopped using eBay to sell gear.

[Tim McGowan]

Mike, I’m interested in the responses especially about selling photography books.
Suggestion: offer your wares to the faithful. Announce that you’ll be having an online yard sale open to your Patreon supporters. Willing to bet you’ll pick up more supporters.

[Ray Hunter]

Since the IRS threshold for taxable revenue dropped from $20k to $600, I stopped selling on EBay. eBay fees plus PayPal fees plus Income tax kind of took the joy out of Mudville. Might as well sell to a retailer, nets out about the same.
I realize this should effect sellers not buyers.

[William Lewis]

Well, it got a view from me now due to your post here that it wouldn't have otherwise simply because since I don't have any Fuji cameras, I wouldn't buy a lens in that mount.

That said, I only buy on Eprey (spelling intentional), never sell. It's not worth the risk and headache. I'll accept that fact that I will lose money and sell to KEH or the like instead of risking be ripped off for everything by a buyer or, worse, Eprey itself because of their anti-seller policies. I doubt it is as big an issue for the smaller ticket items but anything worth more than three Franklins? Nope.

Even buying on Eprey is still a gamble these days though not quite as bad. I only buy at the low end and look very carefully though I've still gotten burned (the Elmar 50/2.8 "bargain" that even the miracle worker Don Goldman aka DAG couldn't fix).

You place your bet and you roll the dice. Or for us, meter the light and click the shutter. Same gamble in the end.

[Aaron]

Might add “Fujifilm” in the title instead of just “Fuji.” I’m not sure how savvy the search function is in eBay. If someone searches “Fujifilm” would yours be found?l

[Allan Ostling]

Seasoned buyers on eBay prefer a Buy It Now listing. If the price is right this eliminates the suspense and disappointment of an auction.

I sold two Fuji XF lenses last week. The first step is to look at the eBay prices for Sold Items. (The asking prices are meaningless.) You will find this as one of the filters in the search menu.

For my excellent XF 16mm f/2.8 R WR I posted a price of $280. That got two viewers. The next day I revised the price downward to $275. Now I had two watchers. On the third day I dropped the price to $272. There was an additional watcher, and they may have started to get nervous. On day four I posted $269. Sold!

You can also include "or Best Offer," and set your bounds.

[James W Popp]

I have use MPB to sell camera gear. May not be the best price, but it is hassle free.

[Joel Bartlett]

On occasion I've sold photo gear via popflash photo, popflash.com. I've been pleased with both their pricing and the speed which the gear sold. For me, their consignment fee was well worth it as it eliminated me having to manage the sale and the customer. Note that many of the things you want to get rid of they may not want to handle.

[James]

Now that you have to possibly pay taxes on Ebay sales I have been considering other options. The last thing I sold on Ebay was my X100V because I was getting a VI. It sold in 5 minutes for $1400 but then again it was an X100. I got a tax statement from them within two weeks so now I have to mess with the IRS next year to prove I'm not making my income off Ebay. I think Facebook has marketplaces where you don't have to deal with the tax problem. I have a friend who has used Craig's List but since you live in a rural area that might not be optimal. Then there is KEH and MPB. Of course you wouldn't get as much from them as you would from Ebay.

Sometimes it takes a few days for things to sell on Ebay. I would be a bit more patient. It can depend on what you are selling. Fuji gear seems really hot right now. I also sold an X-T4 on Ebay because I got an X-T5. That only took 30 minutes. I also listed a Voigtlander 40mm for Nikon. That didn't sell after 2 weeks at less than 50% of the new price. I had all the accessories and the box. It would be in what I would call almost Like New condition since I only used it a few times. I didn't relist it. I guess people only want Z mount lenses now. I will probably try MPB on that lens. Maybe I can work out a trade with them.

[Random Internet guy]

I'll give you the short version: Ebay is "over", and has been for a very long time. It's largely now filled with people reselling stuff, a large amount of goods which are actually stolen (really), and obvious scams. Ebay sides with the BUYER at every turn, so don't be surprised if you sell something, the buyer files a claim for "not as listed", Ebay refunds their money, and you don't see a dime. Ebay scams are now seemingly a main source of business. I would not get anywhere near Ebay these days.

People now use specialized sites, or a few others. For camera gear, you can buy/sell on FredMiranda.com. You may not be able to sell unless you accrue some posts and people trust you (that's a *good thing*). Otherwise, people sell locally using Facebook marketplace or Craigslist (Be careful, meet someplace public with people around, and I'd never give out a home address. It's a new world.)

If I was selling photo gear, honestly... I would just sell it to KEH.com and call it a day. B&H Photo also has a used department, but KEH has this down to a science. It's all they do.

Anything else you have to "sell", and I'm sorry to tell you this: everything is essentially worthless. We live in a world where anyone can get anything from Amazon overnight. You can *try* to sell your old junk (er, "treasures"), but unless it's something truly specialized, save your energy. Everything has devalued to almost nothing.

I went minimal over the last five years, and long ago stopped trying to "sell" anything. I gave it away to neighbors, friends, or hand it to Goodwill. Move on. Stuff is worth the time.

Sometimes things are different in the "country" where people do things like "swap meets". But, really -- everything has become nearly worthless. Save your time. Give it away.

And books... just so you have an idea. Here in the big city, a nice hardcover will bring about $5-10 if you can even find a bookstore which buys used books. Softcovers about $3. I would just donate the books to the local library, as they usually have sales where they sell stuff to raise money (no, the library will not put your books on the shelves... most books are of no interest to libraries, who have very limited shelf space. Your signed first edition masterpiece? They don't want it.).

Razors... "things"... those go to recycling or the dump. Sorry.

[Steve Rosenblum]

Ebay has turned into kind of a cluster*. Lots of scams. Protections remain good if you are a buyer. Not so much is you are a seller--eBay almost always sides with the buyer in any dispute even it has the hallmarks of a scam. I prefer to sell photo gear now on smaller forums such as rangefinderforum, Fred Miranda, or Photrio. I also participate in a few private FB groups that are well moderated and people get to "know" each other better.

[Zack S]

Put it on your local Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. And specify that you will only do the transaction at your local police department. Most PD's will let you do that I their lobby.

Expect to get some fraudsters contacting you.

[John]

Sell it to MPB

[Rod S.]

Mike, your title omits the critical keywords "Fujifilm" and "lens". It would also benefit from the inclusion of a few specific popular camera models, such as "XT-3".

Try this:

Zeiss Touit 12mm ƒ/2.8 ultrawide lens for Fujifilm X series (X-Pro, XT-3, etc) LIKE NEW, BOXED.

[David Terrell]

I still make most of my purchases of gear off eBay, but tend to look for sellers outside the US, shippers that list items in $CAD, or those from Canada. I'm obviously in Canada, so some of what I mention likely isn't an issue for potential US buyers.

eBay has a rather high exchange rate from USD to CAD, shipping from the US to Canada is always higher than shipping from Japan using FedEx, UPS, or DHL, and the shipping program used in the US can have shipments take between 3 and 4 weeks to arrive. Typical shipment times from Japan using the mentioned shippers are between 3 and 5 days. I have also had shipping times and costs be less when ordering an item from France.

I would imagine the biggest issue a seller would come across today is just the amount of items available. When I was looking to purchase a Batis 85mm, Map Camera I believe had 7 available, all with free shipping, there were 3 available in Canada, and 4 or 5 in the US. I just searched Zeiss Touit 12mm for Fuji and currently they list 12 of them, not yours though as I'm guessing you only ship to the US.

On a positive note, it says you now have 355 views in the last 24 hours!

[Roger Bradbury]

As you are selling a lens, the first photo needs to be of the lens, not its box; it looks like you are just selling the box.

For the maximum amount of visibility, set the listing to run for ten days (if that's available in the US and it's an auction sale) and to start on Thursday, around 6:30 to 8:00 in the evening.

The listing will then end on a Sunday around the time when people are settling in for the evening and their thoughts turn to a little 'net surfing. The listing will also have been up for two complete weekends.

[Jayanand Govindaraj]

In India, we have a robust market, serviced by a reasonably good and trustworthy dealer system, for second-hand or used photographic equipment of mainstream brands, which makes selling quite painless. The commission for consignment sale is reasonable as well, usually around 10%, which makes selling on eBay/photo lists an unnecessary risk.

[Carl Siracusa]

I always accept returns, and specifically say it is for any reason -- not just if item found to be defective. In over 20 years of selling photo equipment on EBay, I have had exactly one person take me up on this offer. (Then again, I always try to list any flaws, however minor, so the buyer is forewarned.) Also, I almost always pay the USPS shipping charge myself for US buyers, unless the item is very heavy -- and adjust the opening bid accordingly. Two easy ways to build confidence among potential bidders.

[Tom Burke]

I've used eBay whenever I've wanted to sell photo gear in the past. My strategy has always been to list it as an auction, and put a very low starting price on it - £9.99 for a good DSLR, for instance. Then I let the auction run to completion. Sometimes I've done better than hoped, sometimes less so, but I've never ended up selling the item for a stupidly low amount. The low starting price seems to attract views, and then 'watches', and the final flurry of bids had (nearly) always left me happy.

[Jon Porter]

I've pretty much stopped selling on eBay. Between the work getting a listing prepared and their fees, I find it easier just selling to KEH or UsedPhotoPro. Their buyers are at my local camera stores almost monthly and the prices they pay aren't that much less than what I'd get on eBay. They even pay a little more if I take the money in store credit, which I do if I plan on buying a new camera or lens.

[Christer Almqvist]

People who are in the market for a specific lens know everything about that lens. No need to write a long generic description. Potential buyers want to know the state of the very lens you are selling. Make well lit close ups from _every_ angle of view and you are done. A dozen pictures.

I live in a large town and have been able to sell most items to buyers who come to pick up in person. They handle the lens, test it on their camera and pay cash. If somebody wants the items shipped, I'll do that when I have the money in my bank account.

And don't set the price at what you optimistically regard as an average price. Go lower and sell quicker.

[Matt O'Brien]

1. If I upgrade a camera, I make a point of trading in the old camera at the same time, regardless of the trade in value. I know from experience if I do not trade it in it will have lost half the trade in value when I return 12 months later. I do not want to sell cameras privately, as do not want issues coming back to me later.

2. I wanted to sell a Fuji x100v barely used. Only offered 800€ as possible trade in ... so bartered it on MPB for a Sony 14 mm G Master for a difference of only €30. The 14mm was highly desirable to me and would be useful long term ... would have cost me 1600€ new... so for me a superb trade.

3. Modern cameras are so good now I can just fine tune what lens I need, generally looking for high quality small primes.

[John]

I doubt Touit lenses sell well overall, so that’s one con working against you.

And as others have said, selling on eBay is often not worth the hassle anymore.

For buyers, it has become expensive since eBay always adds taxes, even on imported stuff where the US actually doesn’t charge fees. So, your pricing needs to be low enough to make it worthwhile.

[Luke]

Nobody wants your lens, 'cause it only sees black & white.

But seriously, KEH is hassle-free like Lensrentals. They usually pay me more than their quote when they see it is super clean.

[Dogman]

Personally, I've never bought or sold anything through eBay. It never appealed to me when alternatives for used gear existed who were reputable and offered warranties with their items. EBay just seemed like a breeding ground for ripoffs.

I've sold gear through KEH and MPB in the past and I will use them again. Both are reliable and neither will offer you top dollar. Accept the loss and move on. It's better than having questionable characters pull up in your driveway over your local advertising.

[Dave]

depending upon what I'm selling, I usually compare offers from KEH, MPB, and UPP; I also will list camera gear for sale on the Pentax Marketplace, where I've had pretty good luck selling and buying....

but I would never try selling anything on eBay - I did so years ago and it's become more and more pointed at buyers rather than sellers....

[David B.]

Put yourself in the mind of the *buyer*, not the seller.

If you were the buyer for this lens, what’d you look for? ..You’d obviously already have a Fuji camera, so sell this as a lens for a Fujifilm camera, rather than a Zeiss lens.

What’s its USP? ..It’s a super-wide. Someone who wants a super-wide for a Fuji camera will want this lens ..at a good price.

So list it as ‘Fujifilm 20mm (equivalent) superwide 12mm f2.8 Zeiss superb lens!’ $339. Be prepared to accepts offers of $319 or above.

No-one’s interested in a conversational description “If you are looking for a safe sample of this lens to buy, this is it”. In that, you’re telling them what to buy: “this is it”. Buyers want to *discover* a bargain.

Give straight facts, and make it look a bargain.

- If you were buying this lens, would you really be interested in the condition of the *BOX*..? “..one flaw I could find: a couple of small tears in the very corner of the box. Difficult to notice if you're not looking for them”.. who on earth cares? The buyer wants a lens, not a box! -

Forget your own pride of ownership of this lens and its box. Write what a *buyer* wants to see:

“Perfect condition, rare, super-wide for Fuji X-T cameras. Complete with hood and lens caps. Hardly ever used, as new.”

Be the BUYER, not the Seller.

[Jens Skovrup]

Disclaimer: Not a frequent user of Ebay and likes - partly due to "description inflation" (Bellamy at JCH did some musings around this on his site).

Why not just offer it here on this site. If you are concerned about mixing this with your usual content, make it an OT marked post.
Your readers will already have a higher level of trust in your description / honesty / integrity, so this way you also avoid the potential Ebay distrust / scams etc.
Lloyd Chambers and Brad Hill ao. does the same thing and to my best knowledge, they sell quite well among their usual followers.

[Collin J Örthner]

My wife sells all sorts of bits and pieces on FB Marketplace. She swears she sells more things, and faster, if the price ends in an 8.

[Rick]

I think that many people do not know the "Zeiss" or "Touit" brands, think it sounds like one of those zillion Chinese knockoffs on Amazon.

Agree with the KEH/MPB route. Ebay is a horror for sellers these days.

[Sharon]

I’ve sold cameras and lenses on Fred Miranda. Most recently, I sold my Fuji GFX 50s after upgrading. Everything has always sold quickly. I’ve also bought on that forum.

Sharon

[JOHN B GILLOOLY]

If I am buying or selling something used, I've been using MPB and have had a really great experience. For whatever reason always viewed the EBay/Craigslist type sites as too much of a hassle and risk.

I would be very interested in having some type of enthusiasts marketplace within this community. I have found myself interested in experimenting with some film cameras and love the idea of accessing the stash of someone like Albert Smith's 70 cameras and 100 lenses. I wonder if there is some way to do that on here that is not a burden to Mike? And I would be interested in what folks in this community have amassed over the years and might want to part ways with because I get the impression that many people here are sort of afficianados of various things - cameras, audio - and probably have high quality things.

[Christer Almqvist]

Mike, I have looked at your eBay advert. Even if I wanted a Touit 2,8/12 lens, I would not buy one presented like that.

The first four pictures show the box. The BOX! OK, in one of the box pictures you can see the lens - in a plastic bag.

The pictures of the lens are not really sharp. Your finger nails are well detailed, but they are irrelevant.

Get yourself a decent background, a couple of inkjet printing papers scotched together will do nicely. Make many lens pictures. Use spot lights or similar effect lamps. Get close. Crop. Show pictures in order of relevance.

Chris

[David Bennett]

Why Exc+ ? that already makes me think it is not super duper.

ORIGINAL
If you are looking for a safe sample of this lens to buy, this is it. Barely used, always scrupulously well cared for. A special lens. For some unknown reason these are very undervalued and sell for a low amount, making them great bargains and an inexpensive way to add a premium lens to your kit.

This specific sample has one flaw I could find: a couple of small tears in the very corner of the box. Difficult to notice if you're not looking for them. Otherwise it could pass for new. The glass is pristine, and there are no blemishes on the lens, the hood, the caps, or even the soft rubberized rings. It is rumored to be too loud for video. For still photography it's excellent, with all the usual strengths we expect from Zeiss. A beautiful "look" to the pictures. Small and handy for its spec, and fun to use. A fine sample of a superlative "sleeper" of a lens.

REWRITE
Very well cared for, a fine lens, hardly used it, in perfect condition with no marks on lens, hood or caps. Small tears on a corner of the box, otherwise perfect.
Comes with hood, front and rear caps, ....

[Bob Rosinsky]

Funny, I just sold a Zeiss Touit 12mm f/2.8 e-mount on Fred Miranda for $250. It was a "10," although it did not include the box.

I bought it for $100, so I was happy to unload it for $250.

The Touit is a fine stills lens, but it is not suitable for video. It's noisy and focus isn't as snappy as other options.

[Peggy]

I've been trying to sale a Pentax K200D camera, 50mm lens, a Sigma dedicated flash and enough umbrellas and stands for a small studio setup for several years and get no takers.

Sent the list of what I had and the conditions to MPB and the only thing they were interested in was the flash....at a quote so low it wasn't worth it.

Even the photography teacher at the local college can't get any of his students interested. They are all using their phones now.

I looked up 'sold' prices on ebay and was shocked at what my camera brand is selling for. I refuse to sell anything on ebay myself as they always side with the buyers now, even when it is obvious the buyer is trying to get the item for free.

I've decided to keep all that I have and let the person I've listed in my will deal with it when I'm gone. There, I feel better already.

[Frank Field]

Twenty years ago, I was a frequent buyer and seller of camera gear via eBay. Today, I am staying away and will likely continue to do so. First, sellers have generally become quite sloppy. Too many list gear condition as "used" and provide one or two photos. Contrast that with 20 years ago when good sellers were meticulous in descibing the condition of their gear. Second, sell more than $600 in a year and you get a 1099 at tax time. The last thing I need is more paperwork and then trying to find proof of what I originally paid for the item, demonstrating that I lost money. Third, mass market sellers have conditioned buyers to expect "free shipping." Good luck with that as a small volume seller, you pay outrageous retail rates for shipping. Add it all up and it's not worth the headache as either a buyer or seller. When buying or selling, I'm today looking at reputable firms such as KEH and B&H.

[James Sinks]

The way I sold on eBay was very simple and incredibly effective:

$9.99 minimum bid, no reserve, flat-rate shipping for the US for almost everything, 7-day auction ending mid-afternoon (east coast) on a Saturday or Sunday. What didn't sell got re-listed, and what didn't sell after that got re-listed at $4.99, what didn't sell twice at $4.99 got squirreled away until I had enough similar items to make an appealing lot which I would list at $9.99.

I rarely used buy-it-now because that only works if you're pricing yourself low, have multiples, or are running a big business with thousands of listings going at a time.

My goal on eBay was to sell things, and except for occasions when I wound up with lots of multiples, it worked admirably well. $9.99 minimum bid auctions paid for all my bills for years, and in the early 2010's, it bought all my photo gear: a Canon 5D2, 100L Macro, 24L Tilt-Shift, 50mm f1.4, Zeiss 50mm Makro-Planar (returned for a Canon 50mm f2.5 Macro, which was just as good and more pleasant to use), RRS 3-series tripod and head, copy stand, flashes, light stands, cards, card readers, hard drives, and the endless parade of bits and bobs that "serious" photography requires, and in return the high quality photos in my listings drove sales.

Let the bidders decide what a reasonable price is. You just need to worry about getting it packed up and out the door.

[John Krumm]

The trick to selling to KEH or MPB is to sell a whole bunch of stuff at once. You always feel like what they offer for a single lens is too little. But what they offer for a big box of gear, that's getting somewhere!

[David W. Scott]

Living in or near a major metropolis is helpful - it makes selling individual pieces of gear on Craigslist, Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace easy, because there are enough other camera-crazy people to sell to. It also means no fees to eBay, no shipping, no anonymity. Simply meet up locally at a safe spot (coffee shop?) and they buyer gets to see the camera, and you get the money before they get the camera. Perhaps you can list on the Rochester editions of Craigslist and Kijiji?

The other option, good for lots of assorted equipment, is to find where KEH will be doing a local buying spree. They travel around and work with local camera stores to host. I have had good luck selling assorted cameras, lenses and paraphenalia for a fair price, in a bulk lot, with no hassle.