Allan Bell Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I recently sold my Fuji cameras and lenses on Ebay and started at low low prices like £0.99 without minimum BIN. All returned excellent prices. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 Well, it looks as if my first eBay bidding adventure is quickly coming to an end. The seller is in Canada and the lens is listed on the Canadian version of eBAy, but for some reason the bids are all in USD. With the loonie (CAN$) being so low vs the US$ at the moment, the lens is already more than I would pay and above market value. I'm out, but I am curious to see how far some bidders are willing to go in order to get what they want, even if it is a rip-off. UPDATE: The party is over. A sniper got in with just 2 seconds to go and grabbed the lens for almost twice (if you factor in shipping) what I've seen it selling for here in Vancouver. It was all very instructive and entertaining, but I think I'll stick with craigslist and fixed price items on eBay. Thanks everyone for the advice. Perhaps one day I'll become a sniper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Don't give up. I'm looking for a 500mm. mirror and the hammer prices vary by a factor of at least two, so you could be lucky another time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 Don't give up. I'm looking for a 500mm. mirror and the hammer prices vary by a factor of at least two, so you could be lucky another time. Due to the US$ situation, I think I'll stay away from bidding unless it's in CAD$. Have had lots of luck ordering fixed-price accessories (screen protectors, filters, adapters, batteries, etc.) through eBay, though. I've also been quite impressed with most of the stuff I've ordered from China. The build quality is surprisingly good, and the sellers are reliable. I sold a Tamron 500mm mirror a couple of years ago. In was a nice lens, but IQ touch-and-go for Alamy. Focusing was a huge pain as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 I recently sold my Fuji cameras and lenses on Ebay and started at low low prices like £0.99 without minimum BIN. All returned excellent prices. Allan WHAT??? Traitor..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Don't give up. I'm looking for a 500mm. mirror and the hammer prices vary by a factor of at least two, so you could be lucky another time. Due to the US$ situation, I think I'll stay away from bidding unless it's in CAD$. Have had lots of luck ordering fixed-price accessories (screen protectors, filters, adapters, batteries, etc.) through eBay, though. I've also been quite impressed with most of the stuff I've ordered from China. The build quality is surprisingly good, and the sellers are reliable. I sold a Tamron 500mm mirror a couple of years ago. In was a nice lens, but IQ touch-and-go for Alamy. Focusing was a huge pain as well. Surely OK if you know your exchange rate? Thanks for the heads-up on the Tamron, though, that's good enough advice for me. I'd say you've saved me about £75. I may still try but won't pay too much. Any recommendations apart from own-brand? I could do with something longer than 200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 Don't give up. I'm looking for a 500mm. mirror and the hammer prices vary by a factor of at least two, so you could be lucky another time. Due to the US$ situation, I think I'll stay away from bidding unless it's in CAD$. Have had lots of luck ordering fixed-price accessories (screen protectors, filters, adapters, batteries, etc.) through eBay, though. I've also been quite impressed with most of the stuff I've ordered from China. The build quality is surprisingly good, and the sellers are reliable. I sold a Tamron 500mm mirror a couple of years ago. In was a nice lens, but IQ touch-and-go for Alamy. Focusing was a huge pain as well. Surely OK if you know your exchange rate? Thanks for the heads-up on the Tamron, though, that's good enough advice for me. I'd say you've saved me about £75. I may still try but won't pay too much. Any recommendations apart from own-brand? I could do with something longer than 200. Not really, the Tamron 500mm lens got good reviews, and it was well-built. However, none of the distant/wildlife shots that I took with it looked sharp enough for Alamy. Perhaps I didn't know how to use the lens properly. Also, 750 mm, which the lens became with APS-C, was really stretching things, I found. It would no doubt have been a better lens with a full-frame camera. Don't think I would buy another mirror lens. They're cool, but finicky. One loonie (CAN$) is currently worth only about $0.75 US, and it could easily continue to drop along with oil prices. Not a big incentive to go shopping. Think I'll also be staying at home for the foreseeable future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 I recently sold my Fuji cameras and lenses on Ebay and started at low low prices like £0.99 without minimum BIN. All returned excellent prices. Allan WHAT??? Traitor..... Just call him "Benedict Allan" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Thanks for the tip, John, if I do get one I'll buy cheap and sell it on if it's not up to snuff- there seems to be a ready market for them. THere are 300mm Chinese cats but no way of knowing if they're any use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Ashmore Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 It costs, or did the last time I used it, about 15% to sell on Ebay including the Payal fee, but not the postage. I'm afraid they do charge fees on top of postage and fees have gone up too. That said, I love selling on EBay. Amazing what rubbish you can sell! Some people make a living from it... For me it's a hobby which competes with my photography hobby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 Better luck next time John, as Mark suggests you live to fight another day. I have a Tamron 500 mm mirror lens and I also find that I cannot get good sharp results at a distance, it's not too bad for relatively close up stuff, but I can't get it to deliver the goods further afield. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 Better luck next time John, as Mark suggests you live to fight another day. I have a Tamron 500 mm mirror lens and I also find that I cannot get good sharp results at a distance, it's not too bad for relatively close up stuff, but I can't get it to deliver the goods further afield. My experience was the same. The 500mm "cat" made an adequate, rather weird-looking closeup lens. Not enough resolution for distant subjects, though, which is what I bought it for. Bloody, but unbowed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted August 25, 2015 Share Posted August 25, 2015 THanks John and Bryan, you've saved me from a medium-sized error. The Tamron may be the best of the bunch, but I'm reminded of the time I asked the barman for the best alcohol-free beer he had, which I thought was awful, to which he replied that I had asked him which was the best, not if it was any good. There may be a reason why people pay as much for a lens as I do for a car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted August 26, 2015 Author Share Posted August 26, 2015 THanks John and Bryan, you've saved me from a medium-sized error. The Tamron may be the best of the bunch, but I'm reminded of the time I asked the barman for the best alcohol-free beer he had, which I thought was awful, to which he replied that I had asked him which was the best, not if it was any good. There may be a reason why people pay as much for a lens as I do for a car. Sony inherited a nifty AF 500mm reflex lens from Minolta. I believe that it was the only one of of its kind (i.e. with AF). I remember fooling around with the earlier Minolta version years ago in a camera store and being impressed by how speedy the focusing was. Don't know if it was any sharper than the Tamron, though. Here's a review of the Sony branded one, which I believe is now discontinued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 I see that lens on ebay for north of £300 which isn't going to happen. The review is a bit 'meh' for that much money- the suggested alternative is the 70-400 at £1300! Looks like I'm stuck with what I've got. Maybe I can find a fungoid example for scrap price and clean it up- I've had success doing that before now. Thanks again. I could have saved a bit of time by just asking in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 Here's about the best I have managed to get out of the Tamron 500. Not actual pixels I'm afraid. The lens cost £75 so a rather expensive couple of shots. Clearly technique is all important with a lens of this focal length, so it's possible that my efforts at long range shooting leave something to be desired. You probably need to use a weighted tripod, mirror lock and a delayed time exposure to avoid any kind of shake, while focusing is also critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lastrega Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 John, I don't use 'sniper' tools, but I put my max. bid in the max. bid box and wait until 5 seconds before the end and then hit the bid button. Also, people seem to stick to the round number they have in mind, so don't use a round number or 'whole' dollars. If you are thinking of paying say $50 for an item, then bid $50.61 or $51.38, the odd dollar over or the pennies won't hurt you much on bigger amounts, but they can make all the difference to winning the auction. If you know your price, then fine. If you need to get an idea of what an item will go for, then only look at ebay auctions and not 'buy it now' prices. Discount any ridiculously low prices and also any stupidly high auction prices and take an average of the others. If you don't win the bid this time and the seller is a dealer in camera gear, contact the seller and ask them to let you know if they get the same item in again and they can negotiate a price with you before they list on ebay and have to pay ebay fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSnapper Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 The new Sigma 150-600 sports is a nice bit of kit to have....and plenty sharp enough (at least for news/reportage) at the long end 100% crop km Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 Thanks, it's way beyond my budget. Bit of a lift at 6lb, hence my keenness on a cat. I've had bad warranty service from Sigma- they wouldn't replace a lens but sent it to Japan for six weeks- so probably wouldn't go there again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 Keith I thank you for posting the 100% crop above. Now if I had submitted an image like that it would come back at me as SoLD. Course I am not submitting to news so is the news channel a a more accommodating than the regular stock channel with regard to QC? Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 News bypasses QC, but I think I'd submit. The DoF is thin as a business card, but I think it's sharp where it's supposed to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 I recently sold my Fuji cameras and lenses on Ebay and started at low low prices like £0.99 without minimum BIN. All returned excellent prices. Allan WHAT??? Traitor..... Yes, sorry Betty. I was being given too many SoLD gongs because of, to my mind, the upside-down sensor processing algorithms. With the money I received from the sale I was able to buy a Nikon D750 plus Tamron 24-70 and 70-200 lenses, all new, which will cover me for most shoots. Now I get sharper images and, because of Bayer matrix, there are no problems processing images with foliage etc. Allan (A happy bunny again) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 News bypasses QC, but I think I'd submit. The DoF is thin as a business card, but I think it's sharp where it's supposed to be. To be honest Mark I cannot see any sharp point in the crop. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Morgan Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 News bypasses QC, but I think I'd submit. The DoF is thin as a business card, but I think it's sharp where it's supposed to be. To be honest Mark I cannot see any sharp point in the crop. Allan Certainly sharp enough for news (news bypasses QC) but of course if Alamy does not think the images you submit to news are newsworthy, then they go in the regular QC queue. Jill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedSnapper Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 "Certainly sharp enough for news" yep, which is what i said....and the lens is certainly a lot easier to use and offers more flexibilty than a 600mm prime (at a fraction of the price) . I can walkabout with it all day without breaking myself km Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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