Merits or otherwise of buying / selling in MBP, WEX or LCE

[theMusicMan]

As there seems to be plentiful discussion elsewhere on e-Group on the above topic, i.e. the merits or otherwise of buying and selling photography equipment on the likes of MPB, WEX or LCE, I thought I would start a dedicated thread purely for that discussion.

I'd love to read what people think.

[pdk42]

I've used MPB in the past. Fast, fuss-free and as good a price as you'll get from any dealer, or perhaps a little better.

[drmarkf]

Yes, those are my top three choices for hassle-free sales and purchases (after this very forum, of course).

I have bought/sold/exchanged with all 3 over the years and I'm happy to recommend all of them and I'm sure they're 100% kosher and they'll sort you out if there's a problem.

I'd just pass a few comments based on personal experiences:

Wex have an extremely slick post-in and send out system that's brilliant if you're part-exchanging. They make an offer based on your own assessment of the gear you're sending in, then confirm after their own inspection. I have had them increase their offer after an inspection (and that won my magnanimous approbation as that girl in the advert once said).

MPB send stuff out that's often frankly a bit grubby (although their assessment of underlying condition I've found very reliable). They also once sent me a Panasonic G3 body rather than the PL 15mm f1.7 I'd bought, and it did take them slightly longer than I'd ideally expect to apologise and reimburse me for posting it back, and to deliver what I'd ordered. And, yes, the front element looked like it had been used to document deep fat frying... Lovely lens now I've cleaned it, however.

[chris]

I recently dealt with Mifsuds and was suitably impressed with the service. Had a chat about my trade-in and we agreed a probable price dependent on inspection, plus a price on the item I was buying. I sent it in, and they rang the same day confirming they were happy with the condition for the quote supplied, and sent out my new lens.

I'd definitely use them again.

[peak4]

I've bought from Ffordes in the past and been quite happy.
My own local store, Harrison Cameras is also excellent for buying used kit.

[chris]

Originally Posted by peak4

I've bought from Ffordes in the past and been quite happy.
My own local store, Harrison Cameras is also excellent for buying used kit.

I must have a visit to Harrison's, they are my closest store and I've never been

[Dave in Wales]

Yesterday I had a PX offer against a 12-100 from WEX.
Reasonable prices I considered.

All as new....

12-40..£360
60 macro..£220
40-150 R..£80

And postage free.

I have two weeks to decide, at the moment it looks like I'll stay with my existing kit.

[Bengeo]

I've had good experiences trading in with WEX and SRS. Also good selling experience with Ffordes.

[AMc]

My experiences...

LCE Norwich

in person - bought a used Pentax manual lens - very cheap, clean, no problem.


WEX in Norwich

in person - traded a Pentax DSLR and bought an open box E-M10.
Booked an appointment. They took an hour to inspect the K100D and made me a fair offer, then rejected the kit lens as they said there was some fungus in it and it wasn't worth repairing. I couldn't see a problem but what do I know?
On that basis I'd trust their used kit to be well checked.

The open box E-M10 was basically brand new but with a low hundred shutter count. I assume someone bought it, played with it or used it for something then returned. I registered it with My Olympus without any issue.

WEX offer a 12m warranty
https://www.wexphotovideo.com/help/partex/#usedwarranty

Asked them a trade in price on a Fuji X-M1 I won in a competition .
Considering it was a sealed box direct from Fuji the offer was very low so I didn't sell and passed it on to a friend for a song.


MPB
Bought a body cap lens. Good price and good condition.
Shipped in a ridiculously large box but all good.
For some reason they seem to use the images for the various 14-42mm zooms interchangeably, often using the II R image for the EZ pancake in the main page.


Asked them for online quotes for various items as trade in but never got a price I was happy with.

MBP offer a 6m warranty
https://intercom.help/mpbcom/general...ent-warranties


Camera Jungle
Bought an E-M10ii which was a very good price. It was described as "mint" but when it arrived it had scratches on the viewfinder case. As their description of "mint" includes "no visible marks, wear or scratches" I got in touch. After a few emails they paid me a partial refund to cover the difference between the sold condition and the description.

Camera Jungle offer a 12m warranty
https://www.camerajungle.co.uk/guarantee-and-returns



I'd use any of these retailers in the future to buy. I haven't been impressed with any of the trade in quotes I've had from any of them bar that first WEX one when I'd already made my mind up I would take less than they actually offered as I wanted to switch.
If you have time then I think you can get better prices selling in forums.
If you're prepared to take the risk on faults you can usually buy cheaper in forums too.


It's worth checking several suppliers as I've noticed that the used prices vary dramatically from seller to seller and over time.
At the moment an E-M10ii at Camera Jungle starts at £214 (excellent) at MBP it's £289, £315 at Wex for 9/10.
The Olympus 17mm f1.8 in excellent condition at MPB is £249 or £262.50 at Camera Jungle or £269 at Wex.

[RobEW]

The thread which spawned this one also had references to CEX (Complete Entertainment Exchange), which is - I think - a very different kettle of fish. It is quite a chain in the UK (though I think the US chain has closed) - with lots of real shops and also a very active website, and they focus mainly on computers, phones and gaming devices, but also includes photography and anything else techy that people want to buy and sell. They buy used kit from customers at quite low, published, prices (or a bit more if you accept vouchers instead of cash), do some limited quality control, and then sell at quite a high markup, though - for photography at least - often below other retailers such as LCE. They do offer some guarantee.

They don't really seem to understand photography, so the descriptions and condition designations (where used) are rather poor. For instance I saw a Metz ring flash for Oly advertised on their site, but with little detail as to whether it included the very lose-able attachment accessories. I asked at my local store, who called the store where it was, and I got a verbal description, and as a result got the complete set at a bargain price.

I imagine if you were contemplating a lens and asked about dust, fungus etc you'd meet with a blank. Not sure what would happen if you took a lens back with those sort of quality issues. I think their condition scores are based on appearance.

Here's one entry from their current online catalogue:


Panasonic Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 ASPH
Electronics / Camera Lenses

WeSell for £115.00
WeBuy for cash £54.00
WeBuy for voucher £76.00