Best Place to Sell Leica M Used

I don't want to hassle selling some my Leica equipment on EBay,

especially since I travel quite a lot. Unless someone wants to buys

my equipment in the South Florida in this group, then I am looking a

retailer or a person who has been in the business a long time that

can be trusted and give a me a fair price. Since I am going to be

sending my equipment out in advance of receiving money, honesty is a

must.

 

I am most likely going to sell a M6 TTL, 50 F/2 Summicrom M,

21mm/2.8 ASPH Elmarit M with the finder and perhaps a 75mm 1.4

German Summilux M. The 21mm, 50mm are in 9.9 condition. The 75mm

is in 9.0. The camera is about the same. Everything has boxes &

caps. Also, any idea of a fair price? Thanks for your help, it is

appreciated.

 

Eddie

50mm 'cron...version? color? price?

thanks,

Summicron M 50/2 Series 3852xxx Black

Price ???

Why do you have to send the gear out before receiving payment if

you are selling locally? I wouldn't do that. Anyway, check out

ebay for prices then come up with an asking price. FYI Precison

Photo in Boca Raton(SE FL dade/browardPB) is the only store I

know that stock used leica though I doubt you'll get a better price

than selling privately. Ask for Eric or Jerry if you're heading to

Boca.

eBay is your best bet, as you will have an international audience. Leicas are more expensive in the EU than in the States, and because of the currencies, it's good for them and good for you.

>>> I don't want to hassle selling some my Leica equipment on

EBay <<<

 

This was Mr. Steinberg's first statement. Now Stephen, why tell

him to do something he already said he doesn't want to do?

If I were selling what you say you have, I would be looking to get $4000-4500 total,

listing each item separately on eBay auctions.. If scheduling were tight, I might select a 5-

day auction rather than 7 day. Selling on Photo.net classifieds might get you about the

same, and more flexibility than the strict time allowance of the eBay auction. Digital

photos of the item make all the difference. Figure $1100-1300 each for the M6TTL and

the Summilux 75mm, $500-600 for a LN 50mm 'cron and $1300-1500 for the LN 21mm

Elmarit-M ASPH.

Having done this more times than I would like to remember, I would offer the cameras here on this forum first. This forum has an international audience, and all the buyers have been wonderful. I sold most of a friends complete TML collection right here with no problems.

 

What I do is to check the "completed sales" prices for each item, and average the prices before putting them here on the Leica form...and i do give my friend here a good discount.

 

Unfortunately, you need to register with eBay before they will grant you permission to view the completed sales listings!

Because his title of the post was:

 

"Best Place to Sell Leica M Used"

 

And I gave my opinion. People do change their minds and reconsider all sorts of things. Does this man have any friend and/or family to act as a proxy?

 

BTW, I agree with Eedward: I hate hassle and don't have a digital camera, so I sell right here. I've probably lost hundreds of Dollars by not investing in a cheap digicam and selling on eBay, but my financial position is quite good and I adhere to the unwritten rule not to make a profit from a fellow forum member.

 

Why eBay buyers INSIST on photos stumps me. Many photos are "borrowed" (stolen from another site). I prefer a good description than a blurry photo and return priveledges if not as descibed. One can only evaluate condition and performance when it is in ones possession.

 

What is mint-, exc+++, 9/10? The key being a right to return. I've recently been to shops in London and Madrid and the prices are HIGH. If Edward can find a buyer from one of these countries it would yield more money. But, I don't know if he wants to squeeze every possible penny with selling.

Another possibility is to put the items up for consignment sale with Rich Pinto

(Photovillage). I sold a couple of non-Leica items through him. I didn't want to sell very

expensive items through Ebay and Rich took only a 10% commission. Now that I know this

group, I probably would offer Leica items here first.

The lowest price is from a dealer buying your cameras for cash. He has to inventory, advertise, possibly repair, and warrent the product when he sells it for more than he paid you. So you sell to a dealer at "wholesale" and he sells it at "retail." When you sell on ebay or photonet, generally prices are in between those two. Factor in a right of return (sometimes available on eBay, usually on PhotoNet, but I would always ask.) Because it's hard to get started on eBay (you have no feedback, and no substantial positive feedback until after many transactions) I would list on photo.net. You can search adds to see what dealers are asking, and discount that 20%. Others may have a different ratio, but you get the idea.

I talked with Rich at Photo Village just the other day about selling my lovely Rollei 3.5f "whiteface". He charges a reasonable 15% commission on a sale. I would try e-Bay but I've never sold anything there and so have zero feedback which is not a good thing when you are trying to sell an expensive camera. The first thing most potential buyers do is check the seller's feedback so as to get some feeling for integrity, etc. Rich has a very nice shop about a 15 minute walk from Penn Station and deals only in high end stuff. He will also purchase your Leica outright at about 60 to 65% of what he can expect to get for it. This is better than many other used camera dealers in NYC who tend to offer about what KEH in Atlanta does. Of course, Rich only wants the best and will be less than enthusiastic about a beater Leica.

As said, a dealer will give you the worst price, and then ask the best price. Expect a dealer to offer 50-70% of what they will ask. Sometimes that is worth it to me with local dealers that I will return deal with, but not so much for one time deals, unless time/hassle is worth that much to you.

 

Offer it up here and see if you get a taker.

 

The established mail-order Leica places, like Don Chatterton, usually have a good rep and are quick/honest, will pay for freight up front, etc. KB camera, Soshonan, Rick Pinto's Camera village, even KEH and a couple others I am blanking generally have good reputations. I like Chatterton. Search the web for these names. But, highest dollar will be direct buyer to seller, either here or e-bay. Internet/e-bay has REALLY changed the norm for expensive used camera exchange.

For me this discussion is a bit silly.

 

I have sold on eBay for many years and have an item there right now: (an Olympus FL-40 Flash), and have 147 positive feedbacks (with not one negative feedback!) under "mrtoady." I have probably sold or bought over 300 items with no problems.

 

eBay is a very good way to go, in my opinion.

 

Otherwise, list it here on the Lieca forum. We are good trustworthy people here.

 

I don't understand the problem.

 

Just list your item somewhere and see what happens! You will win some and you will lose some, but it all balances in the long run.

 

"Either pee or get off the pot"...as the saying goes.

 

I suggest that you list you items here, on the Leica forum.

 

Good luck. Todd

I've had good experiences selling and buying both here and on eBay. Only one item has gone unsold, but my Brooks Plaubel Veriwide 100 is in excellent condition and I do want to get what I think it's worth. I've bought, sold and traded Leica lenses, bodies and accessories here on the forum with no problems several times.

again, offer it here in a FS add and put it on the Classified section as well. Offer a 5 days money back warranty/inspection period.

 

otherwise, ping rich pinto at photovillage.com who can sell it to you at 15% commission, but it might take some time.

 

best of luck

Time is money. If someone else has to put effort into selling your gear, he will get the reward. Since you have boxes and caps, I'll go $100 for the lot.

Edward, You need to do a bit of research before you sell your equipment. Surely you're not THAT pressed for time.

 

Check ended auctions on Ebay (requires signing up). Check current auctions to see how much inventory is on sale. Compare item condition, seller feedback, against prices of the goods, etc., to get an idea of what to expect. Look at past FS (For Sale) items here in the Leica Forum.

 

Here's a suggestion: First offer the gear to friends at below market prices. Then put it here at what you think are fair prices. (Fair is a subjective term!) Then, as last step, eBay what's left.

 

The sleazy aspect of eBay is that the eBay management provides ZERO protection for buyers. All they care about is the sellers. The so-called "Buyer's Protection" that they advertise heavily for PayPal (which they bought), is essentially a smoke and mirrors scam. Anything over $500 is not covered, and the protection only works well on items under $100. Things close to $500 are dragged out, and they ask you for endless paperwork, estimates, so in the end you're worn out, and the coup de grace is their inevitable rejection of your claim if the seller is a "Power Seller." (These are all actual experiences.)

 

One of the best things to happen for buyers is the European scammers hijacking ID's and selling phantom goods. This has driven masses of people away, and eBay has to finally do something to protect buyers, otherwise they will lose the casual buyer. Ebay was able to behave this way because they are a monopoly, they have the market share to behave like goons.

 

As a seller, if you have low feedback numbers, even if they are 100 percent positive, it is a major drawback in getting the highest price. Therefore, I suggest you send it to a friend who is an active eBay seller.

 

As a buyer, ALWAYS use your credit card and PayPal on items over $100. This way you can dispute the charges via your credit card's bank, the only real protection you have. If you find a good, honorable seller, it's great.

 

Best of Luck!

I sold many things on this forum almost instantly, at prices I thought at the time were fair, being midway between dealer wholesale and dealer retail. However after noting that every single item that didn't sell here, sold on eBay for significantly more than I had been asking here, I have since done all my selling there, and have had zero problems.

I have received pretty fair prices selling and trading Leica gear to Sean Cranor,

www.camerawest.com.

 

Mike

I totally understand Edward's reservations. eBay is a pain to get up and

running with, and you WILL get less money if you attempt to sell without any

feedback history. But you will probably lose even more money by selling on to

a retailer. <p>

As others here have said, with a little research eBay is a great way to trade

camera gear, and is the best way to realise high prices when selling. Try

photonet first, then if that doesn't work try eBay. , I suggest you take your time,

buy a filter or two first to get you started and build up a history, then sell your

gear bit by bit, least expensive item first. By the time you get eight or nine

feedbacks, people will be ready to buy expensive items from you for a decent

price. It;'s simply not true that all the scammers are ruining eBay. I only have

about 50 deals to my name, others will have had more, but the only faulty item

I got, via PayPal, i got all my money back for. It does require an investment in

time, of course, so weight this up against the minimum 20 per cent you'll lose

in dealer commission, and the smaller captive audience any dealer will have.

<p> Better still, find a friend, experienced in eBay, whom you trust to do this

for you!

Without turning this into an "is eBay any good or not" thread, I will add that every eBay

trader has to start somewhere. Photos should be included for sales of photo gear, and it

is beyond my understanding how people who can spend thousands on Leica gear can't see

their way to spending two or three hundred on a digital camera, especially when they

already have computers (or at least here they must). Borrow one if you think you can't part

with the cash. Photos are essential, can be done well without looking pilfered from a

commercial source, and significantly add interest and traffic to an auction site.

 

If you are worried about low feedback as a new lister, address this in the posting and

invite inquiries to the concerned but serious buyers. Offer a payment by COD or escrow

service.

 

By far, eBay offers the best market for the photographic equipment buyer and seller; there

is far better market transparency there than in any used gear shop. The key is to decide

what the maximum you will bid will be before bidding, and stick to it. If something looks

suspicious, leave it alone, and make sure you can live with whatever payment and return

terms are offered.

If you really don't have the time to sell, why not hire someone to do it for you? Pay them a

percentage as a broker's fee. Even with a 15-20% brokerage, you still will beat a dealer's

wholesale.