Tips for buying used lenses?

[fetching]

Does anyone have any tips for buying used lenses? What to look for, how to price them, etc?

thanks!

[ggibbs1971]

Check out www.fredmiranda.com or www.keh.com. FM has a very active buy/sell forum, do some research. You will find that some used lenses will sell for more than new. Compare new prices at B+H photo, rather than Ritz or Best Buy, against what you can buy used.

Above all do your research, you can save $$$$.

Geoff

[mikesd]

Spend some time here on the market place forum and at FM buy and sell forum to see what the average price of a peice of equipment is going for. You can also ask here what a certain peice's used value is and get some great advice. Be sure and check the seller to see if they have any positive feedback on that forum.It's always good to get the sellers phone number and give them a call to get a gut feeling about the person. If the seller does not have any feedback and a low post count on that forum that is the time to be very careful, on the other hand if the seller is well known with alot of respect and has done several transactions you can usually buy with alot of confidence. If the deal doesnt feel right it probably isn't, trust your instincts!

[fetching]

Spend some time here on the market place forum and at FM buy and sell forum to see what the average price of a peice of equipment is going for. You can also ask here what a certain peice's used value is and get some great advice. Be sure and check the seller to see if they have any positive feedback on that forum.It's always good to get the sellers phone number and give them a call to get a gut feeling about the person. If the seller does not have any feedback and a low post count on that forum that is the time to be very careful, on the other hand if the seller is well known with alot of respect and has done several transactions you can usually buy with alot of confidence. If the deal doesnt feel right it probably isn't, trust your instincts!


yeah, it's not on ebay, so there's no feedback to judge by, unfortunately.

[mikesd]

yeah, it's not on ebay, so there's no feedback to judge by, unfortunately.



Actually both POTN and FM forums have feedback threads that are stickys at the top of each marketplace section that you can do a search of someone's username and see if they have been a reliable buyer/seller.

[fetching]

Actually both POTN and FM forums have feedback threads that are stickys at the top of each marketplace section that you can do a search of someone's username and see if they have been a reliable buyer/seller.


it's not even being sold through there. but thanks for that info, i wasn't aware of that. :)

[ed2day]

My best tip is don't pay more for a used one than a new one. I'd say 70% of the used "L" lenses sold on ebay cost more than a new one. The exceptions are ignorant sellers who post "Buy it Now" sales and are gone within a couple hours. With the prices used equipment goes for I just don't understand the rationale to buy used.

[mikesd]

My best tip is don't pay more for a used one than a new one. I'd say 70% of the used "L" lenses sold on ebay cost more than a new one. The exceptions are ignorant sellers who post "Buy it Now" sales and are gone within a couple hours. With the prices used equipment goes for I just don't understand the rationale to buy used.


Great tip ed :D 70-80% of new value is a pretty good rule of thumb when buying from a reputable seller.

[condyk]

If you point the lens towards the floor and the barrel falls out don't buy it :-)

The only lens I've had a problem with I bought new :-(

One thing I advise is to ask for a 100% crop of what the seller considers to be their best photo taken with the lens ... or get them to send a whole image straight from the camera that has been taken with the lens. I normally only buy lenses with box, manual and any other original stuff like front and rear caps because they also sell best and it is an indication that the seller has taken care of their stuff. Always ask condition of the body and front and rear glass and for confirmation the lens functions perfectly in every way. Get it in e-mail or other verifiable form.

Ebay prices can be mad when bidders start going all out to win ... stick to a budget or you can spend much more than you wanted. Sometimes stuff goes for more than shopping around and buying new prices!! But some prices here and at FM are also a bit ... erm, rich! I have bought some great lenses here though and sold a few as well. Good stuff holds it's value.

Check out reviews at FM and you may find some good lenses that aren't recommended by forum members. Often the same old stuff is recommended not because people have used it but because others have recommended the lens in the past. Fair enough to a degree, but then you just end up with everyone buying the same old stuff ... there are good lenses around that people don't know about, like my Tokina 20-35mm f2.8 Pro which I bought for a great price. The Sigma, Tonkina and Tamron brands all produce some good lenses at a lot less money, often, than the Canon's.

It is not always true that 3rd party lenses have poor resale value either. If you buy second hand and then sell them later, you will lose little and may even make some money on a deal. Currently I have some very good stuff and, considering even reasonable average resale values of each item, my hobby 'assets' all together are currently worth £398 more than I have paid for them! I track everything I buy via a simple spreadsheet: lenses, CF cards, bags, hoods, Pods, batteries, whatever. This hobby doesn't have to expensive ... good second hand lenses are truly assets if you pay the right price for them.

[ron chappel]

I deal in secondhand photo gear so i've handled quite a few.
The biggest problems you'll find are fungus or just plain less-than-sharp examples.

Avoid fungus (and large amounts of dust) unless you can clean it out yourself-it's expensive paying someone to do it.

Things like cosmetic marks,a few dust specs or (tiny) chips in the glass effect resale value only not the optical qualities as such

Allthough lenses have electronics it's extremely rare to get an unreliable one.
Remember that older sigma lenses allmost certainly won't work on a late model canon body.Some can be rechipped,some not

[ron chappel]

I deal in secondhand photo gear so i've handled quite a few.
The biggest problems you'll find are fungus or just plain less-than-sharp examples.

Avoid fungus (and large amounts of dust) unless you can clean it out yourself-it's expensive paying someone to do it.

Things like cosmetic marks,a few dust specs or (tiny) chips in the glass effect resale value only not the optical qualities as such
Interestingly i've found that how a lens looks (within reason) has little effect on optical performance.I've seen many mint lenses that underperform for that given model,and less than nice looking lenses that are gems

Allthough lenses have electronics it's extremely rare to get an unreliable one.
Remember that older sigma lenses allmost certainly won't work on a late model canon body.Some can be rechipped,some not


In essence,buy with the option of being able to return it