Selling Your Camera the Easy Way
- Memory cards and memory card holders
- Extra batteries
- Camera cleaning kits
- Straps
- Old powerbanks
Photo by Reinhart Julian on Unsplash
Have you ever purchased a used camera? It can be difficult to sift through bad pictures of cameras, dirty cameras, and posts with absolutely no information in them.
Why are photographers so bad at selling their old equipment? You would think a photographer could take a good picture of their camera kit.
Selling your camera doesn’t need to be difficult, though. In fact, there are more sites that cater to selling your camera now than ever before. Many professionals prefer to use MPB reseller to get a good price for their photography camera like the Nikon D3500.
Now all you need is to learn how to sell used camera gear.
Clean Your Kit
As Peter McKinnon showcases, the best tip for selling your camera is to clean it properly before you even put it online.
Lenses with fingerprints, viewfinders with a layer of dust, and pieces of debris stuck in your hot shoe mount all say the same thing to any potential buyers: you don’t care about this camera.
And if you don’t care about your camera while selling it, then of course the next logical assumption is that you also didn’t care about your camera while using it.
Photo by Math on Unsplash
You’ll know your camera is clean after you’ve hit all of the major components: take a microfibre cloth to the screen and viewfinder, use air to clear out the hot shoe mount, and clear any gaps of dust.
Cleaning the sensor and mirror (if your camera has one) can be a scary task, but it’s necessary to clean these delicate items if you intend to sell your camera for top dollar.
Don’t Lie in Your Post
photo by vorDa via iStock
It’s so frustrating when someone lies in a post they put online where they’re trying to sell something, but this frustration is only increased tenfold when the thing they are selling is worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.
If you’re truly trying to sell your camera quickly, then the worst way to do so is to embellish your post about it because as soon as the buyer receives it, they’re going to send it right back.
You’ll want to include info about the number of actuations, or shots the camera has taken, whether there are any scratches or dents on the body, and what shape the lens is in.
One trick I’ve found with my sales post is this: I’ll write up the post, being as honest as possible, and then let one of my friends read that post before showing them the camera. I’ll ask them questions like, “Would you be happy if this came in the mail based on the post about it?”
Include All of Your Extras
Photo by Tom Pumford on Unsplash
Have memory cards that don’t fit your new camera? Throw them in with your old camera.
Freebies allow you to remain competitive, while also being eco-friendly. I know my junk drawer is filled with old tech that’s going to end up in a landfill eventually; why not put that equipment to good use?
Photo by Owen Young on Unsplash
Some examples of extras I’ve included with a camera sale before are:
Basically, if I know I won’t use it again and I know I can’t sell it by itself, I’ll include it with my camera.
Use Good Images
Photo by Hanson Lu on Unsplash
It hurts me so much to go browsing used cameras and need to sift through horrific photos of those cameras.
We are photographers. I understand product photography might not be your niche, but there are some rules you need to follow with a sales post online, especially since nobody reads product descriptions before seeing product photos.
I’m of the belief that taking boring product photos on a white background isn’t necessarily the best way to go because I like to see pictures of equipment in their natural environments, like the photo above.
Regardless of your background, though, you’ll need to use a lot of natural light or a studio flash, you’ll need to nicely arrange your camera alongside its extras, and you’ll need to do a little post-editing to ensure you have balanced exposure throughout.
Photo by Math on Unsplash
Additionally, you need to ensure every single angle of your camera is captured. For many of my posts, I’ll have over a dozen shots. A good example of this is to look at a new camera on a camera manufacturer’s website, like Canon or Sony. Try and replicate the shots they have of their products, this way you don’t forget any angles.
Ship Your Gear Safely
Perfect Image Camera understands that half the trouble with selling photography gear is packaging photography gear for transport.
There is nothing more disheartening than hearing your camera got injured on its journey to its new home, especially because that means you’ll probably end up paying for it if you didn’t have insurance.
Photo by Bench Accounting on Unsplash
You’ll want to include an excess of bubble wrap, use a correctly sized box, and print the shipping label, as opposed to handwriting it because this leaves room for error.
Lastly, I mentioned insurance. Make sure to purchase it if your courier doesn’t already guarantee its packages.
Bonus: Choose Where You Want to Sell Your Camera Wisely
Truly, none of these tips for selling camera gear are going to be helpful if you end up choosing a bad camera resale marketplace.
That’s why I use Gear Focus. Firstly, they were recommended to me by a trusted friend, which is how they’ve picked up most of their business. The marketplace was created by photographers, which means they understand the razor thin margins most professional photographers work on.
Instead of Amazon or eBay which charge over 10% of your sales in fees, Gear Focus only charges 3.5%, plus you can try it free for the first month.
Additionally, they often have killer specials, so if you list your item for sale, you might be entered to win an awesome prize, like a new camera or a drone.
Gear Focus is simply a far better idea for selling your gear than the likes of eBay or Craigslist. Trust me...I’ve tried selling on those sites before, and the experience was nowhere near as smooth as Gear Focus!
