Railfan Technology > Recommendations on selling used camera and lens repair

Hi, I have an Nikon d90 and several lenses DX (4) and was thinking about selling them.
My first thought was ebay but maybe their is a better place.
I have zoom lenses that need repairs, a 18-105 with a sometimes loose aperture blade and a 18-135 with buzzing slow auto focus motor?
Should I have repaired and sell them or just sell them as is.
Nikon repair seems not to be willing say a estimated price for doing the repairs.

Posted from iPhone

If the lenses deliver good results optics-wise, I'd
send them off to http://www.midwestcamera.com here in
Michigan. I've sent lenses and cameras to them, and
typically it's been $125 for basic cleaning, with parts
being extra. If you sent your gear in, they can examine
it and make an estimate. I would hazard that other
shops will be in the same ballpark, price-wise.

If you like to spend money to have the newest and brightest
equipment, go ahead. My old stuff works well enough :-)

John.

In most instances, repairing old glass isn't cost effective. I'd sell it 'as is, parts'. But you won't get much. But then, the lenses are broken. Call KEH.com and see what they offer-be prepared to have the original offer lowered. Old gear isn't worth much, unfortunately.

I sold my old SLR and lenses (35 mm) Film camera to B&H. I buy all my electronics from them . They gave me more $ than I was expecting - I was surprised to get anything for the camera bodies!

Posted from Android



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/16/18 04:52 by mdogg.

On ebay perform a specific search for your lens like: "Nikon 123-123 fxxx lens" and see what 'they' are asking for your lens. High end lenses usually drop to about 40% of new cost 5-7 years ago. Look carefully at shipping costs, too.

Then click 'sold listings' (left side of screen) after searching specifically for your lens. This will show how much people are actually willing to pay for that lens, and 'for parts' lenses. Considering that repairs generally start about $125 + shipping both ways, will that bump get you to 'in working order' 'sold listing' prices?

I recently sold a working high-end lens on ebay and got about 50% of what I paid for it. The lens had been repaired twice by the manufacturer for a well documented and well known design defect. I stated very clearly the history of the lens and found a buyer. I also offered a 100% refund up to 14 days after receipt of the lens. The buyer was very happy with it and left me positive feedback.

If you want to buy new equipment, I bought used lenses for my Canon. Saved about $1000 over new. I picked well established companies that had 500+ ratings @ 97% on Amazon. Completely satisfied.