[pimpim]

Hi all, I have my notifications for some Pentax cameras and it seems that the prices on the used camera resellers are going up again.

used with warranty I see e.g. K70 for 550 euro, KP for 790 euro, reminds me of the peak of the supply chain crisis in 2021

Is this a general trend, some delayed reaction to inflation maybe?

[gatorguy]

My guess is a surprising demand for quality, cared-for DSLR's, thus prices rising.

Some buyer segment is just not going to enjoy using MILC's, while still another percentage is discovering there's more value in a very good and gently-used mid-range to former flagship DSLR over a budget model mirrorless. Our Pentax cameras will hold their value far better than some folks will have expected. That goes for those well-reviewed mirrorbox Nikon's and Canon's from the last five years too. I'd wager a lot of new-to-the-hobby photographers aren't willing to spend $3K and up for the latest model mirrorless and two lenses, but at the same time not willing to compromise on the images or the glass. Buying highly-regarded DSLR gear makes sense and if you take good care of what you have you may find it's more attractive to other photographers than you realize. Abused stuff not so much with almost good as new not hard to find.

Heck I just got paid a tad bit more selling my Nikon 500 and a couple of lenses to a dealer for resale than I paid to a private seller for the kit last year. Good cameras will remain desirable, and that 6-year old D500 will still outperform many of the current MILC's. The camera market is in constant flux, and suspect the market from new late-model cameras is still sliding downward. I was seeing some ridiculously low prices for really good used cameras and glass a few months ago, and yeah took advantage of what looked like fire sales to better my own collection. You're right, those deals look like they're starting to dry up.

[Fogel70]

It is not the prices I have seen in Sweden lately.
I recently bought a used K1 for EUR 730 from a retailer with 6 month warranty. And I have seen them selling used KP for EUR 450 including battery grip.

[Settesz]

Those are really good prices, used KP goes for around 700-800€ body only in Central Europe.
Does this retailer have an online store?

It is not the prices I have seen in Sweden lately.
I recently bought a used K1 for EUR 730 from a retailer with 6 month warranty. And I have seen them selling used KP for EUR 450 including battery grip.

[Fogel70]

Those are really good prices, used KP goes for around 700-800€ body only in Central Europe.
Does this retailer have an online store?

It is Cyberphoto, probably the biggest Swedish online camera retailer. But they do not have any used Pentax cameras available right now. But they sold another K1 for €730 last week. Used KP are not showing up very often.
But I do not think they deliver outside Sweden.
Begagnad kamera, systemkamera | CyberPhoto (prices in SEK)

[Settesz]

Thanks, I'll check it out for sure!

It is Cyberphoto, probably the biggest Swedish online camera retailer. But they do not have any used Pentax cameras available right now. But they sold another K1 for €730 last week. Used KP are not showing up very often.
But I do not think they deliver outside Sweden.
Begagnad kamera, systemkamera | CyberPhoto (prices in SEK)

[pimpim]

It is not the prices I have seen in Sweden lately.
I recently bought a used K1 for EUR 730 from a retailer with 6 month warranty. And I have seen them selling used KP for EUR 450 including battery grip.

oh wow I was lucky to get a KP with 18-50 smc for that price, but taking a gamble on the classified ads, without any warranty or return option.

The grip is quite rare and goes for 100 EUR easily, that would make the KP about EUR 350 !!!

---------- Post added 05-04-23 at 08:05 ----------

My guess is a surprising demand for quality, cared-for DSLR's, thus prices rising.

Some buyer segment is just not going to enjoy using MILC's, while still another percentage is discovering there's more value in a very good and gently-used mid-range to former flagship DSLR over a budget model mirrorless. Our Pentax cameras will hold their value far better than some folks will have expected. That goes for those well-reviewed mirrorbox Nikon's and Canon's from the last five years too. I'd wager a lot of new-to-the-hobby photographers aren't willing to spend $3K and up for the latest model mirrorless and two lenses, but at the same time not willing to compromise on the images or the glass..

Agree, used or entry-level mirrorless gear really has a lot against them if you compare with the newest generation (e.g. contrast-detect, no weather protection, crappy EVFs).
So for MILC it's either cheap and bad (I've been there), or good and very, very expensive.
Every new lens seems to be made for corner-to-corner sharpness at 60MP, but it shows in the price.
For the bodies the high end seems to level out, but the cheap low end options are almost all gone - which could also be a reason people look back to older generations gear.

All in all, kitting out a decent FF MILC kit almost immediately sets you back the value of a nice used car.
I am watchin the youtube videos to keep up with tech and it pulls you into a rat race to more and more convenient gear, at crazy prices.

For the same amount you could get a used pro DSLR with pro glass from a few generations back, and it's not like professionals were making absolutely crappy images with that gear in 2013-2017. You win in tried and tested handling and I guess sturdiness
I am as always pondering to do some more video, maybe should start looking at the Canon generation DSLRs that had phase detect in video mode, these were the real hybrid cameras

[Wasp]

My take on it is that by discontinuing the KP, Ricoh created a small but thriving used market for it. They did the same by re-imagining the K70 as the KF while hiking the price.

As for me, there is very little supply and demand for used Pentax gear in South Africa. After years of looking for a K3, I finally got lucky about a month ago. Mint K3 body (1770 shutter count) and 35/2.4 lens for less than USD500.