Is it getting harder to sell gear on this forum?

**Rondec** · 11-22-2010, 07:24 PM

A lot does depend on price. If you want something to move fairly quickly, look at recent prices for similar items and price a little lower. The problem is that often the final price isn't really listed, if there was some behind the scenes bartering. The other thing is to allow foreign bidders, it does seem to make a difference.

kswier · 11-22-2010, 07:36 PM

I know I have been thinking that some of the prices in the forum are a bit high. For instance, the DA 40mm limited is selling on B&H for $340 and I have seen forum prices between $300 and $330. I personally would not buy a used one for more than $270, because of the lack of ability to return it and the lack of warranty.

I also think the DA 35mm is cutting into prices. I wonder how long the FA 35mm lens can keep up is price with the DA 35mm is about as good and half the price (also keeping in mind that the FA 35mm was cheaper when it came out).

But in the end, if people are buying items they are not overpriced.

JeffJS · 11-22-2010, 08:18 PM

Originally posted by Groucho

I haven't had a nibble on my current postings, but they're not exactly FA* 85mms, either. (One person did respond with a positive comment about Rokinens but then deleted his comment for some reason.) I'll wait a little, maybe drop the price more, then they'll probably end up on eBay. I would prefer to sell here, but there's a limit to how low I'll go. I have several other not-super-desirable lenses that'll probably end up on eBay when all is said and done just because the demand is not there.

I have to sell a K100D and a K-7, I'll probably try Craigslist first but I don't have a lot of confidence in finding a buyer there.

I have recently sold two lenses on eBay - I was a little disappointed with the price the first one fetched ($70 for a quite nice A 28mm F2.8), but the $50 for a worn-body-but-good-glass Super Tak 105mm is probably fair. The thing that surprised me is that both lenses sold to buyers in Thailand... and my infamous $1,001 Cosina 55mm F1.2 sold to Indonesia... I seem to do better selling overseas than domestically.

Better than 90% of what I sell (and I have a pretty good sell rate in the marketplace) goes overseas. That's why I don't restrict the destination. I think in terms of selling used items that are still available new, people this week anyway, are waiting to see if there are any internet monday bargains on either of those items.

Nick Siebers · 11-22-2010, 09:24 PM

The marketplace here is, and has been for a while, extremely price sensitive. At a good price, stuff moves fast. Too high a price - nothing. And the difference can be 5 or 10 dollars. OP's prices are just a little too high, I think. A warranty on new equipment is definitely worth a few extra bucks, when something is still available new.

With the new K-5 (and maybe K-r to an extent) it seems prices on bodies are dropping. I finally upgraded from a K100d to a K20d. Quite likely people are unloading "extra" gear and saving for a new model. More supply, less demand. Maybe a good time to buy, rather than sell? :-)

clockwork247 · 11-22-2010, 10:26 PM

Originally posted by switters

I used to have no trouble selling gear here. But I just posted a K-x and an FA50/1.4, and haven't had a nibble. I researched prices beforehand, and I think what I'm asking is fair for each item. $415 for the K-x + 18-55 kit, which is almost brand new (1500 clicks), and $300 for the FA50, which is also in mint condition. Prices include shipping and Paypal.

In the past I'd get several inquiries within a few days of posting. Not happening so far. Is it harder to sell gear here now, or are my prices just too high?

Other places would be CL, FB, and ofcourse ebay. It's the holiday season, people are buying stuff but not used one (hard to give used stuff as gifts)... budgets are tight, economy is bad... you get the idea, I'm selling some stuff too (not camera stuff) and it's rough, I know because I'm a shopper, but I'm riding it out since I don't need the money. By march or something I'll probably sell them haha.

Now as far as prices... currently a brand new K-X kit of color choice (black/white/red), same as yours is 490 shipped on amazon no tax for most... Now yours might be just as good as brand new, but brand new is still brand new, you know how you drive a new car out of the dealership and it's price will drop like a rock? Yet people still buy new cars (including me).

The other problem is that amazon (yeah this dude is giving you huge problem), sell the other k-x kit (the one with the 55-300mm lens) for 690 shipped. You gonna go "oh crap", yeah, they just slap on a 350 dollar lens on top of the kit for 200 bucks... not only that, the lens by many is a good lens, ain't that a bitch, if I wanted to get a k-x right now and have like 500 bucks, I'm so saving 200 more to get the kit with the 300m zoom lens.

The 50mm is also semi hard to sell, it's not rare, and there's alot of them (including the other version such as the M, A, ect..), the M is going for 100 used, IMO if I have 100 to drop, I would buy the FA version with extra cash, but that's me, everyone is budget minded and for them it might not be worth it...and I've been looking on ebay, at 100 the M version ain't moving at all (out of like 10 auction I think 2 got sold over 100, and I'm trying to find out who's the idiot when the BIN auction is right at 100), my local CL is doing it at 80 and I'm not even jumping on it.

I can't tell you the right price (no experience on the item) but if you need to sell it, lower it every day by like 5 bucks or something... someone is bound to be tempted. If you don't need money like me, just ride it out... (i'm selling a pair of studio monitor for 250 (new is 370 for the pair), i probably powered it on twice, still has box, manual ect..., it's been on CL for the whole week lol. But like I said, you just have to ride it out, this is a bad time for selling this kindda stuff.

reeftool · 11-23-2010, 09:47 AM

There are a lot of bargain hunters browsing through the Marketplace, myself included. I'm usually on the lookout for Taks and older K mount lenses. I would say about 90% of the items that catch my eye are sold by the time I see the posting and the others are out of my price range. The majority of the listings are stuff I'm not interested in. The FA 50/1.4 is a great lens but I don't use that size much and I have a fairly fast 55/2 already. Remember that the FA50 was selling brand new for under $200 not all that long ago and those who didn't buy it new then aren't likely to buy one used for $100 more now. Also, your price on the Kx kit isn't much less than some of the currently discounted ads I have seen recently. The ad on the opening page of the forum had them for $449 and to be totally honest, I would spring for the new item with the warranty for the $30 difference.

**loveisageless** · 11-25-2010, 12:25 AM

I think the market is a bit saturated right now, by all the equipment dumped at lower prices by the members hot to buy their K5 or pay for the one they already bought. I had my K7 listed and some fool was selling his for $600. It may have been all he needed to fund his K5, but it screwed everyone else, both sellers of K7s and K20Ds. If you have good quality glass to sell hold on to it until after the holidays. A lot of folks are going to discover that their less than stellar lenses are going to be a disappointment given the resolution ability of the K5. All those folks either buying or receiving the $479 Kxs from Amazon are going to be looking for lenses in the new year too.

**loveisageless** · 11-25-2010, 12:31 AM

I also think advertising items "worldwide" is a good move. I usually ask international buyers to pay the difference between the domestic shipping cost and the international shipping cost and split the PayPal fee with them. In some countries it is difficult if not impossible to find equipement new, or it is prohibitively expensive. The United States Postal Service has a website where you can calculate the cost of shipping items all over the world. There are links to the Customs forms which can be completed on line and printed out to take to the post office. So far, I have shipped items to Greece, Germany, Canada, South Africa and Singapore.

Bramela · 11-25-2010, 12:35 AM

Every seller has the right to set his or her price and other options.
However, I find more and more are placing USA only or Nth America only on destinations. Yes and Australia only etc etc.

A huge market of buyers exists across the globe, Worldwide will give a much higher percentage of sales, IMHO.

clockwork247 · 11-25-2010, 02:57 AM

Originally posted by loveisageless

I think the market is a bit saturated right now, by all the equipment dumped at lower prices by the members hot to buy their K5 or pay for the one they already bought. I had my K7 listed and some fool was selling his for $600. It may have been all he needed to fund his K5, but it screwed everyone else, both sellers of K7s and K20Ds. If you have good quality glass to sell hold on to it until after the holidays. A lot of folks are going to discover that their less than stellar lenses are going to be a disappointment given the resolution ability of the K5. All those folks either buying or receiving the $479 Kxs from Amazon are going to be looking for lenses in the new year too.

the k-x kit on amazon dip to 650 today (the kit with the 300mm zoom lens), words on the street is that 2 months ago that same kit was down to 620 or 630... lol, I'm so waiting for it to dip to 600 and stick a fork in it.

Ananta Androscoggin · 11-28-2010, 07:29 PM

Being on a fixed income, and having just spent the contents of my hobby "piggy-bank" to get my K-x, it's going to be some while before the pig has been fed enough to think about buying anything else.

But speaking for myself, any listing title which includes the any of the following words is an announcement that I can't afford it in the first place:

• Rare
• Cult
• Mint

**Sakura** · 11-30-2010, 02:00 PM

Would love to buy that lens of you, but my bank account absolutely won't allow me to

I absolutely have a LBA, but can't affort more than what the local fleemarket offers

Well, maybe next year when all bills are payed..........

But i agree, i would rather buy something of this forum, than of ebay. One thing i know for sure, people of this forum won't pull my leg

mrmatt · 12-03-2010, 06:19 AM

I for one would much rather buy off this forum than eBay or craigslist. There is a lot of junk out there. At least here it is much less likely to be hosed on a bad deal.

Ira · 12-03-2010, 10:13 AM

There are still some good bargains to be found on eBay for the older stuff, because every now and then, someone doesn't know what they have, so they don't know its value.

Yes, I've overpaid PLENTY of times on eBay because I wanted the dang thing, but I snagged a Helios 44-2 (58mm F2)for $15, a 200 F4 Super Multi Coated Tak for $39, a 105 Super Tak for $50, and just got a 50 1.4 Mamiya Sekor for $59 (BIN).

Now, these aren't drop dead bargains, but every one of these items would be listed in the Marketplace here for more.

**Lowell Goudge** · 12-03-2010, 12:21 PM

Originally posted by Bramela

Every seller has the right to set his or her price and other options.
However, I find more and more are placing USA only or Nth America only on destinations. Yes and Australia only etc etc.

A huge market of buyers exists across the globe, Worldwide will give a much higher percentage of sales, IMHO.

I find this practice increasingly frustrated, being in toronto and not able to bid on things that are in NY state for example, less than a few hundred miles away.

But then again, what I find really frustrating is most big camera stores in toronto have pulled all used pentax gear from their shelves. This is not because they don't support pentax but just that they get much higher prices on E-Bay generally out of europe, where people are willing to pay ridiculous sums for gear.

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11-22-2010, 07:24 PM	#31
Rondec Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Gladys, Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 27,652	A lot does depend on price. If you want something to move fairly quickly, look at recent prices for similar items and price a little lower. The problem is that often the final price isn't really listed, if there was some behind the scenes bartering. The other thing is to allow foreign bidders, it does seem to make a difference.

11-22-2010, 07:36 PM	#32
kswier Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 426	I know I have been thinking that some of the prices in the forum are a bit high. For instance, the DA 40mm limited is selling on B&H for $340 and I have seen forum prices between $300 and $330. I personally would not buy a used one for more than $270, because of the lack of ability to return it and the lack of warranty. I also think the DA 35mm is cutting into prices. I wonder how long the FA 35mm lens can keep up is price with the DA 35mm is about as good and half the price (also keeping in mind that the FA 35mm was cheaper when it came out). But in the end, if people are buying items they are not overpriced.

11-22-2010, 08:18 PM	#33
JeffJS Inactive Account Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Michigan, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 7,484	Originally posted by Groucho I haven't had a nibble on my current postings, but they're not exactly FA* 85mms, either. (One person did respond with a positive comment about Rokinens but then deleted his comment for some reason.) I'll wait a little, maybe drop the price more, then they'll probably end up on eBay. I would prefer to sell here, but there's a limit to how low I'll go. I have several other not-super-desirable lenses that'll probably end up on eBay when all is said and done just because the demand is not there. I have to sell a K100D and a K-7, I'll probably try Craigslist first but I don't have a lot of confidence in finding a buyer there. I have recently sold two lenses on eBay - I was a little disappointed with the price the first one fetched ($70 for a quite nice A 28mm F2.8), but the $50 for a worn-body-but-good-glass Super Tak 105mm is probably fair. The thing that surprised me is that both lenses sold to buyers in Thailand... and my infamous $1,001 Cosina 55mm F1.2 sold to Indonesia... I seem to do better selling overseas than domestically. Better than 90% of what I sell (and I have a pretty good sell rate in the marketplace) goes overseas. That's why I don't restrict the destination. I think in terms of selling used items that are still available new, people this week anyway, are waiting to see if there are any internet monday bargains on either of those items.

11-22-2010, 09:24 PM	#34
Nick Siebers Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Madison, WI Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,165	The marketplace here is, and has been for a while, extremely price sensitive. At a good price, stuff moves fast. Too high a price - nothing. And the difference can be 5 or 10 dollars. OP's prices are just a little too high, I think. A warranty on new equipment is definitely worth a few extra bucks, when something is still available new. With the new K-5 (and maybe K-r to an extent) it seems prices on bodies are dropping. I finally upgraded from a K100d to a K20d. Quite likely people are unloading "extra" gear and saving for a new model. More supply, less demand. Maybe a good time to buy, rather than sell? :-)

11-22-2010, 10:26 PM	#35
clockwork247 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 360	Originally posted by switters I used to have no trouble selling gear here. But I just posted a K-x and an FA50/1.4, and haven't had a nibble. I researched prices beforehand, and I think what I'm asking is fair for each item. $415 for the K-x + 18-55 kit, which is almost brand new (1500 clicks), and $300 for the FA50, which is also in mint condition. Prices include shipping and Paypal. In the past I'd get several inquiries within a few days of posting. Not happening so far. Is it harder to sell gear here now, or are my prices just too high? Other places would be CL, FB, and ofcourse ebay. It's the holiday season, people are buying stuff but not used one (hard to give used stuff as gifts)... budgets are tight, economy is bad... you get the idea, I'm selling some stuff too (not camera stuff) and it's rough, I know because I'm a shopper, but I'm riding it out since I don't need the money. By march or something I'll probably sell them haha. Now as far as prices... currently a brand new K-X kit of color choice (black/white/red), same as yours is 490 shipped on amazon no tax for most... Now yours might be just as good as brand new, but brand new is still brand new, you know how you drive a new car out of the dealership and it's price will drop like a rock? Yet people still buy new cars (including me). The other problem is that amazon (yeah this dude is giving you huge problem), sell the other k-x kit (the one with the 55-300mm lens) for 690 shipped. You gonna go "oh crap", yeah, they just slap on a 350 dollar lens on top of the kit for 200 bucks... not only that, the lens by many is a good lens, ain't that a bitch, if I wanted to get a k-x right now and have like 500 bucks, I'm so saving 200 more to get the kit with the 300m zoom lens. The 50mm is also semi hard to sell, it's not rare, and there's alot of them (including the other version such as the M, A, ect..), the M is going for 100 used, IMO if I have 100 to drop, I would buy the FA version with extra cash, but that's me, everyone is budget minded and for them it might not be worth it...and I've been looking on ebay, at 100 the M version ain't moving at all (out of like 10 auction I think 2 got sold over 100, and I'm trying to find out who's the idiot when the BIN auction is right at 100), my local CL is doing it at 80 and I'm not even jumping on it. I can't tell you the right price (no experience on the item) but if you need to sell it, lower it every day by like 5 bucks or something... someone is bound to be tempted. If you don't need money like me, just ride it out... (i'm selling a pair of studio monitor for 250 (new is 370 for the pair), i probably powered it on twice, still has box, manual ect..., it's been on CL for the whole week lol. But like I said, you just have to ride it out, this is a bad time for selling this kindda stuff.

11-23-2010, 09:47 AM	#36
reeftool Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Upstate New York Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 9,553	There are a lot of bargain hunters browsing through the Marketplace, myself included. I'm usually on the lookout for Taks and older K mount lenses. I would say about 90% of the items that catch my eye are sold by the time I see the posting and the others are out of my price range. The majority of the listings are stuff I'm not interested in. The FA 50/1.4 is a great lens but I don't use that size much and I have a fairly fast 55/2 already. Remember that the FA50 was selling brand new for under $200 not all that long ago and those who didn't buy it new then aren't likely to buy one used for $100 more now. Also, your price on the Kx kit isn't much less than some of the currently discounted ads I have seen recently. The ad on the opening page of the forum had them for $449 and to be totally honest, I would spring for the new item with the warranty for the $30 difference.

11-25-2010, 12:25 AM	#37
loveisageless Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Oakland, California Photos: Albums Posts: 1,250	I think the market is a bit saturated right now, by all the equipment dumped at lower prices by the members hot to buy their K5 or pay for the one they already bought. I had my K7 listed and some fool was selling his for $600. It may have been all he needed to fund his K5, but it screwed everyone else, both sellers of K7s and K20Ds. If you have good quality glass to sell hold on to it until after the holidays. A lot of folks are going to discover that their less than stellar lenses are going to be a disappointment given the resolution ability of the K5. All those folks either buying or receiving the $479 Kxs from Amazon are going to be looking for lenses in the new year too.

11-25-2010, 12:31 AM	#38
loveisageless Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Oakland, California Photos: Albums Posts: 1,250	I also think advertising items "worldwide" is a good move. I usually ask international buyers to pay the difference between the domestic shipping cost and the international shipping cost and split the PayPal fee with them. In some countries it is difficult if not impossible to find equipement new, or it is prohibitively expensive. The United States Postal Service has a website where you can calculate the cost of shipping items all over the world. There are links to the Customs forms which can be completed on line and printed out to take to the post office. So far, I have shipped items to Greece, Germany, Canada, South Africa and Singapore.

11-25-2010, 12:35 AM	#39
Bramela Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Newcastle Australia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,284	Every seller has the right to set his or her price and other options. However, I find more and more are placing USA only or Nth America only on destinations. Yes and Australia only etc etc. A huge market of buyers exists across the globe, Worldwide will give a much higher percentage of sales, IMHO.

11-25-2010, 02:57 AM	#40
clockwork247 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 360	Originally posted by loveisageless I think the market is a bit saturated right now, by all the equipment dumped at lower prices by the members hot to buy their K5 or pay for the one they already bought. I had my K7 listed and some fool was selling his for $600. It may have been all he needed to fund his K5, but it screwed everyone else, both sellers of K7s and K20Ds. If you have good quality glass to sell hold on to it until after the holidays. A lot of folks are going to discover that their less than stellar lenses are going to be a disappointment given the resolution ability of the K5. All those folks either buying or receiving the $479 Kxs from Amazon are going to be looking for lenses in the new year too. the k-x kit on amazon dip to 650 today (the kit with the 300mm zoom lens), words on the street is that 2 months ago that same kit was down to 620 or 630... lol, I'm so waiting for it to dip to 600 and stick a fork in it.

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11-28-2010, 07:29 PM	#41
Ananta Androscoggin Guest	Being on a fixed income, and having just spent the contents of my hobby "piggy-bank" to get my K-x, it's going to be some while before the pig has been fed enough to think about buying anything else. But speaking for myself, any listing title which includes the any of the following words is an announcement that I can't afford it in the first place: • Rare • Cult • Mint

11-30-2010, 02:00 PM	#42
Sakura Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Netherlands Photos: Gallery Posts: 438	Would love to buy that lens of you, but my bank account absolutely won't allow me to I absolutely have a LBA, but can't affort more than what the local fleemarket offers Well, maybe next year when all bills are payed.......... But i agree, i would rather buy something of this forum, than of ebay. One thing i know for sure, people of this forum won't pull my leg

12-03-2010, 06:19 AM	#43
mrmatt New Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 20	I for one would much rather buy off this forum than eBay or craigslist. There is a lot of junk out there. At least here it is much less likely to be hosed on a bad deal.

12-03-2010, 10:13 AM	#44
Ira Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Coral Springs, FL Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,216	There are still some good bargains to be found on eBay for the older stuff, because every now and then, someone doesn't know what they have, so they don't know its value. Yes, I've overpaid PLENTY of times on eBay because I wanted the dang thing, but I snagged a Helios 44-2 (58mm F2)for $15, a 200 F4 Super Multi Coated Tak for $39, a 105 Super Tak for $50, and just got a 50 1.4 Mamiya Sekor for $59 (BIN). Now, these aren't drop dead bargains, but every one of these items would be listed in the Marketplace here for more.

12-03-2010, 12:21 PM	#45
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,886	Originally posted by Bramela Every seller has the right to set his or her price and other options. However, I find more and more are placing USA only or Nth America only on destinations. Yes and Australia only etc etc. A huge market of buyers exists across the globe, Worldwide will give a much higher percentage of sales, IMHO. I find this practice increasingly frustrated, being in toronto and not able to bid on things that are in NY state for example, less than a few hundred miles away. But then again, what I find really frustrating is most big camera stores in toronto have pulled all used pentax gear from their shelves. This is not because they don't support pentax but just that they get much higher prices on E-Bay generally out of europe, where people are willing to pay ridiculous sums for gear.