How to sell your camera stuff on the internet....so you can buy more stuff

[bobkeenan]

Someone at work asked me how to sell a dslr camera that he had because he could use the cash to get another camera.  He knew about craigslist and ebay but had never done anything with either.   I have been using both for so long that I forgot that it took me a while to learn how to use those places.   Now I mainly use ebay.

But.... I thought...maybe this is another excuse for a blog posting... a tutorial about some of the ins and outs of selling stuff on ebay.

I think this would be of great use for a beginner.  I would also love to hear about any "tricks" that the more experienced people have that I might have missed.  I can add them to my posting.

The posting is here :  http://www.bobkeenanphoto.com/sell-dslr-stuff-internet/

[BradSmith]

Bob,
Thanks for taking the time to post this information.  I'm about ready to sell some equipment and have wondered about what the eBay process is.   You've explained it well. 
Brad

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

This is very helpful. I've always been afraid to sell my first item on Ebay, and therefore I have accumulated lots of stuff that I should sell.

Thanks for posting it.

Eric

[Greg D]

Of course there are alternatives to ebay (aka feebay) such as the the buy & sell boards here at LL, at fredmiranda.com, and photography-on-the.net - probably others as well.  All in all, that has been a better experience for me, both for buying and selling, than ebay.

[RFPhotography]

After being part of the landscape for so many years, it's difficult to think that people aren't familiar with e(vil)Bay on some level.

The fact is, eBay isn't the place it used to be to buy and sell.  The good deals are long gone and it's mostly populated; for photo gear anyway, by dealers.  Much the way Auto Trader is mostly populated by dealers now rather than private sellers. 

eBay's fee structure is absurd.  It's feedback/rating system is a joke.  Ratings are completely unreliable because they're so often negotiated (i.e., 'You give me good feedback and I'll give you good feedback'.  Or, 'I won't provide feedback till you give me good feedback and then I might give you good feedback'.)

I've used eBay for the odd purchase and sale over the years.  When I switched from Canon to Nikon about a year ago, I offloaded most of my Canon gear, my MF gear and my film inventory on eBay.  The film did well because I had some pretty rare stuff that's highly sought after.  Once all that stuff was gone I bought most of my Nikon gear on eBay as well.  Really no difference in price between there and what I could have got from a reputable used dealer like B&H or KEH if they'd had the stuff I wanted.  The fees, at the end of it all, were a killer.  After all was said and done, I paid in excess of $500 in fees to eBay. 

Really wouldn't recommend eBay.  It's alright but not the be all and end all.

[roskav]

Ditto on fees to ebay.  I was getting another lens and wanted to sell one to cover the cost... tried ebay but half way through the auction period I checked over the last couple of sales I made on ebay and the fees accrued.. I found that when taking postage into account it really starts becoming quite a high percentage of your sales cost.  I finished the auction early and took the lens to the shop where I was buying the new one and traded it against the sale .. much easier and actually better value. 

R

[Sheldon N]

I used to buy/sell on ebay 4-5 years ago, but it's not really a good option anymore. Fees are up around 15%, and the general populous that you're dealing with can often be troublesome.

What I'd recommend is to open an account at fredmiranda.com, build up a solid reputation as a member there and pay the $25 fee to join so that you can post to their Buy & Sell forum. Then learn how to take good product photos, be detail oriented and make sure to take care of the buyer so that they end up happy. Fred Miranda has a very active Buy/Sell forum that only really deals in nicer DSLR gear, is a generally good population of experienced photographers, and an excellent feedback system to help protect both buyers and sellers.

[feppe]

I don't know where you guys are getting your figures, but eBay has less than a percent listing fee on most photography gear: flat 2 USD for auctions starting at 200 USD or more - many avoid this by starting their auctions at 99 cents - and 9% on sales (50 USD max). So on a 500 USD lens it's 9.4%, and a 2000 USD camera it's 2.6%. Highlights, Buy Now and other added features to your auctions will of course raise the prices. If you use Paypal they charge less than 3%.

I've used eBay for over ten years, have had a very bad experience once (got a full refund on a 5DII purchase only after 18 months of wrangling), but all of my other tens of transactions have been smooth - and I trade all over the world. It's mostly about doing your homework.

I'm sure FM and LL are great, but eBay offers economies of scale not found on FM and LL especially to EU members. Another allure of eBay is that it is an auction, not sure if FM has that. I post my auctions here, don't think I've ever sold anything based on those links, though.

[Sheldon N]

You are forgetting the final value fee.  Trust me, I've sold enough stuff to know what eBay charges. I did the math on my last few sales there, a couple nice hasselblad items. Listing fees + final value fees + paypal fees totalled up to 15% of the final price.

Sales on Fred Miranda for me have been consistently for high market value (often better than ebay at actual sale price, ignoring fees), with a better set of people, and with far fewer fees. Often the buyers will be willing to split PayPal fees, or for big ticket items to pay with a cashiers check (based on the quality of my feedback there).

As far as economies of scale, Fred Miranda's Buy & Sell forum moves a LOT of gear. And sales can happen fast, often within an hour or two of posting a listing.

I've got 7 years on ebay with 270 feedbacks at a 100% rating, and 3 years at Fred Miranda with 54 feedbacks and a perfect rating, so I've bought/sold/traded a lot of gear over the years.

[feppe]

You are forgetting the final value fee.  Trust me, I've sold enough stuff to know what eBay charges. I did the math on my last few sales there, a couple nice hasselblad items. Listing fees + final value fees + paypal fees totalled up to 15% of the final price.

I did not: I said "9% on sales (50 USD max)" which is final value. I included it in my calculations and even added a link to eBay's pricing sheet. Just double-checked my math: for 500 USD auction you'd pay 9.4% (2 + 45 USD) to eBay, and 2,96% (14.80 USD) to Paypal, totaling 12.36%. The % goes down when you go above 555 USD as I showed. To get to 15% commission you'd have to auction something at less than 555 USD and include Buy Now, reserve or other goodies. You don't have to use Paypal.

Does FM move a lot of stuff in EU? I'm selling most of my Canon APSC gear before the summer.

[Sheldon N]

Ebay's pricing must have changed slightly since I last sold. I also think that my sale was international, which raises PayPal fees.

I don't think Fred Miranda does a huge amount of EU traffic, but it does have international membership. Used gear pricing on the other side of the Atlantic can also run different than here in the states.

[RFPhotography]

Add to the fees the fact that PayPal withholds funds on items that are considered to be 'high risk' (photo gear and accessories fit into that category) until they can verify shipment has been received or some arbitrary time has passed and it makes e(vil)Bay even less attractive.  As a non-U.S. based seller, their 'accepted' shipping methods aren't (a) available or (b) practical so the process of verifying shipment becomes arduous and it's difficult to receive funds for items sold in a timely manner.  I had to argue with them on more than one occasion that Canada Post was a 'valid' shipping provider.  They simply didn't/wouldn't/couldn't understand that Canada has a service equivalent to USPS. 

[Philip Weber]

I've found the user forums specific to the equipment I'm selling are great places to sell, because one's number 1 target market is the people who are using that equipment and with the two I've used (Pentax and Nikonians) there's no fee to list or sell.

Additionally, buyers and sellers usually leave feedback that's more honest and reliable then eBay, and I've never had a bad transaction selling a fair amount of equipment over the last couple of years.

I hope this helps...
Phil

[feppe]

Add to the fees the fact that PayPal withholds funds on items that are considered to be 'high risk' (photo gear and accessories fit into that category) until they can verify shipment has been received or some arbitrary time has passed and it makes e(vil)Bay even less attractive.  As a non-U.S. based seller, their 'accepted' shipping methods aren't (a) available or (b) practical so the process of verifying shipment becomes arduous and it's difficult to receive funds for items sold in a timely manner.  I had to argue with them on more than one occasion that Canada Post was a 'valid' shipping provider.  They simply didn't/wouldn't/couldn't understand that Canada has a service equivalent to USPS.  

Never ran into this as a seller, although I've only sold within EU.

[RFPhotography]

Well, I have no reason to lie about it.  Perhaps there are different rules in the EU.  Or perhaps eBay in Europe is more of a standalone operation.  eBay Canada is really nothing more than a .ca version of eBay.com with all communication, service, etc. run out of the U.S.  I know what I've paid in fees.  I know what difficulties I've had getting funds for items sold.  I know what games have been played with ratings/feedback.  I'm simply relating those experiences and that knowledge.  If it differs from yours, that's fine but clearly, from other responses in this thread, I'm not alone in my experience with e(vil)Bay.  There is a reason it's achieved the nom de guerre of evilBay.

[David Watson]

I completely agree with the initial poster on this site.  I almost always sell my used camera gear on Ebay if I know there is a market for it.  What do I mean?  Well if it is an item in mass production like Canon or Nikon gear or it is a generic item like a used tripod of no particular significance but with utility value it works fine.  Where it does not work at all well is where there is a small market for an item.  You are then relying on one or two of a small group wanting to buy when you want to sell.  IMO all MF digital inc. Hasselblad gear falls into this category.  Much better to list it on this forum and a few others and wait for buyers to emerge or if you are trading up do - sell it to your dealer and get the best price you can.

The only other point worth making is that international sales can be really tricky in that if there is a problem it can be really expensive to resolve.  International purchases can work the other way if you are buying something with little demand again like MF digital.

[feppe]

Well, I have no reason to lie about it.  Perhaps there are different rules in the EU.  Or perhaps eBay in Europe is more of a standalone operation.  eBay Canada is really nothing more than a .ca version of eBay.com with all communication, service, etc. run out of the U.S.  I know what I've paid in fees.  I know what difficulties I've had getting funds for items sold.  I know what games have been played with ratings/feedback.  I'm simply relating those experiences and that knowledge.  If it differs from yours, that's fine but clearly, from other responses in this thread, I'm not alone in my experience with e(vil)Bay.  There is a reason it's achieved the nom de guerre of evilBay.

I'm not calling anyone a liar. The fees I quoted are from the US site, perhaps they are different in .ca.

eBay has such a massive customer base that there are bound to be negative experiences. People are more likely to air out their negative ones on threads like these, and satisfied customers don't bother to write theirs.