[ramseybuckeye]

I think the market has been down the last couple of years, except for K1000 and some other film cameras, it seems that way to me, and I could be wrong. I really could not say if that is just Pentax or all camera gear.

I'm always amused by the people listing their gear as if it never depreciates. I'm sure there are a lot of used items out there that sat in the box in a closet for years. But even a brand new K10D is not worth what it was when it was current. Often those listings include what they paid for it, as if that justifies it.

[DonV]

There are hundreds of Pentax lenses on Ebay, and if you look at each model- prices will vary tremendously- so what is the "market" ? Any given "common" model has many copies to choose from; a "scarce" item
will have one or three- or none. Supply and demand determine the market for sure.

Value of used stuff is not likely 90% of the new price- even for a K3iii, nor is it 50% for such a recent and popular model- so offers to buy or sell such recent/popular models at such prices is not reasonable.
The offer of a warranty by a seller that can back it up is a plus, and worth something; as is a no questions asked return policy.

Just put them on the trader here or online somewhere, at what you think is a fair price and let the buyer decide to buy or make an offer.

[c.a.m]

E.g. DA35/2.4 used was around $100 last year, not sure how much it would fetch today!

B&H lists it at USD $147, new.

KEH has several used, USD $90-101. One Canadian dealer has a used one for sale at CAD $110, or USD $88.

Checking eBay SOLD items, the average selling price in 8 listings is USD $103 (US, Japan, UK sellers, Oct-Dec 2021).

- Craig

[mir]

I think the market has been down the last couple of years, except for K1000 and some other film cameras, it seems that way to me, and I could be wrong. I really could not say if that is just Pentax or all camera gear.

As a collector of old Takumar lenses I have seen prices go up - and we are talking figures of 100% and beyond. Going back 2½ years you could easily get a decent lens for $25-50 but today you are lucky to fine one below $100. So from an investment point of view this has been a tremendous deal


I guess the reason is the growing interest in analog photography and the documented quality of Takumar lenses which IMHO is at par with old Leica and Carl Zeis glass - only steal and glass, build like a tank, and last beyond my life time. They simply do not make lenses of this quality any more so owning and shooting with these lenses is an absolute great experience.

[Sidney Porter]

The market for off brand manual lenses dried up. It used to be you could pick up 28 f2.8, 128 f2.8 and 200 f4 or 4.5 plus a variety of 50mm all day for less than $20. I think those lenses have been consumed by the mirrorless crowd adapting them.

[wadge22]

Another point on values (some already mentioned this and I'm guessing most people here know this but maybe someone doesn't) is that ebay lets you look at prices of recently sold items.
You can search for whatever item you are trying to buy or sell, then select the check box to filter for "sold items" (it's way down at the bottom of the filters on the left of the screen (on desktop browser) under "show only"). This is a good way to get more info on what particular items are going for, and you can look at the individual listing to assess the condition and other factors associated with a given sale price.

[BigMackCam]

The market for off brand manual lenses dried up. It used to be you could pick up 28 f2.8, 128 f2.8 and 200 f4 or 4.5 plus a variety of 50mm all day for less than $20. I think those lenses have been consumed by the mirrorless crowd adapting them.

The market remains, but demand has grown with the advent of mirrorless cameras with short flange focal distance, while supply to that market hasn't grown since there's a finite number of older manual lenses in circulation. As such, there's more demand than supply. I collect lenses made in the former Soviet Union, and prices have risen sharply over the last few years for all but the most prolifically-manufactured models - primarily due, I'm quite certain, to the advent and increasing popularity of mirrorless platforms...

[kypfer]

The market for off brand manual lenses dried up. It used to be you could pick up 28 f2.8, 128 f2.8 and 200 f4 or 4.5 plus a variety of 50mm all day for less than $20. I think those lenses have been consumed by the mirrorless crowd adapting them.

Absolutely … some screw-mount lenses I bought in the '80's and early '90's for a very few pounds 'cos "everyone" wanted auto-focus bayonet-mount zooms are now fetching prices many times what I paid for them … what price today for a Fujinon 35mm f/1.9 or the 85mm "soft focus", the 20mm f/5.6 Russar MP-2 or the FED 28mm f/4.5.
The first two I've hung on to, simply because I do use them, the two Russian r/f lenses in 39mm screw-fit genuinely sold for well over 10x what I paid for them, and that was on eBay with a "realistic" starting price!

[biz-engineer]

And what if you sell it after three years... or two... or you never really liked the item and decide to sell it after one year. Would you still be happy to sell at 50% of the price?

No, if I just bought the camera or lens and I don't like it (e.g 500 shutter actuation), and it is still under warranty period, I'd sell it 70% of Ricoh's list price.

[rpjallan]

I think one thing to be aware of, when buying/selling on ebay, is the outrageous cut they take these days (including postage costs). That has to increase prices people want but buyers are not always willing to pay.

[Rondec]

Now isn't a great time to sell anything. Many people spend a fair amount of money on Christmas presents and January/February they cut back quite a bit.

It seems like April in the US (when tax refunds come in) is probably a better time as well as the stretch before Christmas. I'm guessing that a lot of things are selling slower now than they did a few months ago. I would add that much depends on the specific lenses and bodies involved. If you are selling a high end lens -- say a DFA *50 -- you may get more lookers. Those lenses don't come up for sale as often. Lower end lenses like the consumer DA lenses and even the DA limiteds are always available and so the market is tougher for them.

[ehrwien]

Now isn't a great time to sell anything

So you're all saying it's a great time to BUY lenses?

[Rondec]

So you're all saying it's a great time to BUY lenses?

If you have the money...

[RICHARD L.]

This last year (2021), I found all the used "like-new" Pentax lenses I craved on eBay : DA 18-135 mm ED, 645 FA* 300 mm f/4, DFA* 70-200 mm f/2.8 ED, 645 DFA 55 mm f/2.8 ED, FA 135 mm f/2.8, etc. The year before (2020), I found perfect copies of a P67 90-180 mm f/4.5 zoom, 645 FA 33-55 mm f/4.5, 645 FA 55-110 mm f/5.6, FA 50 mm f/1.7, HD DA 55-300 mm f/4-5.8 WR, etc. One has to give a look regularly, be choosy and react promptly when one sees the desired object.

Regards

[bdery]

I see Pentax gear that was purchased used, and it's now for sale for 70% of the price new, which basically means the seller used the camera or lens for a couple of years for free.

To be fair, that's quite logical. It's not like for cars. If I were to sell my FA77 for instance, it doesn't bear any relationship to whether or not I bought it new or used, and how much I paid. It will sell for the current used market price regardless.