Frustrated with second hand sellers prices

Is it just me or are there others that get frustrated with the value sellers put on their second hand equipment in the classifieds?

If I can go buy it today new from SRS for 10% more with a 2 year warranty and free next day delivery on what planet would I buy it from the classifieds?

Two way street Richard. I think the opposite is also true, with items at 'fire sale' prices which just drives down the value of kit one owns.

At the end of it anything offered for sale is only worth what a buyer is prepared to pay, not necessarily what the seller asks for.

Like John said, if you think it's to much, don't buy, if the seller really wants to sell the price will eventually fall.
It's a strange place at the moment for secondhand Pentax gear especially lenses, APS-C lenses are doing great, but F, FA and any FF fit lenses are only going to get stronger in the market place especially the cheaper discontinued third party AF lenses, with good reputations.

i was looking at the tamron sp 300 on a 2.8 on ebay the other week as i had one back in the 80s as mine got pinched and it went for nearly the same price as it was wen new and that wuld be a 30year old lens

I completely agree.

I think lenses hold their value more than other items as they arnt replaced yearly like camera bodies.

I work on a 60% of the current new price for second hand items. Maybe others think differently.

As someone who now lives on the continent, where photographic gear (new or second hand) generally costs significantly more than in the UK, what I see here is that people from outside the UK expect to sell their gear for outside-the-UK prices, and of course it doesn't work.

I have seen stuff (a LOT of stuff) for sale in Spain for what it costs new in the UK, or very slightly (5%-10%) less. Second hand equipment will typically sell for at least 30% more than it would in the UK.

Of course, there are always occasional bargains to be had (I recently bought a virtually new and unused DA 15mm ltd for €300) but they are very rare indeed.

All of this is very much dependant on "the market" at the time we decide to sell. Three years ago many Pentax items were selling for very high prices, now those same items are selling for a fraction of what they were.
I enjoy Buying, Using and Selling (and have done for several years), but I currently make a loss more often than I would like. I don't have to sell at a loss - I could wait for the market to rise (as I'm sure it will), but in order to make the next purchase I invariably choose to sell and take the hit. Quite a few sellers don't take this approach, and may even end up selling on Ebay, where although they may pay higher fees - they also can actually sell the item at the higher price.

Other factors such as the Amazon "Black Friday" Pentax sales have impacted on the market too - One example being the DA*300, which had held its new price fairly steady for a long time, then a flood of cut price Amazon deals reduced new sales for retailers significantly and had a knock-on impact on Second Hand prices. The upside of this is that we have an approximate estimation of what we think the lens should sell for now so prices (second hand) are generally a lot lower. The downside is that some retailers (I know of two) have moved away from stocking a decent range of Pentax lenses

You can always make an offer for a Second Hand sale - I suspect the majority of items sell for a bit less than they are initially advertised

Very hard to keep tabs on as others have said. As with the recent £130 on Amazon DA15 SMC thread some cheap new stuff never actually exists. I sold one for £300 on here a while back. I guess I'd ask less if I had one now although barmily remaining SMC ones deareer than HD ones.

I bought a used DA 300 Star F4 for £599 used from Park Cameras last year and then they turned up two weeks later at I think £640 new in a big SRS sale. The week before new had been over £800 and returned to this price after the sale.

I personally now check http://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk/Pentax/Pentax-SLR-Lenses and then decide to wait or buy used. I'm trying really hard not to buy any just now as i have what I need. I also guess APSC only stuff to be cheaper after 'FA becomes trendy for new camera.

Not sure how relevant this is, but I saw a Pentax ME in a junk shot today, complete with an f2 standard lens for £20.00, which I didn't think was bad. There was a Pentax MG as well but I didn't notice the price.

whats the address

My 2p.

Lenses are not like cars, they don't depreciate much while they are still current. They depreciate a bit as soon as they have been purchased but that is the same with anything. You can't sell something owned/used even if very little for the same as new.

Second hand lenses are not a bargain basement kind of thing. So long as the lens is cosmetically, mechanically and optically in good condition it will still sell years down the line at a relatively high price. I don't come on here looking for absolute bargains, just to save a little by going second hand compared to new.

Some lenses though will appreciate. FA*24, FA*600, A*200 Macro, A50 f/1.2, to name but a few.

But people often measure pricing against the lowest they can find anywhere else (naturally), unfortunately this is often Ebay - where the chances of you getting an item that matches the description are significantly lower than on one of the forums.
I have bought many items from members on here and only had a couple of bad experiences (from probably over 100 purchases) - that's many times better than when I used to buy "Mint" and "Like New" items from Ebay.

Everything I have is from Ebay (bar the K5 body) and I've only had two duff items: one from a guy who hadn't a clue and one from a crook. I got my money back in both cases. The fact that you CAN get inexpensive stuff doesn't mean everything is cheapo and the fact that some stuff is expensive doesn't mean it is any better. I simply don't understand why Ebay is derided to the extent that it is?
Everyone on the various forums knows what the "correct" price of say, a lens should be and advertises accordingly. Many Ebayers have no such knowledge and start their auctions at .99p. If the bidding fails to reach the "correct" price this is no reason to label the goods as potentially shoddy. In fact, it brings the "correct" price into question since no one is prepared to pay it - just consider the price reductions, 'bumps' and 'If no interest I'll put it on fleabay' comments that appear in the classifieds here.

There are definitely some good buys to be had on Ebay, and the pricing is sometimes excellent - but can also reach a high level (there are members on here that have offered items for sale at a lower price on here, failed to sell then achieved a higher price on Ebay). The main point I was trying to make is that the description of an item on a forum is generally a lot more accurate than on Ebay. I suspect many of us have bought "excellent" or "perfect" condition items that we would class as "average" or "well used". I've also got my money back for items on Ebay, but the process can be quite drawn out - over here I've generally had very smooth transactions.

Ebay usage is quite simple: You know how much you like to pay. That's the amount you bid. If you get it, great!
If not, wait for the next auction.

If by any chance you win and get a dud, You get your money back and if you pay with PayPal, You also get your return postage refunded.

I have bought about 5 lenses and various cameras from Ebay. They where exactly as described.
never had to return them.
My last lens I received today is the DA21mm f3.2 Ltd. The seller advertised it like new, And it was like new.
Not a mark on it. it came with all the accessories to. The price: $AU304.- = 141GBP .
I put a bid in for $AU320.- and was lucky.

The big problems buying stuff through eBay is the Chinese crap. Especially electronics parts and components. lots of it does not do what it is advertised it would. Lots of it are remarked components, sold as new . However some of it is oK.

You can not blame eBay for this, or the prices. Sometimes you are lucky, sometimes you are not.

Regards, Horst