Who to sell camera to?

Vollie,

I think I owe you an apology - I kind of hijacked your thread and got into a conversation with Jeff. My comments were not necessarily aimed at you, or anyone in particular. But just have a look at the forums, and you will see what I mean, even if it does not apply in this case. The F100 is a fine camera, heck, I'd say its one of the best - but, I shoot mainly Canon FD stuff, (but I also own a Lubitel, Holga, Zenit, Canonets two, Brownies - well, you get the picture, that ist goes on...) so I know what you mean. When my friends hand me their Elans or EOS gizmos I kind of cringe. I realized one thing: I like knobs and buttons and rings, I do NOT want to have to hear the word "menu" in conjunction with my camera. I just don't think I could ever do anything intuitively with a modern SLR, which is part of the reason why I don't (because cost is really less of an issue in todays market). When I see people wrestle with the menus and special functions to get what they want, I just run the other way. Also, I had the distinct pleasure of trying to take photos with an AF camera in low light... wow, it was more aggrevating than using one of those phone manus you get when you call any company nowdays...
Like I said earlier - I am that guy who rambles on...

Peter.

No apology necessary. I enjoy reading the posts.
I know that, even though I am an amateur photographer, I can still take a manual camera with a matchstick meter, decent conditions and most importantly, a good composition and come up with I nice photo that will satisfy my needs and if I am lucky, impress somebody else.....some other amateur.
Vol

Not to hijack the thread either, but I'm also interested in selling some gear. I've read through all of this and I think I'll subscribe and try this marketplace before eBay - but before any of that I need to know something else: selling price. What is reasonable for 35mm used gear? Should I base numbers off of KEH's catalouge (the photographic bluebook, perhaps?) or some other source?

I really want to turn some stuff around so that I can afford more parts for another camera... I've got a Nikon N70 that has been sitting on my shelf for months, along with some Nikon zoom lenses, old filters, cases, etc, etc. My Hasselblad and I are hungry for film. Lots of film.

vollie said:

I impulse bought the F100. It is too much camera for me or maybe I am just a Luddite. I have no problem using a nice manual camera. I don't even want to use (the F100) it after reading the manual. I have only shot one roll through it. I want to get a FM3a or maybe a FM2n, two cameras that I can enjoy operating. I used to have fun with my K1000. I am afraid of my F100.
Sooooo....I don't think I will regret selling the F100.
As a matter of fact I will be happy because with the proceeds, I am back to cameras I can enjoy.
I enjoy my Olympus 35RC, my crappy-ass Yashica TL Super, my crappy light seal Yashica Electro GSN, And my FREE Nikon F Photomic FTN.
Ya know what I mean?

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I'd be sad to part with a Nikon. I only sell if I have duplicate equipment. It is fun, though, to end up with a "new, old" camera. Trade in the F100 for one hundred holgas. Each one will be different. Ha ha. Good luck.

Will Whelan said:

Not to hijack the thread either, but I'm also interested in selling some gear. I've read through all of this and I think I'll subscribe and try this marketplace before eBay - but before any of that I need to know something else: selling price. What is reasonable for 35mm used gear? Should I base numbers off of KEH's catalouge (the photographic bluebook, perhaps?) or some other source?

I really want to turn some stuff around so that I can afford more parts for another camera... I've got a Nikon N70 that has been sitting on my shelf for months, along with some Nikon zoom lenses, old filters, cases, etc, etc. My Hasselblad and I are hungry for film. Lots of film.

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What's up with everyone bailing on their Nikons?

Do your research, Will. Look at every source you can and look for an average. If you can go the way of posting an ad here, you'll do well. If you need the money soon, an ebay 3 or 5 day auction might be your best bet.

To ramble on some more, keep a few things in mind...
1. Ebay charges some hefty fees.
2. PayPal (if thats how you accept payment) charges HEFTY fees.

You might sell an item for two hundred bucks and pay 20 something in fees. Not to beat this subject, but make sure that's worth it.

And if you and your Hassy are hungry for film, go the inexpensive way, and check J&C or Freestlye.

Jeff

jeffneedham said:

To ramble on some more, keep a few things in mind...
1. Ebay charges some hefty fees.
2. PayPal (if thats how you accept payment) charges HEFTY fees.


Jeff

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Even if you sell on ebay and use paypal, you will still pay less in fee's than you would if you consigned the equipment to a store to sell for you, the consignment fee's around the country run between 15% to 25%, so doing the ebay route is still cheaper than many of the traditional ways of selling, and I am not trying to start a long discussion, but even becoming a member of apug, if your only goal is to sell your equipment, your going to pay $25.00 up front for the privilage to list your ad on here, albeit if you stick around apug, there is a ton of learning and interaction..

If you except credit cards, your credit card processor is going to charge fee's, I know mine charges higher fee's than paypal because it is an internet business.

So I don't understand this "Hefty Fee's" stuff all the time, ebay and paypal, don't charge anything more than any other business that allows you the market that you can reach through them, or the convinence of having your money instantly, which even in the consignment business does not happen..

My local store charges 20% consignment fee, which is I sold an item through them that sells for $500.00 the cost to me is $100.00 and if the customer purchases with a credit card the store deducts the credit card fee's at 3% so that is another $15.00 so $115.00 to sell a $500 item through their store, the last Item I sold through ebay at $500.00 cost me $29.00 is listing and final sale fee's and I paid paypal about $20.00 for them excepting the payment for me, so that is a total of $49.00. Also unlike having your own merchant account, with paypal and ebay, I don't have to pay monthly fee's or annual fee's..

I just don't understand...

Dave

I don't understand how people part with their money so easily. Ebay and Paypal do nothing. You list the item, you pay to have it listed, you answer questions about it, you pay a final value fee, and if you use PayPal (which happens to belong to ebay) you pay a percentage of the total value to them. Ebay discourages giving a discount to those who use methods other than PayPal.

At least someone who works on consignment is doing the sales work for you.

Jeff,

Hate to say it, your very wrong, the store I worked for, I was in charge of the Used department, and we did not do anything other than show the camera to someone who asked, we did not sell!

How can you say ebay don't do anything to sell and item for you, they have currently been running a 22 million dollar TV ad campaign, the "it" campaign, could be very important if it happens to be your "it", that the person who cruises through ebay is looking for!

You don't need to try to explain how ebay works to me, I would not have a business that is as big as it is WITHOUT ebay, that was the least expensive way I could advertise my products, I sure as hell could not afford a magazine ad, that might get me 20K exposures, but I could afford ebay, that could get me up to a million exposures a day! for very little money..., very limited thinking in your part Jeff, the basis of business in America is go out and be fruitful, but I will be damned, every single time someone figures out a way to do it, every body bitches, ebay does not do anything different than any other company in America does to make money...but please get over the "Hefty" fee thing, cause for the most part, their fee's are less than most traditional methods of selling you product to a LARGE audience. I have spent far less money in ebay fee's and paypal fee's that I would have spent to run 1 monthly ad in a national magazine, a full page ad in Popular Photogrpahy is over 10 thousand dollars, that is not for a year, that is for 1 single time!!! Hell, evey View Camera Magazine, wants almost $500 buck for a 1 time 1/3 page ad, that has the possibility of reaching at most 10K readers over the period of time it is on the newstand, and don't get me wrong, I understand advertising costs, I used to own a Magazine publishing company, without ad's you don't print!

I forgot to mention the office they maintain in Washington DC, that spends 100% of their time lobbying Congress so you don't have to pay a Garage Sale Tax, or the many officies they maintain in several states, so they don't institute the internet tax on personal sales, do you want to pay taxes on the items you sell at a garage sale or through a classified?, I sure don't..you seem to forget the many things that come into play here..Ebay is free enterprise at its finest, and they do a lot to ensure we as normal people in America are not loosing most of out money and profits to the Government who is every single day trying to figure out how to tax the hell out of us..on personal sales.

Dave

Dave, chill with the hostility. You're a business owner? Do you address your customers how you addressed me? Maybe people in Montana put up with that, but I don't.

This thread was started regarding selling a piece of equipment. It has evolved into a place for you to vent your apparent anger towards anyone with an opinion different than you.

I don't appreciate the harsh language, and I don't appreciate your attempt to sound superior to others.

Please don't bother replying, because I am ending our little spat.

Have a nice day.

Jeff

PS. Hey Dave, you spell it "you're" not "your".

vollie said:

I am planning on selling my Nikon F100 plus lense and switching over to a FM3a.
My f100 was bought new and was only used once. I don't need all the bells and whistles and want to get back to a camera style I am more comfortable with. My question is. Where is the best place to sell it? KEH, EBAY or other. need help as I want to get my FM3a soon. I just want to get what the f100 is worth.
Thanks
Vollie

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Any luck yet? Sorry we got off topic.

Jeff,

You are close minded, you don't like what I have to say, that is fine, just remember I have the right to express my opinion as well as you do, I did not use any harsh language with you, I didn't express any anger, to attack my business which enjoys a well earned positive reputation around the world, is wrong, my opinion of your statments happen to differ and I spelled it out.

I am sorry I spelled something wrong, when in actuallity, I didn't spell it wrong, I used it in the wrong contex...

Your being a Jerk Jeff. This type of conversation, don't evoke any anger in me, I just shake my head and smile!

Dave

No Jeff I have not advertised anywhere yet. I am a teacher and have been a little busy.
I have questions about strategies for selling the camera on ebay but I don't really want to ask them because APUG is not really the place for discussing EBAY strategy. I have never sold anything there (EBAY) so I will have a zero (seller) rating. I think I will advertise here too. I don't have a digital camera so I am going to have to take some photos of my stuff and go to walgreens or somewhere and get them transferred to disk so I can put the images on my computer. People are telling me that I should get what I want easily for my gear...about $600 for a LN (used once) F100 and new 28 -105 AF D nikon lense...plus boxes and manual.
Anyway, I don't want my post to be the advertisement.
I appreciate all the useful advice.

Fellas, please don't fight. Lets leave that up to politicians and the guests on Jerry Springer.
Vol

vollie said:

I have never sold anything there (EBAY) so I will have a zero (seller) rating.

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If you have a low rating, it may not be advisable to try and sell an expensive item on ebay. Post it here, sell the crap in you basement for a 1 each on ebay. If after a couple weeks if it doesn't sell here and your you've amassed a dozen or so positive feedbacks put it up on ebay with lots of pictures (including a gallery pic), feature it (19.90), add a somewhat low buy it now price, a low starting price and low reserve (to keep the buy it now price around for a day or two). If you still have the box, manuals and packing that is a major plus.

Damn, eBay is controversial... In a nod to that debate, I noticed that you pay a one time $25.00 fee on APUG, but you pay fees for every item you sell on eBay. You also have to deal with the hassle of a completley open market, where as on APUG you are dealing with people interested in photographic equiptment only. I think that when time comes, I'll sell what I want to part with on APUG. If I were selling items in bulk and could build good feedback, etc. etc. I would, but for the single camera and lens, I'll go APUG.

Vollie - best of luck to you with your sale, and please post the result to this thread!

Generally, I list items on APUG first, and if there are no takers after some reasonable interval, I move them over to eBay.