Best Place to Buy Used Photography Equipment

Images courtesy of MPB.com

A few weeks ago during a photo shoot, I dropped and fatally damaged one of my cameras. Since I live a good distance from any urban area with a camera shop, I ever become online to buy camera and lenses.

I began my search by browsing new camera gear listings and soon experienced some serious sticker stupor. I was amazed at how many new cameras and lenses were selling for over a m dollars or two.

I wasn't deterred, however, because I rarely purchase new cameras and, instead, avoid these loftier prices by ownership photographic camera gear on the secondhand used market. I've saved hundreds of dollars on photo equipment that was "almost new." The exorbitant pricing for new camera gear is, I think, driving the expansion and popularity of the secondhand marketplace.

At that place's No Shame in Used Gear
Writing about used cameras for Shutterbug has a certain irony because I remember when Shutterbug began as an oversized yellow tabloid publication sold on newsstands. The magazine was filled with pages of classified ads for gear and there were no pictures. We've certainly come a very long way in the last 50 years.

I know that the word "used" puts a lot of people off, but information technology shouldn't. While, for some people, it implies an particular of bottom quality, or something that is worn out or "sometime," that hardly applies today. Buying used gear from reliable camera traders makes it like shooting fish in a barrel to get top of the line cameras in pristine condition at huge savings.

Earlier the Cyberspace, the used camera market was relatively minor. Camera stores accepted some used cameras in trade, but only a few had more than a dozen secondhand models to sell. Now the secondhand market is filled with hundreds of thousands of used cameras of every make and model.

Two factors take caused the used photographic camera market to explode. I is the rapid turnover of new cameras and photographers trading in existing cameras to make new ones more affordable.

The other factor has been the arrival of entrepreneurs with business models focused on customer service and satisfaction. They have taken the guesswork and worry out of ownership or selling gear by developing trustworthy rating systems, fast communications, dependable shipping and easy returns.

You are no longer dealing with an individual who may or may not be reliable but with a serious business that wants you as a client and wants to keep you equally a customer into the future.

Here'southward a list of vi of my favorite used camera sellers:

ane. MPB (www.mpb.com) - my personal favorite

two. Usedphotopro (https://usedphotopro.com/)

3. Grid50 (https://grid50gear.com/)

4. KEH (www.keh.com)

5. B&H (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/scan/Used-Equipment/ci/2870/N/4294247188 )

6. Adorama (https://www.adorama.com/Used)

(Editor's Note: Y'all should as well read our story on 10 Things You Should Know When Buying Cameras on eBay)

Quality Command for Used Gear
To better sympathise the used camera market I interviewed Matt Barker, the CEO and founder of MPB.com, one of today'due south largest online camera traders in the world.

Barker was an ardent camera enthusiast who began trading cameras as a pastime while at university studying economics. His pastime soon turned into a full-time job and in 2011 he founded MPB. Today, that one-person operation run out of a academy dorm room has grown into a visitor with over 140 employees and offices in the US, the UK and presently, Germany.

After explaining how he started MPB, Barker discussed the camera rating arrangement on the site. Ratings help tell customers what a piece of used photographic camera gear is actually similar since they tin just see a picture of information technology on a screen, Barker explains. Information technology is, he says, at the heart of the online market.

Barker added that when he started trading gear on eBay he saw that cocky-evaluations by individuals were oftentimes wildly off. These inflated ratings were the source of a lot of customer dissatisfaction.

To provide accurate ratings for customers, MPB has a staff of specialists who examine and test every camera and lens they go. These specialists are experts in different areas; medium format, DSLRs, rangefinders and and then on.

Barker pointed out that every aspect of a used camera'southward functioning is looked at. The sensor and the LCD are checked equally are the stabilizing system, battery, viewfinder, buttons, controls etc. Every photographic camera or lens they accept is photographed for the listings. They turn down items that are not up to par and return them to their owners. That leaves only the best gear on sale and that explains why and then many of MPB'south listings are rated Similar New or Excellent.

And here's what those mean.

Like New: The camera is in near mint status. There are no scuffs or scrapes, the LCD screen has no marks and the sensor is clear and gratuitous of scratches. Torso parts similar the flash mountain, rubber grips and covers are in good condition.

Splendid: Much as the above but at that place are some signs of employ. Perhaps a few scuff marks on the body. That plenty for the camera to be rated only Excellent. Naturally the better the condition of a camera or lens the college its price.

While browsing the MPB listings I was surprised to discover a few cameras rated equally "Well Used." These cameras were ugly on the outside but within they were notwithstanding in working order.

If you can alive with "ugly," you lot can save a lot of money on a camera. Barker pointed out that MPB includes as many of the original accessories equally possible with the camera or lens. He said he doesn't retrieve it'southward good business organisation to sell a camera cheaply and then demand that the customer to pay for things that had originally come up with it.

Shipping
Secure and reliable shipping has always been a bugaboo when I've sold or bought online. I've encountered problems with things like shippers leaving packages out in the rain or shipments getting lost for weeks at a customs part.

MPB and most of the other dealers utilize established carriers for their shipping and they insure their packages. They provide authentic tracking and often pay for both shipping and return.

Communication
Another reason I like to deal with camera trading companies rather than individuals is communications. MPB for example has staff whose merely chore is to stay in contact with buyers and sellers and be prepare to respond to questions and concerns.

A Real-World Test
I said at the beginning of this commodity that I went online to observe a photographic camera to replace 1 I had destroyed. I was looking for a Panasonic Lumix GX9 body which retails at effectually $k, although some sellers offered it at $800. The GX9 I found at MPB was in listed in Similar New status and was priced at $500 including several accessories and free shipping. Barker had no knowledge that I was doing this test when nosotros spoke.

Here's the timeline for my transaction. I think it demonstrates what I mean by communications and reliable aircraft.

Monday

8 AM – Went to the site and searched for the camera.

viii:30 AM – Institute several GX9s and chose i rated "Like New" and clicked on "Buy."

8:56 AM – Received an email confirming my order.

eleven AM – Received an e-mail stating that the item was set bated and how I wanted to pay for it, and accept it shipped. I made the payment though PayPal.

xi:10 AM – Received confirmation of payment and a receipt for the purchase.

2:10 PM – Got an electronic mail saying that the photographic camera had been shipped. The commitment was scheduled for Friday and I got a tracking number.

Wed

11:45 AM – The package is delivered two days early on.

12 noon – Opened the box and examined the photographic camera. Information technology looked absolutely new as though it had just come out of the mill. I was a very satisfied customer.

Conclusion
At the end of my conversation, Barker summed upwards his business concern philosophy. Every bit a true camera enthusiast, he said that he wanted his customers to share his "feeling of please" about cameras. He felt that the availability of and so much affordable gear made buying and selling cameras easier and certainly a more enjoyable experience. Information technology could, he said, even be fun.

That sums up my feelings as well. As an former photo enthusiast and a working photographer, I have endemic dozens of cameras. And so, for me, the used camera market is truly a place where I can get to recharge my enjoyment of cameras and renew that part of my pleasure in photography.

(Editor's Note: You should also read our story on 10 Things Yous Should Know When Buying Cameras on eBay)

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