In as few words as possible, the key to getting a good used lens at a good price is homework, homework, and more homework. If you simply decide you want such and such a lens, look at what’s on ebay or Amazon or any of the major dealers’ stocks and buy it that day, you may get a good deal, or you may come up with a lot less than you expected. Needless to say, steer away from "if it sounds too good to be true" type listings offering something at ridiculously low prices.
As I see it, the key to buying expensive stuff on ebay is to first check all the 'completed listings' you can find on an item. Of course, the first thing is to make your ebay searches as narrow as possible by excluding key words like “parts”, “for”, “2x”, or even brand names like Sigma or Tamron from the list of what to exclude. Become familiar with ebay search commands that allow ‘or’ searching and exclusions (minus sign, parens, and a list). Once the search returns only the lenses and little if any extraneous stuff, add it to your Favorites list. Here’s one from my saved favorites for the Canon EF 200 f2.8 L I recently made my own:
Canon EF 200 L - 50,55,70,80,18,screw,collar,part,parts,mount,oem,mug,cup,repair,wide,macro,conversion,element | eBay
I’ll repeat the search daily (or more often, if time permits) to see what comes up and what prices they are currently fetching. I also look closely at all ‘completed auctions’ as well, to see both the higher and lower ends of what sells and try to figure out why lens A goes for $200-300 higher than lens B. The difference is usually the condition, sellers’ location (China, for example), or, the sellers low rating. I also look at each auction, active and complete, to determine if the lens is in good condition, very good condition, or close to showroom new looking. If I’m about to plunk down $500, or $800, or more to a complete stranger, I want to be sure I will receive the exact item shown in the condition described. I want to see lots of quality pictures of a lens to make sure it really is in “great” or “like new” condition.
I also give strong consideration to the sellers’ rating. Unless there are compelling reasons like an unusually low buy-it-now price AND they are somewhere near (200 mi or less), I won’t buy from anyone with less than 500, preferably 1000 or more rating…and few if any negatives (yes, I look at the individual feedbacks, too). If it looks more like someone that’s selling used baby clothing and this is one of the first camera items, stay clear. Odds are they may not know how to pack it very well or someone has hijacked their account.
I bought a new EF-S 55-250 from a seller this past spring and they had a rating of only 35 or so. The buy-it-now price beat NEW online store prices by 20% or so, as it was the lens out of a kit they bought. Also, they were a new ebay seller 3 months earlier, but lived only 60 miles away. I figured if I had to drive there to resolve a problem, I could. The lens really was new, in the original box with original packing, and they got a perfect 5-star feedback from me.
One of the used L's I bought was from a seller in Japan. The listing had perhaps a dozen pictures in it and the seller had a rating like 30,000 or so. In looking at perhaps 200 feedbacks, about all he sold was cameras and lenses on ebay. I discovered later it was a camera store in Japan. I felt comfortable buying from him and had the lens 2 days later! In New England, yet!
The 200 f2.8 L I bought on ebay I checked daily for 2-3 weeks before I found a really good one up for bid from a lower-rating seller (125 or so) but only 200 miles away from me. Based on the current $230 price for most of that week and the lowest price completed auctions, I figured I could swoop in at the end with a $475 bid and win it. It appeared the lower rating was scaring off bidders. 2 hrs before it closed at 1AM my time, I looked at it and it was already over $500. So I put in $535 and went to bed. It sold for $600 and change. 2 weeks later, one showed up as buy-it-now in super-good condition for $530. I made it mine about an hour later after getting a response to a question I asked him.
One more thing...I had been watching the bidding and used prices for a 24-70 f2.8 L on ebay for more than a month. But in looking at completed auctions, the better-quality used ones were going for $50-100 less than new at
B&H with the Canon rebates in effect. I figured for $100 more, I get a full warranty, and next day delivery, go with the new one, and
B&H rang up another sale.
The moral of the story...when buying on ebay, know the condition of the item, the quality of the seller, and, most of all, know what a good price is and DON'T OVER BID THAT PRICE!
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