Goodbye Everyone

lewm, others

I encourage you to re-consider eBay. It’s the largest audience of international buyers and sellers.

I buy and sell on eBay very successfully for many years, as has Donna and her twin sister. I gotta get back to selling after my upcoming back surgery.

Cameras and Lenses: I have bought and sold a few used on eBay. I don’t have any experience with other camera sites, except buying from B&H Photo used dept.

Audio: eBay: bought tube amp, tube preamp, cd/sacd player; yamaha receiver; 2 pairs of AR-2ax speakers, Luxman Tube Amp; Chase Remote Line Controller(s); tube tester; AV Power Controller; 2 Turntables; several R2R tape decks; over 500 R2R tapes

Sold lots of tapes, lps, McIntosh SS amp; McIntosh SS Preamp; Carver AM/FM; Carver Amp; helped a friend sell postal stamps to buyers all over the world.

Buying: I always ask questions and get answers in writing, to have a ‘paper trail’ in case of rare trouble. I’ve had a few over the years, and always got full refunds.

Also, I use my credit card with best protection to fund my PayPal account, to get double protection. The tonearm from Russia, I called the CC company 1^st, they assured me I would be covered.

Ship: I always double box and require it: because single box does not qualify for insurance claim if needed. Forget friends and family, pay or split the fee and get the buyer’s protection.

Sell: I have carefully thought out ‘general’ notes, then I add ‘specific’ notes, darn good photos, and encourage questions. I take the time to understand both domestic and int’l shipping costs, weigh stuff, IOW, no surprises to me or buyer regarding shipping cost. Sometimes list the weight and box size, let the buyer figure it out.

UPS Pack and Ship: I have both offered it, and used it. Buyer makes arrangements, seller simply drops unboxed item at local UPS office, buyer pays UPS directly to pack and ship.

I always offer unconditional return/refund. I’ve had only 1 piece of equipment arrived destroyed (my fault that time), 1 tape destroyed by usps, 2 other R2R tapes when I gave full refund even though ….

Feedback supports my 100% rating, if done right it can be fun and rewarding.

I’ve used Facebook Marketplace, to sell tires, buy used bicycles, but that’s all ‘quick, real bargain’ deals, not a good source for selling in my experience.

Hifishark has led me to many other sites, all successfully. I’ve got an account setup to bid on Yahoo Auctions, have the patience to wait for stuff from China, Japan, …..

Professionally, designing and building Corporate Office Space for 46 yeasrs: part of my success was in anticipating what could go wrong, and finding methods of preventing that. Got me ready for eBay!

Here is why I don’t like eBay for selling:

I sell, either audio or camera gear, very infrequently, but I certainly do have experience with eBay. I just bought something on eBay, and I noted that I have 140 feedback entries, all positive, but that is over a period of more than 20 years, probably much longer, and in the vast majority of those transactions, I was the buyer. For the person who is running a business, eBay is probably a godsend. For the hobbyist like me, as a seller, eBay is a pain in the arse. First, they decide on the shipping cost, even when I can almost always ship at a lower cost than they estimate. Then they crank in the cost of shipping when they calculate their own percentage of the total transaction dollars, which artificially inflates their premium. Why should they take a percentage of the shipping cost? Second, I have a problem with returns, if I am selling to a total stranger. I have had the experience of a buyer breaking the item and then sending it back to me for refund, BECAUSE of the damage. The damage in such instances is definitely not due to mishandling by the shipper or poor packing. This has happened more than once. Third, the questions they ask of sellers, when you are filling in their pre-sale questionnaire, are not relevant to the single-time user, yet you cannot get past the questions unless you respond to them all, no matter how nonsensical.

So, I am still hoping that someone can suggest an alternative market for photography goods on the internet. B&H and Adorama, etc, are great businesses, and I probably would buy from them, but I am just guessing that they don’t pay too well for used gear, compared to what one might receive in a person to person transaction.

I’ve donated several cameras to a local high school that has a photography course, rather than selling them on eBay. That’s how I feel about eBay, as a seller.

lewm

It’s not for you, just to let others know:

I have to do new calculations, but I think I was planning on total fees (eBay and PayPal) being 15%, even 20% is not bad considering the world of buyers who see your item. Just add it in the price, or keep your price lower and look at it as a commission you pay any agent selling for you. I charged lower prices on the sites with lower fees.

Fee on shipping is annoying, however, sellers had figured out how to charge low prices for the item and high prices for the shipping, thus artificially reducing selling fees, SOOOO they put an end to that.

It’s been a while, I forget how shipping costs worked out, R2R tapes and LP’s, media mail, often I would buy the shipping label from eBay because there is no way to mess up the verified shipping address. Other times, I might ship for less and give a credit to the buyer, that keeps them happy and reduces the fee charged by the amount of the credit. Or, I enter box size and weight, and that’s the cost.

Prepaid shipping labels, via eBay or via my Stamps.com account (free) lets you simply put a pile of packages on the usps counter and walk away, no waiting in lines.

I've always sold camera gear via ads on photo forums, or in the case of my serial Leica infatuations, back to the dealer just for convenience. Audio stuff I have given away, probably stupidly.

a simple search

'best place to sell used camera equipment near me'

https://www.google.com/search?q=best+place+to+sell+used+camera+equipment+near+me&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS1042US1042&sxsrf=APwXEdfF7u1-Ak9bQpwnAF5wVkvGWEYFag%3A1683055216912&ei=cGJRZJaUN6qo5NoP9KS0kAo&oq=sell+cameras&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQARgDMgQIABBHMgQIABBHMgQIABBHMgQIABBHMgQIABBHMgQIABBHMgQIABBHMgQIABBHSgQIQRgAUABYAGDYMmgAcAJ4AIABAIgBAJIBAJgBAMgBCMABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#ip=1