Usedkit › Selling used cameras

Selling used cameras

Camera buyers check the same few things every time. Answer them in the listing and the questions, returns and haggling mostly stop.

What buyers ask first

• Shutter count, and how it compares with the model's rated shutter life.
• Lens mount and sensor size, so they know what fits.
• Batteries: how many, original or third-party, and how well they hold a charge.
• Sensor: clean, or dust and spots that show at small apertures.
• Any faults: a sticky button, a scratched rear screen, a door that doesn't latch, an error code.

How to grade a used camera

• Like new: no marks anywhere; low shutter count; box and accessories complete.
• Excellent: light marks you find by looking, usually on the bottom plate or around the strap lugs.
• Good: wear anyone sees, such as paint worn through at the edges (brassing) or a polished grip, but everything works.
• Fair: heavy wear, or a minor fault that doesn't stop it working; name the fault.
• For parts: doesn't power on, shows an error, or the shutter or sensor is faulty.

Grade by the worst thing about it. A camera that looks excellent but has a sticky dial is Fair, with the dial named.

What to photograph

• Front, back, top and bottom, in even light.
• The rear screen switched on, and the shutter count if the camera can show it.
• The sensor with the lens off, and every mark you mention in the text.
• Everything that comes with it, laid out.

Pricing it

Price from what the same model sells for used, not from what it cost new. Kamarvo shows the used market price of cameras across shops in Europe and the US; your own past sales of the model are the other good guide. Adjust for condition, shutter count and what's included.

Selling them in a web shop

Each used item is its own product, sold once. Two things make that work: a condition every buyer reads the same way, shown on the product and in the product list, and a way to keep the buyer who arrives after it sold.

Usedkit adds both to WooCommerce and Shopify: a condition card with the details buyers ask about, and a "notify me" on sold items that matches by model, so the next one reaches everyone who waited.

What shutter count is too high?

Compare it with the shutter life the manufacturer rates the model for, often 100,000 to 300,000 actuations. A camera at a small share of that has years left; one near it is priced lower or sold with that said.

Should I clean the sensor before selling?

Yes, if you can do it safely; otherwise say in the listing that it has dust. A photo of a plain sky at a small aperture shows the buyer exactly what's there.

Write the condition text for a used camera · A waitlist for sold items

Sell cameras without losing the next buyer

Usedkit is free during early access. On WooCommerce, the plugin from WordPress.org; on Shopify, the Shopify app (in review for the App Store; available soon).