Buying Used?

I’ve not been in the gear market for a while, but while discussing some technical stuff with colleagues over in the NAPP forums, had some time to check pricing in various outlets for used gear, and there are some deals going on these days!  In my previous experience, used gear would go for roughly 10-15% less than the new retail equivalents.  That percentage is apparently a bit low now as some gear is selling for up to 25% off new pricing!  So, if you’re in the market for gear, check out the used market for some serious savings!  Here’s a few items I saw in just a mere matter of minutes:

  • Nikon D7000:  New = $1200, Used = $1000 (16%)
  • Sony A580 kit: New=$899, Used = $699 (23%)
  • Sigma 50mm f1.4: New=499, Used = $420 (15%)
  • Canon 500mm f4: New=$7000, Used=$5600 (18%)
  • Canon 5D Mark II: New=$2500, Used=$2135 (15%)

There’s more out there, but that’s just a sampling of what you can expect to see.  The nice thing is many of these items include useful accessories like bags, straps, cases, and media cards as incentive pieces…savings add up even more (about a 20% average in my estimation).  For what it’s worth, I used the forums from Fred Miranda to look up used gear pricing and B&H for retail equivalents.  Your mileage may vary.

Fred Miranda Photography Forum

Buy Sell Listings

What sort of discount would you expect to pay for used gear over it’s  new counterparts?  Is 15% the new minimum?  20%?  30%  What’s considered a “good deal” anymore?  Since I’ve not been in the market to buy anything lately, am totally not sure where things are except what I’ve seen above.  Those sound good to me but I have not scoured all of the internet to be sure…so, let me know if you’ve had similar or different experiences.  Likewise, if you’ve got any of your own deals you’ve noticed recently?  Sound off in the comments!

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