Topic: Where to buy/sell cameras?

[Pete_R]

So I've had it with selling on ebay since they now charge back door fees (in the UK - don't know about elsewhere) and also the number of scammers and rip-off merchants that are on there. I thought I would make one last sale before the new fees came in but ended up cancelling the sale when I found out the buyer lied about his location and the address was very suspect. So that's it for me, never again. I might still buy on ebay but I won't be selling.

So where does everyone else buy and sell?

[Francois]

Good question as I'm still looking for the same thing.
I did notice that the eBay fees are up. So is the shipping here in Canada.
I was selling some antique menu paper (there's a market for that).
The ones on the site were selling for something like 8$ for 5 sheets. I had a full new box of them (250 sheets). I started my price at 80$ + shipping, which is a steal when compared to the other prices. After more than a year, I got an offer for 20$ + shipping (which was 40$ for the USA). I ended-up accepting figuring that 20 bucks in pocket was better than a box in a drawer, so I sold it. The seller haggled and whined to no end. Then eBay took it's cut. In the end, I made less than 15$... should have used the stuff for taking notes.

[Francois]

I've found a few.

https://www.ebid.net
This one has only 3 pages of film cameras. Prices are OK-ish, but the quality of the items doesn't seem impressive.

https://www.rubylane.com/
This one is more geared towards collectible stuff. Description are quite sparse as it consists mostly of antique dealers.

https://www.bonanza.com/
Very well organized. Prices seem decent. Selection is OK-ish.

None of them compare to eBay in terms of number of items listed. But I read that they are all cheaper to sell on. But like everything you read on the web, your mileage may bary as the site also suggested selling on Amazon, Walmart and Aliexpress... not really what we're looking for.

[Pete_R]

All the on-line selling places I've looked at seem to be full of scammers.

I've also noticed so much stuff on Ebay just doesn't sell. Maybe the market for classic camera gear just isn't there anymore. So I was thinking maybe using more specialised methods might be the way to go. We have a few auction houses in the UK that hold specialist camera auctions where prices seem pretty good. Also maybe using the classifieds  on Photrio or RFF. But I have no prior experience.

[Indofunk]

The rumor amongst the younger generation (I think there are technically actually 3 or 4 generations younger than me 🤣) is that Facebook Marketplace is the new place to buy & sell because you can vet people based on their Facebook profiles. IDK, I only sold one thing on FB marketplace (a tuba) and I got my share of lowballers and tire kickers. And plus now there's the whole thing about not wanting to support Meta because of their political agenda, do I don't even know if it's worth it to look into.

Reverb is a great place for musical gear, I'd love to find a comparable place for photo gear.

[Bryan]

my wife uses Etsy sometimes, not sure how it is for camera gear.  I have used Facebook Marketplace a few times to buy gear locally.  At least i was able to look at it in person fist. 

For vinyl records, Discogs is the by far the best place. 

[Francois]

I know a guy who used to sell on Facebook Marketplace. He's given-up on it as he's super tired of people who are not reliable and that seem to just be interested in bugging sellers.
We also have a bunch of local websites like Kijiji, Craigslist and Varagesale. But from experience, it's the place where you put listings just to waste time.

I have a feeling that the whole world instability is definitely not helping. I for one want a few things but I'm putting-off the purchases for the next few years as money is bound to get even more scarce in the near future.

[Pete_R]

The rumor amongst the younger generation (I think there are technically actually 3 or 4 generations younger than me 🤣) is that Facebook Marketplace is the new place to buy & sell because you can vet people based on their Facebook profiles. IDK, I only sold one thing on FB marketplace (a tuba) and I got my share of lowballers and tire kickers. And plus now there's the whole thing about not wanting to support Meta because of their political agenda, do I don't even know if it's worth it to look into.

I have sold other stuff on Facebook but mainly large stuff not suitable for shipping and nothing photographic. I've also bought stuff. I think it's OK for local buying and selling where you can do the deal face to face. But there are a lot of false profiles on Facebook so not sure about distance selling.

Reverb is a great place for musical gear, I'd love to find a comparable place for photo gear.

Didn't there used to be a site called GAS for buying and selling photographic gear? Seem to remember it didn't last long. We really need something like that.

[Francois]

The other option is selling to Kamerastore, KEH, Midwest Photo or some other retailer.
You might not get the full amount you're looking for but you also don't have the hassle of dealing with crappy buyers.

[Harvey]

I use Ffordes here in the UK. Their commission is 20% but their prices are good and they take care of payments. I find them really good for both selling and buying. EBay has gone off for me, the prices are the same, or above, camera shop prices for the things I have been looking at.

[Pete_R]

I use Ffordes here in the UK. Their commission is 20% but their prices are good and they take care of payments. I find them really good for both selling and buying. EBay has gone off for me, the prices are the same, or above, camera shop prices for the things I have been looking at.

Thanks Harvey. I've used Ffordes quite a bit for purchase but only once for selling and that wasn't a great experience. I think they overestimated what they could get. I got the impression they gave a high valuation to encourage me to sell through them but maybe it was just a mistake. The item sat unsold for a long time and, in the end, I sold it to them for a lot less than I think I could have got elsewhere.