I wanna sell my Nikon 28-105mm, I asked around with my friends and they're just not interested. Now I'm looking at B&H and Adorama. I live a train ride away from the city so if they do walk-ins I'll do it. From what I've heard, B&H completely rips you off. Like I heard that my lens can go for 200 or even 250. But when I got a quote from B&H it was at 95. So I assume B&H give you less than 50% of what it's worth. Now with Adorama, I personally have never been there but I heard great things about it and I'm willing to try it out. Anyone know how much they would buy it for?

personally i would sell it on amazon marketlace...i once sold a 1200 lens to a camera shop and was cheated so badly...when reselling on amazon most people get really close to what they paid for it..good luck :)

Adorama is pushy and will also offer you less than you could get selling on your own. I requested a quote on-line from them for a camera body and the guy called back asking for my mailing address!?! I told him all I wanted was a quote and he insisted on getting my mailing address even though I hadn't agreed to sell them the body.

How about selling it here on dgrin?

Originally Posted by dogwood Adorama is pushy and will also offer you less than you could get selling on your own. I requested a quote on-line from them for a camera body and the guy called back asking for my mailing address!?! I told him all I wanted was a quote and he insisted on getting my mailing address even though I hadn't agreed to sell them the body.

I was concerned to read your posting, and would like the opportunity to investigate your complaint re a pushy salesman.
I would be grateful if you could spare the time to email me directly with the date and time of your call, plus the number you called from. This will give me the ability to identify who you spoke to and make any necessarry recommendationsd to his manager regarding future training and support needs.

You are absolutely correct; selling a used unit to Adorama is unlikely to yield as much as selling privately; we need to take into account advertising, staff time, premises costs, equipment cleaning, minor repairs etc.

In addition, we pay the shipping and insurance costs for all items sent to our used department for appraisal - and if the seller is unhappy with the price that is offerred, we also meet the cost of shipping the item back.

On top of all that, the boss expects us to turn a profit!!!

There are a range of selling options. The following are my experiences ... your mileage may vary (or your priorities may be different):

1) Here on DGrin. It hits an international audience (mostly in the U.S., I think), and you'll probably get the highest net price if it sells, but it might take a while and of course the seller normally covers the shipping costs and some or all of the PayPal fees. But DGrin charges nothing for the listing, so at the very least, it's a great place to start. If it doesn't sell in a week or two, try something else. I've bought and sold a lot of equipment at DGrin and the buyers/sellers have been pretty honest and friendly (as always, use appropriate safeguards on your transactions). So for photo equipment, I always *start* at DGrin.

2) Craigslist. You also don't pay a listing fee, but you have to be more careful who you're dealing with. And you generally only advertise in your local area. I've bought/sold a few things on Craigslist, but generally shy away from it. (one time I bought something and it turned out to be from the guy sitting in the office next to mine!!)

3) Amazon. You reach a HUGE audience, you don't have to write up a listing, and Amazon takes care of all the bookkeeping and money collecting. You set a fixed selling price (and can change it if you're not getting nibbles). I've sold a lot of stuff there over the years. But Amazon does charge a chunk of commission -- I think 8-10% on photo gear -- so it is my second choice.

4) eBay. You probably know the ins and outs there. It reaches an *enormous* audience, but it's a lot more work to write the listing, you don't know in advance what you'll get for the item (unless you go for a fixed-price listing), eBay charges lots of various listing and final-value fees, and you pay for shipping. But you do know that it will be sold at the end of the auction period. You probably end up paying 8-10% in fees, similar to Amazon.

5) Adorama, B&H, etc camera stores -- this is the super-easy route. They take care of everything and you sell it right away. You won't get as much as if you sell it privately, but in exchange you're getting a lot of service from them. They also pay the shipping. It's no different than selling a car privately vs. trading it in to a dealer -- in the first case, you get near-retail value and in the second you're only going to get wholesale value. Sometimes it's worth it to do the wholesale trade-in, in exchange for taking away all the hassle of selling it yourself.

Originally Posted by DoctorIt How about selling it here on dgrin?

I would but I don't think anyone is fine with cash in an envelope.

Oh and if I post pics of it, think anyone can tell me how much I could get?

Just did a quick search 200-220$ for used minty ones.

Originally Posted by ph03n1x From what I've heard, B&H completely rips you off. Like I heard that my lens can go for 200 or even 250. But when I got a quote from B&H it was at 95. So I assume B&H give you less than 50% of what it's worth.

I am thrilled to be able to tell you that whoever said "B&H completely rips you off," was approximately 1000000000000978% incorrect. That's a ballpark figure, so it might actually be closer to 1000000000000977.966%.

The price a retailer might pay for any used item depends on a variety of factors including supply, demand and the actual condition of the individual piece being offered for sale.

When we last had it new, the Nikon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 D-AF lens sold for 269.95. I just found three on eBay for (buy it now prices) 142.50, 179.00 & 185.00. Of course that doesn't mean the sellers will get those prices; just that the sellers want those prices. The average of those prices is 168.83.

When you sell to a retailer you have to expect substantially less. The retailer has costs including intake for the item, inspection, cleaning, inventory, warehousing it and so on. Retailers know that every item on a retailer's shelf has to "pay its rent" and the longer the item sits, the more that factors into the amount the retailer can pay. To that the retailer has to add the cost to warranty the lens, including an amount which will cover costs if the retailer has to pay to have the lens shipped back, repaired and reshipped to the customer.

Right now B&H has one Nikon Zoom Wide Angle-Telephoto AF Zoom Nikkor 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D IF Autofocus Lens in our used store in "9" condition. It'd be remarkable for one to be priced at 250.00 today unless it was unused and still in the box. The price offered to you is a reasonable ballpark price for a lens in good condition. If you feel your lens is in excellent condition and should command a higher price your options include replying to our 95.00 offer with a counter-offer or selling it privately.

So ph03n1x, have you learned something? I hope your trip to Dgrin has brought you more valuable information than simply what you've "heard."



Also, just want to thank Helen and Henry for their very courteous, informative, and personal replies (as always).

Originally Posted by DoctorIt So ph03n1x, have you learned something? I hope your trip to Dgrin has brought you more valuable information than simply what you've "heard." Also, just want to thank Helen and Henry for their very courteous, informative, and personal replies (as always).

Yeah, I did learn. But now, I got something to ask. Does B&H or Adorama buy used hard drives?

Originally Posted by ph03n1x Does B&H or Adorama buy used hard drives?

Almost no retail outlets buy used hard drives or take them in trade. And B&H and Adorama don't even sell bare hard drives, so there's no prayer of them buying used ones.

They do sell external drives (bare drives + enclosures), but I doubt they buy those used, either, as their primary used-equipment business is photographic equipment. (Henry or Helen might correct me on that, but I really doubt they trade used hard drives)

That's definitely an item you'll have best luck selling privately. Definitely try advertising them here on DGrin, Ph03n1x ... you might find a buyer. (I know I've looked for used hard drives from time to time) Second to that, there's always a market for them on eBay, but it's a lot of work to create a listing, and then there are the fees to deal with there.

Yeah that's what I meant. External drives. Because I got a Western Digital 320GB that I wanna get rid of.

Originally Posted by ph03n1x Yeah that's what I meant. External drives. Because I got a Western Digital 320GB that I wanna get rid of.

Easy enough to ask our used dept.
Phone: 800.606.6969 ext. 2700

Originally Posted by ph03n1x Yeah that's what I meant. External drives. Because I got a Western Digital 320GB that I wanna get rid of.

Once it is wiped.....why not ebay it..........so much easier than calling or emailing for quote that you will not be happy with.........