Shutter Life v. Resale

Stupid Question/ Random Thought of the Day:

If modern shutters are supposed to last 300k+ clicks, why does the resale tank so bad after 10k clicks?

I'm not sure either part of your statement is true.

Because by the time a bit of modern electronics hits the hands of the consumer, the manufacturer has its replacement designed, in prototype, and being tested and evaluated by the marketing department. Its not as bad with the DSLR's as other electronics, but the 5DII hadnt been out for a year when people were asking if they should get it or wait on the mark III version.

I'm not sure I agree either. Only a few cameras are rated at +300k, most are still 100k/150k. Secondly, most cameras it is impossible to tell how many actuations they have. A few have 3dr party shutter counters, but only a few. Lastly, I've not really noticed a big price drop at 10K, nor at 50K.

gonzogolf wrote in post #10385177
Because by the time a bit of modern electronics hits the hands of the consumer, the manufacturer has its replacement designed, in prototype, and being tested and evaluated by the marketing department. Its not as bad with the DSLR's as other electronics, but the 5DII hadnt been out for a year when people were asking if they should get it or wait on the mark III version.

Fair enough. I just figured I'd ask because looking at the new shutter life charts:

The 1d3 is down so much because the 1D4 is out. It happens every time a new model is released. I would imagine a 1d3 with 9k clicks and one with 25k clicks would both be considered fairly new and would sell for similar prices, though. The 5Dmk2, at $2000 is still 80% of new. That's good resale value, IMO. Most anything drops at least 15-20% the second it leaves the store.

So basically, I am not sure that shutter life has as much to do with it as new model release cycles and the fact that people don't want to pay new prices for used gear.

Dont expect consumer behavior to have anything to do with logic or consistency. If the consumer perceives something regarding a product it becomes the defacto truth. As soon as the consumer feels that a product is not current, even if it is still being sold new, its value will plummet.

Let's face it, dSLRs simply are not unique any more. Why should someone buy your "hand me down" when the new model is better, faster, cheaper and has more features?

Market saturation is great for initial sales but re-sale takes it in the shorts everytime in this environment.

tkbslc wrote in post #10385268
The 1d3 is down so much because the 1D4 is out. It happens every time a new model is released. I would imagine a 1d3 with 9k clicks and one with 25k clicks would both be considered fairly new and would sell for similar prices, though. The 5Dmk2, at $2000 is still 80% of new. That's good resale value, IMO. Most anything drops at least 15-20% the second it leaves the store.

So basically, I am not sure that shutter life has as much to do with it as new model release cycles and the fact that people don't want to pay new prices for used gear.

The 1d3 has been at $2,000 for months. It was at $2,200-2,300 before the 1d4 came out, not that big of a drop. For fun, go look at a thread with a 5d2 or 1d3 with 10k+ clicks, then look at a thread with one with 4k clicks at around the same price.

I'm telling you guys the pattern is there. Between cash back from places like Bing and rebates from Canon (sometimes as much as $300 savings off new body only prices) I've had folks tell me that they'd rather buy new for the money.

also, keep in mind, when you are getting into the pricier cameras, most people stop caring so much about the shutter count and more about the physical condition of the camera. $300 to repair a shutter/mirror on a $500 rebel is alot, $300 to replace a shutter and mirror on a $7000 1DS model is nothing. We spend that much having our lenses cleaned from time to time (per lens in some cases).

tkbslc wrote in post #10385268
Most anything drops at least 15-20% the second it leaves the store.

So basically, I am not sure that shutter life has as much to do with it as new model release cycles and the fact that people don't want to pay new prices for used gear.

This is basically the idea behind it. Once a camera has a few clicks on it, it's already lost 10-20% of it's sale value, after that point, it's mostly due to new models, or the fact that with bing cashback/canon rebates the price difference between used and new isn't that huge for most things, so the used value has to go down, if people expect it to sell.

On the other hand, if a camera has 160k actuations on it, is on it's original shutter, and is rated for 100-150k, sellers usually offer the camera at a low enough price to entice a buyer to purchase it knowing full well that they may need a shutter replacement at any moment, so the $200-250 is included(deducted) from the price of the camera.

MichaelBernard wrote in post #10385314
The 1d3 has been at $2,000 for months. It was at $2,200-2,300 before the 1d4 came out, not that big of a drop. For fun, go look at a thread with a 5d2 or 1d3 with 10k+ clicks, then look at a thread with one with 4k clicks at around the same price.

That seems like a lot of hunting. I'll take your word for it.

So this is really about not getting as much as you want in resale for your 5D? Wouldn't you rather buy new if there was only a 5-10% savings going used? You can't expect the 5D2 to stay at its initial price forever. The fact it is still about the same price as when it was new says a lot. It came out about the same time as the XSi. The XSi is now worth half of when it was new. The 5d2 is only down 20%.

tkbslc wrote in post #10385365
The XSi is now worth half of when it was new. The 5d2 is only down 20%.

that's because the 5d II has magical powers.

tkbslc wrote in post #10385365
That seems like a lot of hunting. I'll take your word for it.

So this is really about not getting as much as you want in resale for your 5D? Wouldn't you rather buy new if there was only a 5-10% savings going used? You can't expect the 5D2 to stay at its initial price forever. The fact it is still about the same price as when it was new says a lot. It came out about the same time as the XSi. The XSi is now worth half of when it was new. The 5d2 is only down 20%.

No I was simply trying to draw a correlation between shutter life and resale..it was just that simple. I sold my old 1ds for 1k with zero issue since it had like 13k clicks on it. I've seen others sit for a while with slightly more clicks. I think the answer is as simple as shmoogy put it.

dwarfcow wrote in post #10385371
that's because the 5d II has magical powers.

Nice gear list

MichaelBernard wrote in post #10385420
Nice gear list

pretty stoked about the electro 35, i know. It took a lot of searching to find a Yashika in perfect working condition; light meter, focal range system, and working Av. Might start using it less when the 1ds IV is out!