Happy New Year! This week’s Photofocus newsletter had the subject, “New gear for the New Year,” bringing the last few weeks to mind. Before the Holidays, one of my buddies mentioned he was planning to buy some new Sony gear and sell his current rig. Wanting to take advantage of the upcoming holiday sales, he needed to sell his old equipment first. I asked if he was going to trade it in at a dealer. No worries, he was selling it locally.
Weeks later, he mentioned renting a lens, and I asked if the new camera was on back-order. Frustrated, he told me the sale had fallen through, and he was looking at other options. He called a few dealers on his old camera and felt it was worth more than the estimates he was getting!
Fast-forward to now, talking about our holidays, he mentions he was editing photos shot on his new camera. Jealous, I asked when and where he purchased it. MPB and B&H was his answer! B&H has been my go-to for gear forever, but MPB, was new to me. Truthfully, I have never tried to sell my older equipment to anyone. I passed it on to friends or family. Familiar?
But now that it’s safe to travel and excited to get out and shoot, I decided to see what my older gear was worth.
I started with MPB, as recommended, and I was pleasantly surprised. Getting a quote was easy and surprisingly fast. Within minutes, I had a quote. I quickly looked on a few other sites and eBay to see what the going bids were getting. I was pleased with the MPB estimated value of my gear. (Quick note: Have the make and model handy, as it will speed up the process tremendously.)
Remember, it’s estimated, as you are stating the condition, and it has to be verified by their technicians before payment. So, I decided only to send in a few items, as I was concerned about the final offer. Within minutes of accepting the quote, I received an email with a QR code, the quote for each item, and shipping instructions. You do pay for the shipping, so include that in your calculations.
MPB maintained contact throughout the process, emailing when the gear gets to them, when they begin the evaluation and when they finalize the offer. I accepted the request, and it was exactly what they had estimated. The payment was immediate and in my account within one business day.
If you are sitting on some older equipment you haven’t shot for quite a while, I highly recommend MPB. I have sent another batch to them for evaluation. The process takes about two weeks, given shipping methods and volume. I know you are wondering — yes, very soon, I’ll be shooting a new camera. Stay tuned!
Need more tips on selling your photography gear, or buying used cameras and lenses? Check out these articles:
- Best Practices When Selling Your Camera Gear
- The best websites to buy used camera gear
- Getting great cameras for cheap: Buying used
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