Over the years I have accumulated quite a collection of photography gear. I have cameras and lenses that I rarely—if ever—use. They’re on my shelf collecting dust, or packed away in a box. I’ve been meaning to get rid of some of these items, but I just never seem to get around to it.
The number one reason why I hold onto my old, unused gear is not because I want to keep it, but because I dislike the process of selling. Over the years I have used sites like Craigslist, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and even Instagram Stories to sell my stuff, but it has rarely been an easy and smooth process. I’ve been ghosted more times than I can count, and even scammed a couple of times. It’s such a headache!
I want to be transparent upfront: MPB is the sponsor of this article. If you don’t know it yet, they are the largest global platform to buy, sell and trade used photo and video gear—each piece checked by hand before being MPB Approved. MPB asked me to create a series of articles sharing my honest opinion about using gear loaned from their platform (you can find the links at the bottom of this article).
A couple of weeks back, they asked me about testing the selling and trading process for myself—and since I’d been putting off selling my old gear to raise funds for a camera I had my eye on, I jumped at the suggestion to try (fingers crossed) an easier way. It is important to note that they didn’t give me any special treatment or pricing. So while I have purchased from MPB a couple of times in the past, this article is about my experience going through the sell and trade process as a normal customer for the first time. Free, fast, and fair is how they describe their instant quote process, so let’s put that to the test.
I had three items that I no longer needed: My Fujifilm X-M1, Fujinon 100-400mm lens, and Canon EOS 5DS R. For the X-M1, I wanted to trade for a Fujinon TCL-X100 II Conversion Lens, which MPB had loaned to me back in October. For the zoom lens and Canon DSLR, I wanted cash. I did this in two separate transactions—one trade, and one sell.
How to sell with MPB
When you visit the MPB platform, you are presented with a path choice: “Shop” or “Sell/Trade”. When you click “Sell/Trade”, you are prompted to provide information about the gear you’re looking to sell—what exactly is it, and what is the condition it’s in (there’s even a quick guide if you’re not sure how). After that, you just select “Get Instant Quote”, provide some basic information (name, email, and optionally your phone number), and MPB presents you with a tentative offer. All quick, easy, and painless.
For my Fujifilm X-M1, since I was planning to trade, I added the TCL-X100 II lens to the Buying category, selected my desired cosmetic condition, and chose the specific one that I wanted to trade for. When I clicked “Get Instant Quote”, I was presented with a price for the X-M1 that was well above what I had anticipated being offered—I didn’t expect so much! I added some batteries and accessories to the trade, and still had ample cash leftover. The next step was to box up the camera, and ship it for free via FedEx. I should note that trading gear doesn’t increase or decrease the price of whatever you are buying or selling.
A few days later I received an email from MPB that my item was received. The next day another email came stating that my item had been inspected, and my quote updated. They reduced the amount they wanted to pay for it by a little and I could either accept or reject it. I had the option to reject the offer and get my gear returned for free if I wasn’t happy, but I accepted. It was still more than I had anticipated, and there was still cash leftover after the trade. I provided MPB with banking info, and two days later I was paid. Just yesterday, the TCL-X100 II, batteries, and accessories arrived in the mail, and I couldn’t be happier with the whole process.
Next, I went through the same process to sell my Fujinon 100-400mm lens and Canon 5DS R camera; however, the quote for these two items were both less than I had hoped for. I needed them gone fast, so I decided to send them in anyway. When MPB reviewed the lens and camera, they once again adjusted the quote, this time significantly increasing the value of the Canon DSLR. It was still less than I would have liked to have sold them for, but the overall increase made me feel a little better about it. I later learned they use MPB Re.Value—the world’s leading proprietary dynamic pricing engine for used camera gear with millions of data points—to provide real-time prices for buyers and sellers.
I was curious how much of a markup MPB would give my items (after all, they’ve got to earn a profit), so I found them on their website. The X-M1 has a markup of $149, which seems quite reasonable. The Fujinon 100-400mm has a markup of $339, and the Canon EOS 5DS R has a markup of $333, which leans in their favor. You could say that I left money on the table, had I sold these items myself instead of using MPB, but that’s assuming I would have been able to sell them for that price, and that I wouldn’t have had to pay shipping and other fees. Add to that the time and hassle of doing it, plus the risk of being scammed or worse, and I would say that selling to MPB was undoubtedly preferable.
After selling gear through MPB for the first time, I’ve learned that it’s a quick, easy, and painless process. While I would have liked to have received a little more for two of the three items that I sold, overall I am pleased with the outcome, and I will certainly use MPB again in the future.
See also:
Fujifilm X-Pro2 — The camera that got away (again)
Fujifilm X-T50 + Fujinon 23mm F/2 = Interchangeable-Lens Fujifilm X100VI??
Leica Q2 from the perspective of a Fujifilm photographer
Fujifilm X30 — Fujifilm’s Forgotten Retro Compact Zoom
Close Up with the Fujinon XF 30mm F/2.8 R LM WR Macro
Traveling Light with the Fujifilm X100VI + WCL-X100 II & TCL-X100 II Conversion Lenses
Your Gift Guide for Affordable Fujifilm Gear