amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I have not purchased used gear through MPB, but have heard nothing but good things about them and wouldn't hesitate to do so should they have something I need at a price I like!

One thing I really like about MPB is that with cameras, whenever possible they list the shutter actuations. This is sort of like the mileage on the camera... a measure of how much use it's seen. The manufacturers sometimes list durability ratings for their cameras in shutter actuations or "clicks". The Canon EOS 80D is rated for 100,00 clicks. This just Canon's prediction of how long a camera made that way, with those materials, might be expected to last, on average. Some will do a little less, some will do more. (Sometimes a whole lot more.)

As stated, Canon rates the 80D to have a 100K life span. Looking at what's for sale on MPB I see some with around 12,000 clicks, a couple with only around 8000 and even another with only 5000. So those might be expected to have between 95%, 92% and 88% of their life remaining. You can't get this info from most of the other used equipment sellers... But may be able to test the camera yourself and find out once you receive it (hopefully with right to return it, if the numbers don't make you happy).

Again, this isn't a warranty or even close to it. It's just an estimated life span of a product, using one of the few means of measuring it's usage.

And, just like mileage on a car, not all clicks on a camera are equal. In cars it's said that highway mileage that racks up rapidly is actually a lot less taxing on the engine and drive train than stop and go driving around town. So a car used a lot on the highway might be in better shape than one with less mileage that was only used for short trips around town.

With cameras that can do both video and stills now, it's similar. A camera that's been mostly used for video might only have a few clicks, but a lot of "time" on the internal electronic components. A camera only used for still photos can be the opposite. For example, a camera only used to shoot 30 second Tik Tok videos with 10,000 clicks would have 5,000 minutes of accumulated use. The same camera only used to shoot stills at an average of 1/250 with the same 10,000 clicks would only have a total of 40 seconds accumulated time on the same components! Unfortunately, there's no way of knowing how the previous owner used a camera. We can only assume that it's something in between these two extremes.

Finally, shutter actuation info isn't easily accessed on all camera models. MPB provides it where they can... but there are other models where they simply aren't able to do so. Probably the only way to get that info from those "other" models would be to send the camera to the manufacturer's service center.

nmw1004 Loc: Dresher PA

They have been out of stock forever.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

One reason to prefer B&H is that if you use their "payboo" credit card, they pay the sales tax.

fantom Loc: Colorado

I agree with your comment about MPB but I believe their return policy may not be as liberal, but as you said they are a highly reputable company.