I’ve noticed recently that selling my lenses have been quite difficult. I keep getting young kids asking all sorts of questions that could be answered if they googled the model number. “Is it autofocus?” “Is this for full frame?” “Will this work on my camera?” “Is it good for real estate?”
It’s like a whole younger generation of photographers don’t know how to research things and get their information from youtube and tiktok where you can’t search model names or technical specs.
I’m selling an FD lens, and I’ve had like 5 people ask me if it will fit their random camera.
😆 I’m unfortunately running a nikon D5500 (not fancy but good enough for me) Nikon F series.
They grow up to be the “Uncle Bobs” who get in the way of wedding photographers.
I sell my gear on eBay and not once have I encountered that of which you speak. Is this more a Marketplace / in person thing?
No one has mentioned gear complexity and cell phones.
First, gear has been getting more complex over time. For a while there were mostly digital SRL cameras with APS-C sensors, then full-frame cameras came into the mix, then mirrorless, and the number of options continues to multiply. So the abundance of distinct mount systems can be pretty darn confusing for newcomers.
Second, most hobbyists shoot with cell phones these days and so the number of people with sophisticated knowledge of cameras has diminished. Just take a look at the camera industry as a whole. Ever since the cell phone era they’re not selling as many units. As a result, people looking to pick up photography as a hobby probably don’t know where to start.
Thirdly, the further along you get in your career, the more knowledgeable you are, the less patience you have for basic questions and the more you forget what it was like when you were a beginner.
True, but its not like 1994. Resources abound in the good 'ol dystopian 2023! This is a matter of plain old laziness and the demand for effortless information on-demand plain and simple.
I’m relatively new to photography, but have been into buying/selling/restoring sportbikes for a bit. You can easily change the thread title and subject body of every single post here to '07 GXS600R and it would still be relatable, LOL! Some folk are fuckin lazy is all.
Cell phones for photography? That’s like having a phone to call someone. Damn, we are living in great times. But yeah. There’s no patience for this stuff anymore and it might be for the better.
I don’t think this is a “these kids these days” issue. I suspect this sort of thing has always been around.
It’s just that these days the internet facilitates communication and allows for a post to reach more people and more people to reach back out. In the past they would have had to go up to you physically to talk, now they can fire off hundreds of dumb questions form the comfort of their bed.
There are fewer dumb questions on other platforms. But less engagement overall as well.
It’s not just photography, it’s all over Reddit and elsewhere. While I’m sure some of it’s due to age, I think it’s just a difference in internet culture. I started using the web early on when the culture was to RTFM and lurk before you post, but then again when the web took off I spent hours learning about any and everything I could, so I found value in learning about topics and making decisions from that.
Now everyone is instantly reachable by any number of methods and asking Google probably makes less sense when you can ask the person or the hive mind directly, so I kinda get it. We also have explainers and tons of talking heads on various platforms that will simply summarize and editorialize information, and a lot of people prefer that to reading various sources to reach a conclusion.
I’d recommend checking out the photomarket subreddit
The acronym — and rebuttal — “RTFM” has been used online since probably the late 80s. Look it up… nothing new under the sun.
I haven’t had any questions about the stuff I’m selling, perhaps your choice of platform or keywords etc are contributing.
Can’t say this ever happened to me with camera stuff, but I had multiple sellers jerk me around when I was selling my track bike wheels, I had the axle length plastered about three times over the ad (track/fixed gear bikes often have a thinner hub size than regular road bikes) and I still had buyers show up for whom they would be the wrong size.
Selling ANYTHING related to bikes is a huge stupid nightmare. I don’t even bother trying these days unless someone I know specifically asks me if I want to sell something bike related. I had so many stupid low ballers on my Straggler build during the pandemic that I just decided to keep it even though I literally never ride the thing.
Imagine if you will. The fact you are selling second hand means ppl who have no photography knowledge will look at your listing.
Why would you buy second hand if you had no knowegde about what to look for. Would you go to a “Pull-a-Part” junkyard to get a used engine part if you did not know what a good one looked like? Better to buy new and not take a chance.
It’s cheaper and more accessible to beginners with less money. Ya they should learn the info.
But You aren’t selling camera parts that need to be assembled into a lens or whatever you are selling the item itself.
Yeah, selling stuff with the model number where you can type it into Google or Youtube to get the info or see what the lens is capable of doing.
Where you list your equipment for sale makes a big difference. Post on FB marketplace, craigslist everyone should expect lowball offers, random questions etc… The more general the site, the more mass appeal of it the bigger the more likely you get these types of questions.
It’s so easy to simply message someone with a question versus going through multiple google results, watching a 10 minute youtube video or ready a review. Why do all of that when it only takes a few seconds to message the seller is unfortunately the mindset of many people regardless of age.
Personally I only sell my gear at a handful of places. KEH/MPB my local camera store, or FredMiranda forums which is where I tend to get the best money for my equipment and almost none of the hassle.
No
I have to admit that if I’m buying something more expensive and the seller’s profile isn’t perfect, I’ll find a way to ask a question to see how responsive they are and whether they are pleasant.
If they don’t answer or are rude, I’ll run away from the deal.
I wonder if it’s some type of buying strategy to try to influence you to lower your price, similar to negging. They ask about things your lens doesn’t have or is not suited for as a way to subtly influence you into thinking your lens is not as good as it is, that there is lower demand for the lens, that it won’t sell well, to get you to lower the price or be willing to negotiate on the price.
Just state all necessary info in the description and ignore questions like that. They’ll just have to learn to research if they want the deal.