[bm75]

Hi guys.
This is a little rant...sorry. More precisely, this is the telling of a bad experience.

This morning I went to a local camera store, the only one selling Pentax gear in 80 kms just asking for a quotation for my trusted k5, the 17-70 + 50-200 WR (exchange for FF). Well... the salesman told me plain and simple...."No thanks we do not take used Pentax"... Obviously they do not have ANY Pentax used item on their shelves.
It has to be said that my gear is in PERFECT condition. no scratches on lenses, all working properly. And I didn't proposed any exchange for my manual focus primes, I would use them on FF. I was really disappointed because I phoned them before going in the store, asking them if they could make the quotation and if they would accept any exchange.
I'm not the insistent or arrogant kind of person so I politely replied "Oh...ok...sorry I've just understood wrong on the phone" but, just to see what would happen ... I asked for a quotation of my Nikon D300 (I call it "the Brick") coupled with Sigma 70-200 apo hsm I use to photograph my kid when he races. 30 seconds and...Voilà !! My d300 that's 8 years old (scores 67 on dxomark, 200 really bad Isos at the bottom, 1600 worse Isos on the top - 3200/6400 are unusable) quotes 150 Euros , the lens quite the same.

The rant: Why the hell a physical store - the only one selling Pentax in the range of 80 kms - would not accept the exchange for the brand it sells? I mean: why giving no quotation for the k5 when the D300 is older and somehow crappy in dynamic range ? I accept market rules, I know that in this part of the world we Pentaxians are really few people but.. honestly... Why if you're a Pentax dealer you say " No we do not take used Pentax" but then you give a quotation for a crappy D300 in exchange for some brand new Pentax product? Does this mean that if I take a brand new k1 today, tomorrow I will not be able to exchange that for the new k1 mark II (if and when it will be)? This is a mess and Ricoh has to fix this. Is it possible that an official dealer is the first who do not care for the brand? Obviously I did not buy anything from that dealer.
End of rant.

Any thoughts?

[mattt]

Gross Proffit / Profit Margin

The selling of used gear displaces the sale of a premium item. The premium item is bought at Wholesale, you would expect "fair market value" for your items. That leaves less/no room for profit to be made.

[victormeldrew]

Any thoughts?

Sell it. You will always get a better price selling privately and using the cash than with a 'trade-in' deal, because you get to keep the profit the dealer would otherwise make on resale.

Save

[FantasticMrFox]

They are a business. If they don't think they can sell the used gear you are offering them, then they won't buy it. I don't see anything wrong with that.

[bm75]

If they would had told me something like "Sorry Sir, the quotation for this item is just too high, we can't accept the exchange" that would be fair. But they would accept the exchange for the D300. That's unfair. They're really active in the used market (multi-brand) .

The result: my k5 is still in my bag and it will stay there for a long time. FF could wait for some sale on Adorama or other sources. I'm looking for a used SMC 14 mm f/2,8 in the meantime . While the k5 shines more, the D300 seems more crappy ( AF apart - it's tack sharp) .

[Unregistered User 8]

Unfortunately these days, 2nd hand equipment is taking valuable shelf space away from new gear being displayed. There is no money any more in used gear.

[shardulm]

There is no money any more in used gear

Unless you have the old and rare FA*s or the 200/f4 macro from Pentax.

---------- Post added 01-24-17 at 05:41 PM ----------

D300 is K-X equivalent in terms of IQ. So that is what you should be expecting honestly.

On additional thoughts I have decided to give my K-x to my kids at some point instead of letting them shoot with a Point and Shoot. There is more value in letting them use a true DSLR in early life than selling it for a scanty price is what I am thinking.

[FantasticMrFox]

[/COLOR]D300 is K-X equivalent in terms of IQ. So that is what you should be expecting honestly.

It's way above the K-x in most other domains though

[aslyfox]

I am very sorry that you had that experience.

I have no problem with the store not taking in used equipment

You should not have been given the bad info on the phone.

"I phoned them before going in the store, asking them if they could make the quotation and if they would accept any exchange." - OP

I would have calmly asked to speak to a supervisor/manager/owner and given them the facts that you had called ahead, asked about the possibility of a trade in, were not discouraged from coming in and had taken the time and effort to visit their store. All the person you talked to on the phone had to say was that they did not take any Pentax equipment as trade ins.

1 it would have given you the opportunity to vent which can be very helpful and if done politely and calmly should not be out of line.

2 it would have given them the opportunity to clean up their act or correct the error of the person who talked to you over the phone and prevent something that might cause you or others from coming to their store and buying something from them in the future.

3 If that happened to me, I would choose any viable option to avoid that store, IMHO, YMMV.

________________________________

I was asked once, due to my profession, was I a SOB since the questioner thought all those in that profession were SOBs. I said no I wasn't a SOB all the time, but that I could be a real mean SOB when I thought it was appropriate.

If I don't get good service I let them know it because they need to correct the problem, again just MHO YMMV otherwise they lose business and a business cannot afford to do that.

[bm75]

I'm not arguing about the quoting neither of the D300 or the K5 (no quoting ).
I'm just saying that a fair behaviour from a Pentax dealer would be to say honestly that the trade-off is impossible due to market conditions or any other possible cause. That would be acceptable. But saying , simply put; "We don't want Pentax used items" is something strange if you're a Pentax dealer and used gear reseller and so you are the reference for Pentax buyers in the place.
I brought the D300+sigma 70-200 hsm dg apo (both at a bargain price) for its AF and I must admit it's really good. That was the kind of AF I was looking for sports. No way of comparison with the k5+17-70/50-200, a different league. It's always silent, snappy and spot on. Nontheless I consider the k5 a much more useful and versatile camera, with visibly better IQ (at Low Iso and high Isos, better color rendition, more dyn. range). From here is my perplexity on how a brand dealer could consider its brand used items.

---------- Post added 01-25-17 at 12:50 AM ----------

I am very sorry that you had that experience. I have no problem with the store not taking in used equipment You should not have been given the bad info on the phone. "I phoned them before going in the store, asking them if they could make the quotation and if they would accept any exchange." - OP I would have calmly asked to speak to a supervisor/manager/owner and given them the facts that you had called ahead, asked about the possibility of a trade in, were not discouraged from coming in and had taken the time and effort to visit their store. All the person you talked to on the phone had to say was that they did not take any Pentax equipment as trade ins. 1 it would have given you the opportunity to vent which can be very helpful and if done politely and calmly should not be out of line. 2 it would have given them the opportunity to clean up their act or correct the error of the person who talked to you over the phone and prevent something that might cause you or others from coming to their store and buying something from them in the future. 3 If that happened to me, I would choose any viable option to avoid that store, IMHO, YMMV. ________________________________ I was asked once, due to my profession, was I a SOB since the questioner thought all those in that profession were SOBs. I said no I wasn't a SOB all the time, but that I could be a real mean SOB when I thought it was appropriate. If I don't get good service I let them know it because they need to correct the problem, again just MHO YMMV otherwise they lose business and a business cannot afford to do that.

Yes, my reaction was calm and polite. I didn't intended to make any kind of problem from the facts. And yes, they're free not to consider any trade in/off at all, I'm conscious of that. Facts are that the person on the phone was a female, while in the store the seller was a male, so for sure different individuals. I asked in explicit way for Pentax gear trading so yes, they tell me the wrong thing (bad attitude) because for sure, given the number (just 1 - that) of Pentax dealers in the place, some people have asked the same question before.
But the store is great and having now also a Nikon body I just had a look at their shelves finding some intersting item on sale (eventually a wideangle). Nontheless I didn't buy ANYTHING. Ah, and finally I was able to admire a real k1 ! Great camera and not that big (I supposed it bigger).
Thank you all, my friends.

[UncleVanya]

Tongue in cheek answer: Adam's Pentax Forums marketplace has eroded the markup that the dealer used to be able to put on used Pentax gear. The Pentax users are too savvy to buy at dealer mark up.

---------- Post added 01-24-17 at 06:57 PM ----------

Real answer: if 20 people walk in and of those all will know of Nikon and some will know what a D300 is. I'll bet only a few of those 20 will know Pentax and fewer will know anything about the k-5. So the opportunity for an impulse buy will be low. The occasional Pentax buyer may already have well established online options due to the scarcity of brick and mortar shops. Plus Pentax users may be more price conscious already with comparison shopping on the internet.

[E-man]

Yeah, it was pretty disrespectful of the dealer to say one thing on the phone and then contradict himself when you walk in the door. It seems like his real intent was to bait you into coming in the door in hopes of making a quick sale. Such behavior would be enough to make me avoid doing business with them in the future, especially if you're having to drive a considerable distance to get there. The one thing brick-and-mortar stores can offer--and sometimes use to justify somewhat higher prices than can be found online--is the personal relationship they can cultivate with their customers. If they blow that trust, then there's nothing they have to offer that can't be found online at a better price. If and when you decide to sell your camera, just list it on eBay and see what happens.

[aslyfox]

...

Yes, my reaction was calm and polite. I didn't intended to make any kind of problem from the facts. And yes, they're free not to consider any trade in/off at all, I'm conscious of that. Facts are that the person on the phone was a female, while in the store the seller was a male, so for sure different individuals. I asked in explicit way for Pentax gear trading so yes, they tell me the wrong thing (bad attitude) because for sure, given the number (just 1 - that) of Pentax dealers in the place, some people have asked the same question before.
But the store is great and having now a Nikon body I just had a look at their shelves finding some intersting item on sale (eventually a wideangle). Nontheless I didn't buy ANYTHING. Ah, and finally I was able to admire a real k1 ! Great camera and not that big (I supposed it bigger).
Thank you all, my friends.

Please don't misunderstand my comments, in no way do I think you did anything wrong. I gave you what my reaction would have been but then I wasn't there nor did I know all the facts. So my comments should be considered with those qualifications.

good luck in the future.

[bm75]

Please don't misunderstand my comments, in no way do I think you did anything wrong. I gave you what my reaction would have been but then I wasn't there nor did I know all the facts. So my comments should be considered with those qualifications.

I much appreciated your comment and there's nothing wrong with that, you're right. I liked it. I'm sorry if my language sounds rude or inappropriate, English is not my native language and I could make some mistakes in my spoken and written language. Thank you for your post.

[kev.pride]

Same in Australia, B&M stores in the main only stock what sells quick and what the mainstream asks for. A previous poster is correct Pentax buyers are now too savvy to pay the mark up that dealers put on s/h gear, they are in it to make a profit so in some ways we have shot ourselves in the foot. Only places to sell gear now is dedicated Facebook buy and sell sites, Ebay and Pentax Forum. All get closer to buyers and it is easy and quick if you are careful.