Given the popularity of my earlier article, “ Illnesses That Plague Photographers “, and the many humorous responses There are received, it seems that most of you have furthermore come to terms with your afflictions, and accepted to having little, if any, wish to be cured! That would suggest that over your daily life, you will likely buy and sell a fair amount of pictures equipment. As such, I thought it might be useful to know how to maximize your ability to obtain top dollar for your used gear.

There are many other avenues designed for selling your equipment, but We happen to believe that eBay is one of the best structured market locations to conduct business, offers a substantial amount of protection to both buyers plus sellers, and exposes you to an incredibly broad market. This article will cover the particular selling side of eBay, as the next will focus on the purchasing process.

1) Focus On Legitimacy

Your primary objective is to ensure that, through the entire sales cycle, every aspect of your conversation and dealings with others tasks and reinforces the notion that you are the credible person to buy from. Individuals are always concerned when spending their own money, particularly when the transaction will be associated with equipment they cannot hold within their hands until after they have purchased it, from someone that they will most likely never meet. As such, potential buyers possess a significant number of concerns at the outset of the auction. You need to understand and reassure all of them at every step of the way.

Bear in mind, unless you have a very distinctive item such as some exotic Nikon fisheye lens no longer made, you may be competing with others selling their particular 50mm 1 . 8Ds or additional gear. Your job is to make your own item stand out, provide potential buyers along with information that will help them make a decision, make yourself apart by how you skillfully handle the communications process plus business transaction. And it is pretty simple to do if you follow a few reminders.

2) Know Your Gear As well as Value

You need to start out with realistic expectations for the equipment given its age, problem, and the cost of similar items. The very first task is to thoroughly inspect your own gear, make note of any kind of particular conditions that should be communicated in order to potential buyers, and accurately classify the health of your equipment according to the descriptions auction web sites provides. Never, ever let the buyer be the one to inform you that you simply failed to mention some aspect of your own equipment’s condition, or that your idea of “like new? was a lot more akin to “should have been donated in order to Goodwill!? Such situations can only finish badly.

3) Take Great Images Of Your Gear!

One would think that this goes with out saying, but a quick perusal associated with some of eBay’s higher end lenses plus cameras will quickly prove how small thought some give to their gear’ s photos. Photographers, of all individuals, should be able to take quality pictures of the gear, right? Too often, this ends up not to be the case. It is not uncommon to see cameras or lenses marketing for $800-$2, 000 with pictures that seriously detract from their mentioned value. I can understand seeing so-so photos from a mom or father selling little Johnny’s aluminum football bat, but when someone is promoting a Nikon D3, and its pictures look like Polaroid snapshots from the 1972s, a red flag goes up in the thoughts of potential buyers.

What’s the big deal with taking poor quality pictures of photo equipment? First, this shows a lack of consideration toward the customer. Second, it conveys a bit of sloppiness on the part of the seller. Third, it presents doubt in the minds of would-be. Fourth, there is simply no excuse for this. As a photographer, you should know and be effective at something better than others on auction web sites that don’t have your gear or know-how.

Bad photos aren’t an excellent start to a transaction that may culminate in the exchange of hundreds of bucks (in some cases, thousands). Buyers need to know exactly what they are getting. And a few fuzzy, poorly lit photos of your Nikon D700 aren’t going to do a lot to inspire confidence in the buyer’s mind. I always bypass poorly took pictures of camera gear. If someone doesn’t understand the importance of displaying their tools in its best possible light, I am generally suspect regarding how honest these are and how well they will execute throughout the rest of the auction process. The only exemption I make is when the machines are part of an estate sale, or even other situation where a non-photographer offers inherited a myriad of photography gear.

It is pretty easy to consider high quality photos of your gear. A good white cardstock background, a bit of dusting with a lint-free cloth, a fine clean, and an air blower, a few diffused flash, and a bit of sensitive processing in Photoshop, and you can possess photos worthy of a Nikon marketing brochure. There are probably hundreds of lessons on the net for how to take top quality photos of your gear. Find one or even two, master the associated methods, and never put a poorly took pictures of item on eBay again!

Take photos from a selection of angles and ensure that any significant marks, dings, scratches, etc ., are usually highlighted so people can understand fully the extent of the issue. auction web sites charges for taking extra photos over and above the standard number. Pay the extra quantity and provide others with the opportunity to about the look at your equipment. Any edges or image accents that assist your gear stand out from the masses? Pay for those as well, as the additional attention is well worth it.

Great pictures may not ensure you a hefty premium on auction web sites, but mediocre or poor quality pictures will likely cause people to think twice about putting in a bid and/or cause them to question the value of your own equipment. Bear in mind that unless you have some incredibly unique item (highly unlikely), you happen to be competing with a variety of other retailers. Treat the photography of your equipment as you would any paid task or highly respected photo competition, and you will be off to a good begin.

4) Tell A Story And Create a Connection

Everybody can see that you are selling your 50mm AIS lens, but why? Individuals want to know the story behind any bit of gear, particularly for higher priced products. Your reasons for selling the equipment might be one of many: upgrading to new design, accumulated a number of lenses with overlapping ranges, discovered that you don’t take as much macro as you originally believed you might, need a faster lens to get low light shooting, your pictures interests changed and the lens seldom comes out of the bag, you lately purchased a 500mm 2 . almost eight lens that requires a heavy duty tripod/ball head combination, etc .

Whatever the reason, share it with would-be. It doesn’t have to be a story, but a paragraph or 2 can make a big difference with respect to helping individuals understand the story behind the equipment. In case you are selling a lens, camera, tripod, or flash, share some of your very best pictures taken with it via hyperlinks to your website(s), such as flickr, smugmug, zenfolio, 500px, etc . People like to see what you have done with a provided piece of gear, even if they could probably find many other photos taken along with similar equipment. Showcasing your pictures, your experiences using the equipment, and exactly how it helped you in your pictures journey makes both you and the product much more personal to potential buyers. Additionally, it earns you some instant reliability as someone that knows what they are carrying out, has some talent, and is likely somebody they can trust. Again, you need to provide people reasons to do business with you. Each a brief story regarding the equipment as well as the photos taken with it, assures audience that they are getting a great piece of equipment from a credible source that will allow them to take great photos too.

5) Anticipate Questions And Be In advance

Don’t await obvious questions to be asked. Foresee and answer them in your explanation of the item. When did you buy the item? Did you buy it brand new or used? Is it still below warranty? Has it had any fixes or maintenance? What is included with kit? Do you have the original box and documents? Does the item show any apparent signs of wear? Does the zoom lens have any fungus? Leave out simply no details. Provide a link to the product’s description on the vendor’s site. In the event that someone is going to bid on your Nikon D300, they already know its display sync speed, types of memory credit cards it takes, etc . Don’t waste room simply repeating what someone can simply read by navigating to the manufacturer’s site.

6) State Your Business Conditions

If you is only going to wish to do business in certain countries, state so clearly. Whatever you do, don’t fail to leave out the fact that you won’t ship to Antarctica and then learn that “Penguin_Lover_22? has won the particular auction. State the number of days necessary for payment, before voiding the selling. Draw attention to any other rules to get doing business, such as only accepting PayPal. Indicate that insurance costs extra. Understand the size of the box and overall weight, so that potential buyers can precisely estimate their shipping costs. Listing the maximum number of days someone needs to pay you before you cancel the particular transaction and relist the item. Never ever take anything for granted, please remember how the common adage associated with the phrase, “assume”… I always start my products out at $1. This idea makes some people cringe, but You will find never sold something below the things i believed was a fair price.

7) Provide Your Shutter Actuation Depend

Some might have different opinions on this one. In my opinion that if you are selling a medium-to-high end camera, you should anticipate that will anyone worth their salt may ask for the shutter actuation depend. Obtain a copy of Opanda EXIF viewing software (free), determine your camera’s count after taking a picture within JPEG format, and list the amount of shutter actuations in the item’s explanation. This is not simply considerate, but it extras both you and potential buyers quite a bit of period by avoiding extensive emails concerning the issue.

8) Be Extremely Reactive

Once you have outlined your item on eBay, rely on checking your email a few times each day. Promptly responding to people demonstrates that you will be considerate of others? concerns and period. Under no circumstances should you take more than one time to get back to potential buyers, particularly when it does not take final day of the sale. It will help if you put your item for sale at a time when you are available and can react in a timely manner the last day of the public sale. This might mean posting your auction web sites item at 10: 30 EVENING so that during the final hours, you could be at your computer to answer any kind of last minute questions. And it is never a good idea to post your items on auction web sites the day or two before you go on the vacation to a remote Caribbean island along with spotty internet connectivity.

Always be considerate in your response, even if the potential buyer asks questions which they should have known by reading your own posting. It is simply a price of conducting business. Post the questions and solutions for others to view. This will save you a while since others will likely have some from the same concerns. Wish them properly with the auction, and urge these to ask any other questions they may have got.

9) Be Prepared To Ship Promptly

Don’t wait till someone buys your gear to discover that you don’t have a suitable container, sufficient bubble wrap, packing video tape, etc . Get these supplies prior to the last day and make sure your equipment will fit in the box with sufficient protection. As soon as you receive payment, deliver your item the next day. If you cannot deliver the item immediately, make sure you give the customer a specific ship date. Send the particular FedEx or UPS tracking quantity to the buyers as soon as you can to allow them to keep tabs on the shipping process.

10) Be Appreciative And Show It

Take the time to write the thank you note. The buyer most likely got other opportunities to bid on items comparable to yours. Appreciate the fact that he/she bought your item and chose to work with you. Let them know that you would like to see pictures taken with your gear, in the case of digital cameras or lenses.

Since photographers, we have a tendency to obtain attached to our gear (even whenever we turn it over on occasion! ). There is certainly something satisfying in finding that your equipment has found a new home and it is being well-taken care of. I have sensed an odd sense of satisfaction when people send me links in order to beautiful photos taken with digital cameras or lenses that I previously owned. Help remind the person that you welcome their publishing positive feedback regarding this deal and that you will provide the same.

11) Feedback Is Everything

Accurate and timely comments is the grease that keeps the particular eBay machinery working for all of us. Value positive feedback and do all you can through the entire auction process to earn this. Provide it liberally to other people who treat you equally properly and prove to be good buying companions. If someone forgets to provide suggestions regarding the sale, send a soft email reminder and ask how they are usually enjoying their new gear. Lifetime happens, and sometimes people ignore. Nearly everyone will quickly respond once they understand that they let it slip.

12) Whenever Thing Go Astray

One of the best means to avoid problems is to follow the guidelines above. Naturally , issues may still arise. Often attempt to be reasonable and solve issues amicably. Over the last five many years, I have sold a considerable number of lenses, digital cameras, flash units, and other gear. Throughout one stretch, I sold away my entire Pentax kit, that was pretty extensive. I only went into two issues during my many years of selling gear on eBay.

The first involved dealing with a new man that wanted to link their payment for the lens to their cousin’s brother’s father-in-law sending your pet part of a rebate check… or even something like that. In this case, I had in order to let him know politely, but firmly, it turned out not acceptable for him in order to subordinate our transaction for the zoom lens to any other transaction. I offered him a time and date through which, if I did not receive payment, I might notify eBay that the sale has been cancelled due to lack of payment, which this would not reflect well upon him. By some stroke associated with luck, he was able to make the transaction by the deadline and I shipped the particular lens.

The other concern involved someone that wanted to return an old 50mm lens he had purchased through me. He indicated that there had been some dust in the lens. Given that this lens was made in the particular early-to-mid 70s, I found it hard to think someone might have thought that it failed to have at least a few specs associated with dust in it. I interpreted this particular as the person in question simply transforming his mind regarding the purchase. I actually allowed him to return it. I actually looked at it along with some of the newer lenses, and found it had no more or less dirt than the others. I could have made a problem of it with eBay considering that the description accurately indicated that provided the age and condition of the zoom lens, and that it had some regular wear and tear. As such, a few specs associated with dust inside the lens were quite reasonable to expect. In this case however , I actually decided it simply wasn’t really worth my time to argue about it.

13) Summary

eBay provides you with a tremendous opportunity to show your used photography equipment to some huge potential market of purchasers. The auction concept can work to your advantage, as many get engrossed in the “bidding wars? and in the process, provide you with the optimum value for your equipment. If you spend a bit of time and energy to present your apparatus and yourself in a professional manner, are particular regarding your business terms, and deal with people as you would want to be taken care of, you can quickly get the attention of customers and stand out from the crowd. Taking and accumulating stellar eBay rankings can also provide buyers with the confidence you are a solid business partner and that they are usually justified in trusting you using their hard-earned money.

Are you experiencing some experiences regarding eBay that you would like to share? People always appreciate the chance to learn from others. Let us