Where to sell used cameras: a comparison of channels and which to choose

At ReflexMania's counter, every week someone comes in who tried to sell their camera online and gave up. Usually after 40 messages, three offers at half price, and a guy who wanted to ship it abroad with 'his' courier. Other times, it's the opposite: someone asks us for a valuation, finds it low, sells it on Subuto for 120 euros more, and does just fine. There is no single best channel. There is the right one for what the camera is worth, how much time you have, and how much risk you are willing to take.

In this article, I compare the actual channels for selling a used camera in Italy today: private listings, eBay, apps like Vinted, online platforms that buy gear, and specialized stores, with options for outright sale, trade-in, or consignment. For each, you will find the costs, the time required, how much you receive in proportion to the market value, and where the problems lie. I write this from the perspective of someone who buys used equipment every day, so I will also tell you when it is not worth selling to a store like ours.

Before the trade-in: what your camera is really worth

If you don't have a realistic figure, you can't compare any channel: neither a shop's offer nor a private seller's. The most solid reference is the pricing of shops that sell used gear with a warranty. Those figures are the maximum ceiling. You will receive less from a private buyer, not more, because they are waiving the professional inspection and the 2-year warranty.

Asking prices and selling prices are not the same thing

On Subito, you'll find online listings from 4-5 months old at prices no one has ever paid. They reflect what the seller hopes to get, not what the camera is actually worth. On eBay, use the "sold items" filter and look only at the last 60-90 days: that's where you'll find actual completed sales. Discard the highest and lowest prices and use the median as your reference, which is the value in the middle.

What drives the price: shutter count, condition, included accessories

The first thing an experienced buyer asks for is the shutter count. It must be read in relation to the shutter's rated lifespan, which on entry and mid-level models is often between 100,000 and 150,000 cycles. 20,000 shutter count is low, while 90,000 starts to weigh on the price. Then other factors come into play:

• Camera body: signs of use on the edges are normal. Dents, peeling rubber feet, and slow-opening doors, however, lower the offer.
• Sensor: if spots are visible in a sky photo taken at f/16, the negotiation starts at a discount immediately.
• Original battery: if missing, deduct 30-50 euros from the value.
• Box and charger: the box adds 10-20 euros in perceived value, especially for remote buyers.

Market demand: when high supply drives prices down

The value also depends on how many units identical to yours are for sale at the same time. Today we have 9 examples of the Canon EOS RP ranging from 534 to 600 euros. It is one of the most affordable RF full-frame bodies, but with such high supply, prices drop even in the private market. If you sell it as a private seller, it is difficult to find a buyer above 500 euros.

Then the model's age matters. We sell the first-generation Sony A7 for 400 euros. The Sony A7 Mark II is priced at 570 euros, largely due to its in-body image stabilization. These early full-frame mirrorless cameras have lost a significant portion of their retail price. Brand and mount also play a role: a body with a wide range of compatible and widely available lenses tends to resell faster. If you are choosing a system for your next purchase, you can find the comparison in Canon vs Nikon vs Sony: which to choose.

Selling to a private individual: Subito, Facebook Marketplace, Vinted

Selling to a private buyer yields a higher net amount, but every extra euro costs you time: photos, replies, negotiations, and shipping. The three platforms are not interchangeable. They differ in audience, buyer protection, and the type of issues you will end up managing. Fees are revised frequently, so check the updated rate card for each platform before listing.

Subito: the largest market for used photography in Italy

For private sellers, listing is free. You only pay for promotions, such as bumping the ad to the top or featuring it. With protected shipping, the buyer covers the protection fee. You receive payment only after the buyer confirms receipt of the package. It is the channel with the highest traffic for camera bodies and lenses, but also the one with the most noise:

• Lowball offers: on a listing priced at 400 euros, you receive offers of 250 euros within an hour, often without a single question about the camera.
• WhatsApp phishing: someone asks you to move the conversation to chat and sends you a link "to receive the payment". This is not a buyer. Protected payment is only available within the app.

Facebook Marketplace: local, fast, little filtered

If you hand over the item in person, you pay no fees. The marketplace works well for camera bodies under 500 euros and in large cities, where you can find a buyer 20 minutes from home. However, the audience is poorly qualified. You get many "is it still available?" messages from people who then disappear, last-minute cancellations, and profiles created just the week before. Before setting up a meeting, check how long the profile has existed and ask a specific question about how they intend to use it. If the answer is vague, don't waste an afternoon.

Vinted and Wallapop: do they work for photography?

Here, the seller pays no fees: the buyer covers the purchase protection, which is added to the price. The audience is primarily looking for a deal. A compact or an entry-level kit sells, while a camera body priced at 800 euros or more gathers off-market offers for weeks. Two references for the right price range. A Sony A6000, with 24 megapixels and still-fast autofocus, costs 360 euros with us today, including a 2-year warranty. A Canon EOS R100, Canon's smallest and most affordable RF mirrorless, ranges between 320 and 400 euros. On these channels, a private seller receives less than those amounts, not more.

The tricky part is the dispute. After delivery, the buyer has only a few days to report an issue. Meanwhile, the funds remain on hold, and the platform makes the final call. If the claim is accepted, you are usually required to accept the return. You end up with the camera back after two or three weeks, without payment, and sometimes with signs of use that were not there before. To protect yourself, record a video of the packaging process and take photos of the powered-on camera and the serial number before sealing the box.

eBay: more buyers, more protections for buyers than for sellers

eBay puts you in front of an audience that no local listing can reach: all of Italy and, if you accept international shipping, half of Europe. The price of this visibility is a protection system built around the buyer. In case of a dispute, eBay tends to side with the buyer. Fees for private sellers have changed several times in recent years. Before publishing, check the current fees on the official page and do not trust what you read on forums.

When eBay is worth it

eBay makes sense when there are no buyers in your area. A common camera like an APS-C entry-level body sells on Subito within one or two weeks: listing it on eBay adds risks without offering any advantages. The situation changes with items that appeal to few, but to those few, they matter a lot.

• Niche or collector camera bodies: previous-generation full-frame models still have dedicated enthusiasts looking for them. A Nikon D700 struggles to find a buyer in rural areas, while on eBay there are buyers specifically seeking it for its sensor. If you need to understand how it compares to its newer sibling, here is our comparison between Nikon D700 and D750.
• Special lenses: fast primes, specific macro lenses, manual optics with uncommon mounts.
• Professional camera bodies: above €1,500, the national market size makes a difference in sales times.

When it comes to the sales format, the rule is simple. An auction with a 1-euro starting bid only works for highly sought-after models, where ten bidders compete for the item. With a less popular camera, you risk the auction closing with just two bids at a third of its value, and the auction binds you to sell. A fixed price with a "make an offer" option is better, or an auction with a starting bid equal to the minimum amount you would accept anyway.

The risk of returns: "not as described"

Even if your listing states "no returns accepted," the buyer can open a dispute for an item not as described. A case we often hear about at the counter: the seller receives a different or faulty camera body instead of the one shipped. Without evidence, it is very difficult to explain to eBay that it is not your camera. Therefore, evidence must be prepared before shipping:

1. Write the serial number in the listing and photograph it clearly, along with the label under the camera body or on the lens.
2. Record a continuous video of the powered-on camera: test shutter count, menu, and framed serial number. Then, without cuts, film the packaging until the box is closed.
3. Ship tracked and insured for the full value, with signature required on delivery for amounts over 500 euros.
4. If a return arrives, open it in front of the camera and verify the serial number before accepting the refund. If it does not match, report it immediately to eBay, attaching the video and photos.

It takes twenty minutes of work. On a €1,200 camera, it can determine whether you win or lose the dispute.

Online platforms that buy used gear: convenient, but read the quote

Services like MPB all work the same way. You fill out a form with the model, shutter count, and condition, and you receive a figure immediately. Then you ship it with a prepaid label, and they pay you only after the camera has passed the inspection. That post-inspection payment is where you need to pay the most attention.

Before filling out the form, check one thing: the service must accept shipments from Italy. Some platforms only pick up in certain European countries. Others accept packages from abroad, but pay via international bank transfer or require you to cover shipping costs.

The initial quote is not the final price

The figure you see online is based on the condition you declare, so it is an estimate. During the inspection, the technician evaluates the camera using their own criteria. A scratch on the display, a mark on the hot shoe, a hot pixel on the sensor, or a shutter count higher than declared will lower the valuation by one or two categories. At that point, you will receive a lower counter-offer.

To avoid any surprises, please read these four answers in our terms of service before we ship your item:

• How long do you have to accept or reject the counter-offer, and what happens if you don't respond. In certain cases, silence counts as acceptance.
• Who pays for the return shipping if you reject it. It can be free, or it can cost you the courier fee plus insurance.
• How long it takes for the camera to come back home. Between inspection, waiting for your response, and the return process, the camera sits idle for days.
• How the package is insured on the way out and back, and up to what value.

A tip from the counter: if you have a minimum price in mind, decide on it before shipping. A counteroffer 60-80 euros lower arrives when the camera is already in a warehouse hundreds of kilometers away. It is easy to accept it just to avoid dealing with the return. Photograph the camera well before sending it, with a clean sensor and a screenshot of the certified shutter count. If you dispute the valuation, those photos are the only proof you have.

Who it's for

These services are ideal if you want to avoid negotiations and don't have a reliable store nearby. No messages, no appointments, no risk of fake payments. The price is usually in line with that of a physical store, sometimes slightly lower: they also need to refurbish, warrant, and resell the equipment.

The real limit is something else: you don't see the evaluation being done. In a store, the technician shows you the mark on the ring or tests the sensor in front of you, and you can object immediately. Online, you receive an email with a condition category and a few lines of explanation. If your camera is in excellent condition and worth more than €1,000, this difference matters. If it's an honest camera with several signs of use, the convenience is often worth a few euros less.

Specialized shop: outright sale, trade-in or consignment

A shop pays you less than a private buyer, but pays you immediately. Bring the camera, we inspect it, and you know your payout the same day. There are three options, and they work differently.

Why a shop offers you 55-70% of the resale price

The difference between what we pay you and what the next customer pays is not all profit. It includes four costs:

• In-house workshop service: hours of technician work, sensor cleaning, testing.
• Spare parts: a small door, a rubber seal, sometimes a display.
• 2-year warranty: some units come back, and the repair is at our expense.
• Inventory: capital tied up for weeks, sometimes for months.

On a budget body, the math gets tight. We resell the Canon EOS R100 for between 320 and 400 euros: it's an excellent first mirrorless, but the absolute margin is small. A realistic cash offer sits around 200-260 euros. If you have time for listings and appointments, a private sale can yield more here.

Trade-in: when it really pays off

Trade-in usually offers 10-15% more value than a straight sale, because the shop also makes a profit on the camera it sells to you. It only makes sense if you actually need to upgrade your body. Trading in to buy something you don't need is just a way to spend money. At ReflexMania, we assess your gear and deduct the value from the price of a refurbished used camera with warranty. A typical case is trading in an entry-level APS-C body for a Fujifilm X-H1 at 650 euros, featuring a robust body and in-body image stabilization.

Sales count: higher shutter count, longer wait

Some shops display your camera and retain a commission, typically 20-30%, only when it sells. You earn more than with a direct sale, but you don't know when. Before handing it over, make sure to get it in writing:

• how long the agreement lasts and what happens upon expiration;
• who is liable for thefts and damages while the camera is in the shop;
• the agreed price reductions and after how many weeks they kick in;
• within how many days you get paid after the sale.

What we check at the workshop when evaluating a camera

A serious assessment is not done by handling the camera at the counter. The checks are as follows:

• shutter count read from the file, not the declared one;
• sensor, shutter, and mount contacts;
• display, mounts, and doors;
• autofocus and stabilization working;
• signs of impacts or oxidation.

On a Sony a6500, which we currently have for 600 euros, we always test the in-body image stabilization: if it doesn't work, the value changes significantly. And if our inspection shows that it is more advantageous for you to sell to a private party, we will tell you clearly.

Scams and risks: how to sell without getting ripped off

Those who come to the counter after a bad sale rarely received an empty package. More often, they shipped the camera body and the money never arrived. For sellers, the real risk lies in the payment, and three situations cover almost all the cases we are told about.

Fake payments and fake shipping links

The typical scheme starts with a buyer who does not negotiate on price and is in a hurry. They then ask you to move to WhatsApp or email and send you the "proof" of payment. This could be a screenshot of a bank transfer or an email "from PayPal" stating that the funds are blocked until you send the tracking number. There is also a "from Subito" link to receive the payment, on a page that asks for your card number, expiration date, and CVV.

• A bank transfer screenshot only proves that someone filled out a form. That transfer can be cancelled or may never have been initiated.
• No platform asks for your card details to credit your funds. If they ask, they want to steal them.
• A "from PayPal" email is verified by opening the app, not by clicking links in the message.

The rule is simple: the money exists only when you see it in your account or in the official app, opened by you. Until then, the machine doesn't start.

PayPal friends and family and instant bank transfers

Usually, the buyer suggests "Friends and Family" as a favor, since this avoids fees. However, that option is intended for exchanging money between people who know each other and does not include seller protection. If the payment comes from a stolen account, the owner can dispute it, and PayPal may reverse the charge even after the camera has already shipped. With "Goods and Services," you pay the fee, but you remain covered if you ship with tracking to the address specified in the transaction.

For sellers, the cleanest option remains the instant bank transfer. It arrives in seconds and, once credited, cannot be reversed. This way, you avoid disputes three weeks later.

Hand delivery: where and how

In-person handover eliminates shipping risks, but shifts the focus to the exchange moment. Choose a public, busy location during the day. The best option is a branch of your bank during opening hours, where payment is made on the spot.

1. Cash: below the legal limit of €5,000. Count it in front of the buyer and, for significant amounts, deposit it at the counter immediately before handing over the camera body.
2. Instant transfer: wait for the credit notification on your phone, not the screen on theirs.
3. Camera test: they can take test shots and check the viewfinder, screen, and dials, but the camera body must remain on the table in front of you. No "I'll test it outside" or "I'll show it to a friend in the car".

If the buyer refuses to go to the bank and insists on a secluded parking spot at night, you already know how it ends.

Preparing Your Camera for Sale: 30 Minutes Worth 50 Euros

Two identical bodies, same model and same certified shutter count, can end up priced 50 euros apart. The difference lies in their presentation. Half an hour of preparation prevents lowball offers and attracts more serious inquiries.

Cleaning, photos and shutter count

Clean the camera body, dials, and eyepiece with a microfiber cloth and a soft brush. For the sensor, use an air blower at most; never use compressed air cans. If you see stubborn spots, leave them: a scratched sensor is worth far less than one with a few dust particles.

Then the photos. 8-10 are enough, taken in natural light near a window and on a neutral background:

• front, back, sides, top plate and bottom plate;
• mount and contacts, shown in close-up;
• display turned on with the menu, proving it works;
• every defect in the foreground: marks on the rubber, scratches on the display, loose doors.

The shutter count is read from a file, not estimated. On many Nikon and Pentax models, the data is found in the metadata of a freshly taken JPG. For other brands, dedicated software is required. Attach a screenshot of the result. A "approximately 20,000 shutter count" immediately suggests that the actual number is higher.

Reset and personal data

When a camera arrives at our workshop, it often still contains the previous owner's name and home network settings. Before handing it over to anyone, follow these steps in order:

1. Delete the Bluetooth pairings and saved Wi-Fi networks. Then remove the camera from the app on your smartphone: Canon Camera Connect, Nikon SnapBridge, or the Sony app.
2. Clear the copyright and author name fields. Otherwise, your name will end up in the EXIF data of every photo taken by the new owner.
3. Reset all settings to factory defaults.
4. Format the memory card from the camera and then remove it, unless you are selling it together with the body.

Kit contents and honest description

List what is included and, above all, what is missing. Buyers compare your listing with three or four others, and omissions stand out.

List the defects in the text, even if they are already visible in the photos. On eBay and apps with buyer protection, an undeclared defect is the fastest way to lose a return dispute. If you have documented it in writing, the claim has no basis. An extra sentence in the listing costs little. A return with round-trip shipping costs much more.

Which channel to choose: the decision based on value, time, and risk

To choose the right channel, you need three figures: the camera's value, how many days you can wait, and how much risk you're willing to take. When you put them together, usually only one or two sensible options remain.

Selling to a private buyer is more profitable than selling to a shop only if three conditions are met simultaneously. The camera must be worth more than 300 euros, you must be willing to wait a month, and you must hand it over in person, allowing the buyer to test it on the spot. If even one of these conditions is missing, the advantage shrinks until it nearly disappears.

Practical example: a Canon EOS RP with 15,000 shutter count

Take a Canon EOS RP: it is one of the lightest and most affordable full-frame options for entering the RF system. We currently resell them between 534 and 600 euros, serviced and with warranty. For this camera, with 15,000 shutter count, the order of magnitude is as follows:

• Private sale on Subito: 450-500 euros, within 2-4 weeks.
• Direct store sale: 360-410 euros, same day.
• Trade-in: 400-440 euros in credit toward your next purchase.
• Consignment: 430-480 euros net, but only once a buyer is found, sometimes after 2-3 months.

Don't take this as a fixed price list. Aesthetic condition, accessories, and the receipt can shift the price by 50 euros up or down. However, the proportion remains: the difference between a private sale and a cash sale is about 90 euros, which you pay in time and negotiations.

DSLR and older models: time works against them

The market has shifted to mirrorless, and DSLRs pay the price every season. Demand is lower, listings stay online longer, and negotiations start at lower prices. If your DSLR is sitting in a closet, waiting for the right moment costs you money, and that moment is unlikely to come.

The same applies to first-generation mirrorless cameras. A Sony A7r still features an excellent 36-megapixel full-frame sensor, and we currently sell it for 700 euros. A 30-megapixel Canon EOS R, with an autofocus system that still performs well today, is priced at 800 euros. At launch, they cost more than double that. If you haven't decided what to keep yet, you can find the full overview in the comparison DSLR or mirrorless in 2026. If you have already decided to sell, the sooner you do it, the more you will get.

Frequently Asked Questions

Want to know what your gear is worth?

If you'd like an appraisal of your camera or advice on which sales channel is best for your situation, get in touch. Send us the model, shutter count, and a few photos: we'll tell you our offer and, if selling to a private buyer is more advantageous for you, we'll let you know.

Three ways to get in touch:

• Contact form — response within 24 business hours
• WhatsApp at 342 362 3454 (messages only)
• Phone: 071 291 6347 (Mon-Fri 9am-1pm/3pm-6pm, Sat 9am-1pm)

If you want to see what we have in stock right away, explore the used equipment available today: every camera is certified, comes with a 2-year warranty, and ships within 24-48 hours.

Article written by Matteo for the ReflexMania Team. Last updated: September 2026. Prices and availability as of the date of publication.