Photography

Where you list your equipment for sale makes a big difference. Post on FB marketplace, craigslist everyone should expect lowball offers, random questions etc.. The more general the site, the more mass appeal of it the bigger the more likely you get these types of questions.

It's so easy to simply message someone with a question versus going through multiple google results, watching a 10 minute youtube video or ready a review. Why do all of that when it only takes a few seconds to message the seller is unfortunately the mindset of many people regardless of age.

Personally I only sell my gear at a handful of places. KEH/MPB my local camera store, or FredMiranda forums which is where I tend to get the best money for my equipment and almost none of the hassle.

They grow up to be the "Uncle Bobs" who get in the way of wedding photographers.

I sell my gear on eBay and not once have I encountered that of which you speak. Is this more a Marketplace / in person thing?

No one has mentioned gear complexity and cell phones.

First, gear has been getting more complex over time. For a while there were mostly digital SRL cameras with APS-C sensors, then full-frame cameras came into the mix, then mirrorless, and the number of options continues to multiply. So the abundance of distinct mount systems can be pretty darn confusing for newcomers.

Second, most hobbyists shoot with cell phones these days and so the number of people with sophisticated knowledge of cameras has diminished. Just take a look at the camera industry as a whole. Ever since the cell phone era they’re not selling as many units. As a result, people looking to pick up photography as a hobby probably don’t know where to start.

Thirdly, the further along you get in your career, the more knowledgeable you are, the less patience you have for basic questions and the more you forget what it was like when you were a beginner.

I don't think this is a "these kids these days" issue. I suspect this sort of thing has always been around.

It's just that these days the internet facilitates communication and allows for a post to reach more people and more people to reach back out. In the past they would have had to go up to you physically to talk, now they can fire off hundreds of dumb questions form the comfort of their bed.

It's not just photography, it's all over Reddit and elsewhere. While I'm sure some of it's due to age, I think it's just a difference in internet culture. I started using the web early on when the culture was to RTFM and lurk before you post, but then again when the web took off I spent hours learning about any and everything I could, so I found value in learning about topics and making decisions from that.

Now everyone is instantly reachable by any number of methods and asking Google probably makes less sense when you can ask the person or the hive mind directly, so I kinda get it. We also have explainers and tons of talking heads on various platforms that will simply summarize and editorialize information, and a lot of people prefer that to reading various sources to reach a conclusion.

I'd recommend checking out the photomarket subreddit

The acronym — and rebuttal — “RTFM” has been used online since probably the late 80s. Look it up… nothing new under the sun.

I haven’t had any questions about the stuff I’m selling, perhaps your choice of platform or keywords etc are contributing.

Can't say this ever happened to me with camera stuff, but I had multiple sellers jerk me around when I was selling my track bike wheels, I had the axle length plastered about three times over the ad (track/fixed gear bikes often have a thinner hub size than regular road bikes) and I still had buyers show up for whom they would be the wrong size.

Imagine if you will. The fact you are selling second hand means ppl who have no photography knowledge will look at your listing.

I'm selling an FD lens, and I've had like 5 people ask me if it will fit their random camera.

No

precisely

Not having this problem over on fred miranda...

Yes! Watch 30 YouTube videos on the topic before you buy go something 😆

I sold a polaroid to a woman on Facebook. We meet up, chat about film. She's like yah, yah, yah I have like 5 film cameras. I think wow that's awesome to find another film friend. A couple nights later she messages me in a panic because she opened the back of her film SLR in light and wanted to know if the photos were ruined. Why don't people research stuff before doing it? The reason she opened the back of the camera? The film sprockets tore and it got stuck mid rewind. Why did the sprockets tear? (after asking her questions I found out). She didn't press the film release button at the bottom of the camera before rewinding and tore the film. So she just starts using this piece of equipment willy nilly not even knowing how to use it. When a simple search would have told her those two things. Then I felt like the bearer of bad news telling her the film is ruined.

When reading the title I thought this was to do with the rise in scams and fake bots dm'ing you to try and illicit PPI, because that's become much more of a ballache than it used to be, to the point I don't really try and sell anything anymore.

Like, I'd upgrade my 4k lazer projector to an ultra-short throw with higher lumens and ended up giving it to a friend, it was an $1800 (aud) unit, could've got a grand for it, but seemed like too much hassle, was easier life to just pass it to my mate.

I'm also in Canada. I'm going be unloading a ton of Mamiya film in the next few months so wondering which platform has had the best results for you. I'm assuming the only options are Kijiji, eBay, of FB Marketplace. Any one of these come out as the best?

You can find this info on YouTube and TikTok so I wouldn’t blame the video form social medias

On the contrary - even shitty old gear gained undeserved popularity and now goes for heaps more than its actually worth.

Everyone is trying to make a buck or two and the market is full of people who only care about the resell value.

I have this issue as a buyer too. Sellers have all the time in the world to research some outright delusional prices for their products(I'm not going to pay 100€ for a 1980s 200mm F3.5) but can not check which mount the lens they've got is for. It's not just private sellers doing this, even commercial ones too. This also goes for basic information about the condition of the lens. I always have to ask how well the focus ring turns, if there is fungus, mold or dust Inside the lens. It's maddening.

Yes, it's stupid annoying when they don't read the description or know how to Google, but I feel it's okay to ask questions to confirm that's you're getting what you expect. "Is this compatible with this camera" isn't always a simple question to answer unless you're quite familiar with the ecosystem, and even if a person can figure out the answer, it doesn't hurt to confirm with the seller who may well know the equipment better than you.

Even a question like 'what mount does this use?" - you might have written EF in the description, but if they don't know that EF is a type of mount then reading the description isn't enough, and for stuff like lenses the model name is more of a description and it's easy to get them mixed up.

Not sure if I feel bad now, but when I am looking to buy backup dslr’s, when I ask for the shutter count it seems like no one seems to know how to get it.

It’s this way with everything on marketplace. I have a project bike listed for about 20% of what’s it’s worth. Had a guy come by and nitpick everything it needs fixed and offered me half of what the listing is for. Everything he pointed out is listed in the ad along with pictures of everything.

I have to admit that if I'm buying something more expensive and the seller's profile isn't perfect, I'll find a way to ask a question to see how responsive they are and whether they are pleasant.

If they don't answer or are rude, I'll run away from the deal.

I wonder if it's some type of buying strategy to try to influence you to lower your price, similar to negging. They ask about things your lens doesn't have or is not suited for as a way to subtly influence you into thinking your lens is not as good as it is, that there is lower demand for the lens, that it won't sell well, to get you to lower the price or be willing to negotiate on the price.

Just state all necessary info in the description and ignore questions like that. They’ll just have to learn to research if they want the deal.

only because E-youknowwho is such a PITA ... the whole buyer is never wrong thing....

I think this applies to anything used. I once posted a free working vacuum on a forum and got asked if it worked for both carpet and tile. I responded that I've only tried it on carpet. They got offended that I didn't know if it worked on tile. I reminded them it was FREE. Regardless to say, they didn't pick it up.

i sold someone one of my nishika cameras that has 4 lenses for a wigglegram linticular effect and stated clearly in the listing and also via messaging that is a film camera and would need to be edited in post to do the effect.

Looks like this basically

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anyway the dude bought the camera and took the pix, took the film to a local drug store for developing and messaged me asking for a refund because his printed photos weren't moving.

this guy was like 24, he's the reason I feel like some people shouldn't be allowed to vote or drive

Why wouldn't you just include that info in your ad in the first place? Takes 30sec to type that kind of info into your ad, and save yourself the trouble and time of dealing with questions & buyers who don't even have the right camera.

Okay, so basically there are three people who ask questions:

1. They find asking questions easier than just googling. It's not faster but they just type one question in message to you and you do all the answering part for them instead of them doing all the research

2. People who are looking for engagment. They just are looking for human connection, usually you seem them asking general questions online but maybe some will bother you

3. People who can't decide. They ask "Is it good for real estate" because they want someone to tell them yes or no. Maybe they've done their reasearch, maybe they didn't. In the end they are not sure and will accept answer of any person. It might also be that they made their decision but are looking for confirmation because they don't trust they made a good choice.

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And I can't really say if things have gotten more difficult over the years as I don't have decades of experience but I think there were times when there was less choice so things were easier.

This is why I seek out collectors whenever I have something scarce for sale. Collectors do not ask common questions, like will this fit my Retina or Cannon Sure Shot.

I still have a Hypergon with the star fan. I thought about selling it and those that would want it, know what a star fan is.