Originally Posted by neuroanatomist
From the buyer's point of view, these are awesome deals but from the seller's standpoint IMO, it's pretty disheartening. I don't see how the sellers could havewalked away from the dealwith the reaffirmed opinion that that glass holds their value.
It does make me feel alittle better though about what I sold my 300mm f/4L for!
Denise
I know...that's one reason I bought them! [] But, I don't mean to imply that these are common prices - I check CL frequently and jump on a good deal if it's something I want, since deals that good only come along infrequently.
Denise
Over the years I have come to realize when I am telling myself a story.
The statements "Lenses hold their value" and "Lenses are a good investment" are things we tell ourselves when we want to buy another lens. It makes us feel better to think we might be able to get our money back. They are just little white lies we tell ourselves, that have a grain of truth to them.
How true are those statements? In comparison to a digital camera the lens will hold its value better sure. In comparison to shares of stock in World Com that a person bought in 1999 both the camera and lens will hold their value better. Compared to cash in your savings account, you will make more on your cash. For most hobbyest its not an investment. Were not looking to make money with it. Those statements are our security blanket.
I also kenw when I bought my lenses, that it would be difficult to sell them if I wanted to. Sure they sell at stores for 80% of the new value. I knew that meant the store would give me 50 - 60% if I were lucky. Selling and Buying on Craiglist here is not an option. In the last two years I have only seen a few L lenses, there has been a 100-400mm that someone keeps getting cheaper and cheaper on, it is down to $1050 now. Not all of us live in a makret like Neuro's where there is a lot of activitiy.
Good luck with your trading
Rick
I agree with that and was my main point.
it depends on how you buy and sell your lenses. I remember when 200mm 2.0 was selling for $5300, with $500 rebate from canon, $200 from Bing, about $100 from ebay(2% ebay bucks), it would cost you about $4500 for a brand new lens from Adaroma ebay store not even one year ago, not even count that you could get even cheaper price from other ebay stores or a refurbished one from Adaroma ebay store and different credit card cash back program. but if you don't care about those saving programs and just go to your local store and grab one no mater what, and also sell it with 40-50%off to the same local store. that's a different story.
during last Xmas time about one month ago, one of the cash back program offer 3% cash back if you buy from ebay and Adaroma ebay store offer 4% cash back, that's total 7% off! but if you don't care, you shouldn't complain when you sell your lenses, and you should consider these facts when you set your price to sell, this explains why Denise's 300mm 4.0 was a hard sell.
I will admit my timing has been off when it comes to being able to take advantage of most rebates but I always check online at EVERY reputable dealer's website before purchasing and purchase from the lowest priced one. The only thing I purchased locally was my camera from Best Buy which I got them to come below the cheapest price I could find online. So I wouldn't go as far as saying I don't care. And considering what I know now my loss on the 300mm was minimal considering Isold it for80% of what I paid.
I just checked completed listings on ebay for the 17-55 and prices ranged from $700 to $1300, but I
Buying right is always smart, getting the best price out of a used lens is always smart as well. However I was refering to the statemnt you hear all the time on the forums:
"Lenses hold their value...."
Using this statement in the cotext that your better off with a lens than a new camera is a fair point.
Using the statement in the context of weighingthe pros and consthat if you buy it, it will have some pre determined value in the future is more questionable and it is most likey us just trying to justify it to ourselves.
Using the statement to convince your spuose of your logic in buying it, well good luck with that argument.
Personally I have three lenses I am keeping for speculation. The 16-35mm L II and the 24-70mm L I am hanging on to because I do not want to take the retail to used price drop hit. My 300mm I am hoping it goes up when the new 300mm is released at $7K. So the insanity of the statement continues. [*-)]
Now THAT'S what I'm talking about! [] Granted, you subtract ebay & paypal fees and your getting down there but at least still ahead of what some other alternatives are.
Oh, sorry, Denise, I didn't mean that, I was just hoping if you went with Bing and ebay, you could have saved another 10%, of course not everybody are interest in that, but when selling lenses, those are the things need to be considered also. I know there must be a better way to express my thoughts, but hey, English is my second language.[:$]
No problem, JJ. I have only heard of bing a few times and don't really no much about it I must admit. Every time I sell on ebay scammers come after me like a flock of seagulls and when I try to bid on there, bids go up so high, I might as well buy new ...so I do. I have not found too many used or refurbished prices that are low enough of an incentive for me to want to go that route most the time. So far, I have only bought one lens and one flash used.
It's a tough call either way. Sometimes you win ...and sometimes you lose. I just know that my 17-55mm has taken less than 50 photos and is in perfect condition and I hate taking such a hit but there is a lens I'd like to get that I know I would use more.
My 17-55mm was purchased to take LOTS of photos of my grandkids ...but they have since moved away and I rarely see them so the lens doesn't get used much. In fact, all of my portrait gear was purchased for that reason so don't be surprised if you see all of it up for sale (lights, stands, backdrops, lumodi, etc). I figure selling it alittle bit at a time will be less painful! Very sad when my daughter sends me photos taken at Sears Portrait Studio! [:'(]
Denise
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