Recently I wrote about the external flash I bought for my Sony A350 DLSR camera. While the flash itself seemed pretty good, both my wife and I found we really didn’t need it for the shots we take. After a couple of months of not using it I decided to heed Mr. Cheap’s advice and sell it. On the original post there were a lot of very inspirational comments but the reality is that we just aren’t going to take the time to learn how to use the flash properly.
The cost of the flash and batteries was about $410. Because this package would cost around $470 if bought from Future Shop I decided to try selling it for $375. I put an ad on Kijiji and waited. After about 2 weeks with no replies I decided to lower the price and also post on Craigslist.
I put a new ad on Kijiji and Craigslist asking for $300. I didn’t get any responses from Craigslist but after a few days I got several responses from the Kijiji ad. One guy was very keen and came over that night and bought it. I know I could have gotten the full $300 for it but he asked if I could move on the price at all and I said $280 would be ok which he accepted.
I thought it was interesting that while I’ve learned a lot about negotiating over the last few years and was able to recognize that he would have paid the $300 – I still lowered the price a bit. I guess I’m just not a hard-nosed negotiator. 🙂
The overall loss was about $130 which is a fair bit but considering I overpaid about $50 for the batteries (yes, dumb), the actual depreciation was about $80.
As Mr. Cheap said, the flash is new and if I’m not going to use it then I should sell it right away.
Definitely sell it, if it’s going for $435 at Future Shop, I’m sure you could get $300. Even $200 sounds like it’d be better than a flash you’re not using. With tech like this, it depreciates quickly, so sitting on it and trying to sell it in a year or two will probably lose you a lot of money.
Now I think I might take a look in the basement and see if there is anything else of value… 25 year old cross-country skis anyone? 🙂
7 replies on “I Sold The Sony External Camera Flash”
I sold a netbook recently. I used it for about a month of travelling, but I don’t really use it anymore.
I originally purchased it from ebay for $400 CAD shipping included. Futureshop is selling it for $450 tax included.
I put it up on kijiji, and craigslist for $350 for a week, didn’t get any serious offers for $350. I decided that I should get rid of it ASAP, and called for $325, and eventually sold for $300.
With depreciating tech like this, I wanted to get rid of it very quickly.
Pedro – you’re right. Selling quickly is the key.
Congrats on making the sale!
Money in the pocket is better than on the website…
Funny I read this post today.
Just last night I walked around the house taking pictures of things I would otherwise throw out and posted them on CL. Things like old bathroom light fixtures, old artwork, old dining chairs ect. So far I have 4 things with buyers within hours. That’s 200 or so bucks I would have thrown in the city dump. Wow!
I find the best way to get your asking price is to make sure you have the buyer meet you somewhere in between, preferably, come to you. That way they have some time\energy invested into the transaction that would be wasted if they decided to bicker of 20 bucks.
This reminds me of the brand new ipod that my wife wanted, and which she has used a grand total of 1 time. That’s right 1 time. It’s sitting in a drawer in our kitchen right now, I’m thinking I may need to try and sell that bad boy.
Pete – It’s time to sell the ipod.
Maybe you could sell it first and then surprise your wife with the money!