How to hawk your goodies...another buyer/sellers guide to newcomers.

[garbled]

Garbled Sellers guide:

Lots of inconsiderate buyers and sellers out there, so I hope this little guideline would help you in some way. Some people might find this none applicable but it works for me and I hope it helps out anyone out there too. Good luck.

When selling:
1. Be honest at the condition of your items. --- Honesty is the best policy, just describe what are the flaws you can see on your item. Just say, unnoticable scratch on the external barrel of the lens.
2. Test your items first.
3. Prepare your items first before posting it in the forums. (Keep everything in the box, cables, cards, caps) ORGANIZE IT!
4. Be firm at your price. ( We all love to haggle, but some are just pushing it.) so before you post, just make sure the digits you’re posting are firm and it all depends on you whether you want to adjust it lower but never higher at your expected price.
5. Don’t put “OFFER ME” – this is a total waste of time, dont do this. Just use the pricing on your receipt or the clubsnap price list as baseline. Using “Offer me” is an invitation for long sms and PM’s
6. Don’t let the buyer dictate where and when to meet. Remember you’re loosing money here, its only RIGHT that they meet you at your convenience not theirs. (But this is case to case basis and up to you basis if you urgently needed the cash.)
7. Reserve an item ONE BUYER A DAY.
8. Time is important, I only give 20 minutes for them to test and re-test the item. But ofcourse, you don’t tell them that, tell them that you have an appointment in the next 40 minutes. That should be enought time for them to diagnose your stuff.
9. Don’t be SMS stingy, make use of the 160/160 max number of letters of your sms. Put as much well thought details as much as you can.
10. Follow my template, it doesn’t have to be exactly as it is as I dont.

Selling the below items (for posting)
&#61550; Nikon D800 – Local SG set, bought for <PRICE> in <SHOP_NAME> last <DATE_OF_PURCHASE>
&#61550; Reason for selling is I need a new toilet seat.
&#61550; Price to sell: <PRICE_YOU_WANT_TO_SELL_IT> FIRM
&#61550; Meetup: Meetup at <convenient MRT> Station after work (7PM) only or weekends. (Check item 6).
&#61550; Things to note: Unnoticable fine scratch at the barrel, smudged nikon letters. Shutter count of 400-500.
&#61550; No return no exchange deal, View and test the item thoroughly as much as you can.

11. Here are some basic SMS I reply to buyers:

Scenario 1: The haggler.
BUYER: I’m interested on your D800. Can lower from 6000K to 5800K?
ME: No sorry, price is firm. Thanks for viewing.
****Now he’ll either ask you to meet him or not. Remember the reason you put FIRM on your post is to avoid negotiation. I don’t like to negotiate, if I put my price on the box, that means its already at the discounted price.

Scenario 2: You posted in the evening and you got a reply the next day.
BUYER1: I’m interested on your D800, can we meet tomorrow?
ME: Ok, I’ll reserve the item for you tomorrow. Please let me know 4 hours in advance or earlier if you want to back out or you can’t make it that time. View/test all you want, its a none commitment viewing. Tks.
BUYER1: Oks thanks.

Suddenly BUYER2 comes in:
BUYER2: I’m interested on your D800, can we meet tomorrow?
ME: Sorry, Item is reserve for viewing tomorrow, I’ll let you know the next day if he backs out or can’t make it.
BUYER2: oks thanks.

When the item is sold for BUYER1, you’re not obliged to SMS BUYER2,3,4 etc. Just immediately close your thread and REPLY BACK only to those who asks for updates the next day.

12. I’m very strict on my meet up time, what I’ll do is sms the buyer 2 hours in advance to confirm if he can make it. If he doesn’t reply to you an hour or 30 minutes before the actual meet up time, make a missed call. If no reply, Go home and don’t deal with the fella.

13. Ok so he’s buying it, ASK HIM TO INSPECT IT AGAIN AND TEST IT, tell him again its a no return deal and once the buyer takes that priced item of yours somewhere else its considered a SELL as you’ll never know where they brought it. If anything goes wrong, its their fault. But of course, honesty is important in here.

14. If he declines, shake hands and pack. If he tries to haggle, just say no thanks, have a good day and leave.

15. DONT HURRY, I noticed alot of sellers dont count their money! I’ve seen this so many times..--- When you received that bundled of cash from your buyer, ask him you’ll be counting their cash and you would appreciate if they can see you counting it in front of them. Don’t get conned.


Ok guys, I hope my post will help anyone in some way...just remember, use common sense, don’t be afraid to talk, be honest, and lastly be patient. Just wait for the Buyers guide as I’m stilll composing it.

And add up if you can. Thanks.

 

[jlim76]

+1

Great effort in writing this. I guess it's becoz of some unhappy encounters that triggered you to write it. Lucky for me in my ~ 5 times dealing in BNS it has been with wonderful pple.

 

[chillicutter]

Nice! Great job!

 

[Octarine]

Great write-up , deserves to be sticky. The money counting is important, once I had a buyer who accidentally gave me $50 bucks too much because he did not count his money. And this after he even asked for $50 bucks 'student discount' ...

 

[makolit]

+1 on this.

 

[Prince Photogenic]

Nice write-up. Thanks, Garbled.

Great write-up , deserves to be sticky. The money counting is important, once I had a buyer who accidentally gave me $50 bucks too much because he did not count his money. And this after he even asked for $50 bucks 'student discount' ...

What?! He asked for discount after you were honest enough to return him the $50 that he over-paid? what did you reply then?

 

[shelomoh]

How I wish everyone here sells and buys like you.

 

[shelomoh]

Thanks for posting, a few of the things I learn it the hard way.

 

[Octarine]

What?! He asked for discount after you were honest enough to return him the $50 that he over-paid? what did you reply then?

The other way round - First he asked for 'student discount' (which I declined), then (after checking the lens) he passed me too much money.

 

[Prince Photogenic]

The other way round - First he asked for 'student discount' (which I declined), then (after checking the lens) he passed me too much money.

Oh i see.. =P

 

[luckyorange]

nice thread..

 

[HighTone]

Thanks, I'm going to adopt this in future.

 

[garbled]

Sorry for the delayed continuation of this write up. Oh and thanks for the PM&#8217;s and thumbs up...you know who you are...cheers!

Going back to the main topic, here&#8217;s some stuff to look for when buying second hand goodies or buying first hand items and the UBER BIGGEST SUPER DUPER mistakes made by noobies which will be tackled in the next article. I hope whomever you are this write up may help you in some way. Please forgive my mediocre grammar skills and grab a coffee because this is going to be a long read.

For DSLR not applicable for FILM Bodies:
How to buy a second hand DSLR, so you contacted the guy and you&#8217;re meeting him tonight huh? He claims its mint, underutilized and the price is right. Gooood. So get this thing printed because you&#8217;ll only need his/hers 10-15 minutes to test his DSLR.

1. BRING THE MUST&#8217;S &#8211; A lens, if you&#8217;re buying a DX body (Cropped) dslr, always bring a dx lens, for FX (full frame) bodies, bring an fx lens...A hotshoe flash(Optional if you&#8217;re super kaypoh)....Bring a blower....A torch light....and most importantly common sense.

2. RELAX --- Always take a deep breath when testing, don&#8217;t get too excited, and don&#8217;t RUSH...remember you two agreed that you&#8217;ll be testing his item and you&#8217;re a keen buyer after all. Remember, when you&#8217;re relax, you can see flaws as clear as possible. If he states that he have to go in the next 30 minutes then lets get down to the check list. Just relax and try not to DROP his item. Dropping his item will get you in trouble.

3. MAKE YOUR CHECKLIST --- Nothing beats a checklist, they&#8217;re just indispensable. Here&#8217;s a general sample that works for me. Remember, this is general, not a product specific. But it works.

3.1 Inspect the items in a bright environment &#8211; This one is abit self exploratory.

3.2 Check the external appearance of the item &#8211; Cracks? Drop marks? Or Scuffings? (Tripod marks are ok) If you see any of these marks, point it out to the owner...its already a hint that you&#8217;re not taking it. Say thanks, apologize and pack up. Try not to converse further to avoid further drama. Remember, be nice. If in one point he starts becoming a jerk and pulls out you&#8217;ve just wasted his time. Blah blah blah, give yourself a favor ignore him and get out of there.

3.2.1 Check the lens mount point, check if there are cracks surrounding the metal point...INSPECT THIS THOROUGHLY...Saw some folks at F1 handling their precious 200-400 lenses from their body without supporting the lens itself...crazy...ehehe.
3.2.2 Check the BATTERY CHAMBER, nothing worse if there are gunk of battery leaks chemicals and rust inside this chamber.
3.2.3 Press all buttons, twist those dials, see if it gets stuck, CHECK THE USB AND PORTS SEE IF THERE ARE LOOSE TEETHS OR STUCK ITEMS INSIDE.
3.2.4 Use your flash light, set his DSLR to BULB, open up his DSLR cap and check the mirror and sensor for scratches, fungus and any foreign objects (booger and finger marks, its true). (He might have accidentally scratched it during cleaning)....Check with him if he has a blower, if he doesnt, ask for permission if you can blow it with yours. If he&#8217;s OK, DONT IMMEDIATELY POINT IT IN HIS SENSOR, POINT IT SOMEWHERE ELSE FIRST AS YOU WILL NEVER KNOW WHATS IN YOUR BLOWER...this is to protect his item and avoid any accidents.
3.2.5 Open his viewfinder eyecup and check for scratches. This is one of the most common things newbs touches and wipes it with anything...its easily gets scratched...though it doesnt affect IQ so its all up to you if this is a deal breaker.
3.2.6 Shoot at least 5 properly exposed shots. (This should be easy since you&#8217;re in a bright environment)...I try to shoot at the biggest aperture to the lowest). This is actually a double sided test, it also tests the motor of the camera too.
3.2.7 From that 5 shots you did, include an LCD screen shot to test view your shots.
3.2.8 Same as the previous, CHECK THAT LCD FOR ANY DEAD PIXEL...Dead pixels sucks big time.
3.2.9 CHECK THE HOTSHOE FOR BENDS, or best if you can test it using a separate hotshoe flash. Don&#8217;t forget to test shoot with the built in flash ON.
3.2.10 So you made it this far, check the SERIAL NUMBER of his unit with the warranty card..make sure they match.
3.2.11 I&#8217;m not sure whats up with this, some users claim they still have the warranty but lost all receipts...............YOU CAN&#8217;T CLAIM FOR WARRANTY WITHOUT THE RECEIPT EVEN IF YOU REGISTER THIS ONLINE...I&#8217;ve no idea about canon and other units but for Nikon, its like this.
3.2.12 Lastly, check the basics items....if he claims all is included that means from the charger to the hotshoe cover.
3.2.12.1 Hotshoe cover.
3.2.12.2 USB Cable
3.2.12.3 Charger, charger cable
3.2.12.4 Battery, make sure its the original ones.
3.2.12.5 Box
3.2.12.6 Manuals.
3.2.12.7 Strap
3.2.12.8 ETC, best if you watch those &#8220;Unboxing&#8221; videos from youtube, from there you can itemize all the basic included stuff.
3.3. Congratulations, you earned yourself a new UNIT. Smile, tell him you&#8217;re taking it, shake hands.
3.4. One more thing,,,prep your cash and COUNT YOUR CASH before giving it to him and ask him to COUNT IT in front of you. I know you&#8217;re excited.


I guess thats all I have to say in buying second hand DSLR&#8217;s if you have more stuff to add, please feel free to add up.....next stop, Buying Second hand Lenses....CHEERS ALL!

 

[garbled]

On the second thought, just check out the sticky "how to buy a second hand lens". Cheers.

 

[Octarine]

Just to add a few points.
Lens: Bring a lens of the camera brand, no 3rd party / lens with adapter. Bring a lens that has worked flawlessly.
Motor: Not applicable to Canon, all AF motors sit in the lens.
Battery chamber: Lithium Ion batteries don't leak, they just go up in flames. Leakage could happen if the camera only uses AA batteries (Pentax Kx, iirc) or in the battery grip with the AA battery holder.
Shutter count: Especially when the seller overemphasizes 'underutilized' or something similar it's worth to have a look. Nikon cameras (and some other brands) put the counter into the exif data, here Opanda viewer and others can help. But that requires you to have a laptop / netbook at hand. For Canon cameras there is either only CSC (DIGIC II chips) or the tool EOS Info. It's another detail to assess the camera's condition and utilization.

 

[cyrilng]

Just want to say that anyone dealing with garbled need not have any worries for he's a patient, accommodating & generous guy! This comes from first-hand experience dealing with him. Thanks again & cheers Marc!

 

[schlicht]

Thanks for the great guide!

 

[iamnubie]

don't forget things like

- "Selling for $1000 (market price for new is $900) - no Lowballers please" <---no market research
- "Condition BRAND NEW in BOX, only used a couple of times, no more warranty, JUST 2 years old" <--- Misleading
- "Please give discount as i'm student with limited budget <---student want to buy expensive lens or body, c'mon!! limited budget want to buy high end stuffs

 

[Cowseye]

It's completely contracting when you said brand new in box and used a few times..