My Experience Selling Used Photo Gear at Adorama
I recently sold a used Canon 7d and Canon EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS lens to Adorama.com. Overall, I was happy with the experience. But, it wasn’t perfect. I thought I’d share my experience with you dealing with Adorama in selling my used photo gear.
The Process
You start by filling out a form on their website under the Used tab on the top of the page. Fill in your contact information and a description of each piece of equipment you would like to sell. Click “Get a Quote” to submit the form. You won’t actually get a quote right away.
When you submit the form, someone with call you within a day. The Adorama rep will explain that you will need to send in your equipment to get a quote. They will pay to ship and insure the item to be shipped to them. They will also pay the return shipping and insurance if you choose not to take their offer.
Once you agree to send in your equipment, they will email you a UPS shipping label. Just box up your equipment and drop it off at UPS. The label is for ground shipping so it will take a few days for your photo gear to get to Adorama.
Once Adorama receives the shipment, they will send you an email letting you know the shipment was received. They will also begin the process of evaluating the equipment which the email states could take an additional 5-7 business days. It actually only took 4 total days to evaluate my equipment including the weekend. Still, this isn’t a very fast process.
When the evaluation is complete, Adorama will send you another email with a number and extension to call.
Used Photo Gear Pricing
The Adorama representative will tell you the prices that they are willing to offer for your gear. They will tell you that they pay up to 70% of the going price. However, if you are willing to purchase a piece of gear from them, they may be willing to lower the price of the new gear. They lowered the price of a Canon 6d for me by $200.
They will give you credit on a purchase from Adorama, mail you a check, or apply the money to a credit card.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience dealing with Adorama. The entire transaction took a little over a week. The amount of the offer was a little lower than I expected. However, they did give me additional savings on a new Canon 6d.
Related Blog Posts
Canon 6d, Hands On First Impressions
Is the Canon 6D a fit for Travel Photographers?
4 Comments
Helen Oster
Thanks so much for leaving your fabulous feedback, Martin.
We always appreciate when satisfied Adorama customers can take the time to let us – and other customers – know about great service from our representatives, and I will make sure to copy it over to the team at the used department.
BTW if you ever need advice with any order from Adorama, or after-sales support, you are always most welcome to email me directly: Helen@adorama.com
Helen Oster
Adorama Camera Customer Service Ambassador
Martin Belan
Helen,
Thanks for leaving your comments! It is great that Adorama is monitoring the Internet and Social Media for customer service.
Josh
Hi Martin, thanks for writing your blog post on this, I have just sent in my camera and heard back today. I have to say, I'm a little annoyed with the whole process as they gave me an over the phone quote first before I sent it in (which I understand is not set in stone) that was 70% ($2500) of the price similar "E" grade cameras ($3500). I was lead to believe that was the initial offer to me. Today I find out that the initial offer I was told was not actually an offer but rather an estimate of what they would sell the camera for and they meant to say I could expect 60% of that. So now it's an offer of $1500. Why can't they be more upfront in the initial call and just provide a general estimate of what they would give you. If they had told me around $1500 from the start I wouldn't have bothered with sending it in. At this point I feel like I have been caught out by a bait and switch scam. Yes they will send it back etc etc, but I'd much rather they be clear from the beginning and not muddle the waters with other prices etc. To anyone reading this, be sure to clarify in the first call what they are likely to pay you in the hand before you go and send your gear to them. Was this your experience or was I just deaf during that first phone call?
Thanks again.
Martin Belan
Thanks for leaving the comment on your experiences with Adorama. I was considering tradiing in with them again.