Has the economy - FM Forums

Moderated by: guardian

Visit the FM Store · Image Upload · Buy & Sell
FM Forum Rules

FM Forums | General Gear-talk | Join Image Upload
end

Visuals
Offline
Buy and Sell: On

p.1 #1 · Has the economy

Affected your gear purchasing habits?

If you look in the Buy/Sell sections you see tons of FS's... But then again that's what its for... Selling :-) I definitely had to sell off unused items, what about you?

Cheers

Edited by Visuals on May 09, 2008 at 05:50 AM GMT

Edited on May 09, 2008 at 05:50 AM

May 09, 2008 at 05:27 AM

EB-1
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #2 · Has the economy

Yes, I have been buying more. BTW, there is no need to SHOUT titles in all caps.

May 09, 2008 at 05:46 AM

plnelson
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #3 · Has the economy

EB-1 wrote:
Yes, I have been buying more. BTW, there is no need to SHOUT titles in all caps.

I've been buying like crazy lately - In the last 2 months I've bought a D300 and Nikkor 24-70 f/2.8, 70-200 f/2.8 and 300 f/4. In the next few weeks I'm buying a 1.4 TC and a wide-angle that I haven't selected yet (probably the Nikkor 12-24).

I have a lot of old gear I'm getting rid of - 2 FM2N's, N80, Tokina 400 f/5.6 MF, Tokina 17 f/3.5, some old Sigma 28-70? f/3.5-? MF, - they all work fine but I'm not sure any of these are worth the shipping cost and my time to research prices and pack them up so I may just throw them all in the trash. When I mentioned this to a photo buddy of mine he was aghast that I would throw out good, working gear, but when I asked him if he wanted any of it he said "no".

People who sell old gear for $25-75 must either sell a LOT of gear so they have a really efficient operation, or they just don't value their time very much. Posting "for sale" ads, checking responses, researching prices to know what to ask, setting up online accounts, finding suitable boxes, boxing up the gear, taking it to the post office or UPS, processing/depositing checks, etc, may not sound like much but when you add all these little steps together they add up to real time. The back-of-the-envelope math of what I could get for any of the above items minus shipping cost is less than I value my own time.

May 09, 2008 at 02:15 PM

plnelson
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #4 · Has the economy

plnelson wrote:

I have a lot of old gear I'm getting rid of - 2 FM2N's, N80, Tokina 400 f/5.6 MF, Tokina 17 f/3.5, some old Sigma 28-70? f/3.5-? MF, - they all work fine but I'm not sure any of these are worth the shipping cost and my time to research prices and pack them up so I may just throw them all in the trash. When I mentioned this to a photo buddy of mine he was aghast that I would throw out good, working gear, but when I asked him if he wanted any of it he said "no".

People who sell old gear for $25-75 must either sell a LOT of gear so they have a really efficient operation, or they just don't value their time very much. Posting "for sale" ads, checking responses, researching prices to know what to ask, setting up online accounts, finding suitable boxes, boxing up the gear, taking it to the post office or UPS, processing/depositing checks, etc, may not sound like much but when you add all these little steps together they add up to real time. The back-of-the-envelope math of what I could get for any of the above items minus shipping cost is less than I value my own time.

I just got a quote number from KEH - I think what I'll do is pack it all in a box and ship it to them, giving them permission to throw out anything they can't sell, and taking anything I can get for any of it that does sell.

May 09, 2008 at 02:29 PM

Andre Labonte
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #5 · Has the economy

plnelson wrote:
EB-1 wrote:
Yes, I have been buying more. BTW, there is no need to SHOUT titles in all caps.

May 09, 2008 at 04:24 PM

plnelson
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #6 · Has the economy

Andre Labonte wrote:You could always send the Tokina 400 f/5.6 MF my way and I'll pay the shipping and any other expenses.

As I said in my follow-up posting, the lowest effort on my part is to put ALL my unwanted gear in one box and ship it to KEH. They can sort through it and sell whatever they like and do whatever they want with the rest. So I have a quote # from them and I'll box it up on Sunday.

That's the big advantage of FM - it gives me a way to sort out my thoughts and put them in perspective. I read my first posting and said, "well, then what am I waiting for?" In about 25 minutes of work I can clear out two shelves of unwanted photo gear, find at least a FEW of the items a new home, make a couple of easy dollars, and increase the size of some landfill in Georgia instead of Massachusetts with whatever's not salable. (and KEH knows better than I do what's salable so I get to use someone else's core competency).

In answer to the original question - the economy has made me a net BUYER because

1. I'm convinced Nikon will raise their prices really soon.

1a. I've got lots of cash sitting in my toy budget, and at current interest/inflation rates it's losing value, so I might as well spend it.

2. I have a good job at the moment but if I get laid-off I'll be psychologically reluctant to spend my toy budget so I'm spending now so my having all this nice pro Nikkor glass will be a fait accompli.

Edited on May 09, 2008 at 07:49 PM

May 09, 2008 at 07:48 PM

tarnis
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #7 · Has the economy

May 10, 2008 at 12:54 PM

plnelson
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #8 · Has the economy

Although if you weren't even looking to go through that much effort, alot of the highschools are starving right now for cash. I'm sure something local would kill for some of that stuff. Plus you may be able to write it off.

I put out a notice at my photo club asking if any of them had kids in a HS that need gear like this but nothing resulted from that. I don't have time to go calling local schools. Also I got hit with with a $12,000 AMT on April 15 - and the way the ATM works you effectively lose your deductions. (not to mention the fact that taking a deduction requires researching and potentially documenting fair-market value, which is more time).

Edited on May 10, 2008 at 01:04 PM

May 10, 2008 at 01:03 PM

EB-1
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.1 #9 · Has the economy

I'm too lazy to sell anything. I really don't need three 1Ds series bodies or the extra 100-400 anymore.

EB

May 10, 2008 at 07:15 PM


FM Forums \| General Gear-talk \| Join Image Upload end