Home · Register · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda
Username  

  New fredmiranda.com Mobile Site
  New Feature: SMS Notification alert
  New Feature: Buy & Sell Watchlist
  

FM Forums | Forum & Miscellaneous | Join Upload & Sell

1
       2       end
  

Archive 2012 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling

  
 
lexdiamond20
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


Besides my Nikon 80-200 about a year ago, I haven't really sold much camera equipment on E-Bay. Though it was a good experience and sold for a good price, I still had to deal with the 9% E-bay fee. Fast forward to today as I want to sell all of my DX gear to fund a D700. The biggest problem im seeing is some of the similar items such a mine (D200, 18-50, 10-20, 50-135, 35) have just been sitting for weeks on this board with no one biting as opposed to all of the same gear on E-Bay all with current bidders for nearly ending auctions. They all seem to have the prices I would assumed they would sell for.

So to anyone who has needed to get rid of older tech, was it a better experience going through E-Bay and dealing with higher fees or using this board, albeit cheaper, but maybe waiting longer for a sale to go through?



Dec 27, 2012 at 12:31 PM
anthonysemone
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


I buy and sell here, almost exclusively - now and again on DPI. I don't know how to account for the difference you've noted, although I can say that I price items for sale as aggressively as I can in order to promote a fast sale. I have never sold on eBay, and over the years of transactions I have only 4 purchases by way of eBay.

Sorry I can't be of more help.




Dec 27, 2012 at 12:52 PM
BenV
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


For gear like that, eBay would be the better option. It's harder for older stuff to move on here, you have a much more limited audience.


Dec 27, 2012 at 12:55 PM
Bifurcator
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


lexdiamond20 wrote:
So to anyone who has needed to get rid of older tech, was it a better experience going through E-Bay and dealing with higher fees or using this board, albeit cheaper, but maybe waiting longer for a sale to go through?


The deal with e-bay typically is that ya need to get x-number of people bidding in order to get the price high enough for a reasonable deal. Lately there are too many hounds who just wait till the last 3min of the auction before bidding. So the days of starting off your $200 or even $2000 item at $1 (in order to get lots of bids going) are pretty much over - unless you also advertise the crap out of your auction on many other forum sites. So either start off the auction at the minimum you're willing to go and hope more than one person bids or use the Buy Now option like everyone has started doing.

At FM and other sites with a B&S forum you can just ask a fair going rate price right up front and not worry about it. If it's a fair price it'll sell and if it's not it likely won't.

Which is better? IMO there's no contest! FM and other B&S forums beat the crap out of E-Bay! And for a whole bunch of reasons! Like the fact that you're usually dealing with a more knowledgable buyer so there's less chance of claims stemming from buyer stupidity - which happens a lot on e-bay. Again, the price integrity thing. There's probably the same percentage of people wanting to "get over" somehow but on E-Bay it's REALLY easy for a buyer to screw over a seller whereas with forum sales it's more difficult for them to screw you. Except for a few forums who charge a low one-time fee there's no percentages to pay so you can keep more of your money. It feels better to sell to people from a "community" you also conversationally participate in. You often get to see your sold item being used by the buyer in posts from them - which is kinda nice. And probably other stuff I'm not thinking of too.

As I've seen so far, "older stuff" sells here and at other B&S forums at a very reasonable pace so tere's no need to worry about that. And if it doesn't sell after a reasonable length of time you can still always list it on an auction site afterward.



Dec 27, 2012 at 02:53 PM
husonfirst
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


ebay reaches many more potential buyers than the classifieds here. If you want to move your equipment quickly, that's the way to go.


Dec 27, 2012 at 05:43 PM
Bifurcator
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


I'm not so sure.

At just FM alone I get about 200 to 300 reads in the first 24hrs. On e-bay I get 20 to 50 (and sometimes only 3 or 4).

By the end of a 7-day auction I forget exactly but I have about 1000 views on e-bay. On FM I have about 1,500 or 2,000 views after a few weeks. And that's if all I list it on is FM. Listing it on just one other busy forum will blow away e-bay if indeed FM doesn't all by itself.

I know these numbers because I sit there and stress over the view counts for the first few days of every item I put up.



I think in either case if you want to move it quickly just low-ball the price some.



Dec 27, 2012 at 09:56 PM
lexdiamond20
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


Bifurcator wrote:
I'm not so sure.

At just FM alone I get about 200 to 300 reads in the first 24hrs. On e-bay I get 20 to 50 (and sometimes only 3 or 4).

By the end of a 7-day auction I forget exactly but I have about 1000 views on e-bay. On FM I have about 1,500 or 2,000 views after a few weeks. And that's if all I list it on is FM. Listing it on just one other busy forum will blow away e-bay if indeed FM doesn't all by itself.

I know these numbers because I sit there and stress over
...Show more

True, but what exactly were you selling when getting all these views. No doubt I would list all of my stuff here had I been selling a recently purchased D600, D800, 35 1.4, 24-120, etc as these are high ticket items most users on this site are after. Unfortunately, I'm selling a body that is generations old and a few 3rd party lenses.



Dec 28, 2012 at 11:23 AM
anthonysemone
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


Sir, have you done a search here on FM for the price of each of the items you wish to sell, and establish the median value, along with range as well, if you like, of the dollar amount for which each items has sold here? Also, do the same on eBay for completed auctions/sales. You can then also go to www.keh.com and do a similar search there, and if you have a lot of time on your hands, you could do the same for each of BH and Adorama. In that way you can establish a low, middle, high value for your items.

I just did a search on Nikon D200 - it appears as though that camera body is going for in the neighborhood of $350 +/-, and the various listings have generated as few as 79 views for one posted 17 hours ago, to as many as 2000+ for one posted 10 months ago (which, by the way, sold for $500).

HTH, tony



Dec 28, 2012 at 01:12 PM
BluesWest
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


ebay reaches many more potential buyers than the classifieds here. If you want to move your equipment quickly, that's the way to go.

+1. I recently sold all of my old Nikon equipment on eBay, and it was a quick and easy process.

The number of potential buyers on eBay is huge compared to any other selling venue.

John



Dec 28, 2012 at 01:42 PM
Bifurcator
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


Bifurcator wrote:
I'm not so sure.

At just FM alone I get about 200 to 300 reads in the first 24hrs. On e-bay I get 20 to 50 (and sometimes only 3 or 4).

By the end of a 7-day auction I forget exactly but I have about 1000 views on e-bay. On FM I have about 1,500 or 2,000 views after a few weeks. And that's if all I list it on is FM. Listing it on just one other busy forum will blow away e-bay if indeed FM doesn't all by itself.

I know these numbers because I sit there and stress over
...Show more
lexdiamond20 wrote:
True, but what exactly were you selling when getting all these views. No doubt I would list all of my stuff here had I been selling a recently purchased D600, D800, 35 1.4, 24-120, etc as these are high ticket items most users on this site are after. Unfortunately, I'm selling a body that is generations old and a few 3rd party lenses.


Canon 1D mark II (ancient) $450, Olympus OM 50mm f/1.4 (ancient) $50, Minolta 100mm F/2.5 (ancient) $75, various common Zeiss C/Y mount lenses (between $150 and $500), and so on like that.



BluesWest wrote:
+1. I recently sold all of my old Nikon equipment on eBay, and it was a quick and easy process.

The number of potential buyers on eBay is huge compared to any other selling venue.

John


Hi John,
But the recorded number of views do not reflect this as being true. <shrug> I know, I used to think e-bay was massive too. And it is... but most people are buying cloths, school supplies, antiques, and plastic $1 junk items from China. So there's like 100 different markets all in one place. The camera gear market however isn't much bigger than it is here according to the number of views which get recorded. And the buyers here are much more active according to the speed at which those views tally up.



Dec 29, 2012 at 09:48 AM
BluesWest
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


most people are buying cloths, school supplies, antiques, and plastic $1 junk items from China

I don't dispute that junk like this comprises the majority of eBay sales, but the same can be said of retail sales in general. I still maintain that the potential audience for camera gear on eBay is significantly larger than any of the specialized camera equipment internet Buy/Sell forums. And my experience with eBay lately has been extremely positive. The gear I sold went quickly, the transactions were trouble-free and my net proceeds were equal to or greater than what I could have gotten on the FM B/S (I did the research).

John



Dec 29, 2012 at 02:12 PM
anthonysemone
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


John,

well, it looks as though you've found a viable option for the sale of you gear. So...what's the problem?



Dec 29, 2012 at 02:42 PM
lexdiamond20
Offline

Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


anthonysemone wrote:
Sir, have you done a search here on FM for the price of each of the items you wish to sell, and establish the median value, along with range as well, if you like, of the dollar amount for which each items has sold here? Also, do the same on eBay for completed auctions/sales. You can then also go to www.keh.com and do a similar search there, and if you have a lot of time on your hands, you could do the same for each of BH and Adorama. In that way you can establish a low, middle, high value
...Show more

Yes, I did do a search and was to use this site as the primary place to sell my gear. The other main problem is I have only purchased gear on this site, never sold. I'm not totally sure what the methods are for trust, but I myself wouldn't totally put much trust into someone whom has no sell history.

But thank you everyone for your assistance in this matter



Dec 31, 2012 at 05:07 PM
BenV
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


lexdiamond20 wrote:
Yes, I did do a search and was to use this site as the primary place to sell my gear. The other main problem is I have only purchased gear on this site, never sold. I'm not totally sure what the methods are for trust, but I myself wouldn't totally put much trust into someone whom has no sell history.

But thank you everyone for your assistance in this matter


Everyone has to start somewhere, just don't start by trying to list a $5000 Nikon D4 with no history. A few hundred dollar or camera shouldn't be a huge concern



Dec 31, 2012 at 05:11 PM
anthonysemone
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


Any item over $200, and seller is w/o feedback or no posting history here, nada - and eBay doesn't count - you send me the item, I'll inspect and evaluate it, and if it meets the criteria you've laid out, I'll send you the money. Just as in a brick and mortar shop


Dec 31, 2012 at 06:39 PM
Bifurcator
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


Mostly @ lexdiamond20:

Methods for building trust:
  1. Participate in conversation threads often. This will allow people to get to know you and it'll show your personality some.
  2. Offer to hand out your telephone number or the number of some references: Dad, your brother the doctor, someone you have done business with before.
  3. If you work for a company offer that as a reference w/phone #.
  4. Show pics of yourself holding the gear you're selling. It's digital so 5 or 10 pics - what the heck! If you're shy just an arm or hand is fine.
  5. Offer to show a pic of yourself standing in front of your house - showing the address.
  6. E-Bay sales DO INDEED count. If you have positive points post that up!
  7. Try to make your first 5 or 10 sales low dollar items. If the transaction is for $50 or under (or as BenV suggests under a few hundred) very little buyer apprehension will occur.
  8. Finish setting up your account here. Why no avatar? etc.

One thing I would never EVER do is what anthonysemone is suggesting. All on-line shops and even "brick and mortar shops" actually work that way: You can NOT leave the shop (i.e.. take possession of the goods) till you pony up the money! Online shops will NEVER send you anything unless you have paid first! Never let someone talk you into sending out your gear without getting paid in full up front! The only exception might be Cash On Delivery through the shipping company.

Don't worry about the feedback numbers. Of course with only 38 current posts you might have to wait a little bit but your item will sell and that will be your first feedback. Like everyone else here I started with 0 feedbacks. Your items will sell.



Dec 31, 2012 at 08:29 PM
anthonysemone
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


Sorry, BIF, every on-line shop I've dealt with has given me a minimum of 14 day no Q asked return. So... for non-brick and mortar folk, no feedback, just joined, over 200$, send me the item, I'll send you the money. Sorry, but, for me, that's the way it is

Oh, eBay feedback? Hmmm, 38 Positive transactions all for the sale of batteries. Now, that'll really count for a lot.



Dec 31, 2012 at 09:14 PM
Bifurcator
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


Yeah, I hear ya.

On the 14-day thing that's a "Money back" offer... not a no-pay or try before you buy thing though right?

On the ebay points, sure every little bit helps.



Dec 31, 2012 at 09:41 PM
jcolwell
Offline
• • • • • • •
Upload & Sell: On
p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


Bifurcator wrote:
...On the ebay points, sure every little bit helps.


It does. I'm comfortable to sell an expensive lens to somebody with 5+ positive feedback, mostly because of PayPal seller protection. For items over $100, I always use shipping with insurance and delivery confirmation. I'm at 600 feedback (100% positive), and counting; about 1/3 selling and 2/3 somthing else...



Jan 02, 2013 at 07:36 AM
Bifurcator
Offline
• • • • •
Upload & Sell: Off
p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Ebay selling vs. FM selling


Yeah, I think I would be too. If the buyer had 5 good e-bay points for items even in the same price ball-park as my sale item I wouldn't hesitate to trust them in a FM transaction - buyer protection or not.


Jan 02, 2013 at 08:38 AM
1
       2       end




FM Forums | Forum & Miscellaneous | Join Upload & Sell

1
       2       end
    
 

You are not logged in. Login or Register

Username       Or Reset password



This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.