Want to sell my 20D with a lens and some accessories; how much?
July 14, 2010 10:36 PM   Subscribe

I'm trying to figure out a good price for my Canon 20D with the battery grip and the 17-85mm lens.

I'm upgrading to the 5D2 at some point this year and want to get rid of the 20D (my main camera is a 40D right now) before the value decreases. Henry's (local camera merchant) would offer me $320 for the camera and lens which I think is low. I'm not sure what the count is on the shutter (not sure how to figure that out), but I realized I don't even like using the battery grip that I bought so I might as well throw that in there along with a couple batteries and some smaller memory cards (a few 1gb and a 2gb). I tend to think $700 to $800 would be fair. Thoughts?
posted by Joseppi to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (9 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Of course it is low. Henry's is buying it from you...to sell it at a PROFIT. Are you surprised that it seems low? Check eBay to determine used prices.
posted by santaliqueur at 11:14 PM on July 14, 2010




I just bought a Canon 20D in practically mint condition with a canon 50 f1.8, a 2 gb memory card, a Lowepro AW bag (worth $50 on it's own), charger, and extra canon brand battery for $300 on craigslist.

You can score bodies by the dozens for $200-300, so I expect between 500-600 for the body, lens, and battery grip probably seems about right. The battery grip itself is fairly devalued as it is only usable on discontinued bodies.

Why not keep it and use it as a second body? The 20d is still a great camera, and the 1.6x APS-C sensor is great for when you need to get a bit closer.

I shoot with a 5dMk2, but use my 20d as a backup (I recently purchased it because my old banged up one got stolen out of my car).
posted by ghostpony at 12:04 AM on July 15, 2010


the 1.6x APS-C sensor is great for when you need to get a bit closer.
There are so many pixels on the 5d2 you can crop down to what the 1.6x sensor would see and still have more of 'em than if you'd shot on the 20d.

(you don't even have to get nostalgic about the 20d's rotten low-light focusing, as it came along for the ride!)
posted by bonaldi at 2:01 AM on July 15, 2010


Response by poster: @ghostpony: The 20D is my current back-up with the 40D being my main; once I get the 5D2 the 40D will be my back-up.
posted by Joseppi at 4:40 AM on July 15, 2010


Henry's (local camera merchant) would offer me $320 for the camera and lens which I think is low.

You're crazy. If it were in perfect condition with a decent lens you might find the same deal someplace else, but I doubt it. KEH buys old digital and wouldn't give you more then $275 for LN- (Like New) condition. If you think you can get someone to pay more for it, you're free to try and sell it yourself on eBay. Good luck with that.

The most sensible thing is to use it as a backup (or a backup-backup if you've already got a backup). Actually, the most sensible thing is to become a self-employed photographer so you can business-expense it and take the depreciation into account for your taxes. Or just stop buying camera bodies.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:04 AM on July 15, 2010


Response by poster: @Civil_Disobedient: But wouldn't KEH be selling it for a profit (like Henry's as one of the other posters noted) so they'd obviously offer me less than it could be worth?
posted by Joseppi at 8:50 AM on July 15, 2010


Naturally they'll be selling it for a profit. Provided they sell it. Which, if you're a huge place like KEH and have all the marketing and infrastructure and shipping and handling already figured out, your odds are probably pretty good. Problem is there are so many legit places for a buyer to go to, if they do decide to buy a used one they'll pay the premium just to get it from someone they already trust. I know I would; a hundred bucks difference between getting a real product and possibly getting a wrapped brick? No way, I'll pay the extra cash. If you want to compete with that, you have to lower your price accordingly. Though you might get lucky with eBay if you just set the reserve high enough. You don't mention the lens you're pairing with it.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 2:34 AM on July 16, 2010


Response by poster: It's the 17-85 EFS.
posted by Joseppi at 4:36 AM on July 16, 2010


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