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Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it th...

surfnron
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p.1 #1 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

I posted a 500 F4.5 non-is lens for sale here. There has been a fair amount of interest behind the scene, but no takers. It's in much better shape than the one that sold recently, and I have dropped the price to close to what that lens sold for.
Is my price still too high?
Is it the dust inside the lens?
Something else?

Thanx,
Ron

Aug 12, 2012 at 09:14 PM

mitesh
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p.1 #2 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

Ron,

I PMed you about the lens, so I was one of the interested parties. I'm willing to share my reasons for not pursuing the item further if you think it will be helpful. Let me know whether you would prefer to do that over PMs or if you just want me to post.

Mitesh

Aug 12, 2012 at 09:21 PM

surfnron
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p.1 #3 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

mitesh wrote:
Ron,

I PMed you about the lens, so I was one of the interested parties. I'm willing to share my reasons for not pursuing the item further if you think it will be helpful. Let me know whether you would prefer to do that over PMs or if you just want me to post.

Mitesh

Post away - I'm not trying to hide anything. To me, keeping my reputation is more important than the $$ ~ Ron

Aug 12, 2012 at 09:23 PM

kewlcanon
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p.1 #4 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

Maybe the MA turns people off.

Aug 12, 2012 at 09:28 PM

mitesh
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p.1 #5 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

For me, the thing that created the most hesitation was the lack of service support for this lens. While it has certainly served you well and these things are built to last, I didn't want to be stuck with a $3 grand paperweight. Of lesser concern was AF (in)ability with extenders and MA adjustment.

So for me, it definitely wasn't the price or the physical condition of the lens. In fact, in my searches, I saw that used 500/4.5s in similar condition have been or are listed on various B/S boards, eBay, KEH, etc. for more than your current asking price. It also seems like there have been some great prices on the super telephotos listed on the B/S board recently, so potential buyers of your lens may have bought 500/4s or 600/4s. That's what happened in my case.

All said, I think you are reasonably priced and aside from just waiting out your listing (or going to eBay), there probably isn't much you can do.

I'm sure you are already aware of all this, but like I said, I'm willing to share my thoughts in the hopes that it will help you.

Mitesh

Edited on Aug 12, 2012 at 09:51 PM · View previous versions

Aug 12, 2012 at 09:41 PM

mco_970
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p.1 #6 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

Midwest Camera still services this lens. As well, I had my copy of it CLA'd in Albuquerque recently.

Aug 12, 2012 at 09:45 PM

surfnron
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p.1 #7 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

kewlcanon wrote:
Maybe the MA turns people off.

Thanx for the response. I can see where that might cause some to hesitate. I did read an article at Canon Rumors titled "How to test a lens", and I believe they said up to 15 ma was acceptable. If not in that article, it was somewhere else.

Ron

Aug 12, 2012 at 09:46 PM

Breitling65
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p.1 #8 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

I don't think anything is wrong, I found no quick sales here no FM last two years on anything. People who is reselling things or looking for crazy cheap deals are mostly there, very much not as before. I would shorten all descriptions and text, but again nothing wrong with current in general.

Aug 12, 2012 at 09:48 PM

surfnron
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p.1 #9 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

mitesh wrote:
For me, the thing that created the most hesitation was the lack of service support for this lens. While it has certainly served you well and these things are built to last, I didn't want to be stuck with a $3 grand paperweight. Of lesser concern was AF (in)ability with extenders and MA adjustment.

So for me, it definitely wasn't the price or the physical condition of the lens. In fact, in my searches, I saw that used 500/4.5s in similar condition have been or are listed on various B/S boards, eBay, KEH, etc. for more than your current asking price. It also seems like there have been some great prices on the super telephotos listed on the B/S board recently, so potential buyers of your lens may have bought 500/4s or 600/4s. That's what happened in my case.

All said, I think you are reasonably priced and aside from just waiting out your listing (or going to eBay), there probably isn't much you can do.

I'm sure you are already aware of all this, but like I said, I'm willing to share my thoughts in the hopes that it will help you.

Mitesh

Thanx Mitesh. There are at least 2 places that will work on these lenses. The one Michelle mentioned in NM, and another in New England - I will try to find the name.

Ron

Aug 12, 2012 at 09:50 PM

Imagemaster
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p.1 #10 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

mco_970 wrote:
Midwest Camera still services this lens. As well, I had my copy of it CLA'd in Albuquerque recently.

Servicing a lens is not the same as repairing a lens. If a part is no longer available, the lens may not be repairable.

I owned the same lens a few years ago and was always worried about the "repair issue".

Other than that, it was an excellent lens and took TC's very well.

Tony

Aug 12, 2012 at 09:58 PM

kewlcanon
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p.1 #11 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

Buyers are getting pickier I think, the bar has been raised higher but price has been driven lower so to speak. So MA, paint loss, etc etc not to mention the lowest price becomes the new standard

.

surfnron wrote:
kewlcanon wrote:
Maybe the MA turns people off.

Thanx for the response. I can see where that might cause some to hesitate. I did read an article at Canon Rumors titled "How to test a lens", and I believe they said up to 15 ma was acceptable. If not in that article, it was somewhere else.

Ron

Aug 12, 2012 at 10:00 PM

Imagemaster
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p.1 #12 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

Ron, I am no longer an advocate of using eBay since they changed their policy of siding with Buyers so much so that they discouraged Sellers from getting a fair shake.

The advantage of listing on eBay is the far greater number of potential purchasers that will see your listing. If you put it on eBay, you can always set a Reserve Price of $3,000.

Tony

Aug 12, 2012 at 10:03 PM

roboticspro
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p.1 #13 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

Hi Ron,

surfnron wrote:
[Thanx Mitesh. There are at least 2 places that will work on these lenses. The one Michelle mentioned in NM, and another in New England - I will try to find the name.

Ron

You want to try these folks (Mark and Keith Fortin co-owners):

Midstate Camera Repair
389 Warwick Avenue
Warwick, RI 02888
(401) 467-7390

http://www.midstatecamerarepair.com/

Regards,

Edd

Aug 12, 2012 at 10:12 PM

uz2work
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p.1 #14 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

I'm guessing that some of the factors to which others have pointed are more important, but, as I was thinking about the desirability of a 500/4.5 lens, Canon has not done that desirability any favors with the direction to which it has gone with its 2 most recent camera body introductions.

With the 5D Mark III and the the 1DX both being full frame cameras with low pixel density, 500 mm doesn't do the job it would have done on a 1.3 crop higher pixel density sensor, such as on a 1D Mark IV, or even on a full frame sensor with higher pixel density. Because of the need to be able to put more pixels on the subject, many long lens users who are using these bodies are now moving toward 600mm lenses (or even the 800/5.6), and I'm sure that many who are using 500 mm lenses with those new bodies are finding that they need to use extenders more often. But Canon's design decisions that now limit AF to f5.6 or larger maximum lens aperture means that, with an f4.5 lens, even a 1.4x extender won't work without either taping pins or using a presumably lower quality non-reporting extender and likely accepting degraded AF performance. Thus, those two bodies are kind of a double whammy against an f4.5 lens. And, while 500 mm still does offer excellent reach on a 1.6 crop high pixel density body like a 7D, I'm guessing not as many 7D owners have the budget for even a $3000 lens and are more likely to be using one the more modestly priced 400 mm alternatives which still offer very good reach when used on a 7D.

Les

Aug 12, 2012 at 10:36 PM

mco_970
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p.1 #15 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

Imagemaster wrote:
mco_970 wrote:
Midwest Camera still services this lens. As well, I had my copy of it CLA'd in Albuquerque recently.

Servicing a lens is not the same as repairing a lens. If a part is no longer available, the lens may not be repairable.

I owned the same lens a few years ago and was always worried about the "repair issue".

Other than that, it was an excellent lens and took TC's very well.

Tony

I had checked ebay for parts on this lens at one point, while I was deciding whether to sell mine or spend the $$ to have it serviced last year, and at least at that point parts were easily available... I figured if it broke and I could never find parts for it, I could buy another one and still end up at about the price of the 500L f/4 version I.

As well I talked to the techs at Midstate, and they said they rarely see failures on these older superteles, so that made me feel a better, too.

But have no doubt, if I had the cash, I'd go for the 500L II.

And a 1DX, hells yeah.

Aug 12, 2012 at 10:44 PM

Pixel Perfect
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p.1 #16 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

surfnron wrote:
I posted a 500 F4.5 non-is lens for sale here. There has been a fair amount of interest behind the scene, but no takers. It's in much better shape than the one that sold recently, and I have dropped the price to close to what that lens sold for.
Is my price still too high?
Is it the dust inside the lens?
Something else?

Thanx,
Ron

Did you include free shipping, free paypal etc; a lot of the US buyers don't like to pay for these, but of course demand it for their own items.

Aug 12, 2012 at 10:45 PM

PetKal
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p.1 #17 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

Times are tough, but you do seem to have an excellent lens which is priced low at this time. As an example, a lens in a probably similar condition by KEH is listed for $4,100.

One issue you can address is that of the lens IQ. Most potential purchasers really do not know if the lens would fully satisfy them IQ wise. Therefore, why not post several of your pictures obtained with the lens. Show them in as original (as captured) state as practical, so that people do not get confused by your pp prowes.

Sadly, there is nothing else that can touch 500 f/4.5L in your current price range. The nearest (price-wise) lens that can outperform 500 f/4.5L is 500 f/4 IS MKI, but nice copies of the latter are typically $6,000 plus these days. That is a very big difference to your asking price of $3,100.
Moreover, 500 f/4.5L is one kilogram lighter than its faster sibling. That has a significant impact on the ease of lens handling. I loved shooting my ex 500 f/4.5L handheld.

Now, general lack of repair parts is what it is, and not much can be done about that, although there are still some parts available on ebay. However, thankfully, those lenses, especially if in a good condition, do not seem to fail often. I have gone thru a number of obsolete lenses, and still own three of them, and never had a problem that couldn't be remedied by my local repair shop. In other words, the probability of a well kept and well performing lens suffering a terminal failure in the near future is not high at all.

In sum, my suggestion is that you stick to your guns pricewise, and furnish some good illustrations of the lens IQ capabilities in your for-sale post.

Aug 12, 2012 at 11:10 PM

OwlsEyes
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p.1 #18 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

Ron,
Your price is fair & the lens condition looks great. If I had $3000 lying around, I'd buy it in favor of a 5D3! I'm guessing that those who might have been interested are looking at the cost to upgrade their camera rather than splurging on an older lens... In contrast, those who have fewer spending limits are probably opting for the 500 f4 (and a new body) as they have become more affordable with the introduction of the 500 IS-2... I think you are selling at a bad time as a lot of folks are just getting over the sticker shock of their 5D2 & EX600's

Good luck... At its current price, Your lens is a bit of a steal
Bruce

Aug 12, 2012 at 11:18 PM

saneproduction
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p.1 #19 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

+1 to what Peter said. I wouldn.t worry, just be patient. I bought a 200 1.8 last December, but it took me a little while to get over the lack of repair parts. Once I found a few places that could still service, I felt a lot better. Maybe add the places that can service to your listing. You may also want ot post this on your local Craigslist. I find that lenses go for a higher price there.

Notes for selling on CL:
Make sure you have good pictures
Meet the buyer in a bank and put the money straight in, this helps protect you getting mugged
List for a little more than you want. All CL buyers want to feel like they haggled the price down..but going too high can scare buyers away.

Aug 13, 2012 at 12:08 AM

Gochugogi
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p.1 #20 · Whats wrong with my "for sale"add - or is it the lens?

Also the potential market for a great white prime is a lot smaller than a more popular optic like a 85L, 100-400L or 70-200. It's a highly specialized piece of gear that even most working pros don't need. So it is bound to take longer to sell even with a more than fair price and condition.

Aug 13, 2012 at 12:40 AM

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