Thinking about making an eBay business

[lkWinnipesaukee]

Hey guys,

I was wondering what was involved in buying some lenses in bulk and selling them on eBay.

I'm already very familiar with ebay (I have about ~150 transactions).

Does anyone know where I can get bulk lenses cheap? I'm thinking some modern lower-end lenses such as the Canon EF 50mm 1.8. Or any lenses in specific that are hot right now?

ANY input at all would be GREATLY appreciated.


Thanks

 

[Big Mike]

I suppose the theory is good...but you are unlikely to find many people selling Canon EF lenses in bulk. The lenses that you will most likely find would be much older lenses that don't fit modern cameras.

That's not to say that you can't make money buying and selling camera gear...but I don't see it being too lucrative.

The people that I have seen making real money buying and reselling on E-bay...are buying from garage sales or estate sales etc. They usually have some camera gear but usually it's a vast array of different things.

Also, could you please shrink down your signature? If you want to list that much equipment, there is a place in the User CP to do so.

 

[fmw]

It is a sure way to lose money, particularly if you don't know what you are doing.

 

[Alex_B]

I know some people doing EBay buisiness, and it is really hard work for most of them.

Your problem would really be aquiring the lenses in bulk. The only real way would be to import them from Asia (paying import taxes and all then), but that requires a lot of experience in that sort of trade.

If you go and buy second hand, you will always get single specimens only. and these days most people won't sell you personally, since they know they can make better money on eBay when they sell them via their own account.

 

[brighteyesphotos]

I'll have to ditto the garage sales and estate sales. However, in garage sales, you run the risk of it being outdated and only good to those who are collecting older stuff or don't want to give up on their old workhorses (I won't give up my Dad's Miranda). Estate sales may or may not have more recent stuff. Another possibility is to check with schools who may be selling their old equipment as they upgrade. But with older stuff, you may not make as much as you'd like.

 

[dewey]

If you can find Canon or any name brand equipment cheap something is wrong... it's stolen or imported illegally or fake.

 

[shorty6049]

I had at one point looked into selling on ebay. I was trying to find something, anything, that was available in bulk for a lower price than retail. I checked ebays tool that shows whats selling well lately, and found that memory cards sell well. So i looked into it. It turned out most of the cards selling on ebay were going for less than the per-unit price of the memory when bought in bulk. It seems like you either have to find a way to get something REALLy cheap, or it needs to be something that isnt readily available from everyone else for a lower price than you can afford to sell them for. I always look out for deals online where i think i could sell the item for more than i got it for. Sometimes it works, sometimes i come out about even. I would think lenses probably arent the BEST thing to sell though, because they , like everyone has been saying, arent really easy to get in bulk. Anyway, good luck if you decide to start a business!