Buying and Selling: eBay the Golden Goose

I've collected vintage film cameras and lenses through the years and I've sold many of them after using them for a little. I no longer have many of the older film cameras that I've collected. I recently sold my prized Nikon Rangefinder from the fifties; these are very collectable and have increased in value.

Nikon S2 with legendary 35mm f/1.4 sold on eBay for $1500 to a collector in Japan

Buying the latest gadget or photo equipment can get very expensive - If you are like me, and 99% of most people I know, it's hard to justify large purchases. Hey, I'm no rich dude.

What if there was a way to sell the gadgets you no longer use? What if you could sell last year's amazing gadget so you could buy this years incredibly more amazing gadget? Thanks to eBay and craigslist you can buy and sell all your stuff on a regular basis. Not just collectable cameras and lenses, you can sell or get just about anything on eBay.

If you are looking for photo equipment you can find the newest or the rarest of vintage photo equipment on eBay. From a cheap new point and shoot to a rare Leica lens listed at over $200,000.00:

Expensive rare Leica Lens on eBay

Buy your NEW gadgets wherever you can get them for the lowest price. Amazon has consistently been one of my go-to retailers for new stuff. Always search the internet for the best price - this is an art form in itself.

Always take extreme care of your stuff - you need to be anal retentive about it - so that your buyers can always count on getting near-mint items.

Never keep something beyond the point of obsolescence. I try to sell my computers within a one to two year window. If you wait too long nobody will want it.

Always make sure that whatever you get will hold its value, or even better, will increase in value. This is key, don't buy crap. Get the best. In the long run you'll get more for it when it's time to sell. I can't stress it enough - take care of you stuff - it won't be worth anything if it isn't in near-mint condition when you try to sell it.

One more selling tip - Price your items at a reasonable prices. Find the price everyone is selling at, then price your item lower if possible.

Last spring I went through the house and collected everything I thought would sell and listed it on eBay - I made close to $3000.  We spent that money on a needed family vacation.

My wife no longer lets me buy anything unless I sell something to cover the cost first. I could tell you stories.

OK, a short one: I was looking for a commercial espresso grinder for my caffeine addiction, I own a commercial espresso machine. (that's another story) It happens that the model grinder I was looking into cost over $700 new. Way beyond what I would consider reasonably sane. The cheapest I could find on eBay was around $350 - used, paint coming off, didn't look very nice.

I figured, as I always do, that it wouldn't be too complicated to fix, if it were not working optimally, so I pull the trigger and buy it. After all, I'll just turn around and sell it if I decide I don't need it anymore.

I get the grinder, the box it came in had no padding, these large burr grinders weigh a ton. What the hell were they thinking, no padding? I call the seller, they tell me to accept the package and that they will make it right if it is damaged.

Long story short; the damage to the grinder would cost $350 to repair. They refund my $350 and tell me to keep the grinder. I repair the grinder with 2 hours of my labor - no parts needed.

These guys may not know how to pack heavy items for shipping, but they happen to be a reputable seller, not every eBay seller will make things right.

I would say that with the amount of knowledge gained in repairing and restoring the grinder it was free. In my mind it cost me nothing, and after striping and polishing it, the grinder is probably worth close to $650 now.

So, don't be afraid to buy your highly yearned, expensive, thoroughly marketed, consumer desired wonder widget. You can always sell it on eBay and recoup most, if not all, of your hard earned money.

See what's up for sale on my eBay:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/kubanakan

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