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Reputable used
dealers, such as
Ffordes, can spare
you a lot of hassleGetting the
best used deal
If you are thinking of selling your used gear to a retailer
or trading it in, get the best price for it. Some leading
second-hand stockists share some tips with Geo Harris
W
e are living
through a
second-hand
boom at the
moment, fuelled by several
factors, including economic
ones in this difficult year. There
are people trading in their
current model in order to get
the next camera up, and there
are always plenty of sellers out
there keen to snaffle a bargain
- particularly as many five- or
six-year-old cameras are still very
usable today. Lenses hold their
value too.
While you can try to sell your
gear yourself on eBay or
Gumtree, quibbling buyers and
the constant threat of scammers
can make it worrisome. Regular
readers will recall the story we
ran last year of the hapless
teenager whose camera got
stuck in limbo when he realised
he’d been the victim ofscammers on Gumtree. As he’d
already handed the parcel to
the Post Office, it refused to
give it back (the matter never
got resolved but fortunately
MPB stepped in and helped him
out with a replacement). This is
just one example.
Meanwhile eBay offers solid
financial protection via PayPal,
but this won’t protect you from
cynical buyers who try and get a
few more quid off by claiming thegear isn’t as pristine as described,
and then leave you a sour
review as a parting shot. And,
of course, most private sellers
don’t offer a trade-in service.
If you decide to sell your gear
to a retailer what can you do to
ensure you get the best price for
a straight sale or trade in? Much
is common sense – as Wex
Photo Video’s Maz Caudle
notes, ‘we have fully trained
inspectors who look very
carefully for anything that
might put the next buyer off,’
so that is how you need to be
thinking. Read on for more
practical advice from a wide
range of used specialists.