GAS problem, letting go of gear

We're thinking about getting rid of some older gear. 7D, 5D2, an EFS lens and maybe a few accessories. I've never been very good at selling stuff. I find myself with a few questions. I don't have any experience or feedback. Do you think people would even consider dealing with me here in the for sale section? If so, should I make a separate post for each item? Should I sell the 7D and the EFS lens together? While I do look on CL occasionally I have never sold anything there. I wouldn't want to have someone I do not know come to my house. Would someone actually buy something like camera gear in a parking lot? I know ebay is always an options but for me its a last resort.

Advice is always appreciated.

Kind regards
Dennis

Dennis,
I think there are lots of people who would be glad to buy gear from you. Selling gear is really easy, fast, and convenient, whether you do it via this forum, another forum such as Fred Miranda, CraigsList, or eBay. You'll get the most $ from eBay (and also the least picky buyers), but there are listing fees, commissions, and PayPal fees that will eat into your net. But even after all of those fees are paid, you will still net more than you would anywhere else.
All it takes to sell stuff is a few minutes communicating online, then a trip to the post office. Really easy and there's nothing to worry about. Really.

1361 wrote in post #17230326
Would someone actually buy something like camera gear in a parking lot?

I sold a $5000 lens in a parking lot. It was a 400 f2.8. I've also bought many thousands of dollars worth of art and various collectibles in parking lots over the years. Never had any problems.

I'll be in Napa in 3 weeks, if you want to hold onto the 5D II. I am looking for a used one to convert to Full-Spectrum.

1361 wrote in post #17230326
We're thinking about getting rid of some older gear. 7D, 5D2, an EFS lens and maybe a few accessories. I've never been very good at selling stuff. I find myself with a few questions. I don't have any experience or feedback. Do you think people would even consider dealing with me here in the for sale section? If so, should I make a separate post for each item? Should I sell the 7D and the EFS lens together? While I do look on CL occasionally I have never sold anything there. I wouldn't want to have someone I do not know come to my house. Would someone actually buy something like camera gear in a parking lot? I know ebay is always an options but for me its a last resort.

Advice is always appreciated.

Kind regards
Dennis

I've been successful selling both via POTN and via Craig's List (locally only). I've posted for single items, putting photos up.

i've had great success here and Fred Miranda. no luck on CL.

1361 wrote in post #17230326
We're thinking about getting rid of some older gear. 7D, 5D2, an EFS lens and maybe a few accessories. I've never been very good at selling stuff. I find myself with a few questions. I don't have any experience or feedback. Do you think people would even consider dealing with me here in the for sale section? If so, should I make a separate post for each item? Should I sell the 7D and the EFS lens together? While I do look on CL occasionally I have never sold anything there. I wouldn't want to have someone I do not know come to my house. Would someone actually buy something like camera gear in a parking lot? I know ebay is always an options but for me its a last resort.

Advice is always appreciated.

Kind regards
Dennis

I buy almost all of my gear from members of this forum through the classifieds so I feel I'm quite qualified to speak on this topic.

Yes, I would consider buying from you. I looked over your post history and there is nothing in there to suggest you're a jack hole or would be trying to get over on anyone.

Selling advice:

Include pictures. This is a photography forum. To post an ad for something for sale without photos of it always always always is a red flag for me.

Price it realistically. If you're selling a 7d, search for "7d" in the Classifieds: For Sale thread and see what they've been going for, evaluate the condition of yours, and price accordingly.

Follow the recommended template for listing something, and then even add more info. Tell the story of the item. Give all the information you can. This is not the time to say "7d for sale $650 I can email you phone pics if interested." I read that, I go on to the next. I want details. How long have you had this item? What did you use it for? Are you the original owner? What's its name? Any imperfections with it?

Sell the camera and the lens separately. If you try to sell them together, the very first response will be someone asking if you'd consider selling the blahblah separately. Perhaps note that you also have a yadayada for sale and there will be a discount for buying both the blahblah and the yadayada, but do offer them separately.

Don't make me do math. I probably won't. Just tell me how much it will cost. I'm not gonna add 3% for paypal. If it's a different price for paypal or for bank transfer or for barter, fine -- but tell me what the price is, don't make me figure it out. And include shipping in the price.

And unless "PM" is one of the contact methods, I'm not contacting you. If you're not on the forum often enough to check your messages regularly I don't want to deal with you.

When you make the sale and get ready to ship it, pack that thing up as if the shippers are trying to break it. And get it shipped the day of the sale, or the following day at the latest.

And then leave feedback. It takes about a minute and it's the nice thing to do.

Go to coffee shop to meet buyer, parking lot deals = trouble.
Try it all for same items, CL, here, e-bay.

5D2 is "older gear", wow.

Craigslist + patience have been good to me.

Being in/ near a major city helps.

I've had good success selling a few items of equipment on Ebay. As noted above, there are fees, but they're not that bad. The hardest part is figuring how much to charge for shipping. I wouldn't sell there, however, without having a PayPal account and requiring payment through that. However you decide to sell, posting good, clear photos of the equipment showing condition, etc., always helps generate interest.

I think we'll give ebay a shot. My wife has been using it on and off for quite a while now. This would be the first time using it for such valuable items. That said, I think I may list them here first. Simply because I'd like to offer something back to the community for the wealth of information I've gained from everyone here. I know I'll need to take lots of pictures. Does anyone have any tips on taking close ups of gear?

1361 wrote in post #17232537
I think we'll give ebay a shot. My wife has been using it on and off for quite a while now. This would be the first time using it for such valuable items. That said, I think I may list them here first. Simply because I'd like to offer something back to the community for the wealth of information I've gained from everyone here. I know I'll need to take lots of pictures. Does anyone have any tips on taking close ups of gear?

Depending on the lighting, dust will really show up in closeup shots, so wipe everything off with a clean cloth or something that will get the dust, fingerprints, etc., off. Take a number of shots to show what's relevant - for example, for a lens, I'd take shots of both ends to show the glass condition, maybe try to get a light to shoot through it to show if it's clean inside, and an overall shot of the lens for general condition. As a buyer, the more I can tell about the condition of the item the more confident I am in buying.

I'd recommend avoiding eBay since your items are fairly well sought after.
You'll lost quite a bit after eBay and PayPal fees. We're talking hundreds of dollars lost in fees here.
Amazon seller fees are a bit lower but then you have to deal with potential returns.

Forum classifieds like POTN are ideal, since you only have to deal with Paypal fees. But then, you still have to deal with shipping and the potential of lost packages. Paypal tends to err on the buyer's side in any dispute.

Craigslist coffee shop deals are where it's at. No fees, just cash. You might even make some new friends, I have! Just make sure to meet them at the coffee shop table and not in the parking lot, if you're concerned about safety.

That being said though, Craigslist doesn't work for items that aren't very popular or sought after. For those things, I will go on forums or eBay. Sometimes I use Amazon seller just because it's so convenient.