Places to buy used cameras

MrDrizz

MrDrizz

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So I was thinking are charity shops a good place to find used cameras for cheap.
Or are a lot of them wise to the value and either ask the going rate or put up on eBay?
 
Sample size of one but I got a Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM "pancake" lens in a CRUK shop about 12 months ago for under £20 (well, they had it in the window for £18 - I gave them the extra as a donation)
 
Only a guess but I reckon they are wise to prices, used to love going to charity shops as I collect vinyl records, but now they have become wise to that as well.
 
MrDrizz said:
So I was thinking are charity shops a good place to find used cameras for cheap.
Or are a lot of them wise to the value and either ask the going rate or put up on eBay?
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Some are wise to prices now so bargains are less, my local RSPCA has quite a few cameras at a reasonable price i.e. not bargains and I play with them sometimes in the shop and find a few that are faulty and tell the guy but he is not interested :rolleyes: "I don't know anything about cameras and just sell em" :D...but you can get your money back if not happy.
 
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I've given up with charity shops, I have rarely found a decent camera and those I have (about 3) were either knackered or over priced. eBay used to be reasonable but there are a lot of people trying to sell you rubbish at high prices, still bargains there if you're lucky though.
 
Andysnap said:
I've given up with charity shops, I have rarely found a decent camera and those I have (about 3) were either knackered or over priced. eBay used to be reasonable but there are a lot of people trying to sell you rubbish at high prices, still bargains there if you're lucky though.
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I'm glad I got all my cameras and lenses for peanuts from about 2-10 years back (y) I feel sorry for guys now paying high prices that were practically giving away in the past. But in sold items you can still get a T70 body for £10 inc postage o_O;)
 
Many of the charity shops have eBay storefronts now. Your best bet for a bargain is probably a car boot as that's generally people who don't do eBay.

There are still some bargains to be had mainly because people haven't realised they're great cameras. Brian mentioned the T70 (I have a T90) and things like the Canon EOS650 - usually had for less than a £20 note are very capable cameras. The Canon Sureshots are also very good and (in some cases) cheap. I picked up an OIympus i3000 bridge for £12 and it is excellent if a little on the ugly side :)
 
Harlequin565 said:
Your best bet for a bargain is probably a car boot as that's generally people who don't do eBay
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Indeed but you have know something about cameras and know when to gamble i.e. can you fix a faulty camera going cheap. I've had a few over the years that I couldn't get them working but for me it's part of the fun getting something working that you bought for peanuts.
 
I haven't seen a camera in a charity shop for some years. I get mine off eBay for the most part. Prices are fine if you are patient- they only go up if several people are interested. I just wait until a camera I would like comes up when no one else is interested.
 
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I bought my Minolta SRT-101b from a charity shop a few months back. I cost me £30, which I don't think is a bargain as such, but it's in great condition, had the MD Rokkor 50mm f/1.7 and a strap and works well. It's was still cheaper than what they mostly fetch on eBay too.

The same shop had a Yashica 35mm SLR too, and a Pentax something or other. Might go back and take another look when it opens up again.
 
john.margetts said:
I haven't seen a camera in a charity shop for some years. I get mine off eBay for the most part. Prices are fine if you are patient- they only go up if several people are interested. I just wait until a camera I would like comes up when no one else is interested.
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I had 2 Ross Ensign Selfix 820s on my fleabay watch list, both finished today at around £50, but fleabay didn't send me the email until it had ended! I don't remember it working like that before... :(

Back on topic, I've bought several excellent cameras and lenses from charity shops... but sadly, not for several years now.

I don't know whether it would apply these days, but one of our local charity shops would get a box of old cameras from out the back if you asked. Mostly film compacts, which I wasn't interested in (though as we've seen, some on here are), and a bunch of junky lenses. But maybe worth asking. Try to ask the manager, though.
 
ChrisR said:
I had 2 Ross Ensign Selfix 820s on my fleabay watch list, both finished today at around £50, but fleabay didn't send me the email until it had ended! I don't remember it working like that before... :(

Back on topic, I've bought several excellent cameras and lenses from charity shops... but sadly, not for several years now.

I don't know whether it would apply these days, but one of our local charity shops would get a box of old cameras from out the back if you asked. Mostly film compacts, which I wasn't interested in (though as we've seen, some on here are), and a bunch of junky lenses. But maybe worth asking. Try to ask the manager, though.
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My eBay watch lists send me reminders before the auction ends. Usually the day before and then a couple of hours before the auction ends (although I got a reminder today 15mins before an item ended, which was very handy as no one else had bid and I got it for the opening price).
 
ChrisR said:
I had 2 Ross Ensign Selfix 820s on my fleabay watch list, both finished today at around £50, but fleabay didn't send me the email until it had ended! I don't remember it working like that before... :(
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You've been unlucky there Chris, because I also get reminders for items I've only browsed, as well as those on my watch list.
 
Ebay prices seem to be all over the place at the moment, it seems to be more like a lottery than ever. I got a bit of a bargain in an auction that ended on Saturday evening (a Sony camcorder to use for work), but it was a nice evening and I think quite a few people were probably outside enjoying the sunshine... which was good news for me! As for charity shops, only occasionally do I find a cheapish camera - last time a fully working Polaroid Button for £18, previously a Fuji Finepix S2000 for £16 (to use for work - it's got a rather handy 400mm equivalent optical top end to the zoom). So things can be found, but I think they're rather few and far between.
 
I particularly like e-bay items marked 'faulty' or 'spares/repair' when they are described as 'will not power up'. If the price is low, then given my educational and industrial experience, I'm happy to take a gamble. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. It's more fun that my other yearly bet on the Grand National and no horses get killed.
 
MrDrizz said:
So I was thinking are charity shops a good place to find used cameras for cheap.
Or are a lot of them wise to the value and either ask the going rate or put up on eBay?
Click to expand...
If you have a good idea of what you want, you should put a Wanted ad on here. You'd be surprised what folks have scuffing about in cupboards and drawers that they'd be happy to see going to a good home.
 
I have not found any cameras in any of the charity shops in Wellingborough, unfortunately, I went to a couple of local boot sales that were quite big, last year, where I just found one camera of any vague interest (a Minolta X700 I think with a couple of MD lenses, I seem to remember the guy asking £40 odd which wasn't silly but not interesting to me as I had had one in the past and had no interest to get one back).
I did notice though that someone local is advertising a lot of old and vintage cameras on facebook, he has probably scoured all the local sources as a dealer, ie getting to boot sales at the crack of dawn and maybe having an arrangement with the charity shops or house clearers. A few cameras fairly priced by mostly rip-off prices with no guarantees.

So I get mine mainly through eBay.
 
Lindsay56 said:
maybe having an arrangement with the charity shops or house clearers
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Indeed... the guy at my local RSPCA told me a guy bought a stack of photography gear and paid over £100 and I would guess that dealers contact some charity shops for a tip off and of course donate a few £££'s to the charity as thanks.
 
excalibur2 said:
Indeed... the guy at my local RSPCA told me a guy bought a stack of photography gear and paid over £100 and I would guess that dealers contact some charity shops for a tip off and of course donate a few £££'s to the charity as thanks.
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Yeah, Shane really but I guess the charity are very happy with the arrangement.
 
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