So I was a bit bored today and decided to do a little sniffing around on Ebay to see if I could find any reasonable deals. ‘Tis the season for deal hunting, and seeing as to how this year’s black friday advertisements were not too captivating, I chose to do my hunting elsewhere.
[Saturday Dec 1, 2013]
I spent about one hour fishing around on Ebay for used camera equipment. I started by looking at lenses, but quickly got irritated since most of the listings in the digital section contained film mount lenses. So I switched over to the used SLR section. I then narrowed down my search by searching for Used Canon DSLRs. I also remembered that when I first had my Ebay account the default option would be to list items in an auction style rather than through the Buy-It-Now method. So I figured if I was to profit off a newcomer’s mistake I should fish through the auctions.
About 30 minutes into it I found a listing for a “CANON ELAN IIE SLR KIT”. The title was very blank, but the image seemed promising. I clicked into the listing to see what it had to offer. The kit included:
- Canon Elan IIE Camera Body
- Canon EF 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 lens
- Vintage Canon shoulder strap
- Lantern Manual
- Canon 380 EX Flash
- 90° Release Grip (BP-50)
The listing stated that all items were in working order.
At the time I stumbled upon the listing there was about 15 minutes left for the action and the total price was roughly $9. I decided that I would pay a maximum of $30 for everything [$30(grand total) – $7.45(shipping = $22.55(to spend on item)]. I am not too fond of auctions since I’m not certain whether I will win the item till the end of its listing period, but I decided to give it a try. I placed my bid for $22.55 and was the highest bidder at $21.55 ($1 less than my max). Now I just had to wait for the listing to expire and hope nobody outbid me.
Before placing my bid I researched on how much each item in the listing was worth. I can confidently say that I will make a return since the lens itself sells for more than $100. The seller made the mistake of having a poorly written title, and therefore received very little hits on the item.
I have just paid for the camera kit and am awaiting its arrival in the mail.
[Tuesday December 3, 2013]
The seller shipped the item.
[Thursday December 6, 2013]
The package has arrived! I was excited to get home after noticing on my cell that the package was deliverd while I was at work. To be honest I feel really bad for the seller. He/she could have made much more from the kit. The lens is in phenomenal condition. The flash works really well (though it lacks some features of the 580EX II) and the camera is pleasing to use as well. Not only does it have a lot of the features of a modern-day DSLR, but it was also built very firmly. Did I mention the vintage neck strap? I am heading to the gym in a few and will try to list the items on Ebay when I return.
I really don’t want to sell the lens. I don’t particularly need it, but it’s much lighter than my 24-70 and a lot better built than the 18-135 (since there is no lens creep).
[Saturday December 14, 2013]
The items have sold!
- Canon EF 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 lens
- Canon 380 EX Flash
- Canon Elan IIE Camera Body w/ Lantern Manual
- – Sold for $102.99. After fees and shipping I received $81.87
- – Sold for $63.99. After fees and shipping I received $45.64
- – Sold for $25.53. After fees and shipping I received $14.34
Total Sale: $141.85
Great Success. After ‘flipping’ my first product I made $112.85 ($141.85-$28.95) and got to keep a cool looking strap. Now I just wish I could find 10 such cameras floating around on Ebay.
