Originally Posted by wickerprints
1. A new lens costs $4,599 at B&H. That's a $649 or 14% "discount" for being used. Including shipping, it's $523 or 11%.
2. Canon L lenses hold their value quite well. For example, some time ago, I was considering getting a 24-70mm f/2.8L. (I got the 17-55mm f/2.8 IS, instead.) I found that the selling price of used lenses on eBay was only 10-15% less than the current retail price. I just did a search on eBay and the last 9 copies of the 24-70 lens that sold averaged $1100 plus shipping. (The range was $1000-1170. There was another at $1000, but it was damaged.) The lens is $1380 now, so that's a 20% discount. (There was a recent price increase.) I also found that the discount was greater (i.e., selling price was relatively lower) on more common lenses, probably due to competition. (There were quite a few 24-70mm lenses starting at around $1200 that got no bids.)
3. Most used gear is far outside the warranty period. This at least would have another 4-5 months.
4. The shipping is high, in part, because the seller is in Puerto Rico. I went to the UPS site and did a quick check on shipping a 16 lb package 15 x 12 x 18 (the lens would probably end up in a box bigger than that) from my locatio to San Juan, PR. Second day air was $126.54, "ground" was $113.57. The eBay price is $125.98, so it's roughly the same.
A potential bidder would have to decide whether saving $523 is worth losing 8 months of warranty at $65/month.
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