Lens Brands > hard or easy to sell? Say, Canon, Zeiss, Tamron, Sigma, Rokinon

Interested to hear some opinions about this. I've been browsing every brand in the title (at least) and wondering which brands may be relatively easy to sell if I get one but find it wasn't the best fit for my kit ... then choose to sell afterward.

I was in Portland but now in southern Oregon. In Portland well-maintained Canon lenses were fairly easy to sell within a week. Sold one Sigma 85mm non-art within two weeks. I haven't owned or sold Rokinon or Zeiss, and those two brands are high on my list of possible purchases.

Any thoughts on which brands you found hard or easy to sell, or heard about from others? And which brands or specific lenses may hold their value the best for resale?

I don't think brand matters more than a teeny-tiny bit when selling a lens. There is someone out there looking for whatever someone else is selling. Two things are way more important the brand name. They are: condition, and price.

Take care of your gear. Better condition yields more interest, and a quicker sale.

Price it right. People shopping used equipment don't give a FFA if it sat in a closet for last two years; it still ain't worth 25% more than the next used copy.

Look through the 'for sale' ads, here, FM, CL, and not just camera gear, but anything. The market is loaded with people who think their item is worth more because it is in 'pristine', 'un-used', 'BNIB' condition. It isn't. Those features with get you a quick sale. They won't get you 25% more money.

No matter the brand, price it right, it will sell.

Brand doesn't matter, anything will sell easily at the right price. The questions you should be asking are about resale value and depreciation. If you buy new and then turn around a week later and sell the lens you will generally take a bigger hit on something like a Sigma or Rokinon than on a Canon. If you buy used though you should have at least a few months to sell pretty much any lens and not lose any more than shipping, you might even make money if you wait for a particularly good deal when buying.

mdvaden wrote in post #18499529
Interested to hear some opinions about this. I've been browsing every brand in the title (at least) and wondering which brands may be relatively easy to sell if I get one but find it wasn't the best fit for my kit, or just experiment and choose to move on to another.

I was in Portland but now in southern Oregon. But up in Portland I found most well-maintained Canon lenses fairly easy to sell within a week. Sold one Sigma 85mm non-art and it sold within two weeks.

I haven't owned or sold Rokinon or Zeiss, and those two brands are both high on my list of possible purchases.

Any thoughts on which brands you found hard or easy to sell, or heard about from others? And which brands or specific lenses may hold their value the best for resale?

Worry less about Brand, and just focus on looking at what are popular lenses within each brand, if you really want to see trends with meaning. For example, you will see a lot less people buying Zeiss manual lenses, when a Rokinon lens costs a fraction and is very good too. But there will be someone who only wants that Zeiss glass, so different niche to sell to. A Canon, Tamron, Sigma, etc, with autofocus will always have more of a potential buying crowd because they're going to be more universally useful/common to people wanting auto-mated lenses. The Rokinon lenses are popular because they perform excellent wide open, are inexpensive, but are all manual (most of them), so a smaller group of people will shop them. But, on photography websites, Rokinon/Samyang lenses are pretty commonly traded around because they're inexpensive. Just take a look at what lenses you're interested in, and compare that to what you see commonly bought/sold in various places. It will give you an idea. The more obscure and/or expensive a lens is, the harder it may be to sell in terms of time and/or price.

Very best,

Mirrorless has done a ton for resale of otherwise "unpopular" manual focus lenses, but it is very specific; see the price of a Super Takumar vs. other M42 lenses.

But they've given new life for Canon FD and other mounts that otherwise would've been left behind.

First party equipment is generally having a higher resell value. Is a fact..unless is a dud lens. LOL. Recently, Sigma C and A series and Tamron SP series have surpassed many people's expectation. So, these lenses should hold on to their values in the used market. Carl Zeiss is for a specific niche market, fyi. You should get lenses based on your budgets and how they are being used.

MalVeauX wrote in post #18500989
Worry less about Brand, and just focus on looking at what are popular lenses within each brand, if you really want to see trends with meaning. .. SNIP ...

Very best,

I probably did what you shared in-part, while more simply aiming for my want or need.

A week ago up to when I posted, I was considering wide angle. But once I focused on Zeiss, I ordered the Milvus 85mm 1.4 because I felt portraits has been a good niche for me.

Generally, 85mm is a popular lens among brands and within each brand. So that may help if I decided to sell this Zeiss someday. But, if the lens is as good as the samples I've seen, and if I can manually focus as quickly as with the Tamron lens I practiced with, there should be little reason to sell the Zeiss 85mm

Look at the used/gray market prices of the lens beforehand. IMO if there's a big different between US MSRP and the gray/aftermarket, you'll get less back for the lens.

Solid stuff like a Canon/Nikon 24-70mm or 70-200mm always seems to command good resale. Try to sell a Canon 24-105mm that was bundled in kits for years, and it's a whole different ballgame.

Similar deal with Sigma/Tamron. When you have gray market sellers discounting those lenses heavily, your used lens suddenly commands less. If the lens is in high demand with gray prices being close to local US prices, then resale should be better.

I'm buying lenses not for re-sale, but to use. I'm not a thrasher, but I don't mind to sell for less I purchased it, it is still much more cheaper than rent of the lens for months.
If lens is common and priced right, it will sell. Sometimes it will sell next day, sometimes ... same year.