I'm trying to sell a camera, lens, case, etc and I'm not having much luck with it. I've tried ebay (wasted more money then necessary with people trying to scam me) and craigslist (started with scammers at first, now I'm not getting any bites at all). I have it posted here (TWW) in classifieds as well. There is a community college in my area, but I'm not too confident it will result in a sale. If I was near a major university I would be a little more optimistic. Aside from spending money to post in the paper, do you have any other suggestions that tend to me more successful than not with selling higher priced items?

10/25/2010 12:22:18 PM

My first assumption would be that maybe your camera set is not worth as much as you think you should get for it.

10/25/2010 12:23:12 PM

Well, everything is in near-new condition and I'm hyper anal about taking care of my equipment, hence the higher price. However I'm totally open to negotiating and/or a partial trade. It just seems that I'm not reaching parties that care enough to talk about it.

10/25/2010 12:34:58 PM

i second ^^

also, have you tried amazon?

10/25/2010 12:49:39 PM

I had more people point me toward ebay, so I went with them since I didn't know much about either site to begin with. So no, I've not tried amazon yet.

10/25/2010 12:51:34 PM

did you purchase the camera 2nd hand?

would you think any other hyper anal person would be looking to purchase a camera such as this 2nd hand?

my guess is that - as mentioned earlier - your camera is not worth as much as you think it is for the simple reason that your target audience is not likely to purchase this item 2nd hand. Those that are - are primarly looking for a deal - not a slight mark down from retail.

your best bet might be to try finding an internet forum specific to photography - and hope they have a regional classifieds section.

10/25/2010 12:51:56 PM

nah I didn't, there again b/c I'm super anal about what I'm buying. I know some people aren't quite as crazy as me though

I'm mostly hoping a young family will take advantage of it as a christmas gift or something for themselves. It'd be perfect for that. Or for anyone just starting out but looking for a camera that they can grow into as well.

10/25/2010 1:02:11 PM

"worth" is determined by the buyer, not the seller, no matter how much you wish that weren't true

if it ain't selling, it's not worth what you think it is

10/25/2010 1:18:14 PM

Quote :

"Note: NO battery is included...you can find them on ebay for like 10 bucks though."

this might be part of the problem. it'd take a good deal for me to buy something w/o a battery, even if it's cheap to buy another one. unless it's a friend/family member, a buyer isn't going to just take your word for it if it works or not. they need to be able to at least turn it on.

10/25/2010 1:23:17 PM

hah, i saw this on CL when i was looking for an 18-200mm lens

Quote :

"Hey everyone! I am selling a Nikon D80 camera with a Nikkor 18-200 VRI lens. I am including a Hoya UV filter, Tamrac camera case, (3) 2GB Sandisk Extreme III SD memory cards, and a cable shutter release. The camera has 14-15k shutter actuations and was used for approximately 1 year. It is in excellent condition, as is the lens. Please note that I am not including the battery because I am keeping it to use as a backup with my new upgraded camera. I WILL bring a battery however when we meet so that you can test drive the camera. Priced new, these items are approximately $1700. I am looking for $1300 however serious inquiries will be considered and I encourage you to contact me with any questions. Face-to-face transactions, and cash only. I will also consider a partial trade for a well cared for shotgun. Thanks for your interest Additional pictures upon request."

i'm sorry, but i can't help but laugh at posters like you...when you say something along the lines of "priced new" on something that was new FOUR YEARS AGO, "priced new" is completely irrelevant

i got a D90 with extras (a 70-100mm nikon lens, 3 batteries, some UV and CPL filters, a crappy case, etc) with less than 2k actuations for $600 on CL...it took me all of a week to find a deal

there were several 18-200mm lenses on CL, when i was looking, for $450-500 (though to your credit, there were some dumbasses that thought they could get $600 for them) and i nabbed mine for $300 (talked down from their asking of $350)

so for $400 less, i got a newer, better, less-used camera body, the same lens, 3 batteries, a crappy case (which is probably better than the one in your posting), and bunch of other little things that only sweeten the deal (even if i never would have assigned monetary value to them)

i'll admit that the deals i found were pretty good and rarer than most...but here's someone who wants $1300 for a D90 with an 18-200mm lens and he's overpriced (IMO): http://raleigh.craigslist.org/pho/1955154073.html

here's a D80 with the 18-105mm lens (and another one of little value) for $650: http://raleigh.craigslist.org/pho/2019030908.html

your stuff simply isn't worth ANYTHING near what you want for it...that's your problem...unless you find a sucker (and they do exist, i admit), you're stuck with your old (and getting older by the minute considering the d7000 is now out) gear until you come to your senses and sell it for something a bit more reasonable

[Edited on October 25, 2010 at 1:55 PM. Reason : you'll get more selling them separately, IMO, but together expect ~$900]

10/25/2010 1:53:44 PM

I would never buy a camera that didn't come with the battery. If the battery is so cheap, why don't you buy a backup battery yourself and sell the camera with its original battery?

10/25/2010 2:12:07 PM

You are asking too much. Drop the price under a grand and you should be able to sell it

10/25/2010 2:16:39 PM

I'm just ear to echo the sentiments of others. D80 + 18-200, not close to your asking price.

10/25/2010 2:42:28 PM

bout tree fiddy

10/25/2010 3:06:17 PM

have you tried listing it on:

fredmiranda.com?

good place to sell.

10/25/2010 4:49:44 PM

I'm not going to sell someone a camera without letting them handle and try it first. I'd never purchase one like that myself, and I would never expect to let someone either. I'm not going to put money into something, cheap or not, if I'm not going to use it. I've never gone through more than 2 batteries in a day, and thats after taking pictures for 10 hours straight. I just don't need an extra battery.

And a 4 year old camera is simply a 4 year old camera. It was only used for one year and well cared for. If someone wants to purchase a "new" camera, then I'm not going to stop them. I'm simply looking for someone who doesn't.

The camera bag is worth at least 50 bucks.

I'm not going to start at a ridiculously low price when people are just going to try to negotiate it down further.

I'm simply looking for other methods of posting a listing.

10/25/2010 5:29:51 PM

I guess the point they are trying to make is that, you don't want to come in too high either because there are enough options out there that people won't bother negotiating with you if they can go somewhere else/buy something else.

I do hope you sell it for close to what you are looking for, however the truth is that people are cheap, and used equipment is only worth what interested parties (ie, cheap, interested parties) are willing to pay for it. As long as there are alternatives out there cheaper (even if you think the prices are much lower than their value), they will continue skipping over your listing.

It's kind of like selling houses. You can list this item for as much as you think it is worth. But, if you have had it listed multiple places and for a combined decent amount of time, then there is a good chance that price is the thing holding you back, whether you want to admit it or not.

Also, if the battery is so cheap, I agree with the other posters that it is in your best interest to go ahead and supply that. As silly as it may seem, unless someone is getting a monetary markdown for a missing item, they would rather buy something that is ready to use immediately. Even the smallest thing can turn people off from being more interested in your item.

[Edited on October 25, 2010 at 5:44 PM. Reason : .]

10/25/2010 5:36:01 PM

I appreciate your thoughts

10/25/2010 5:43:35 PM

start knocking $10-$25 off the price every week or so until you start getting some bites. then you'll know how much its worth. you can decide if its worth more to you than what people are willing to pay for it and keep it or go ahead and get rid of it.

i don't blame you for not wanting to start off too low, as a seller its a lot easier to lower the price than raise it.

[Edited on October 25, 2010 at 5:58 PM. Reason : .]

10/25/2010 5:58:05 PM

Quote :

"The camera bag is worth at least 50 bucks."

in your opinion, sure...in reality, it's worth $20, tops (and good luck finding someone who gives you more than $10)

i picked up a brand new lowepro primus AW (still in plastic with the tags) for $60...i really DO feel bad for you that you can't sell your camera, but i feel worse for you that you don't realize WHY you can't sell it

but yeah, i agree with the suggestion of knocking some money off every week until you get the point a 3 or 4 hundred dollars later when people start to show interest...if you can't bring yourself to do that, you had better plan on keeping that camera until point-and-shoot units kick its butt because you will NOT get your asking price, end of story

[Edited on October 25, 2010 at 8:32 PM. Reason : .]

10/25/2010 8:30:44 PM

Put it on ebay for a starting price of $.99 and no reserve. It will sell to real person who will pay you and you will be done with the whole deal in a week.

I've been actively selling on ebay for 11 years. In that time I have had TWO people try to scam me on a listing. Both times, it took me less than 5 minutes to send a second chance offer and sell to the next highest bidder.

If you are getting scammers on ebay it's because you are setting an insanely high price that no one is ever going to legitimately pay (which is the same problem you are seeing on craigslist).

Suck it up, your camera has depreciated in value. It's worth marginally more because you took care of it, but the lenses are the only bits worth anything near what you paid for them.

10/25/2010 9:02:22 PM

Quote :

" I just don't need an extra battery."

Quote :

" Please note that I am not including the battery because I am keeping it to use as a backup with my new upgraded camera. "

Does not compute.

10/26/2010 11:34:57 AM

D80 + 18-55mm lens, lowepro case, battery/charger, UV filter for $500: http://raleigh.craigslist.org/pho/1987799902.html

10/26/2010 11:46:27 AM

I dont need a 3rd battery. You missed the part where I said I've never needed more than 2 batteries...

10/26/2010 5:50:16 PM

How strange... I've never needed less than ONE battery! That's why I don't buy shit that's missing a battery, especially something like a camera that takes a special battery that I can't get at the corner store or walmart. Include the battery and realize that nobody is going to buy a fairly well used camera for basically the same price as a brand new one that is 2 generations newer. Seriously, would you buy a 2007 Accord for the same price as a 2010-2011 just because the previous owner took care of it and stuck a new stereo in it? Oh yeah, its missing tires too but you can get some for like $200.

10/26/2010 10:53:16 PM

The problem with saying "I took excellent care of it so I'm going to charge a little bit more" is that everyone says they took excellent care of something when they're trying to sell it. I'm sure you took great care of it but the people buying it from you online don't know you from the next guy and aren't going to pay a premium because you say you took excellent care of the camera.

10/26/2010 11:07:37 PM

Lower the price.

10/27/2010 12:43:00 AM

Price is too damn high

10/27/2010 1:00:11 AM

Price is too damn high

10/27/2010 1:02:19 AM

i think i posted in your classifieds ad already - if the price is fair then post it on http://fredmiranda.com

did you try that already? a quick look at the buy/sell forum will show you that it sees more activity than chit chat

10/27/2010 2:38:57 AM

Without reading the other replies, my answer is Photography Message Boards. There are a lot of them. I don't know any off the top of my head, but will post some later this week. Other users in the DSLR thread might have some links.

10/27/2010 4:06:17 AM

quagmire is spot on in this thread

Quote :

"i'm sorry, but i can't help but laugh at posters like you...when you say something along the lines of "priced new" on something that was new FOUR YEARS AGO, "priced new" is completely irrelevant"

I usually remind people I paid $2k for a 100mhz Packard Bell in the day, and ask if they will give me 1500 for it.

10/27/2010 6:54:08 AM

But guys, he treated it like new.

10/27/2010 7:40:54 AM

Quote :

"How strange... I've never needed less than ONE battery!"

Exactly. Not sure why this is difficult for JSnail to grasp

10/27/2010 8:59:59 AM

You could always let it sit in your closet for three more years and see what it's worth.

10/27/2010 1:00:30 PM

^ at this rate, that's exactly what she's going to end up doing

and then try to sell it for $1300 then

10/27/2010 3:47:34 PM

ITT:

1) Ask for advice on selling item
2) Get helpful advice
3) Ignore advice and rationalize previously unsuccessful sales techniques
...
4) Profit?

10/27/2010 4:11:02 PM

Fail

10/27/2010 5:16:50 PM

I enjoyed this thread very much.

10/28/2010 10:39:58 AM