Classified: For Sale (slow down)

Does anyone else seem to think that the Classified: For Sale posts are not selling like they have in years past? Maybe it is just me, but several years ago it seemed like anything that was even remotely fairly priced sold fairly quickly.

Could it be that people just want new or something else. I am not looking to start any wars or anything, I am just wondering.

Oh, I've noticed it, too. I think it has a much to do with pricing as anything else. I've posted and sold in the last 3 months:

50 1.4 with bad AF
Tokina 11-20
10-18 STM
70D / 18-55 STM / 270 EX II kit
1D
1D II
BG-14
BG-13
SX260HS
Tamron 24-70 VC

I price aggressively, but do not give stuff away. I don't see the point of trying to squeeze the last 5% of value out of something I want to move. I just sold a 70D (for what I asked for it) in less the 48 hours while 5 other 70Ds are still on the 'for sale' forum. Price matters.

Some folks just don't pay attention to the market, either. 5Dc bodies are not selling for $600. 100-400L will never sell at $900. If I can get it on E-Bay, from a reputable seller, for $600, I ain't paying $800 for it on POTN.

Lots of folks price higher than Canon refurb. Why bother listing it? Not many folks will pay more for gear without a warranty than for gear with a warranty.

I always include PP fees and USPS Insured shipping in the price. Just makes things easier. The only thing to discuss is price.

It's slowed down a lot, I just usually sell stuff on ebay. Even pricing it up to 50% more it will still sell on there.

I think ever since mirrorless blew up, the demand on Canon or DSLR related gear have fluctuated. You have to understand most people in this board are amateurs/hobbyists so the value isn't there anymore for DSLR's.


Years ago, a 6 month old USA copy of Canon 50L for $925 with shipping and fees included wouldn't even last a day. Nowadays, it takes days, weeks to even sell it. Same with some of Canon's most popular lenses (35L, 135L, 85L, 70-200 II)... I think the 5D Mark III and 6D at a reasonable price are the only remaining hot seller for the used Canon market.

Rittrato wrote in post #17983946
I think ever since mirrorless blew up, the demand on Canon or DSLR related gear have fluctuated. You have to understand most people in this board are amateurs/hobbyists so the value isn't there anymore for DSLR's.


Years ago, a 6 month old USA copy of Canon 50L for $925 with shipping and fees included wouldn't even last a day. Nowadays, it takes days, weeks to even sell it. Same with some of Canon's most popular lenses (35L, 135L, 85L, 70-200 II)... I think the 5D Mark III and 6D at a reasonable price are the only remaining hot seller for the used Canon market.

Six years ago Sigma and Tamron weren't making lenses to compete with those listed. That has to figure into it.

.

I agree with you; I think it is the high asking prices that keep things from selling here on our classified boards.
Then the "price drops" that are minuscule - I mean, if something didn't sell in a week at $900, does anyone seriously think that knocking $25 off the price is going to suddenly make anyone want to buy it?

It does seem that overall our boards' asking prices are noticeably higher than FM, and there is really no justification for it; perhaps astute buyers have figured that out.

When I try to sell something here I look at what the going rate for that item is and then ask about $50 or $75 less than that. Why? Because I actually want to sell it, not just have it sit in the classifieds indefinitely. If there are already three 100-400 v1 lenses here, all for about $800, and I had one to sell, then why would I ever list it for the same $800 asking price? That would be asinine. Obviously there is more supply than demand at the $800 price point, so I'd be a fool to think that mine would sell quickly for $800 while three others have sat at that amount unsold for weeks.

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A follow-up to Tom Reichner's post, above. When I list something relatively new, I first check Canon refurbished. If it is available there (not everything is), I undercut that price by 10-15%. People buy used to save money, DUH! My next step is to search that item on the FS boards here. For example, I saw 5 active, open listings for 70Ds. I believe the lowest price was $750, body only. High? Maybe $850. Canon sells it refurbished for $699. I added a lens (18-55 STM to sweeten the deal, and listed it $50 below the cheapest active listing. After two days with no action (I still hadn't posted photos yet), I added a 270EX II unit to the listing. In less than an hour, I got a full-price offer for the package. The entire point of listing an item is to sell it. The stuff I list sells.

If I am selling something that is NOT available refurbished, I check E-Bay "SOLD" listings, average the last 10 sales, and undercut that by 10%. The internet allows me to advertise to the entire country. The price I pay for that is S&H, and PP fees. That is just part of doing business. If you want to sell something, price it like you want to sell it. If you want top dollar for your used stuff, be ready to sit on it for awhile.

Perhaps sales are slowing down, here. I'm not seeing it. Everything I list sells. Price it right. They will come.

People are more careful about spending money, recession and lost jobs matter. Also, in last couple of years camera bodies have been so good there is no pressing need to upgrade all the time.

You can do of course some detective work on the differences between "DONE DEAL" and not done, why some are sold and others not. A few pages into it the majority is sold https://photography-on-the.net …display.php?f=1​71&page=11

When the price is right, it will sell.

Pekka wrote in post #17984120
People are more careful about spending money, recession and lost jobs matter. Also, in last couple of years camera bodies have been so good there is no pressing need to upgrade all the time.

You can do of course some detective work on the differences between "DONE DEAL" and not done, why some are sold and others not. A few pages into it the majority is sold https://photography-on-the.net …display.php?f=1​71&page=11

When the price is right, it will sell.

Also significant! But not totally true, either. The 1D3 I just bought is a better camera (to me) than the 70D is just sold.

Actually it seems to me like the entire forum has slowed down since about the time new forum software came out. I'm not suggesting causation there because the new software has been pretty great, it just seems to be the timing.

Pekka wrote in post #17984120
People are more careful about spending money, recession and lost jobs matter. Also, in last couple of years camera bodies have been so good there is no pressing need to upgrade all the time.

You can do of course some detective work on the differences between "DONE DEAL" and not done, why some are sold and others not. A few pages into it the majority is sold https://photography-on-the.net …display.php?f=1​71&page=11

When the price is right, it will sell.

Revisiting just the highlighted statement.

Three weeks into owning my 'new' 1DIII, I have to completely agree with this statement. I bought the 1DIII as an action/AI-Servo camera. It has a few antiquated features: no focus in LV, no video, crappy rear screen, only 10MP (crop-ability), no Auto-ISO. But, I only paid $600 for it. So far, it runs circles around my previous 7D and 70D wrt AF and AI-Servo performance, and the programm-ability/customization is still better than all but the 1D(4, X, XII), 5D3, and 7D2. This 8 year old body still outperforms any Canon XXXD or XXD body available, for less money.

I've noticed the forum seems to have less traffic than it used to. Not sure if that has any truth to it at all since I don't see the traffic numbers, but the posts in some areas are few and far between.

When I started, everyone and their mom had to get the 70-200II, then the 24-70II came out and that was nuts too. (and the 5D3 then which seemed revolutionary compared to previous models) Now new releases are just ho-hum and what seems like minor improvements over old stuff, so people don't feel the need to upgrade.

Personally I'm glad as I'm hoping to buy a used 1Dx fairly soon. Less buyers mean better prices. Canon refurb is still $4k, but used is closer to $3k.

FEChariot wrote in post #18007571
Actually it seems to me like the entire forum has slowed down since about the time new forum software came out. I'm not suggesting causation there because the new software has been pretty great, it just seems to be the timing.

+1, the gear forums seem to slow down a LOT. It can go many hours without a post, which doesnt seem right, it's as if theres the same amount of people but less engagement. I pretty much stick with the sony thread, which seems to have a good amount of traffic for a single thread.

Charlie wrote in post #18011113
+1, the gear forums seem to slow down a LOT. It can go many hours without a post, which doesnt seem right, it's as if theres the same amount of people but less engagement. I pretty much stick with the sony thread, which seems to have a good amount of traffic for a single thread.

The EOS body and EF lens sections are the 2nd and 3rd largest by number of posts. It used to be that a single day's worth would take well into the second page in both sections. Now the camera section goes back 2 days and the lens section goes back 6 days.

FEChariot wrote in post #18011398
The EOS body and EF lens sections are the 2nd and 3rd largest by number of posts. It used to be that a single day's worth would take well into the second page in both sections. Now the camera section goes back 2 days and the lens section goes back 6 days.

Some insights:

- Few million existing posts on EOS cameras means that perhaps people do not need to ask that same "should I get..." question over and over again. I'd rather see quality than quantity any day.

- Follow notification system keeps people on certain threads quite effectively. New threads are not so frequent when few large threads cater for daily needs.

- People seem to rely a lot on email notifications for followed threads, and they are not available here yet. So basically there has been zero "reminder" emails sent, which means if you do not visit the site "manually" you won't know about new posts. Reasons for not doing that feature yet are explained many times, too, and also that next version will have it. It will be interesting to see how it affects.

- things like US elections, sports championships, bad economy (for many) and good/bad weather matters, too.