Bison Bud

Over the years, I've bought quite a bit of used gear, camera bodies, lenses, tripods, etc. from Craigslist and other similar sites with good results. I still check Craigslist almost every day during my morning coffee and frankly, there's seldom anything of real interest anymore. It's primarily just some old film cameras, used/obsolete point and shoots, odd ball gear, and an occasional decent lens. Newer dlsr and mirrorless bodies are oddly missing with generally only older bodies like a Canon Rebel or similar beginner Nikon posted for sale. With the exception of a local camera shop's ads there is very seldom anything even remotely current up for sale and they don't seem to post as much as they used to either. Are folks not upgrading to newer equipment anymore or are they just holding on to their older stuff rather than selling it when they do? Is this possibly a harbinger of even more slacking camera sales or is it just another bump in the road? Anyway, I'm curious as to what others think about this and what their current experiences have been with purchasing used gear, especially some of the more current and pro-sumer type camera bodies. Good luck and good shooting to all.

Brokenland

Well, upon ordering/getting my Canon M6 I was wanting to get back into manual focusing with old adapted lenses. I had to order lens from Europe via Etsy. But once I got the lenses two things happen, 1st, I was unable to use the lenses due to arthritis 2nd the lenses where junk and the seller would not refund my money I was forced to just trash the lenses. otherwise I was going to suggest Etsy, but I'd be careful there as well. Seems that fellow's account on Etsy isnt there anymore or he's renamed it.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

I think there's two forces at work:

1) The entire camera market is down by 80% in the decade+ plus since the last recent high in 2011.

2) What is being bought 'new' is high-end full-frame mirrorless cameras as Sony, Canon and Nikon duke it out for the ultra-premium category.

So, is there a 'glut' of used gear 'missing' as a result of a conversion to mirrorless? Or, is it really that 24MP sensors (and larger) all a digital photographer needs, if they need a camera at all instead of their phone?

I'll add a #3 idea - mirrorless enables more older equipment. Anyone shopping for what were cheap(ish) and readily available Canon FD lenses has probably noticed they've virtually disappeared from the used market. In the 2010-2014 stretch, I bought several lenses dating back to the 1980s to use on a Sony mirrorless. Today, those same models can't be found anywhere on ebay (my typical source), even for import from overseas.

davyboy Loc: Anoka Mn.

What do you think about the new full frame cameras from Panasonic? Will they catch up? They have a pretty good reputation

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

For starters I would not use Craigslist anyway. I stay with Amazon, eBay, B & H, Adorama, and the UHH for used gear. Yes, I find less used gear for sale in general but since I use Pentax I find the used market not as bad as you seem to. I have bought film and up to fairly new digital used. Less yes, but I still like looking. Seems there is still a fine turn over if you know where and how to look. Even Canon and Nikon MILC.

pendennis

I've had some good luck with Craig's List. I've found some great deals on large and medium format, especially. That stated, most of what I see there is "junk", the usual P/S oldies, low pixel digitals, and the like. I got nice deals on a 190mm WF Ektar, and 20 like-new 4x5 Fidelity film holders.

Of course, there are the sellers who swear that their beat-up Pentax KX is a valuable "antique", or the Brownie Starflash is likewise.

You have to be careful about the search criteria. Using "Photo Video" can hide some other categories. A year-or-so ago, I was looking for some Nikon gear. I finally did a universal search for "Nikon", and happened upon an ad for a Nikon F100, 28-105mm lens, power pack, cleaning kit, etc. The guy wanted $200 OTD. The camera was mint, along with the lens and small Lowe Pro bag. The kicker was an unadvertised camera the seller brought with him. Seems his father left him a Canon AE-1 Program with a 50mm f/1.8 lens. He asked me what I would pay for it. I replied that I don't put a price on someone else's merchandise. He asked $50, and I paid that.

The pickings are getting more slim, though, and as always "Caveat Emptor".

Bison Bud

I agree with your objective insight here, the overall market is down and has been on a downward slide for quite awhile now and what is being bought is primarily high end equipment that many of us can only dream about, due to the price. Photographers that can afford these high end cameras can probably afford to keep what is still high end equipment for backup use, etc. and it just doesn't show up in the used market like it used to anymore. I also think that improvements in cell phone cameras have had a big influence here as well. While I don't believe that they will ever replace a good dlsr or mirrorless camera with interchangeable lenses, especially for pros and serious amateurs, they do fill the bill for many folks out there and their performance has improved remarkably over the past couple years. However, I do feel that the manual controls, larger sensors, and high quality glass, will always be a real advantage to anyone serious about their photography. Unfortunately, this too steers the direction of the market toward the higher end gear and I guess we're all just going to have to learn to deal with it as best we can. Good luck and good shooting to all.

Bison Bud

I've actually had some pretty good luck with Craigslist in the past, but as stated previously, most of what's there now is just junk with an occasional pearl that sells very quickly (which is why I keep looking). However, I have also purchased used equipment from both B&H and Adorama and frequently check their inventory of used gear. I've never been much on e-bay, but I do know that some deals can be had there and look there occasionally as well.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I think Paul may be correct in his assessment. And I think there also may be a different scenario developing:

1. Early adopters of the new camera designs jumped on the bandwagon, dumping their more traditional equipment to finance doing so. This provided a lot of used equipment for resale, much of which was quite recent and very lightly used.

2. The early adopter market is now satisfied, or very close to being satisfied. As a result, sales and trades have slowed. Those who are migrating now are coming from a much longer dwell time with the equipment that they are dumping, so what is available is comprised of much more experienced equipment. It is older and much more heavily used. It may still be in very nice condition, but shutter counts are higher, and the equipment is going to show more signs of being used due to the years of faithful service it has provided its users. This is likely the steady-state situation of the future.

3. Eventually (and who knows exactly when this will happen), the early adopters will start dumping the equipment from their initial foray into the new technology, because there will be a new "latest and greatest" that they just absolutely must have. This will lead to some newer gear showing up on the used market again.

There may be other factors that influence what happens. For instance, the projected jump in Social Security benefits projected for next year will be perceived as larger than they really are by some folks. Those people may be tempted to go out and splurge on something that they would otherwise not have purchased. At any rate, for now, it is likely that the bloom is off the rose, at least for a while.

Markets change all the time, for all kinds of reasons. Look at the housing market over the past year or so. And both the new and used car markets. WHo would have thought on either one?

Bill_de Loc: US

Although there are people who have 'good luck' with Craigslist, I think more and more people are learning not to depend on luck. It's always nice to have a reputable dealer standing behind any transaction.

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User ID

If I were starting from scratch I’d be very tempted. Even over-equipt as I am, I’m still slightly tempted.

OTOH I’m rather put off by a lens mount shared with a Leica branded system of bodies and lenses.

DavidPine Loc: Fredericksburg, TX

I agree with your analysis and would add that because phone cameras have come such a long way that there isn't much need for low and midrange mirrorless cameras. Most people only want easy snap shots.

User ID

Despite the palpable decline over 10 to 15 yrs, I still find the used market offers sufficient pickins. But it’s now costing me more cuz we have eBay as replacement for big swap-and-sell meets, a situation which has sent me to the more premium priced used vendors.

I did plenty of bidnez at those meets. Price-wise eBay is similar to those, but transparency-wise eBay is off my radar.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

During uncertain financial periods, people tend to be more frugal when it comes to spending money on their hobbies.

ClarkJohnson Loc: Fort Myers, FL and Cohasset, MA

I don’t agree about the used market “drying up,” but I have only a few years of active buying and selling, so my frame of reference may be limited. I shoot Nikon and I check eBay and UHH every morning. It’s true that I find less of interest, but that’s mostly because I have purchased (and eventually sold) most of the lens and body options out there. For example, there is a AF 80-200 f2.8 posted today at a great price. Already had one, loved it, but moved on. With the churn caused by the introduction on the Z system, there seems to be a lot of used gear floating around.