I got a $2,100 Canon 85mm f/1.2L for $145 earlier this year. To be honest, it had been a lot of like $145 and a few journeys to Starbucks, however it had been still a good adventure… and also the secret to however i buy most of my gear with what very little budget I’ve got.
Here’s however I did it: commerce.
Yep, it’s all regarding commerce. you've got what some other person desires, they need what you wish, therefore you just swap. sometimes one person “wins” the trade, that means value-wise they got the higher valued item. however that’s one factor i really like most regarding commerce, everybody wins. The trick is to merely win a lot of.
How much may be a lens you ne'er use extremely worth? may be a $400 lens you ne'er use higher than a $300 lens you'd use each single day (and one that expands your capabilities)? In some cases, that $300 lens is value a lot of to you, that is that the factor to figure towards to become a master bargainer.
Surely there square measuren’t folks everywhere the place willing to trade their higher valued things for your lesser ones… or are there? They’re out there, however finding them involves patience and persistence. I sometimes have a table choked with camera gear at any given time that’s up for grabs, I simply haven’t found them a brand new home however.
Below is my current stash of drugs to trade (or sell if the value is true.) every bit gotten either ludicrously low-cost, or through a trade that went in my favor. I cruise Craigslist plenty, and native Facebook teams that revolve around buy/trade of physical science, realize what’s out there, and create offers. i buy turned down typically, however infrequently, I strike gold.
I sometimes simply trade up for things to eventually sell for a profit (buy one thing for $100, trade up till I even have one thing value $500, then sell it) however often I even have a goal in mind. This fall i actually needed a Canon 85mm one.2L — one thing I even have lusted once since I started shooting — and then i made a decision to travel specifically for that.
I found somebody UN agency had one listed on Craigslist for $1,750, however he was solely receptive trade offers for a Canon 5D II. Since 5D II cameras were way more current within the market, and perceptibly cheaper ($1,400ish refurbished, $1,200ish used) this camera became my goal.
How i started
I had to search out a starter purpose for the trade. I had many things I got low-cost, and determined to begin with a Canon G12 that I got from a pawn buy $140 (it had no charger, however Amazon had one for $5). Since they still fetched $300ish used, it had been a pleasant place to begin. I listed it on Craigslist for $300 and mentioned i used to be receptive trade offers.
At constant time, I hit up each Craigslist ad I may realize within the $300-$400 vary and contacted them to propose a trade. I found a gentleman commercialism a Canon T3i kit for $440. He listed within the ad that he purchased the camera for his mate, which it had been simply “too a lot of camera.”
BINGO.
That’s what i need to listen to. I emailed him and mentioned my interest. I same i used to be within the opposite plight, that I had a prime of the road bridge camera that was better-known for its quality and simple use. I showed him pictures I had taken on vacation with the G12, and once alittle discussion, we have a tendency to all over up commerce.
That is one thing that has helped American state vastly in creating trades. I tend to bring the things I even have to trade on to assignments and shoots normally to each check it out (making positive it’s operating properly) and to urge samples to point out potential customers. By showing what the item is capable of (a decade of expertise not enclosed, haha), I even have exaggerated its price, somewhat.
I’m positive several of you've got detected “That image is nice, you want to have {a nice|an excellent|a good} camera!” this can be what number folks suppose (a nice camera takes great pictures), therefore if I show them a good image gaga a selected camera, it should be a good camera.
Also, by showcasing skilled results, it will increase their impression of American state. If I’m an expert lensman, i have to grasp all regarding the gear, as well as honest used costs. i have to be evaluation things fairly.
I do worth things fairly after I sell. I worth on the upper finish of affordable to depart flexibility for them to speak American state down. I simply attempt to push for trades that square measure in my favor a lot of usually than not.
That T3i kit was listed for a $709 Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L (non IS), that successively was listed for a $1,150 24-105mm f/4L (he had gotten a 24-70L and needed one thing longer to suit his kit). That 24-105/4L was listed for a $1,050 Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L (he didn’t shoot as several portraits any longer, and needed one thing general use), that was listed for a $1,480 Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L (he stopped shooting weddings and needed a portrait lens)
That Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L was listed for a Canon 5D II with a footing — one with solely fifteen,000 actuations. I’m in nice form here, with some nice dialogue power.
And there we have a tendency to square measure. I messaged the gentleman with the 85L I had spoken with a pair of weeks previous and asked if he still had the lens. He did, and he was still curious about commerce it for a 5D II. I told him regarding the camera I had, with the OEM grip, with low use, and that we found out a gathering.
I went home that night with a superb new lens, one I had been wanting for ages. the simplest a part of it all? the value. i used to be able to get one amongst Canon’s best lenses, one legendary by several accounts, for $20 over the most affordable Canon prime lens out there, the EF 50mm f/1.8 II.