Originally posted by jtkratzer I think the most frequent pricing issues are with camera bodies and accessories, not lenses. I think there is a trend that a lot of people feel like something should be at least 20-25% off the retail price just because something has been opened. You see this with lighting mods, camera straps, etc. Things are compounded by the retailers frequently offering free shipping and shipping prices are a cut into what someone receives for the item as the seller or brings the price closer to the new item for the buyer.
Honest question but why do you expect to get retail for something that's not brand new and still sealed? Open box items are no longer brand new. They're open box. It's a mint item, maybe even never tried out but it's not the same as buying it brand new in a store completely unopened. Most stores will discount by 20% sometimes more for an open box item. That's common place. They will also charge a restocking fee to people who return items that they've just opened, briefly checked out but not used to cover that. They don't try to sell anything that's been opened as new, at least most stores I've dealt with don't. That's why people probably expect that. I mean new is NEW, as in never opened, straight from a store. It's not a second hand purchase from a person, an open box item. No matter how minty an item is, once you open it, it's technically a second hand item, not a new purchase and I don't think that it's legit to ask for the original price actually for an item like that. Most camera/electronics stores wouldn't. So why should a normal person expect to be able to do that? It just doesn't make sense to me. A car might be brand new from the factory, you drive it off lot, it's a used car. It might be "like new" but it's still lost value just by virtue of it having been purchased. I don't see how it's any different with gear...
---------- Post added 03-19-14 at 06:33 PM ----------
Originally posted by jtkratzer You'd never walk into a store and cry a sob story looking for a lower price. People too often take advantage of the community nature of the forums and exploit that for a savings.
People do that. I worked retail management for a lot of years and believe me I've heard it all. I've had people totally try and talk me down on items that were basically luxury goods crying poor. They wanted $200 items when it was obvious they could barely afford to take the bus downtown. You'd have kids who apparently can't even afford a slice for lunch, literally, yet they're insistent upon wearing $200 sneakers. Me, when I'm that broke and I need shoes? I shop at Walmart and grab me a $10 pair of sneakers so I can still eat and have something to put on my feet. I don't plead poverty and try to buy designer shoes I can't afford.