Well, this is your personal opinion. I for one do not normally keep boxes because when I purchase a camera I have no intention to sell it. BTW, I have sold equipment without boxes before and there are takers. If the owner cannot produce receipt, then take it that warranty is over. Why get sucked into it and believe what he said. I believed you cannot be that naive, right?
It happen all over including ebay. The thing is no one can tell whether you're really the 1st owner or 3rd owner. Its better to have a good equipment that was owned by 3 parties before than a badly used equipment owned by one. That also can be the case.
If you're so scare, then always buy new.
Well okay point taken. But usually ppl buy a camera without an intention to sell it, at least not too soon. Otherwise they would've jumped to a better camera in the first place. If you make known that you do not have a receipt or lost it, dont make excuses. This is the gist of my thread.
You were saying without box there are takers. Of course there will be if you lower your price
Its just a vicious cycle. No one NEEDS their box, its just to pass it to the next buyer. If you do not have one, then be prepared to make up to a 50-100 dollar loss.
If you ask me, i'd say a box makes the package look 'new'. It gives you a sense of assurance and a placebo of buying a new set. This actually works right? From time to time you'll see ppl asking for ridiculously low prices in WTB, and they demand everything from box to warranty to cond 10.
And one last thing. Sharp copy. "Selling my well-kept 17-55. First lady owner. No scratches. Copy is sharp. Price is firm. Lens is less than a year old but lost the warranty." <--- typical BnS scenario. I hope the buyers will wake up and filter these information out of their minds. Might as well check on the spot and have an "OFFICIAL CHECKLIST" for download or something. If not all the boxes are ticked, the price should be lowered since its not compliant with said condition. Just my suggestion.
That said, i learnt my lesson. I dont need new lenses. I need working lenses that look new enough. To maximise my dollar. I will still go to BnS of cos but i just hope ppl will wake up their idea and not be tricked by these sellers who are giving false information.
My top 3 tips:
1) Do check thoroughly if its a riduculously low price
2)Be wary of sellers who have a very very low post count . i.e. Less than 10. This shows that they do not have a reputation to care about in the forum and can afford to cheat you. But of course this may not apply to every new forumer that wants to sell.
3) Do not ever, and i mean ever, feel paiseh when checking the equip. Make your own checklist if you want and check every part. Make sure you are totally comfortable before buying. There are many instances of ppl who buy in a hurry, only to realise that they got duped or misled somehow. I dont believe its a lesson learnt if it can be avoided in the first place.
Yup
Note: Take special note to sigma lenses in BnS. They are difficult to sell for two reasons. 1) They are 3rd party lenses. Either an ego or lack of total compatibility bugs some ppl. 2) They usually require calibration of some kind. You, as the new owner incurs the 150SGD penalty for the calibration as Sigma Singapore. So do check for sharpness at the widest aperture at least once before you buy.