Selling my Leicas...

Any suggestions on how best to sell a small collection of IIIcs and IIIfs and an M3, and a bunch of lenses and accessories. EBay seems weird, giving them to my local Hunt's store weirder - I'd like them to wind up in respectful hands. What is best when you need to de-accession your cameras and want the best for them and to receive a fair price?

Really, it depends on where you're located. eBay isn't a bad way to go--I had to sell off a bunch of photographic gear when I moved from the UK to the US, and everything worked pretty smoothly selling it that way. They of course do charge a commission.

 

I'm not sure what the best US equivalent is--maybe Craigslist--but I also sold some gear on gumtree.com over there, and that went nicely as well.

 

If you *are* in the UK, there are a number of second-hand Leica dealers around the country who would give you a decent--if not spectacular--price, and they sell to Leica aficionados. My personal favourite was High Street Radio (yeah, you read that right, lol) in Croydon: www.croydonphotocentre.co.uk, followed by Aperture and Red Dot.

 

In the US, I'm not sure who would be the best, and again it depends on where you are--Roberts Camera in Indianapolis has a large second-hand department, and they sell a lot of Leica stuff. I'm sure B&H would, too. I'm currently in Daytona Beach, and unfortunately the owner of Clem's Classic Cameras--a legendary little shop here--passed away not too long back, or he'd have definitely been interested in them.

Ebay will give you the greatest exposure, but there are other options besides selling to a dealer. You could use this site and, of course the L-Camera Forum (formerly Leica's site, now run privately) which has quite wide European and Asian following...devoted exclusively to Leica products. As mentioned, Craigslist, also Let Go (I've never used this one, but my daughter has and was quite pleased with the results). You could also use a computer saavy person to do the listings and sales for you for a nominal sum.

Ebay will give you the greatest exposure, but there are other options besides selling to a dealer. You could use this site and, of course the L-Camera Forum (formerly Leica's site, now run privately) which has quite wide European and Asian following...devoted exclusively to Leica products. As mentioned, Craigslist, also Let Go (I've never used this one, but my daughter has and was quite pleased with the results). You could also use a computer saavy person to do the listings and sales for you for a nominal sum.

I didn't sell my leicas before, and it's safer to keep them.

No really bad eBay experience here, but I admittedly never dealt with Leicas there. Over here (Germany) there is also ebay adds, besides the auctions. It is a small country and I'd happily spend a weekend in the saddle, to pick up another little gem...

Upon "weird": Dunno there are the typical scam offers "Ahmed will wire you a gazillion $$s, please forward the over-payment to ..." Otherwise it should work well enough? - Read up the small print, if you are worried. I never dealt in "valuables" and the buyers & sellers of my ordinary cameras were nice and happy people.

Whoever places a sufficiently high bid should be interested in your stuff. Describe and photograph it well, to attract the right folks!

Legit buyers on eBay are looking for ads written well that sound like the seller knows what they’re talking about and with good quality pictures of equipment that is accurately described, both cosmetically and functionally. There’s a lot of cr@p ads on eBay of equipment not accurately described (“Mint” or “almost Mint” is so too overused) I spend seconds on way more ads than ones I seriously check out because either the images don’t stack up to the description and/or the seller sounds like they don’t have a clue about what they’re selling.

 

Sloppy ads just get you skipped over, as would a mediocre feedback record, so a lot goes into the thought process of someone who knows what they’re doing on both ends of the deal.

 

Doing your job as a seller and being realistic in your expectations will go a long ways towards getting the most for your equipment.

I'm curious what you're selling, I might be interested in some lenses. So you can use this forum as a starting point too:)

 

I've had both good and bad experiences with eBay. I've sold both Leica and non-Leica photographic equipment. As long as the sale was in the US everything went fine. I did have one buyer from China who tried to extort money after he received a lens from me. In the end it all worked out fine in my favor but I'm not going to sell expensive photographic equipment on eBay to international buyers again. Some things are ridiculously high-priced on eBay and if your price is competitive remember that you have to pay eBay10% and then 3% to PayPal.

Craigslist is good way but for local and cash sales only. You're not going to make money there but I did use both for buying and selling Leica gear. You do have some more control over the sale process, but then again, it greatly depends on the demand and Leica gear can almost be considered niche market. This will also require more patience on your end.

I've used both Rangefinder camera forum and sales forum on this site with success, so you should try those too.

eBay is the best place to buy things of this sort, I think; but, if you sell there, you need to find ways to protect yourself from the few bad actors that are there.

I've sold photo equipment on eBay for years, and have generally had good experiences with buyers. I've eliminated most problems with frivolous bidders by listing items in "Buy It Now" format for domestic sales only, with immediate payment required, and not accepting returns unless I make an error in the listing. However, these restrictions may limit the top dollar one could get for items.

 

I've met a few nice people through Craigslist sales in the past, but it can be a bit flaky, and don't bother with it now.

Edited April 6, 2018 by m42dave

You might want to take a look at www.rangefinderforum.com they have an active buy and sell section. The people are knowledgeable about older gear and the site has several threads about avoiding e-bay problems and scams.

 

Glenn

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

Another vote for the L-Camera-Forum; solely dedicated to everything and everyone Leica.

 

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