Photography gear trade-in experiences/reviews

[ptaylor]

I've been looking at various ways of selling old photography gear, and thought it might help others to share any experience.

I just sold a Canon 7D and some lenses using mpb.com. It actually went surprisingly well. The online quote offered slightly more than I could find at bhphoto or Adorama, and like most it asks you to rate the condition. They sent FedEx labels for the gear, I boxed it up and sent it off. I received an email when they received the boxes, and a confirmation of the condition. They matched the excellent rating of all the lenses, but dropped the body rating from Excellent to Good based on the number of shutter clicks. I then received payment via bank transfer about 3 days later.

Overall it was a very easy experience that I would do again. I may have not earned the absolute max value compared to selling to someone directly, but it was minimal risk and very low hassle.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

You can take the easy way out, at the biggest hit to your return - by selling it to B&H, Adorama, KEH, etc. They generally lowball you a fair bit. You can try selling on related forums (e.g. PotN for Canon) or Fred Miranda (for more general photography) and will generally result in a quick sale if the price is right and you'll get a bit more than the camera shops. But people know the value of stuff. Finally, there's place like eBay. You'll get more eyeballs but, well, it's eBay.

 

[klmall]

I had a Canon T4i that was heavily used and I took the easy way out with B & H. The process was simple and I actually got what I expected after doing some research. Better than just sitting in my closet unused. I also simply gave a Rebel Xsi away to a friend whose husband had never had a DSLR. He was so excited!