The 4 Best Ways to Sell Cameras and Lenses
If you are looking to sell your camera equipment, you are no doubt desperate to ensure that you get the best price for your gear. It’s not always easy to know what to charge, and it’s often disappointing to see how the value of your camera equipment has diminished over time. Therefore, there’s all the more reason to make sure you aren’t ripped off!
Whether you’re selling a single lens or an entire camera bag’s worth of equipment, there are a number of ways you can go about selling up and getting the best price for your camera gear.
1. Selling on Auction Sites
This is probably the first place you’d think to go when you have things to sell second-hand. eBay provides a fantastic marketplace for you to put your equipment in front of potential buyers, and you’ll often get a fairly good price for it.
But remember, with eBay and PayPal fees combined, you’ll be looking at losing around 20% of the sale price (including the shipping) in commission. When you’re selling a lot of stuff, that 20% could be a lot of money.
However, both the buyer and seller are afforded some protection by the website should something go awry. As long as you list your item honestly and declare any damage, you’re unlikely to have any problems here. So, with that in mind, the commission you lose does buy you peace of mind.
I’ve never used anything like GumTree, but I know people who report having success there – just try and meet, rather than sending money off to a stranger on the internet with no protection.
2. Facebook Groups
This is a relatively new way to go about selling equipment. Facebook has a number of groups dedicated to selling kit, but also a new Marketplace that you can list your products in for your local area.
Best of all, there’s no commission taken on any sales. However, there is no protection and it’s more of a trust thing – be careful and don’t go for anything that appears too good to be true (such as someone offering way more than you would expect to get). It’s better to sell locally if you can so that you can meet the buyer and exchange the items in person. If you’re selling it is easier as you get the money first, but if you’re buying something you have to pay upfront.
Here are a number of groups that you can join to advertise your camera gear for sale:
Groups in the United Kingdom:
- Buy, Sell and Trade UK Photography and Video Equipment
- Buy, Sell & Trade NIKON Photography Equipment
- UK Photography Equipment for Sale
- Camera & Photography Equipment for Sale
- UK Photography Equipment for Sale
- North East Photography Equipment Exchange/Loan/Buy/Sell
- Photography Stuff for Sale UK
- Buy Sell Swap Camera and Photography Gear – UK
Groups in the USA:
- Used Camera & Photography Gear for Sale (USA & Canada)
- Used Photography Equipment & Props for Sale or Trade in Southern Oklahoma
Groups in Australia:
Groups in India:
Got a group to add? Let us know in the comments.
3. Part-exchange
Whenever you go to buy equipment from a photography store, they’ll probably ask you if you want to part-exchange anything. Yes, you get a price less than what you would if you sold it on eBay, but often their quote will take into account the commission you lose from auction sites.
So, it’s worth not immediately dismissing this as an option. It’s especially good if you have a lot to sell and can’t find a buyer on a Facebook group and don’t want the hassle of eBay. They’ll often pay for shipping, too.
From personal experience, WEX Photographic gives the best part-exchange prices – but it’s worth contacting a number of retailers such as:
4. Forums
There are also a number of photography forums on the internet where you can sell camera gear. Usually, you need to be an already active member to do this, but they’re worth looking at anyway.
Forums are dying out nowadays, thanks to the rise of Facebook Groups, but a number of them still remain popular enough to keep ticking along. I have, in the past, used TalkPhotography.co.uk and successfully sold camera equipment there.
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How to Find the ‘Going Rate’
You should always check that you know how much your second-hand camera equipment can sell for, rather than be guessing. Not checking could mean that you price yourself way too low, or way too high.
The best way to do this is to look on websites like MPB.com and see what price they’re selling certain pieces of equipment at. You can also look on eBay and search for the equipment there – make sure to tick ‘Completed Listings’ from the filter options at the side to see what things actually sold for.
