Don't sellers want money anymore?

dbay

Suspended / Banned
Messages
344
Name
David Bayley
Edit My Images
Yes
I'm on the hunt for my first dslr, I've seen some nice used ones within my price range and traveling distance. I've contacted 3 different sellers now and not one has bothered to reply to my basic questions or is willing for me to go and view the cameras.

Buying new is looking more attractive by the day....
 
Sounds strange. I'd always prefer someone came viewed and payed cash on collection.
 
Maybe they've been sold.
Maybe they have. Always polite to respond to questions if you (the seller) has not done some good house keeping and not updated a post or archived it.
 
is that 3 different sellers on this site or elsewhere ?

It's 3 different sellers on 3 different sites. (EBay, gum tree, facebook) I'm not allwed to view the for sale section on this site yet as I've to been a member for long enough.
 
is that 3 different sellers on this site or elsewhere ?
I think we are safe to assume the OP isn't talking about sellers in the TP classifieds having only been a TP member for 3 days and 9 posts.

I'm on the hunt for my first dslr, I've seen some nice used ones within my price range and traveling distance. I've contacted 3 different sellers now and not one has bothered to reply to my basic questions or is willing for me to go and view the cameras.

Buying new is looking more attractive by the day....

It sounds a little unlucky to have 3 sellers not reply but there can sometimes be genuine reasons for no replies. It's possible the seller may not have been on the site or may not have got the notifications that there is a message. Not knowing what sites you are referring to its difficult for anyone to say if thats unusual or not. What I would advise when buying your first camera and looking at buying used is to buy from a reputable used seller like MPB, WEX LCE, or similar well known company/shop. The reason I say that is because you will know its been tested and you will get a warranty too if you later fine a problem (my first nikon had a memory card issue and LCE repaired it under warranty). Even if you go and look at cameras will know what to look for and how to test a used camera properly? TP is a great place to buy gear from as sellers are genuine and there are very few incidents of problems. I seem to remember access to the classifieds is limited by a minimum of 60 days and 25 posts but I may be wrong.
 
I think we are safe to assume the OP isn't talking about sellers in the TP classifieds having only been a TP member for 3 days and 9 posts.



It sounds a little unlucky to have 3 sellers not reply but there can sometimes be genuine reasons for no replies. It's possible the seller may not have been on the site or may not have got the notifications that there is a message. Not knowing what sites you are referring to its difficult for anyone to say if thats unusual or not. What I would advise when buying your first camera and looking at buying used is to buy from a reputable used seller like MPB, WEX LCE, or similar well known company/shop. The reason I say that is because you will know its been tested and you will get a warranty too if you later fine a problem (my first nikon had a memory card issue and LCE repaired it under warranty). Even if you go and look at cameras will know what to look for and how to test a used camera properly? TP is a great place to buy gear from as sellers are genuine and there are very few incidents of problems. I seem to remember access to the classifieds is limited by a minimum of 60 days and 25 posts but I may be wrong.

That is one thing that does concern me. I don' think I could fully test the camera for defects that I may find later down the line.
 
It's 3 different sellers on 3 different sites. (EBay, gum tree, facebook) I'm not allwed to view the for sale section on this site yet as I've to been a member for long enough.
First I personally wouldn't touch gumtree with a barge pole for expensive electronics (heard far too many bad stories), eBay I find a little hit and miss (usually my idea of condition ratings and theirs are usually quite different), Facebook never bought camera gear but have purchased some outdoor gear that went fine. I find on here best as sellers and buyers have something to potentially lose (classifieds access or potentially a ban from the forum). Everyone I've bought and sold from on here have been very good, both in person collections and posting items.

Can I ask how long are we talking since sending the message? If its less than a day or two I wouldn't be surprised if some sellers don't go back on eBay or gumtree to check in those timeframes.
 
Last edited:
That is one thing that does concern me. I don' think I could fully test the camera for defects that I may find later down the line.
All of my first cameras and lenses were either purchased new or used from stores due to that reason. Several years on I feel I can test gear better and spot a problem quickly enough to take action to arrange a refund (in the past I've had to send one lens back to a seller as it wasn't as described- they said it was excellent working condition yet the AF motor was squeaky which usually means the AF motor is on the way out).
 
With eBay it has been a few days with no reply. Gumtree I sent a message in the morning and aslo called the seller twice on the first day and once on the second day, they didn' answer the call or respond to the messge I sent. Facebook is pretty instant via messenger.
My experience with selling items in the past I generally check them at least once a day. And when its sold I end the listing.

I'll have a look at Mpb, Wex and Lce to see if I can see anything for my budget.
 
If sellers can' answer you in a reasonable time I wouldn't touch them. Just my opinion
 
Watch out for stolen goods on Gumtree, it is well known that is a thieves shop front :rolleyes:

Out of curiosity, what model were you looking at ???
 
Facebook is pretty instant via messenger.

I could be wrong but I believe messages to a "non friend" may initially go in a junk type of folder

Maybe respond to the post saying they have a pm
 
First I personally wouldn't touch gumtree with a barge pole for expensive electronics (heard far too many bad stories), eBay I find a little hit and miss (usually my idea of condition ratings and theirs are usually quite different), Facebook never bought camera gear but have purchased some outdoor gear that went fine. I find on here best as sellers and buyers have something to potentially lose (classifieds access or potentially a ban from the forum). Everyone I've bought and sold from on here have been very good, both in person collections and posting items.

Can I ask how long are we talking since sending the message? If its less than a day or two I wouldn't be surprised if some sellers don't go back on eBay or gumtree to check in those timeframes.

Watch out for stolen goods on Gumtree, it is well known that is a thieves shop front :rolleyes:

Out of curiosity, what model were you looking at ???

I had narrowed my search down to the Nikon d5600 or the d3400. I had just been viewing the canon 750d and the 1300d but the review on techradar sway towards the Nikon brand?
I like the idea of touch screen but it's not essential. The camera would be used for landscape and wildlife photography but I do also like the idea of the time laps function on the d5600 too.
 
I could be wrong but I believe messages to a "non friend" may initially go in a junk type of folder

Maybe respond to the post saying they have a pm

For normal messaging this is the case. On market place the message goes through as normal. I was also selling some parts this weekend so had a few messages coming through as normal asking about availability ect.
 
You are probably right there.
 
D3400 can be had for £335 new with the VR kit lens from HDEW, the 5600 with same lens is £489, depends what your budget is but as said just above you might get a better deal from the classifieds here.
 
The d5600 would be in budget from hdew so thank you for pointing that out to me.

I don' think I could wait two months before I can view the used equipment being sold by members on this site. But it will come in handy in the future for lenses ect.
 
It's 3 different sellers on 3 different sites. (EBay, gum tree, facebook) I'm not allwed to view the for sale section on this site yet as I've to been a member for long enough.

my experience with gumtree in the past for buying has been poor to say the least
most won't answer their phone, txting gets a better response but when you do finally get through to the seller the amount of messing around can be incredible
it's as if they don't really want to sell it
iv'e had a much better experience selling things via gumtree

facebook is a strange place for buying and selling my wife admins a local buy sell group with about 20'000 members, i would say most things advertised don't get a second look but most of it IS tat

ebay as far as i'm concerned you bid you win you buy and that's about it, if i message a seller and get no response i don't bid
if it's something expensive i will collect and pay cash

there's plenty of stuff out there it's just a matter of patience
 
Gumtree can be a little hit and miss. I did see equipment being sold on there, it was a body, lens and a flash. The advert stated it was well used, but in great condition. I found out they were a local photographer. I did contact them via Gumtree, and the conversation was going really well. I told them that I lived local, a few streets away in fact. So I asked, could I pop down to view items. All contact stopped, when I told them I was down the road from them. Maybe the item was faulty, and they did not want a local popping around complaining.
 
It's worth mentioning that there is no easy way on ebay to share your address, email and/or phone number without putting them on your listing, which some don't want to do. If you try to send an something that appears to be contact information via message service, ebay's bots will intercept it and you can end up being banned. This is to avoid you trading outside of ebay and them not getting their cut but does make life rather difficult sometimes.

Also worth noting that some sellers (and buyers) are wary of collecting or paying in person via ebay as it opens up the possibility for scamming either by claiming item wasn't posted (no proof of handover) or item wasn't paid for (no paypal transaction).

I've bought and sold loads of things online, mainly ebay but some stuff on gumtree and preloved too. Even braved facebook for one lens. All I would say is to read between the lines on listings or communications. If I'm buying something expensive, I want to see plenty of information about the item that assures me the seller is both genuine and enthusiastic. A well written ad implies they have put more than the bare minimum of effort in, which probably also reflects how they approach the rest of their dealings. Communication should be polite and informative. This might sound picky but actually most stuff for sale falls into this category, if it doesn't I'm walking away.
 
Last edited:
It's worth mentioning that there is no easy way on ebay to share your address, email and/or phone number without putting them on your listing, which some don't want to do. If you try to send an something that appears to be contact information via message service, ebay's bots will intercept it and you can end up being banned. This is to avoid you trading outside of ebay and them not getting their cut but does make life rather difficult sometimes..

We fell foul of this a short while ago. I was selling my son's bike and someone asked to come and view it with their child to check the size. We sent a message with our address and phone number and were then informed that we were banned from sending any messages for a period of time (think it was 60 days but can't remember). We could reply to messages from a buyer of an item but could not send any messages to anyone else and as far as I am aware anyone messaging us did not got any notification so probably just assumed we were ignoring them. We contacted ebay and explained the situation but while they understood their view was you are buying/selling on an auction site and you don't get to see the goods until the sale is complete. I can understand that they do this to stop people making sales outside of their system but it does seem strange for some items like childrens bikes.
 
For used, just buy from CEX they have branches everywhere and give a two year guarantee on used items.

Nikon D3400
https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail/?id=sslrnikd3400bodb

Nikon D5600
https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=sslrnikd5600bodb

Nikon 18-55mm VR
https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail/?id=slensnikafpdx1855gvr

I had narrowed my search down to the Nikon d5600 or the d3400. I had just been viewing the canon 750d and the 1300d but the review on techradar sway towards the Nikon brand?
I like the idea of touch screen but it's not essential. The camera would be used for landscape and wildlife photography but I do also like the idea of the time laps function on the d5600 too.

Really, there's not much in it and it's splitting hairs. I'd cost up future lens purchases and make a decision based on that
 
Last edited:
Happy with a used camera from CameraJungle - they dealt with a minor issue about condition and offer a guarantee - they were the best on price compared with the other major online camera outfits
 
I'm not smitten on new, but for the price difference of £80 It makes more sense to buy new just for piece of mind. The d5600 body and kit lens from HDEW looks like the one for me at the moment. I would buy the starter kit but I don't think the sd card is big enough at 16gb.
 
More a sign of the times. There are some properly odd people about, you have to be very careful who you deal with
 
No not at all. Simple things like do you have a price in mind, age of the camera, can i view the camera and when would be a convenient time.

Were your questions ... like ... innapropriate?
 
My mind is made up now, I'm buying new from HDEW for piece of mind :)
 
Back
Top