Selling ON APUG?

[illumiquest]

I'm a small camera shop in Columbus and a friend of mine suggested I try to post some gear for sale on here. We deal mostly with film equipment and so it seemed like a good idea. Problem is after post a dozen or so items and market prices I've got absolutely no interest.

Just wondering if people use this for shopping or if not where you'd rather go? A lot of our stuff goes on Ebay simply because film is now a niche market and it the big auction houses reach the most potential customers. I would rather do personal sales via forums but would love some advice on how to make that happen.

Thanks for any input,

Giles

 

[tjaded]

Hi Giles--
I just did a quick search for your ads and I don't see any. Have you gone back and "published" each one of them? If not, nobody has seen them. I personally look at the classifieds all the time. I've bought & sold. Good luck!

 

[illumiquest]

I've definitely published them and had a few folks respond to several.

 

[WetMogwai]

Which small camera shop? I only know of three shops worth going to. I'd love to find a fourth.

 

[nickandre]

Look under recent classifieds. He's the first one.

Don't expect expensive things to fly off the shelves here. I'm not personally hunting for expensive 4x5 lenses at the moment. If I'm not mistaken, I believe this is more of a casual means of buying/selling goods amongst other members. It's not really "built" for really valuable items. If I have some extra photo paper, I'll throw it up and wait to see if someone buys. It can take a long time though. It's all up to chance, and I'm not sure every member checks every day or week

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I suppose all selling may be a bit slow going at the moment, given the economy. I usually put things up for about a week or so before moving them to eBay, if they don't sell here. Higher end items might sell here as much as anywhere.

I was able to find your ads, so I don't think you're having trouble posting. You've got good photos.

You might try more descriptive titles than "some lovely 4x5" lenses." If you want to group them, it might be better to say "modern 4x5" lenses," since some LF shooters are looking more for modern lenses, some for classic lenses, and some just for affordable lenses. Someone shopping for an 8x10" Deardorff usually wants to know if it has front swings, so I'd put that in the title. That Summitar needs to be authenticated, I think, or no one knows how much to offer. It could be a valuable wartime artifact or a worthless Russian knockoff.

I should say, another important factor here is establishing your identity on the forum. If you participate in the forums over time, contributing in ways other than buying and selling, building a reputation as a knowledgeable person, then you'll have more success in the classifieds. Often the identity of the seller is as important as the item for sale.

 

[tjaded]

Whoops. Bad typing=bad search results. Forgive me! I have definitely seen the ads you have. Higher end stuff tends to move slowly, especially in this economy (in my opinion anyway...)

 

[k_jupiter]

Whoops. Bad typing=bad search results. Forgive me! I have definitely seen the ads you have. Higher end stuff tends to move slowly, especially in this economy (in my opinion anyway...)

Yep. Most of us be cheap bahstahds.
I just bought a 135W Fuji LF lens for 150 bucks, in perfect shape, with no retainer ring. That's what I call a bargain I could not resist. For the most part though, equipment gets the short shrift. Money be tight.

Keep trying though, someone is going to need something you are selling and we are a great bunch of people.

tim in sanjose

 

[tjaded]

Yep. Most of us be cheap bahstahds.
I just bought a 135W Fuji LF lens for 150 bucks, in perfect shape, with no retainer ring. That's what I call a bargain I could not resist. For the most part though, equipment gets the short shrift. Money be tight.

Keep trying though, someone is going to need something you are selling and we are a great bunch of people.

tim in sanjose

Feel free to send more to upgrade from a bargain to a good deal!

 

[Rick A]

Maybe if you leave the ads posted here long enough for people to get the funds together, you might have some success. Running an ad for one week or less, then telling people the item is going to fleabay(possibly your way of pressuring for quick sale)is IMHO NOT a good way to conduct business. Working with people, allowing a little extra time, and not being in such a terrible hurry, will get you the money in the end.

Rick

 

[Ian Grant]

If you look at this & the LFPI forum, and also Ebay, sales are slow at the moment, Christmas hits many peoples pockets hard and is always a slow time in many markets.

I've noticed some very nice items on Ebay getting no bids and they are being offered at relatively low starting prices.

Looking at what your selling the Mamiya 645 is a bargain, and the LF lenses reasonable but they are mainly XL's which are higher end and unless someone needs the extra coverage they'd tend to buy the smaller cheaper lenses of the same focal length, so it's a case of patience.

I do buy from the classifieds here and in preference to Ebay and over the last 4-5 years have bought a number of cameras, lenses, meters etc, and been very pleased with my purchases.

Ian

 

[illumiquest]

Thanks for all the input. I can certainly understand that folks are looking for a bargain on a lot of items. I myself would rather buy a solid user lens or camera than spend a bunch on something minty. I do get quite a bit of bargain equipment in so perhaps I'll try posting more of that and see what happens.

I certainly don't try to pressure a sale by giving it a time limitation but like any business I have to keep items moving in order to stay afloat. Rick, with the camera you were interested in, you wanted to trade something of equal value or wait two weeks to pull together cash. It simply doesn't make sense for me (or any business on the planet for that matter) to make an even trade which just delays my getting money back out of an investment.

 

[Mike1234]

APUG is a fantastically wonderful website with excellent Mods and the best members in the world... but the Classifieds section needs complete revamping. The layout is not at all conducive to selling or buying which is a conundrum considering this is where this site generates some of its revenue. Like I said APUG is the best... and no offense to the Webmaster/Owner... but the Classifieds section really is the worst. This is, of course, just my opinion/experience.

 

[BradS]

....another important factor here is establishing your identity on the forum. If you participate in the forums over time, contributing in ways other than buying and selling, building a reputation as a knowledgeable person, then you'll have more success in the classifieds. Often the identity of the seller is as important as the item for sale.

This point should not be underestimated. Along with the general malaise in the economy, unemployment, etc... the OP has only recently arrived and apparently has come only to sell.

We are a community and the confidence with which we are able to buy from and sell to one another derives from our reputations in the community. You (the OP) are new here and we don't know who you are yet. Stay awhile. Participate. Contribute. Build a reputation....the sales will follow. If you came only to sell...you will likely fail.

 

[pgomena]

I think BradS emphasized a very important point. New names showing up and posting lots of gear for sale is cause for caution in "our" little community. People who participate in the forums gain a reputation over time. The classifieds are only a portion of what goes on here.

My impression of the classifieds is that it's really hit-or-miss. If you have something someone wants, it will attract their attention. Yes, there are a number of bargain hunters here as well, and price is important. A buck's a buck. I cruise the classifieds daily. I don't have money to spend right now, but you never know when Gear Acquisition Syndrome will strike.

Peter Gomena

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Thanks for reinforcing that point, Brad, because that's what I think the APUG classifieds really have to offer--a community where people who know each other can buy and sell among themselves.

If you are a retail business and plan to advertise a lot of items over time, indeed, it's best to become a regular advertiser. You'll get a rotating banner ad and your own forum where you can list items for sale or special promotions for APUG members, and many APUG members generally try to support APUG sponsors when they can. Last year, for instance, I special ordered a brand new lens from Freestyle, when I could have taken the subway down to B&H and bought it off the shelf, because Freestyle is an APUG sponsor, and B&H is not. B&H still gets a good share of my photo budget, but when I can, I'll go out of my way to support an APUG sponsor.

There is something of a gray area about who is a "retailer," since there are some people who do quite a lot of trading and maybe it's turned into something of a side business over time, and some of those people advertise in the classifieds, and some have purchased block ads or banner ads. If an high-volume seller is posting so many ads that ordinary individuals who are just selling a few pieces occasionally are getting crowded out, we'll ask the retailer to move to one of the other advertising categories.

To set up a block ad or a banner ad on APUG, go to--

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[Ian Grant]

Have to agree with Brad, Peter & David, everything I've bought has been from people who quite regular post on the Forum, and I'd be less likely to but from someone I'd not come across.

So the more you participate Giles the more confidence people have.

Ian

 

[nickandre]

One problem with the classifieds is the trading area versus buying area. People tend to cross in between the two, and when you click on buy and sell to see individual categories you lose the trade items in which the OP will accept cash. I think that needs to be rethought once or twice.

 

[Andrew Moxom]

I would concur with this.. Prior to the really large site upgrade we had some time back, the for sale section was great, now it's a huge PITA to navigate.

APUG is a fantastically wonderful website with excellent Mods and the best members in the world... but the Classifieds section needs complete revamping. The layout is not at all conducive to selling or buying which is a conundrum considering this is where this site generates some of its revenue. Like I said APUG is the best... and no offense to the Webmaster/Owner... but the Classifieds section really is the worst. This is, of course, just my opinion/experience.

 

[Mike1234]

^^^ Bingo!!

 

[SuzanneR]

I hadn't noticed the change in the classifieds since the upgrade. I try to avoid it... if I peruse around there too much, I'm inevitably separated from my money for some impulse buy. (I rarely regret them!! )

 

[Sean]

Hi Guys, I can revamp the classifieds (the code is highly flexible) but I could use some detailed feedback. I would like to get an email dialogue going with those who use the classifieds a lot and what they would like to see. For example Mike1234 sounds like you might have some good ideas. Feel free to email me: apug.org@gmail.com

We'll hash out a plan and I'll get the coder to update. Thanks!

 

[illumiquest]

Thank you all for the constructive comments. I'll certainly continue to participate in the forums as much as possible, I'm a photographer as well as a chap who happens to spend the better part of his day shuffling cameras around A friend just sent me the site so give me a minute to catch up

Happy shooting,
Giles

 

[2F/2F]

I'm a small camera shop in Columbus and a friend of mine suggested I try to post some gear for sale on here. We deal mostly with film equipment and so it seemed like a good idea. Problem is after post a dozen or so items and market prices I've got absolutely no interest.

Just wondering if people use this for shopping or if not where you'd rather go? A lot of our stuff goes on Ebay simply because film is now a niche market and it the big auction houses reach the most potential customers. I would rather do personal sales via forums but would love some advice on how to make that happen.

Thanks for any input,

Giles

I have noticed your ads as of late because they are interesting items, but I always hit my back button pretty much immediately because the prices, simply put, are too high for the items I have looked at. Not only that, but it is hard to sell expensive stuff to us, when most of us know that something 1/10 or 1/5 the price will do us just as good in all practicality. In short, you need a certain kind of consumer who places a very high value on having very high-end equipment. This "value" usually comes down to ego and the desire for conspicuous consumption more than anything. In my time on the forums, I have encountered more people who jury rig things and use crappy equipment to make their splendid work than anything else...while on Websites like Photo.net, you get exactly the opposite: guys with $20,000 worth of the latest-greatest whiz-bang gizmos, who can't shoot their way out of a wet paper bag. Go figure. E-Bay is your best bet for the high-end stuff. It simultaneously reaches the most people, the least-educated people, and the loosest-pocketed people. Be prepared to get less than you are asking in any forum for sale, however.

 

[Mike1234]

You're saying that the photographers on photo.net can't shoot?? Have you looked at the galleries?? I urge others here to take a look. It's some of the best work anywhere. Sorry, 2F/2F but you have no idea what you're talking about.