No market for second hand Gear

[TrevorW]

I've given up on trying to sell near knew gear or hardly used even at prices well below replacement, it seems that people are no longer interested in paying reasonable prices for something, they expect you to give it away.



Does anyone feel the same, how has your experience been when trying to sell something second hand.


I recently tried selling a perfectly good near new scope at a $1000 under replacement and had no takers, it been advertised twice viewed by hundreds but not one person interested, did I buy the lemon of the market ,so will have to donate it to the local high school or will they reject it as well

[xelasnave]

Price is what determines if something will sell most times.

And think about supply and demand...it would seem the supply is very high but as one could expect because of the weather demand is low.

You mention $1000 below replacement..if you are talking about a $10000 scope that is not a big reduction..if you are talking about a $1500 scope well that is a big reduction...

What did you pay? How long ago? What are you asking for?

I see many adds where the asking price seems most unreasonable with the seller exhibiting an attitude that they simply cant lose a cent and do not factor in they have had good use out of the item being sold...others are offered at a fair price and mostly they seem to sell.

From my experience in Real Estate sales if a property was over priced the vendor would not see much traffic and never get an offer.

You need to be priced to sell as someone buying second hand is looking to save money and get a bargain.
Alex

[astroron (Ron)]

I sell at around 50% of new value and so far I have had no quibbles.
I go on line,see the price and divide it by 2.
It works for me.
A friend said to me a few weeks ago
Something is only worth as much as what someone is willing
to pay.
Cheers

[Hans Tucker (Hans)]

If it is a brand name like Takahashi or Astro-Physics you can get more than what you paid for it initially ... well OTA's. The US customers pay more than original price on second hand Astro-Physics gear.

[raymo]

Trevor, I think that there are a number of factors involved in buying and selling used gear. If it is gear worth more than a few hundred dollars, the
question of warranty arises, and not all warranties are transferable.
Some people will have had poor experiences with inaccurately described
gear, leading them to be a bit apprehensive.
We are a small community, which obviously means fewer people looking for what you are selling. Maybe several items similar to your offering have been sold here recently, so nobody else needs one right now.
Some people prefer to buy new rather than save 10 or 15% on an as new object that just might not be as described.
Of course there are people looking for something at a giveaway price, as
already mentioned.
Some members prefer to buy from long time members with a proven track record of good transactions.
Some items are widely used and popular, and regularly fetch a decent price, while some less widely used items struggle to fetch a good price
due to lack of info on how they perform, after sale service, etc.
raymo

[Merlin66 (Ken)]

Just to add to the pertinent comments...
I've tried on numerous occasions to "donate" scientific instruments, including telescopes to local schools.......with no or very limited success.
They don't seem to want books either!!!


One issue I think is they don't have the experienced "scientific" staff and no-one to "look after and use the stuff safely"
They will take iPads!

[Peter Ward]

Originally Posted by Hans Tucker

If it is a brand name like Takahashi or Astro-Physics you can get more than what you paid for it initially ... well OTA's. The US customers pay more than original price on second hand Astro-Physics gear.

Ditto.

Supply and demand very much applies. You cannot get a new FSQ106 from
Takahashi under 12 months at present. Anything AP have even longer wait times.

Most ROC manufactured stuff is in plentiful supply, hence the price hit when you try to sell on the used market.

The Oz Astro market is also miniscule compared to the USA, Europe or Japan so the response here can be sadly disappointing.

[TrevorW]

OK the item was $2500 new, not even six months old, - as to donate to a school if its a no goer I'll have my gear cremated with me

[xelasnave]

I dont like buying second hand because you really dont know if there is a problem and if there is it is just too bad..things can go wrong and when they do it is good to be able to take it up with the vendor..Bintel for example..I bought my EQ8R second hand because I did not want to wait until next May for a new one, but I negotiated to have it delivered and that I pay after inspection...and did the same with a zwo 2600 one shot colour camera.

There is no way I would send off money and wait for the goods... that is just asking for trouble...and generally if folk are conned they dont say a thing so one never knows how many sour deals are done.


Lets face it no one will run out and say I bought a scope and it was as nothing like the guy said and I have been dudded real bad.

And dropping 10% or 15% is not doing much of a favour considering retail price includes 10% GST ... Who wants to risk so much just to save 15%...it is a very short sited approach...
As for paying more than retail for fancy scopes..they are already over the top price wise and by paying that you are crazy let along paying higher than retail...and so many of these folk who swear by a fancy scope I suspect dont have eyes good enough to tell...people say its paying for a name..I say it is paying for your stupidity.

Alex

[JA]

Originally Posted by TrevorW

OK the item was $2500 new, not even six months old, - as to donate to a school if its a no goer I'll have my gear cremated with me

Hi Trevor,

Well given that you mentioned your advert was at $1000 less than new, that puts your scope at a used price of 60% of new, which seems a very reasonable place to start advertising. Perhaps there were too many others or too many other competitive options on the market at the time, not enough buyers, not enough sight of your advert, etc....

Best
JA

[Zuts]

Hi,

I noticed you are from WA. That may also sometimes be an issue due to distance, freight costs and potentially bumpy roads..., I am happier waiting and buying stuff from N.S.W and maybe VIC ...

[xelasnave]

Trevor I can't even see your add..is it there?
Is it the f4?
Alex

[TrevorW]

It was Alex, I took it down now, but no loss I wasn't just referring to astro gear everyone seems to want new or for nearly pay next to nothing, somethings you can't even give away

[xelasnave]

I would put it up again.
The EQ8R I purchased came up in a conversation I was having with the vendor if a camera. He had advertised it but at that time I was not in the market and did not even read the add...so no response he gives up ...lucky for both of us we were having a chat and he mentioned it for the previous week I called suppliers, followed up an old EQ8, etc...
AND I know a chat who could/ should buy it who I will PM but please put the add up again...lets be positive.
Alex

[Stonius (Markus)]

Originally Posted by Merlin66

Just to add to the pertinent comments...
I've tried on numerous occasions to "donate" scientific instruments, including telescopes to local schools.......with no or very limited success.
They don't seem to want books either!!!


One issue I think is they don't have the experienced "scientific" staff and no-one to "look after and use the stuff safely"
They will take iPads!

I guess they would have to have an interested teacher who has the time and inclination to organise an extra-curricular activity for the kids with permission slips after hours (or daytime limited to solar viewing). Most teachers I know are overworked and undervalued and wouldn't have time for that sort of thing.


it's sad because these experiences could be something that sparks a lifetime interest in STEM for some little pupating pupil.


Markus

[Pepper (Steve)]

Personally I love buying second hand stuff.
I’ve bought lots of gear of a few forum members and have always found the items as described and delivered with no fuss.
I’ve also bought lots of brand new stuff aswell.
It’s swings and roundabouts with secondhand gear. Sometimes it may not sell, other times you might pm about an item 10 min after it was posted and your already 10th in line.
Zwo stuff is like the latter at the moment.

[Top_oz (Tim)]

So the ad that's supporting this argument is for the telescope with no description other than to say Perth buyers only?

[Tropo-Bob (Bob)]

IMO, there is a good market for quality EPs and apo refractors. I expect to take a larger loss when selling most other gear.

[Nikolas (Nik)]

the issue is more your location, the scope may have been reasonable but Perth is a small market, and postage to the other states kills the deal.

[pgc hunter]

Lot of stuff recently has been overpriced, and/or selling only marginally below new price. Ofcourse the classifieds have been slow to dead.

A lot of my gear has been bought second hand, before this stupid "excuse for everything" virus, when most second hand products were priced sensibly.