How I Get Cheap or FREE Camera Gear, and You Can too.

GEAR I USED TO MAKE THIS VIDEO

[VIDEO GEAR]

[AUDIO GEAR]

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00:00 - $1000’s in Gear for FREE
00:54 - What’s the Lowest Price
04:01 - How to Find the Deals
07:31 - How to Get Gear for Free

[parranoic]

I got a x-t1 for 130$, it was dusty and the hinge was loose. Did a deep clean and fixed the hinge with some metal wire. Gave it to a friend and he loves it

[Mike-vdqt]

Buying in a bundle to resell is called "Cherry Picking". I owned a business that took in buildings of items, basing the offer on a few of the main items that could resell quickly and recover the cash investment. Then you go through and resell the rest at 100% profit minus expenses, fixed costs. Fun times, retired now.

[hendrickziegler]

my quick rule of thumb for 2nd hand gear is commercial resellers (MPB etc.) minus 20%. Or if you want to sell something: Whatever the resellers are offering plus 15%. But your ebay approach sounds useful as well.

[davidbrighten]

I did buy an excellent condition XT1 for $350 Canadian, well under $300 USD with battery and charger from a well known camera chain in Canada . The same camera is often listed for much more. Many camera stores, especially chains, resell based on the trade in value plus a defined mark up. In other words, it traded in low and it resold low and vis versa. I also bought an XT3 at a killer bargain from a different camera chain store. Like new for $650 USD equivalent. Took thousands of photos on the Xt3 and got my money back and more when trading in for a new XT 5.

[altnetid]

This is exactly how I funded my X-Pro1 more than 10 years ago.
I was buying analogue camera bodies that came with lenses I knew were in demand.
That gave me enough to buy a new X-Pro1 with bundled lenses which I sold for a profit.
I still have two of the Fuji lenses and used the same method to upgrade the X-Pro1 to an X-T3.
It cost me some time and effort but after working everything out I haven't spent a penny on camera gear.

[ljwhitmire]

My best deal ever was years ago. I got a brand new $1500 Olympus camera for $200 in the end because the seller put so much stuff in the package I sold all the stuff I didn't want and was only $200 total into that brand new camera. Sweet.

[Ataraxia_Atom]

Something ive found on eBay is that auctions that end on a holiday or day that something distracting is going on like Christmas or the Superbowl are great times to get some great deals. Just gotta wait for the right time to strike

[bastian.michel]

I really expected the title of this video to be clickbait, but honestly it wasn't. You really put some great tips together. Thank you for that.

[dan.allen.digital]

Also if buying on eBay, consider the square trade extended warranty. My XT1 after about 6 months the EVF and some of the button started to malfunction. I sent it in for a warranty repair that I bought when I bought the camera, and they replaced the entire top plate, all the buttons, EVF, and LCD. It's basically a brand new camera. It's worth spending an extra couple bucks on an extended warranty when buying old used electronics.

[Shinigamiof]

I have been using this technique for years so I know it works 100% I buy things all the time in a bundle and get what I really want for free or much cheaper than it should be. One thing you forgot to mention is auctions that end too early, like in the morning or early afternoon usually sell for less. I never list anything past 11pm.

[TheCruisinCrew]

So true... I did exactly that with eBay and thrift store finds for years (buy cheap, resell for profit) and worked my way up from a Canon EOS M a few years ago to a Sony A7Rii, which I bought for $925 barely used... couldn't be happier! :)

[lerx]

For this technique to work you need 2 things.
Be in the right time and have time to study prices.
I know the prices for a few body’s and glasses so I immediately know if the deal is a bargain or not.
Bought my camera gear pretty cheap in the past. ;)

[MrsMysteryWoman]

I do this while selling things on eBay to get a more realistic idea of what I can expect to sell things for. I never considered doing this when purchasing!

I’ve been having a heck of a time trying to find an XT 1, 2 or 3 for anywhere near the prices that I’ve heard people saying they can get them for. The XT1s I’ve been looking at are all well over $500 with a few “poor condition/heavily used“ cameras for around 350 to 400.

The one XT3 I found for around 550 that seemed to be in excellent condition and was also the graphite color. I ended up bidding on it and winning, but then they canceled the auction immediately after. I’ve been pretty convinced this whole time that the prices have skyrocketed on Fuji because of their recent trendiness. It’s been really bothering me, so I’m glad to hear this new tip. I will try it out right now! Same thing with lenses too. I hear people saying “lens is amazing” then when I go to try and purchase one I can’t find one for less than $250. 🤦🏼‍♀️🤯🙄

[Hobbies]

I too buy used, and SAVE TONS OF MONEY. I just got a $300 Rode Blimp for $125. It needed the clamp that holds the pivot position and one of the mechanisms that secures the blimp to the handle. I contacted Rode and they sent these parts to me FOR FREE!!

I also bought a $400 lens for $148. The auto focus didn't work on the lens, and because I shoot narrative films I NEVER USE AUTO FOCUS. It didn't matter to me that it didn't work on the lens.

Those were ebay. On Craigslist I got a 35mm APS-C Nikon lens for $50. Perfect condition.

On Reverb I got a $600 shotgun mic for $280. In the box, perfect condition.

I've also got SO MUCH MORE. You get so much more bang for your buck this way. You get stuff you otherwise could not afford.

[piratefishrick]

My best find was a Leica IIIc with 50mm collapsible Elmar for $120. They had some other stuff there that I offered an extra $50 or so for. One of the items was some lens I’d never heard of before called a Pinkham + Smith portrait lens. I sold that one for $3000 on eBay

[ritrattoaziendale]

Doing exactly this, buying from people not knowing value of their items (bad descriptions, bad on no photo, etc), then repack, take good pictures, thorough descriptions, and I can get premium prices. Just this month I found a guy selling a Sekonic L-478 for 215€, and I managed to bring him down to 150€; the item was actually the "EL" version, including Elinchrom triggering abilities, which the guy didn't know and didn't highlight in his auction. When I resold it I stressed a lot that that was including native Elinchrom triggering, I took beautiful pictures, etc, and I managed to resell it for 250€! A 100€ margin increase from 150€ in just 3 days! One of my fastest and greatest feat ever 🙂

[kaidoshun]

Thats how I exactly get an idea how much something used is worth, glad someone is showing this neat little trick

[geezertech]

I recently got a great deal on a camera lens on Ebay. I was searching for weeks afterwards to see my transaction show up on the sold items list. It never did. Thanks for clearing that up. I wasn't aware that Ebay withheld listing transactions that fell too far below the average price.

[boatman]

Beware of eBay! People tend to automatically assume is cheapest and in my experience they are actually more expensive. The other thing to factor in is that buying on eBay you are at risk when it comes to faulty gear that has something wrong with it. Camera repair these days tends to be hideously expensive. Some online repair shops have a "minimum" repair charge of $300! Most online used camera dealers offer at least a 90 day guarantee and some go as high as 6 months.

[Camacho]

This is what I did to get my first camera gear a couple months ago. Here’s what I got

• canon R50 w/ 18-55 mm lens - $500
• Tamron 70-200mm 2.8 - $225