Thinking of selling wife's gear.

[jhawk1000]

Some of you know that my wife had an accident while shooting a football game when she was knocked into a concrete apron when two players in pursuit knocked her down. She was using her Olympus OM-D Em1x with the 40-150mm 2.8 with 1.4x teleconverter. The force of the collision broke the 40-150 at the mount to the 1.4X but the camera was not harmed nor was the 1.4x converter. The 40-150 is trash and a claim has been made to the Professional Photographers of America insurance. I have taken the EM1X into my stable of cameras but I am thinking of selling her OM-1. She bought it before Christmas last year but used it sparingly and I have all the things that came with the camera including the charging cord and several batteries. She used this camera for light painting and night sky photography and it is pristine and like new. I am sure it has a limited amount of shots but her light painting would be in multiple exposures. I am also thinking of selling the HLD-10 battery grip. Everything is boxed including all accessories.
My problem is that I have sold gear to MPB in the past and was satisfied with the experience. I have bought from KEH and UPP and was satisfied. My problem is that MPB has an online quote site but some of the other cameras I want to also sell seem to not work when added. I want to talk to a real person and, of course, want the best price possible, Have you had experience with selling to these vendors?

 

[MountainMan79]

Hey Mel. I had requested a quote from MPB some time ago for some gear, and decided not to sell based on the offer. However, they emailed me every week for a couple weeks, and believe it or not just the other day even after a couple months, and each of these contained a contact and contact information. It would surprise me if a buyer from them didn’t reach out soon to you.

 

[mnhoj]

I've had great success with MPB. Some of their pricing is actually not that far off of what I would get when I sell myself. Some is not. For ease and customer service, they're excellent.

 

[Charzes44]

I have had excellent experience with MPB in the UK also.

 

[doobs]

I've had good luck selling gear at fredmiranda.com.

 

[Bobby T]

My experience with MPB is the same as John’s.

 

[gryphon1911]

I’ve had better luck/experience with MPB here recently than I have KEH. I usually deal with MPB exclusively unless they do not have what I’m looking for then I go elsewhere. KEH is still a quality place, don’t get me wrong, I just have just found the experience with MPB to be just a little bit better.

 

[Robmas4229]

I have found MPB in the USA to be very easy to sell to. I've also never had a bad experience with KEH.

My only issue with KEH is that they pay their sellers with a paper check sent through USPS. One of their checks to me for around $2,000 didn't make it to me. I eventually called them and they said the post office returned it as undeliverable. I've lived at the same address for 20+ years. Our mail gets delivered to other neighbors and vice versa. No thanks. Hopefully they've updated their payments to electronic by now. I'd ask first.

MPB wires the payment directly to my bank account, usually within a day or two of my acceptance of their offer. Just something to consider.

 

[CountingGx85Gx8G9s]

I've sold a lot of stuff to MPB and always like the transactions.

 

[Ghostbuggy]

I am not in the US, so I can only speak for MPB Europe, more specific MPB Germany. My experience with them so far was very pleasing and professional, unlike some other resellers around here, MPB doesn't seem to be on the downrate-trend, but actually gives realistic quotes and absolutely isn't afraid of uprating the quality of the sent in equipped if they find it in better condition than you've rated it.

Just like Chris said, once you've applied the request and get an e-mail, you're also provided with additional contact options, especially when you actually don't take the offer within a couple of days. They also have a live chat feature on their website as well as a hotline you can call - that is MPB Germany however, I don't know which additional contact options they have in the US.

MPB has become my number 1 choice for selling equipment, sure it's not as profitable as it is when selling it privately, but I gladly take the hit for a trouble free, professional handling of my sale. Especially since today ebay and our local counterparts to Craigslist are buzzing with scammers.

 

[AndyH44]

KEH and MPB have offered much less than I have sold items for on Fred Miranda.com

 

[jhawk1000]

I think I will get estimates on a lot of gear. In addition to the OM-1, I will list a EM-1ii, EM-10, Panasonic DMC-G5, a very old and little used Oly EPL-1, 25mm 1.7Panasonic, 60mm 2.8 Sigma,, 50MM 1.8 NIKON AF,and maybe some older Nikon bodies such as D2xs. It seems that the realization of the possibility oof having too much has finally dawned on me.

 

[Robmas4229]

I think I will get estimates on a lot of gear. In addition to the OM-1, I will list a EM-1ii, EM-10, Panasonic DMC-G5, a very old and little used Oly EPL-1, 25mm 1.7Panasonic, 60mm 2.8 Sigma,, 50MM 1.8 NIKON AF,and maybe some older Nikon bodies such as D2xs. It seems that the realization of the possibility oof having too much has finally dawned on me.

Maybe, LOL.

 

[mnhoj]

FM is my home away from home. Sadly enough. ( :
I think MPB scouts FM's pricing. It'll likely be 20-40% lower. I usually will do a quote at MPB to see before I post something. 95% of the time I'd rather do it myself.
It also depends on what's popular and their supply. The OM-1 might get less in relation to something older. Case in point, I just sold a Tamron 70-210 F4 in EF mount. No traction for that one on any of the marketplaces even at 20% lower than MPB paid me. Great lens btw. They even did a custom sale for me to include the tripod mount because it wouldn't load on the estimator.

Hey Mel, when you get the estimates from MPB or KEH, you might swing over to Fredmiranda.com and use the search function for recent sales. You'll need to factor in the buy/sell membership fees, Paypal fees and shipping. And your time.

 

[MountainMan79]

I think I will get estimates on a lot of gear. In addition to the OM-1, I will list a EM-1ii, EM-10, Panasonic DMC-G5, a very old and little used Oly EPL-1, 25mm 1.7Panasonic, 60mm 2.8 Sigma,, 50MM 1.8 NIKON AF,and maybe some older Nikon bodies such as D2xs. It seems that the realization of the possibility oof having too much has finally dawned on me.

You could also entertain selling here as well (free as compared to FM), if you’re willing to work with buyers on fees and shipping; you may get a better price if you’re patient. I’m sure many folks would be interested in the gear you mentioned, and would provide a good home to Linda’s cameras. Hell, I’d potentially be interested in some of it!