Photographers are trading in their gear every day. I spend way too much time browsing eBay for used equipment, and for good reason. This is one of the best ways I’ve found to buy gear while saving money. I have bought several lenses that I have used in my professional work on eBay at a fraction of their retail value. Here are some tips for success buying on eBay:
1. When searching, make sure you are in the proper category. If you’re looking for lenses, set the category to “lenses” as opposed to “lenses and filters”. This will help to avoid clutter in your search. Set the sorting to show the lowest priced items first.
2. Pay close attention to “Buy it Now” offers. If you find a listing for immediate sale below retail price, you may have a steal on your hands.
3. Take the time to inspect the photos of the item. If an item lacks photos altogether, this is a huge red flag. Pour over the description, and pay attention to the details. Why is the item for sale? What does the seller say about its condition? Also look at the feedback history of the seller and what other items (if any) they are selling. All this information can give you a better idea about whether a seller is trustworthy.
4. If an item is up for auction instead of buy it now and looks promising, add it to your watch list, but don’t bid. Keep an eye on the price throughout the auction, and have a limit in mind on how much you’d be willing to pay for it.
5. Be patient. You'll get the notifications that the item you’ve been watching is ending in X amount of time. This is the time to start watching it like a hawk.
6. Don’t bid until the last second! eBay’s bidding system works on a “maximum bid” system. This means you set the greatest amount you wish to bid, and eBay will automatically bid for you up to that point.
This sounds good in theory as a sort of set it and forget it bidding system, but if you do this, you are likely to be outbid. Instead, I use a strategy known as sniping. At the last moment before the auction ends, I submit my max bid at the highest price I am willing to pay for the item. eBay will then bid for me until I beat everyone else’s bid (up to my max). I can actually win the auction this way without overbidding. It does this without giving anyone else the opportunity to see my bid and consider raising their own.
This way I have a HUGE advantage over those who set and forget. If I still happen to get outbid, it means that someone else had a higher max bid. In that case the item exceeds the highest price I am willing to pay for it and is no longer a deal to me. So I move onto the next one, not having lost anything. The sniping strategy ensures you never pay more than you’re willing during an auction. Don’t fall victim to “bidding wars”. Back and forth bidding will often increase the price to near or even above retail value.
Be Patient
You'll find what you are looking for.
What other strategies have you found success with on eBay? What was the best deal you've ever found on photography equipment? Let me know in the comments!
Photographers are trading in their gear every day. I spend way too much time browsing eBay for used equipment, and for good reason. This is one of the best ways I’ve found to buy gear while saving money. I have bought several lenses that I have used in my professional work on eBay at a fraction of their retail value. Here are some tips for success buying on eBay