Should I or shouldn't I

[andnowimbroke]

I've been trying to sell my 70-200mm 2.8l IS USM for awhile now ($1650 w/ B+W filter). I left it in the sealed bag that the Canon folks put it in after changing out the IS system. My deal was thinking that people would buy it sealed in a factory bag before they would buy one that had been used for awhile and were unfamiliar with what could have been done in that time. So there it sits. For months. In a bag. I can't help but think of all the shots I missed because I left it behind. I'm getting ready to open it up and use it, but wanted your opinion first.

[andnowimbroke]

Hah! I'm an idiot. I couldn't find the "new post" button so I just clicked a post and used the "new post" button there. Sadly, I'm in the Image Capture section. Sometimes I wonder how I breathe at night:)

[Sheiky]

Honestly open it and use it while you can!


I personally have experience with selling stuff with and without gaurantee and I found that the price they offer with gaurantee (like yours) is no more than without. At least not wasting shots for.


Some people might actually head off when seeying it's still in the bag. It might trigger some questions [;)]


Anyway good luck selling it and if it were mine, I'd use it while I still had the chance.


Jan

[andnowimbroke]

Some people might actually head off when seeying it's still in the bag


Interesting. Never thought of it that way. I could have dropped it and sent it off to get fixed and now am trying to pawn it off! While that's not the reason I sent everything to Canon, but they don't know that. It's funny because I had it on CL and was getting folks from out of State wanting to "buy" it and send me a check. I told them the money raised was going to the church anywayand to just send the money to them online and I would send the lens. They said it was fine but still needed my name and address, etc. I'm sure it was a scam on their end. I mean really! Who calls this Bokeh Machine just an "Item" in the letter. Since then, I don't believe anything written to me by stranger.


Consider it opened, Jan.





Thanks

[scalesusa]

Selling on Craigslist can be difficult, particularly if you have such a high price. They get no warranty with it, the warranty applies to you. Keep the B&W filter, and ask $1400 for it. Or sell it on ebay for $1450. Thats the going price range, and ebay will end up getting 10-15% off the top.

[andnowimbroke]

Selling on Craigslist can be difficult, particularly if you have such a high price





Your right. I was thinking with it being mailed to the church rather than me, you'd get a tax credit of like $160 or whatever. That would bring it more in line with the price you listed and someone gets a gitty feeling knowing they helped out. I've already got rid of two lenses pretty easy. This was the hard one. I'm starting to lean towards keeping it and getting the rest of the money I promisedfrom somewhere else. I've got to the end of next year to get it. I just wanted to keep my "Slate of Debt" clean.

[Trowski]

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Or sell it on ebay for $1450. Thats the going price range, and ebay will end up getting 10-15% off the top.


I always sell my stuff on eBay, and I've sold several camera lenses on eBay as I've upgraded my collection. I only accept PayPal. In my opinion, eBay and PayPal are the safest solution, since there is eBay Seller Protection and with PayPal you know you have your money before you send the lens.


As for fees - eBay takes 9% up to a maximum of $50, and PayPal takes about 3%. So if you sold your lens for $1450 on eBay you would net about $1356.50 ($1450 - $50 - ($1450 * 0.03)).
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[andnowimbroke]

As for fees - eBay takes 9% up to a maximum of $50, and PayPal takes about 3%. So if you sold your lens for $1450 on eBay you would net about $1356.50 ($1450 - $50 - ($1450 * 0.03)





Ouch! I've never sold anything on Ebay before. Paypal is tied to your creditcard,right? So even if I sold it and got a credit on my PayPal/creditcard account, trying to cash it out would prolly incure another fee. Now I know I'm keep it.

[neuroanatomist]

I've been trying to sell my 70-200mm 2.8l IS USM for awhile now ($1650 w/ B+W filter). ... So there it sits. For months.


It's the price, IMO. If you want to sell it, it needs to be cheaper. On my local CL, I see them go for $1300-1450. There are some that get listed for higher, but they just stay there (or if they sell, I susect the seller was offered less than asking price and took it). There's a 70-200mm f/2.8L non-IS listed right now for $800. These are recent copies in reportedly excellent condition. Looking on fredmiranda, there are some 70-200/2.8 IS lenses in the $1400 range. I know you paid more. Unfortunately, buyers won't care.


So, if you want to sell it, be prepared to take a loss. Omit the B+W filter - assuming it's an MRC UV, that's an ~$80 addition to the cost, but buyers won't see it that way. They usually just see the high cost of the lens and move on. You might get nibbles at $1550, and you'll likely need that filter for another lens down the line in any case.


The way I see it, there's two ways to view selling on CL. You can buy used and sell later, and if you buy well it can be mostly a break-even process. That's been my approach - I've bought 4 lenses used, later sold all four and two other lenses I bought new, and net I'm somewhere around $50 in the black after that. Or, you can use CL, eBay, etc., as a way to get rid of lenses you bought new and end up not liking/using. If that's the case, you're going to take a loss. You can minimize that by buying during a rebate, and not selling during a rebate (which is why I only lost $50 on the one new lens I ended up selling). You can also minimize your loss by being patient, but it can take months. Timing is everything - for example, the 70-300mm DO that I bought 3 months ago and sold yesterday. The lens I bought had been listed at $900 and reposted periodically for about 2 months. I paid $800 for it, and even then I knew I'd have a tough time selling it if I chose to do so (it's not a terribly popular lens). When I did decide to sell, there were two other copies of the same lens listed on my local CL - I assume those were people wanting to trade for the new 70-300 L. One was listed for $1000, the other for $900 (and that one had been reposted over and over for the last month). I listed for $750, and it sold in 3 days, for asking price. I probably could have held out and gotten $800, but I wanted to speed up my next lens purchases...


As Jan and I discussed in another thread, this is why I don't rent lenses to try them. Instead, if I want to try a lens, I buy it used. Even if I take a modest loss, it's still less than I'd pay for even a 4-day rental.


But back to your question...the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS is a great lens - open it and use it. Like I said, if you want to sell it you'll probably need to list it for less, so you might as well get some use out of it!

[bob williams]

If I was buying used, the bag wouldn't make a difference to me. But what would make a difference are great shots produced by your copy of the lens--So get it out of the bag and use it--Just my 2cw.


Bob

[neuroanatomist]

But what would make a difference are great shots produced by your copy of the lens


Agreed - but keep in mind that photos posted directly on CL (via their uploader) are rather brutally down-res'd, so instead post links to image hosted elsewhere, or offer to send high-res images to interested buyers (I do the latter). Definitely post pictures of the lens itself, though...

[Trowski]

Ouch! I've never sold anything on Ebay before. Paypal is tied to your creditcard,right? So even if I sold it and got a credit on my PayPal/creditcard account, trying to cash it out would prolly incure another fee. Now I know I'm keep it.


PayPal doesn't charge any fees for taking money out of your account. You tie it to a checking account for withdrawing money. You can fund your PayPal account with the checking account or a credit card if you were to buy something on eBay.


Generally you can get more for the lens on eBay than CL, so the fee differences tend to balance out a bit.


I actually bought a lens once when I wasn't sure if I would get much use out of it, and in the end I decided it wasn't worth the cost. I had the lens for about 3 months and only lost $75 on it, and the lens cost about $1000 new. There's no way I could have rented the lens for that cost to try it out for that much time.



Omit the B+W filter - assuming it's an MRC UV, that's an ~$80 addition to the cost, but buyers won't see it that way.


I agree about not including the filter. I find it unlikely you'll get much value out of it selling it with the lens. A lot of people have particular filters they like, or won't want it anyway. Either keep it for another lens (77mm is really common) or sell it separately.